The best course is to find out what is making the student angry by listening to his or her complaint. However as a teacher you need to be careful and protect yourself and the other students while in the classroom. If you don't know why the student is angry than you don't know what the student might do. Is the student displaying violent tendencies such as bothering other students or cursing or making threating comments? In that case you need to call security and have the student removed. But if the student is approachable and not displaying any kind of violent behavior then of course as a teacher and mentor you should ask the student what is wrong and listen to their answer and not try to immediately solve their problem. Sometimes they just want to vent a little so listening is the best answer. Finally, you need to make sure you don't over react to the student's angry behavior and waste a lot of time on the student's individual problem because you have a whole class to attend to and the other students might feel slighted that this person is taking up all of the class time. If able, talk with the student after class or during a break or have them set up a meeting with you in your office outside of the classroom.
I try to see if it is personal or professional to determine if I can address it as a group/class
This particular situation was the only female student in a class of 23. It was an evening class when admin. personel were not on campus. I felt that a private conversation, in light of her attitude was not a good call. This incident resulted in the student been dropped from the school, as it was not the first one.
Hi Robert,
I like to always handle the angry student behind closed door whenever possible. I have found that angry people tend to be a lot calmer when they are not surrounded by others.
Patricia
I try to remain calm and composed. I give them the opportunity to "say their piece" and let them vent. If the anger continue I will ask to speak with them in private and ask what they think needs to be done to resolve the issue. If this doesn't calm the problem then I will ussually ask them to leave class until they can compose themselves.
Hi Therese,
I like your pyschological approach! Listening is key as well.
Patricia
Hi Karen,
Never let a student's attitude dictate your attitude. The instructor is to keep their composure/professionalism at all times.
Patricia
When I'm confronted by an angry student I find that speaking in a quiet calm voice and attitude gets me further than getting upset myself.
It my take all the energy I have, but the first thing I try to do when confronted with an angry student is to stay calm.
Understaning that adult students have other thinkgs in their lives besides my class, is a consideration that I give to all of my students. Most of the time an angry student is not angry with me, I'm just the one there for them to vent toward. With this in mind, I try very hard not to take student frustrations personaly. Sometimes an angry student just needs to talk about what is bothering them. I do listen to my students who need to talk. I learned from teaching high school students that becoming defensive or confrontational is always like pouring gasoline on fire. So, I usually wait until there is a point where I can quietly aproach the student and speak to him/her in a calm, reassuring way. Or simply suggesting a short break helps the student walk off anger, collect themselves, and return to class.
Hi Shirley,
Listening is key! You really can learn a lot about an angry student by simply listening to them. Students need to know that we geniunely care.
Patricia
When one is confronted with an angry student it would be of the best interest to listen to the student showing great concern. By taking the time to listen to the student, it allows the student to feel as if you are concern about him/her. On the other hand, it allows you to get a good feel of what type of student you have. From the information you have gathered from this student will help you detect if any inteventions are needed to assist this student.
1. Listen, tell the student you are willing to give him a fair chance.
2. Advise him to document his concerns to you and the program director.
3. Prepare your response, arrange for a meeting with the student and program director.
4. If the student is at fault, explain him the further procedures to be followed. If the student has a genuine concern, review your policy and procedures by discussing the issue at the department meeting. If needed necessary amendments will have to be made to the policy and procedure manual. Review and implement any changes to your course, as life is all about learning.
The first thing you should always do when dealing with an angry student is stop and listen to what they are angry about. Sometmes they are not so much angry at something that you have done or said but mabye they are just overwhelmed with their outside life and trying to deal with school. By listening you show that you do care about them and their education. Also letting them get their anger off their chest it may resolve what issue they have. Sometimes people just need to vent out their frustrations. If they are still angry you should set up a time to meet with them to further discuss what is bothering them. Have them write down questions and specific things they are having issues with, this way you let them know that you want to resolve their issues but it gives them a chance to really think over what they are angry about. Also ask them to come up with some things that they think will help the situation and then you can compare them to what action plan you have created. Make sure that you follow up with that student until their issues are resolved.
Hi Richard,
Listening is key when it comes to angry students. Sometimes they simply need a sounding board.
Patricia
Having raised my own children, I seem to have the ability to quell the angry student with logic. However, I have encountered the problem where the angry student becomes the entitled student. I explain that the student can achieve. At the end of the discussion, I believe that I have conquered the issue. Once, this resulted in the student believing that they had been promised the grade when I thought I had made it clear that they would get the grade as long as they do the work.
Yes, speaking of, I have a former student coming in tomorrow who has failed her CPC-A exam twice and apparently is blaming her instructors. I plan to listen briefly and then nip that in the bud with the news that three out of four of our recent graduating class passed it on the first try.
Listen to him/her what he has to say and why that person is angry.
Hi Annabelle,
Listening is key! Sometimes angry students simply need to get things off of their chest.
Patricia
When confronted with an angry student I make sure that I first validate their concerns and assure them I will do my best to help; sometimes the actual reasons for the anger may have nothing to do with class but they still need to be heard. So the first thing I do is listen...
