A substitute teacher was fired after asking for relationship advice from a fourth-grade class in the Bronx last year, according to published reports.
The city Department of Education dumped 45-year-old Cassandre Fiering in December after she allegedly asked a class of five students at P.S. 189 to help her pick between two men she was dating, the Daily News reports.
Fiering acted out scenarios in class on June 12, having students pretend to be her while she portrayed her two boyfriends, according to a DOE report obtained by the News. The children ultimately told her to break up with the younger of the two men, a mechanic from Rhode Island who didn’t return her calls.
Students told investigators that the substitute called the children “munchkins” and told them to toilet-paper the mechanic’s house. The teacher allegedly also hugged one student, tapped another’s shoulder and touched two others’ thighs, according to the report.
Fiering, who is also an actress, told DNAinfo that while she did have a conversation with students about her love life, it was all done in fun.
“The kids were saying, ‘Oh, we’re your counselor,'” she told DNAinfo. “They were excited to have me listen to their advice.”
Fiering told the News that she didn’t touch any students and said investigators put words in her mouth. She said she was planning to hire a lawyer to appeal the firing.
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“I’ve been slandered, the quotes were bogus,” she told the News. “This is the biggest bunch of crap I’ve heard in my life.”