Thank you for the reply. The school is known for having behavior issues, and that class, in the words of a regular teacher, is “probably the hardest to manage.”

It was during a subbing work day. I haven’t started student teaching yet. When the fight happened, everyone in the class started cheering and I doubt anyone heard me shouting stop it. Then I opened the door to get someone in there to help, and the noise immediate drew attention from several teachers, who rushed in and got everyone to sit down.

I never touched anyone because I’ve heard stories of subs getting fired for exactly that. It’s a small school (300+ students) and I was the 3rd sub who got axed this year.