Substitute teacher appears out of a job after immigration spat with student

Brody Elahmar, 16, of Berwick, inset, who made the video of a teacher and his argument over immigration.(Inset, Courtesy CBS 13/BDN)

SANFORD, Maine - A substitute teacher at Sanford Regional Technical Center appears out of a job today after a male student videotaped the woman making anti-immigrant remarks during a conversation the two were having about the proposed border wall with Mexico.

The video starts with the teacher saying, "You still have about a half hour (in class)" to which the 16-year-old student, identified in news reports as Brody Elahmar, says, "I'm talking about the wall, you said I'm getting kicked out?"

"Oh, you're getting kicked out of my country," the teacher replies.

"It's not your country, I'm part of it, too," the student, who is from Berwick, then says.

The two then quibble a bit before the friction escalates when the substitute says, "Once Trump is done we're going to have half..." and the student interrupts "Trump ain't doing shit to me."

The entire video lasts about a minute.

The confrontation took place during an 11^th-grade class at the tech center, which accepts students from several surrounding York County high schools, including Noble High which the teenager attends.

SAD 60 Superintendent Steven Connolly defended the teen's actions, saying the young man wanted people to know that this type of behavior is not right and is insensitive.

Connolly said in a second video shared to the school but not the public the student confronts the teacher and said he had taped her comments.
The teacher tried to laugh it off and said she thought they were just joking around, Connolly said today.

Connolly said the student took out his cellphone to record the teacher's comments after she had made earlier comments that he thought were not appropriate.

The Sanford School Department began looking into the matter Friday after the video was brought to the attention of school officials, with the superintendent releasing a statement on Tuesday.

"Sanford is proud of our teachers and staff, and commends them for modeling tolerance every day and practicing good judgment when speaking with students about controversial issues," Superintendent of Sanford Schools David N. Theoharides said.

He added that the substitute is no longer employed by Sanford schools.

Meanwhile, Connolly, said while he didn't condone the young man's use of profanity used in the video, he understood how he likely lost his composure when faced by such a situation.

"She goaded him into it ... he's trying to save face in front of his classmates," Connolly said. "I don't know how many people could maintain their composure under such conditions.

He said the student has had no discipline problems at Noble High.

The video can be seen here.