HOUSTON — Parents are concerned after seeing a video showing a student punching a teacher in the face on Thursday.
Students are sharing the video on social media.
It happened at Lamar High School, and those who have seen the video are upset, saying it should have never happened. Now, school administrators are responding.
The incident apparently started over a phone.
In the video, a student gets in the teacher's face, demanding to get his phone back. Seconds later, he punched the teacher in the face.
The principal at Lamar sent a note to parents.
"We do not condone and will not tolerate this type of behavior. It is always our top priority to maintain an environment where our students and staff are safe," the message said. "Administrators will be looking into the cause of the altercation and continue to evaluate ways to prevent these occurrences in the future."
A Houston Independent School District teacher said he was shocked when he saw the video. He didn't want to be identified.
"Twenty years ago, you wouldn't hear the same types of things that you hear in the classroom today from students," he said.
He said he's been teaching for about that long and the disrespect from students is getting worse, both verbally, and in some instances, physically.
"Those are the things that we deal with in the classroom. Those are some things that you have to ... prepare yourself for when you go to work in the morning. ... I might get punched in the face or somebody might throw a punch at me," he said.
He thinks that some students just don't realize the consequences of their actions. He believes that something has to change in schools for everyone to be safe.
The teacher in the video didn't want to comment on the incident.