Teaching is no easy profession by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, things went from difficult to violent for substitute English teacher and Liberian immigrant, Pewu Johnson, who was left unconscious after a student body slammed him in the hallways of John Bartram High School in Philadelphia on Thursday (November 6).
Speaking with NBC 10 news, Johnson, 68, said the issue began when he ordered a teenage girl to get off of the male student’s lap. “He told me ‘get the f*ck out of my face,'” Johnson said, recalling his attempt to reprimand the boy. The male student was then asked to leave the class.
Towards the end of the day, during seventh period, Johnson and the teen crossed paths. The latter was noticeably aggressive, attempting to stop the man from crossing the hall. That’s when things went south.
“He grabbed me, then lifted me up, then dropped me on my back, on the floor. I became unconscious. I wasn’t hearing anything. My eyes were closed,” Johnson told Philly.com. A video surfaced of the man sprawled out on the ground completely motionless. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion.
The incident left Johnson with a sore neck, but he cited that things could have been much worse. The student was suspended and faces expulsion, as well as criminal charges.
This was the third assault on a teacher at Bartram High in the last month.
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Photo: NBC 10 Philadelphia
