By: Jaz Rice
OwlFeed Journalist                                                        

Here at Agua Fria we have dedicated teachers as well as substitutes, therefore an in-school fight club never even crossed our minds, but at a school in Connecticut it was a reality.

Montville High School welcomed a substitute by the name of Ryan Fish who not only carried out his regularly scheduled duties but also hosted a fight club through the duration of his class. In hopes of being “the cool teacher” and “someone that the kids could actually talk to about things,” Ryan would let kids fight and even cleared space for them while he either sat at his desk or acted as a referee and encouraged the fight, as well as tell stories about him doing drugs and even shared his snapcode as a friendly gesture.

According to the New York Times, this went on from September 2017 to October 2017, until students started to post the videos onto social media which gained plenty of attention and eventually wound up in the administration office. No one at the school told police about the “fight club,” according to the arrest affidavit. They only learned of the incidents in mid-December when a social worker reported that a clearly traumatized 16-year-old had just been sent for a mental health evaluation, after reporting being beaten and robbed at school. Ryan was fired and eventually dismissed by the superintendent.

Ryan did not know how much trouble he actually faced until the allegations were brought up by the police. In response to the allegations Ryan said:  “The truth is I’m an idiot and wanted to befriend them. I’m immature. I would say I feel horrible about what happened to be honest. I didn’t think it was ok, I didn’t know what else to do.”

I believe that Ryan at only 23 was very immature and most likely should not have been teaching in the first place. A special education teacher at The ACES by the name of Ms. Marshall said, “A teacher’s job is to educate the next generation and encourage them, and enable them to be productive members in society. Hosting a fight club is non-conducive for anyone and the sub should not be able to sub again.”

I have to agree with Ms. Marshall. Ryan failed the students and I’m sure he upset the teacher of the particular classrooms that he hosted these clubs in. Ryan is currently being charged for four counts of reckless endangerment, two counts of risk of injury to a minor, and a charge for the “breach of peace.”