Managing Anger in the classroom

Time for a rant!

About two weeks into a particularly challenging education training trip to Southern China, I shared this post with my followers:

I am sick to death of being here in Guangzhou!

I am fed up with:

the intolerable heat that hits you like a wall every time you leave anywhere with air conditioning that actually works.

the humidity that cloys to your skins, causes sweat to run down your face and leaves your clothes damp, even on the rare occasions it isn’t raining here.

the rain – I have never seen rain like it. The sky is full of heavy, dark, pendulous clouds all the time and, when it rains – as it does most of every day – it doesn’t just rain, it drowns the world that is Guangzhou.

the relentless traffic that is constantly four lanes deep in each direction, that shows no awareness of other traffic, that steers using the car horn; and sees someone trying to cross any road as fair game.

the crowds of people who scurry about their business, like ants in a nest – ants with the latest mobile phones glued to their faces so they crash into you and then glare as though it is your fault.

the food. China may be a gastronomic world destination and Chinese food may have a history and tradition that puts western food to shame; but it is alien, it upsets my stomach; and it makes me ill.

There! I feel better now!

Most of what I’ve said here won’t be true tomorrow, it is just, sometimes, we all need to let off a bit of steam and just get it out of our systems.

However, perhaps we all need to consider that our students have a right to express their anger too sometimes; and, when angry, they can’t learn.

The arousal cycle of anger

Whether we are experiencing anger, fear, or intense joy, these emotions involve the same physical reaction. After an event of some kind which provokes us, our bodies prepare for action (to fight, to flee, to celebrate). Below is an explanation of each phase that we go through when experiencing anger.

The Trigger Phase: There is usually an event that triggers or provokes the rest of the arousal cycle; you get into an argument, are threatened, or receive some information that shocks you. You feel threatened (emotionally, mentally, physically) at some level and your physiological systems begin preparing to meet that threat. For example, someone walks into your office and starts banging on a desk and yelling that they need to talk to someone! In this example, the trigger was external, but triggers can also be created internally through memory, perception, or stress levels. As your body begins to react to the threatening provocation, you begin to experience the emotion we call anger.

The Escalation Phase: During the Escalation Phase, the body’s arousal systems prepare for a crisis. The body prepares to attack or defend itself by pumping adrenaline into the blood stream. The results include:

– increased respiration i.e., rapid breathing

– increased heart rate and raised blood pressure

– the muscles tense for action (e.g., jaw, neck, shoulders, and hands)

– the voice pitch alters, and the volume gets louder

– the eyes change shape e.g., pupils enlarge, steely look, brow falls

The Crisis Phase: In this phase people’s survival instincts can be observed in a survival response. The body has prepared itself and a physiological command is issued, “Take Action”! Unfortunately, people’s quality of judgment has been significantly reduced at this point and decisions are not made with our best reasoning ability. People in the crisis phase are highly volatile and need to be addressed in simple, direct, and non-provoking statements.

This is the phase that can cause many teachers problems. Frequently, we give students time to ‘calm down’ and then reengage when they are still in this crisis phase. This can then cause another escalation and things get worse again. All we need to do is wait for our student to tell us when they are calm (in the recovery phase) and then we avoid this reescalation and even more anger in our classrooms.

The Recovery Phase: Once some action has been taken to resolve the crisis phase, the body begins to recover from the extreme stress and expenditure of energy. However, the adrenaline does not leave the blood stream all at once, so the level of arousal tapers off until normal limits are reached. Quality of judgment returns to the normal levels as reasoning begins to replace the survival response.

The Post-Crisis Depression Phase: After normal physiological levels are reached, the body enters a short period in which the heart rate slips below normal so the body can regain its balance (homeostasis). During this phase, awareness, and energy return to the brain (prefrontal cortex) to allow the person to assess what just occurred. This assessment can lead to feelings of guilt, regret, and emotional depression.

To conclude: All teachers will encounter anger in the classroom. Sometimes that anger will be within us and many times that anger will be directed at us. This is a sad fact of life in the classroom. How we choose to handle that anger will impact on how our students learn to mange their own anger, how we manage their anger and how everyone gets back to focusing on learning and teaching without too much disruption.

ABOUT MISTER STEVE TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY

Steve Burnage offers consultancy, training and coaching to schools and school leaders internationally through Mister Steve Training and Consultancy. In addition, he provides consultancy services through many UK and International training providers, he works extensively with education reform projects in India, Egypt Pakistan, and Bangladesh, he is a leadership coach to new and aspiring headteachers in Europe, The Middle East, China, and the Indian Subcontinent, he is a GCSE and A’ level examiner; and regularly contributes keynote speeches, articles and ‘think pieces’ to education conferences and publications worldwide. To find out more, please call +44 7767858360 or Email [email protected]