[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A Georgia teacher has a long road of recovery ahead of her after becoming victim to a brutal attack — BY A STUDENT!
In shocking video footage that has since gone viral across multiple social media platforms, Tiwana Turner, a long time educator, was violently attacked by a ninth-grade student at Heritage High School in Rockdale County, Georgia. The incident, which occurred last Thursday, happened while Ms. Turner was “covering another class in lieu of her co-worker’s absence,” according to her GoFundMe:
“When Ms. Turner attempted to redirect the off-task behavior of one of the students, the student proceeded to physically attack her. During the attack, Ms. Turner was thrown to the ground and sustained multiple injuries.”
During the assault, which began in the classroom and then made its way out into the hallway, Ms. Turner can be seen putting up her arms to protect herself, but the relentless student continued to punch her, and pull her to the ground by her hair. Eventually, the assault was stopped after the ninth grader was pulled from the veteran English Language Arts teacher. The unnamed student was arrested and charged with aggravated battery the same day, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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In the days since the shocking incident, Ms. Turner has been hospitalized, “with knee and leg injuries, and is unable to walk,” according to her GoFundMe. It is said that, “she will not be returning to work anytime soon, and she will require extensive rehabilitation and therapy.” The GoFundMe, which you can visit HERE, aims to help with the financial stress from her hospital stay, as well as mobility accommodations:
“While she has helped so many students and families during her 27 years in education, she is now in need of help and assistance.”
Verdaillia Turner, president of the Georgia Federation of Teachers, told Fox 5 Atlanta Thursday she is angered by the event, and believes student violence is contributing to a nationwide teaching shortage:
“Students are out of control…there is no excuse for the violence…there is no excuse for children who are coming into our school daily and wreaking havoc so other students cannot learn. When we search the web and just Google ‘student assaults on teachers,’ we’ll see numerous assaults across the country and this is driving teachers out of the classroom. The number one problem in the classroom to attracting and retaining teachers happens to be the environment and right under that — when we talk about environment — discipline problems.”
She added that she believes the student and her parents should be held responsible for her violent outburst, noting:
“We are in a state of emergency…in this country, in this city, in this state we are in a state of emergency…and right now we need zero tolerance.”
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In a Thursday statement to the same outlet, Rockdale County Public Schools added:
“RCPS does not tolerate student violence towards any staff members. Students who harm other students or staff will be disciplined according to our Student Discipline Code of Conduct and will be appropriately charged by law enforcement.”
See more (below), but be advised, the content is graphic:
As of now, it is unclear what sort of disciplinary actions will be taken against the student. Our thoughts are with Ms. Turner as she continues to recover. Share your support in the comments down below.
[Images via Tiwana Turner/Facebook & Jean Cannon/GoFundMe]
