The Baltimore City school teacher who was punched by a student spoke out in an exclusive interview with WBAL-11 News education reporter Tim Tooten.
The attack occurred at Frederick Douglass High School on the teacher’s first day back from medical leave for cancer treatment. It was also the chemistry teacher’s birthday.
The educator, who asked to remain anonymous, told Tooten she is recovering from the unprovoked attack that was captured on a cell phone video that went viral online last week.
The teacher said that in her 34 years of teaching, this was the first time a student ever assaulted her.
The mother-of-three and church elder said she has “nothing but forgiveness” for the girl who struck her.
“I actually thought that I had the ability to calm a student down or to talk to them with understanding, and so when I saw this, this was like my worst nightmare,” the teacher said, referring to the viral video.
She said it took her a couple of days before she could watch the 14-second video clip that was viewed over 1 million times across multiple platforms.
It just made me want to cry, and when I think about it now, it makes me want to cry,” she said.
“I’ve taught at schools that have had the reputation of being somewhat difficult to deal with,” she said. “I don’t know why I thought I was invincible, but clearly I am not invincible.”
The teacher said she did not know what provoked the girl to punch her.
“I just didn’t know. It was almost like, how did I get hit? That’s what I was thinking.”
She said other students were concerned for her wellbeing after the assault.
“After it all happened, so many students came to me and said, ‘Are you OK?”
The educator said if she could talk face to face with the student, she would want her to try and get her life together. “I would want her to get whatever counseling is necessary. I would hate to find out that she became a statistic.”
When asked if she would return to teaching, she said her future remains uncertain.
“I would be willing to come back. It’s just I don’t know if I am healthy enough to come back,” she said.
“I’m hoping something good will come out of all of this — something good for me, something good for Baltimore and something good for that young lady.”
According to WBAL-11, school officials refused to say what will happen to the 17-year-old girl. City prosecutors also refused to comment on the student’s status.
