Detroit Teacher Who Broke Up Fight With Broom Won't Take Job Back, Without Assurances
DETROIT (WWJ) - The Pershing High School teacher who was fired after using a broom to break up a fight and then offered her job back says she'll come back only if some changes are made.
Tiffany Eaton said she's had time to reflect on all of what has happened and she's not sure if she can go back to work without some assurances.
"They must back up teachers who do the right thing in the right moment," said Eaton. "The system must provide security for our students — security that can arrive in a timely fashion; and, they must have a clear and defined policy for our teacher, myself included, as to what we are supposed to do in those moments."
"At present, we have a platform to request real changes in our schools, and to hold our educational leaders accountable," Eaton said.
In the cell phone video of the incident, two Pershing High School students are seen fighting, knocking over desks. After about a minute the teacher intervenes, appearing to strike one of the teen boys on the back with a broom several times. The student backs off, but the other student runs back towards him and the fight continues. The fight ends when another student breaks it up.
[See the video HERE].
Eaton was offered her teaching job back at Pershing only after a video, showing her using a broom to try to break up a fight surfaced and went viral.
"There needs to be a practical put in place. There needs to be zero tolerance to violence in the classroom," said Jeffrey Abood, Eaton's attorney, " and we're working on that right now. We are currently having good faith discussions with the EAA (Education Achievement Authority)."
Another Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA) teacher, speaking to WWJ Newsradio 950 last week, gave the state-run Education Achievement Authority a failing grade when it comes to student safety.
Jenna Slack, who teaches at Law Middle School, said the state not only lacks the resources to educate children, "they don't have the resources to keep them safe." [More here].
The EAA said, in a statement, that it "seeks to promote a safe environment for its students and staff, and accordingly, does not, and will not tolerate any inappropriate conduct."
The EAA Michigan is a fairly new statewide school system that has assumed operation of the lowest 5 percent of performing schools in the state that did not achieve satisfactory results on a redesign plan or that are under an emergency manager.
MORE: Detroit Teacher Says State-Managed Schools Are Unsafe
