Getting angry is so very common among both the new teachers and the experienced ones. When I was a student, I always wondered why we had some of our teachers with this unique ability of not getting angry even when the situation called for it, or at least they did their best not to show. On the other hand, we had these violent teachers that would lose it all after the littlest provocation and sometimes, someone would end up physically hurt.
I admit it, there are times that dealing with students becomes hard because they somehow can’t stop getting under your skin. But, your emotions can never get the best of you unless you let them. Luckily enough, you’re one of the few that don’t want to make a show of your feelings whenever you lose it, even though many teachers are pompous with their temper. These are the ways that you can avoid getting angry;
1. Stay calm
Calmness is not so easy to master, because we usually think it’s a way that we’ll let the rest of the people mess with us. That’s not true, because calmness is actually a way that you can avoid all sorts of worthless trouble, especially student-imposed headaches on your part. This is how;
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Don’t be quick to react.
When your student provokes you or makes you feel like you want to lose it all, it gets to that point where you want to send a message or show them how you feel, but this can be done calmly if you stop, take a deep breath and think of what to say/do first before you say/do it.
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Don’t speak or act when you feel heated.
There are those times that we feel really pissed and want to show the students what happens when they cross you, but if you do it before you cool down, you’re likely to do it the wrong way. This means you have to do everything calmly.
2. Develop a tough skin.
A tough skin is what I use for stoicism. See, students have their own point of view and like it or not, you’ll not share it. This is what I mean.
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Ignore the provocative students.
There shall always be a group of students that seem quite older than anyone else, and they’ll always try to prove they’re different by acting differently, some that they can provoke you and get away with it, and others that they can lure you into a fight and win. Ignoring them will save your dignity.
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When something is not so serious, just swallow it.
Let’s be honest, some students will try to provoke or disrespect you, but some things are not so serious and don’t deserve much of your attention. So, just bear with them.
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Always expect something to come up.
Students will always make you angry. This always happens to every teacher, and in every school so get used to it. If possible, just look at yourself and imagine everything about you that the students might want to use to throw at you, and decide that you’ll ignore them.
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Have a revised reaction plan.
As weird as this might sound, you can create your own action plan of how you respond to students that call you names and try to provoke you in all ways possible. This will help you always give a revised response.
3. Don’t be provocative.
As much as you might not want to admit it, there are many times that we might joke or say something loosely and get on the wrong side of the students. This usually brings retaliation from the student and it might hit a little harder than your provocation. Here are examples of what you shouldn’t do;
- Don’t talk about parents, because this is a sensitive subject, even to the adults, and it might cause more chaos than you expect.
- Leave race out of the jokes you tell.
- Hold no grudges against your students because this will bias you to the point that just a laugh from them will be annoying, and then you’ll be forced to provoke them.
- Sense anger and avert it, especially if you accidentally provoked your student. Saying “sorry” might even do more good than harm.
4. Set boundaries as early as possible.
Students can really make you angry if you’re this type of teacher that wants to be liked, and will do anything possible not to offend the students. However, they can like you better when they know what makes you happy and what hurts your feelings.
- Set limits to the kind of words they don’t have to say to you, and the tone they don’t have to use when talking to you.
- Let them know what they don’t have to do if they don’t want to get on the wrong side of you. This usually happens when you’re introducing yourself to a class for the first time and all their ears are wide open.
- Sense and warn them whenever they seem to cross the limits.
5. Try to understand what they mean.
Understanding your students is very crucial if you want to stay in harmony with them. Sometimes, your students might say some things to you because they just want to make fun or to get another point across, but just the wrong way. All you got to do is get out of your head and try to understand or ask for an explanation.
6. Always clear your head before you walk into the classroom.
I must say, sometimes everything starts with us, good or bad alike. Sometimes, you’ll come to the classroom feeling joyful and exuberant while other times, you’ll feel like hell. Regardless of what you already feel, there’s only one way that you can put them aside as you get to class, and that’s by clearing your head. Here’s how;
- Have all your problems sorted before you get into the classroom.
- Come with an intention of staying calm.
Conclusion;
Calmness is not a sign of weakness. It simply means you’ve got your act together. Many times, we get afraid that our inferiors might want to disrespect us, so we guard ourselves against that as much as we can. However, calmness can also communicate a lot, and it’s easier for people to understand you, and you to understand them if you’re all calm and not eagerly waiting to stir the waters or start a war.