Classroom brawl in El Paso, Texas Middle School goes viral on social media, with teacher caught in the middle.
By Eileen Griffin
A Texas middle school is the latest location for a classroom fight involving students and a teacher.
On May 20, at Hurshel Antwine Middle School in El Paso, Texas, a fight broke out between students, with a teacher caught in the middle, KTSM reports. A video of the outbreak was posted on social media.
The video shows two students fighting and a teacher attempting to break up the fight. One student assaults another student who appears to fend off the attack. A teacher tries to intervene, and she is then attacked by the same student. The teacher is eventually thrown against the wall and lands on the ground.
Incidents like the one at Hurshel Antwine Middle School have become common, KTSM reports. Nothing much is being done in response to classroom fighting and the violence is becoming more frequent. Both parents and students at Hurshel Antwine Middle School said they see more fights in school.
Edgar Campos, a school parent, told the outlet that it is the school’s responsibility.
“I think it starts with the school,” Campos said. “Started with the security guards, the management, everybody in the school. That’s the problem. Not the kids. They let the kids do whatever they want. There’s no control over that.”
“It’s ridiculous that these things are happening in class,” another parent, Cindy Silva told the outlet. “Kids should know better. Parents should talk to their children about all this stuff. Teachers don’t get paid enough. This should not be part of their job—breaking up fights. It’s just getting out of hand.”
Student Elian Estrada was in the classroom when the fight took place. He saw his teacher get injured.
“It was sad for me to see how she fell down to the floor,” Estrada said.
Rosie Perez, president of West Texas Alliance Union, a grassroots public education association in the Socorro and Clint school districts, told KTSM that teachers do not get the support they need from the administration when students are disrespectful or misbehaving. There are no consequences imposed for the bad behavior.
“It’s either dismissed and students are returned back to class with little to no consequences,” Perez said.
Parents at Hurshel Antwine were shocked to see the video of the mayhem, KVIA reports. They expressed concern for their children’s safety.
“I’m highly concerned,” parent David Esparza told the outlet. “I’m a big believer that it’s time for change. Big change. The world is not the same as it used to be five years ago.”
It’s not a joke because in the video the kids are laughing,” Esparza said. “It’s not a joke. It’s disrespectful. It all starts at home. At school our kids are supposed to be safe. They are not safe no more. So I think it’s time for aggressive changes.”
“Pepper spray works well, however, if the punishment for starting a fight in school (throwing first punch) is IMMEDIATE EXPULSION and 10 days in jail, regardless of age, then perhaps would be less fights?” Don from Texas writes on X.
“A Hurshel Antwine Middle School student threw a teacher to the ground as she attempted to break up a fight,” a U.S. Veteran said on X after viewing the video. “It’s the parents’ fault. This country is turning to shit.”
“Will it ever end?” actor James Woods wrote on X, where he posted a video of another group of kids ganging up and beating a child.
For more School Reform News.
