Most
teachers will never encounter confrontational students. Confrontational
students are a rarity. The majority of teachers will never have any
problems with one. Teaching is a relatively safe profession. But for
upper grades, there is always the risk. The students are bigger and have
different wants and needs. Teachers should be prepared to confront a
student who is raising the stakes in the classroom.
Above all, have your classroom
discipline and classroom management down. You also need to create a
positive classroom. If these three are in pace, the chances of you
having a confrontation with a student are greatly reduced.
One of the best things you can do
with a confrontational student is nothing. At least for a few seconds.
Give the student a chance to back away. Above all, do not get angry. Do
not lose your cool. You have a classroom of other students who are
watching you, and are also relying on you to maintain order and peace.
If you get angry, you will be seen as someone who is not in charge
anymore. You don’t want that. You need to maintain professionalism. Do
not get lowered to the student’s level.
This also means not raising your
voice. A yelling and screaming teacher is seen as an out of control
teacher. Again, if you seem out of control, the whole class can dip into
chaos. You speaking in a calm, but firm voice, can do wonders at least
to diffuse the situation. Yelling will never solve anything. Maintain
your cool at all cost.
Other students in your classroom
may feel emboldened to get in on the action. They may want to be on
either side. They see the teacher as someone who may need protecting.
Do not allow any student to get
involved. You will only escalate the situation. Now instead of just one
student, you may have several to deal with. You cannot do this.
Your goal as a teacher with a
confrontational student is to lower the steam. Even if it is just until
the bell rings. Most of the time a few stern, calm words can lessen the
tension for at least the last minutes of class. That’s your goal. To
make it to the end, then contact the principal about what happened.
If you have a chance, you may
wish to talk to the student alone, after class. Not alone in the
classroom, but in full fiew in the hall or school yard. Talk like two
adults. This can actually work very well.
Writing a detention or office
referral does not really work. Most of the time, the kids just get lip
service and are right back. In fact, I believe this is
counterproductive. It becomes a game. You kick the student out, they
come back, repeat. They will wear you down before they wear you down.
A call home may not help either
if you have never called home before. Calling home the first time for a
behavior problem is crazy. The parent has every right to wonder where
you have been. Telephoning home can be a powerful tool. But you need to
call home to every parent at least once or twice the first week of
school. This alone will put parents and students on notice that you are
going to have them be an active party. Make it an ongoing effort.
One caution. Teachers are not
police. If a student is really getting out of hand, you need to make the
judgment that you need help. Call the office immediately.
The more you have control of your
classroom, the better. You can get control by classroom management,
classroom discipline, and creating a positive classroom.
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