Yes ,displacement of anger.All they need is someone to listen to them.it is about the outside pressures.
I have encountered the same experience and managed exactly the same.I really took time to listen and made it clear that my role is to build her up and on her side to achieve her goals.But the situation was resolved with the help of another instructor.
Hi Janet,
We ae human and we miss things. Kudos to you for giving the student's paper a second look to solidify that your grading was on point.
Patricia Scales
I think you should listen to them and allow them to express themself if its not in a violent way. I think that after the student has expressed what they are upset about then this is where we as Instructors should calmly restate our position.
Hi, Edward,
Yes, I have occasionally had a student who thinks that I was too hard grading his/her paper. I ask them to tell me what they want me to look at again, and I do that. When I go back over the paper, I am sure to clearly indicate in writing what I wanted, but did not find in the paper. At that point, the student is satisfied. I have given the paper a second review. Being more specific and expanding on my explanation and rationale helps to help the student feel that I am fair.
Janet
It is my life experience that anger is false but visible emotion. I listen to anger and try to find the fear that drives it. Is it a fear of failing? a fear of not being able to continue financially? or is it a personal fear (which is not my business) such as a divorce, abuse, depression, etc. In each case I try to listen and lead through the anger to the concern about what the student is so emotional about. I am not a psychologist, but sometimes by redirecting some thinking to a positive situation and asking questions can often help relieve the situation.
I will pointedly ask "How can I specifically be of help?" The student may not know and see the vagueness of the anger. Or they may be able to articulate exactly how I can help and, if appropriate and within my ability as an instructor, I can sincerely offer to see what I can do.
Getting students to identify the facts in their answer helps us both to be more clear and constructive in our approach.
Patricia et al. -- Hope all is well. Here are some rules and procedures that have worked for me:
(1) Establish clear, early, explicit ground rules from the get go: Announce and clearly state in the syllabus expectations on side conversations, interruptions while others are talking, tardiness, and other student behaviors. In order to help motivate students to follow ground rules, explain the reasoning behind the rules.
(2) Avoid becoming defensive: Student test the instructor “hot buttons†The more defensive and hostile the instructor becomes when confronted with a disruptive student, the more likely it is that the hostility will escalate.
(c) Confront disruptive dynamics: You can deal with inappropriate behavior by: referring to the established ground rules in the Syllabus; calling attention to the behavior; redirecting the disruptive interaction and confronting the behavior in general.
(d) Observe student non-verbal behavior: Disruptive or inattentive behavior can be a clue to some problem in the class that needs to be addressed.
(e) Do not discuss individual student progress in class: While it can be helpful to offer positive feedback about student progress in general or to discuss areas for improvement, it is not appropriate to discuss one student's performance during class. Sometimes, students become hostile when they receive unfavorable feedback.
Regards, Gustavo.
I listen. Most angry students are not being heard. It's so frustrating for them. My adult son recently moved back in, and I found myself getting angry with him. It was because he wasn't listening. Since I teach adult students I asked myself the question - how would I handle this in my classroom? The answer was obvious. We had a sit down and things are much better. People's voices need to be heard.
Hi Ramon,
Listening is paramount. The angry student will calm themselves if you simply listen to them.
Patricia Scales
I had one angry student incident. It was not pleasant. I had to tell the student to leave the class. Afterwards, me and the student were fine but that was a very hard day.
I have a student who fits into this category and I absolutely listen and empathize with her struggles. I also remind her that she enrolled in this institution and to not lose sight of why she enrolled. I ask her to go back to that thought process and find the reason for being here. Then I ask the student to leave the issues that anger her outside the class similarly the way she would leave her issues outside of the job because there is a job that needs to get done. I think listening is key though for any student in this category.
In many situations, we do not know why the student is angry. The first step is to listen to the student complaint calmly.
One student was behaving very angrily and was not giving up. I tried to be calm and listen to him but he won't stop. I discovered later on that the student was coming to the class from a jail. He was imprisoned for assaulting someone. He was allowed to come to the class.
This example shows that sometimes it is very difficult to know the reason behind the anger. we need to be very calm and careful in dealing with angry students.
Mindful listening and showing concern for their issue is important. This is followed by helping in any way that I can to reduce that hostility. The way in which I would help would depend on the circumstance.
The training hit this on the head of the nail. It is completely true that with good listing skill one can concur even the angriest student. Most of the time the student just wants to be heard and that is the reason that they vent out in public. This is why when you give them a lending ear and help them with what you can in a professional level they usually become your best students.
I have had few angry students in my long career, but I have had one that confounded all my attempts to diffuse her anger and she continued throughout the quarter to try to undermine me and the class. I sought help weekly and she never improved. She disrupts most of her classes, not just mine. She is scheduled to be in another of my classes next quarter. I have decided to bring in administrative help even before she has a chance to disturb the class or show disrespect to me.
Thus far, I have not had too many angry students. I have had hurt and depressed students. Personally, I was an adjunct many years. I did not have a physical office and we could not give out the dept. office phone #.... that was ok and I simply put my email address and cel phone number on my Syllabi. My students only called when they were in trouble [which was rare] or had a question on the take home Midterm or Final project [which involved writing and research]. These calls only came 1-3 days per term and that was fine. If they were in the hospital, some wanted me to come because they were away from home and had a great rapport with me. I have always been one to strive to respect my students. I have had some gray hair for the last 10 years and am very straightforward. They always tell me I remind them of their granny who they deeply love and respect. Hence, when they have been arrested and about to commit suicide, they have called me [often around 1-3am and I HAVE ANSWERED AND REACHED TO SAVE THEM FOR THE DEEP EDGE and then referred them to Mental Health Counseling].
You simply spend more time with them and find more patience for them.
I try to listen, but also be mindful that it doesn't take too much time away from the class or derail the focus of the class. Sometimes it is good to tell the student that you want to know more about their concern and that, so that you can better understand what they are upset with, you would be happy to meet with them outside of class so that it can be discussed further… If these steps aren't sufficient then you can always let the student know that they can also write their digressions down and that they can also write a formal complaint if they feel that all of these measures have been exhausted.
I have asked them to stay after class to discuss the issue in private. That way there is no embarassment in front of the other students. Confrontation is usually less, as they dont feel that they have to prove anything to anybody in the room.
When I get a student that is angry, wether it be from a problem in their personal life or at home, I first try and listen. Sometimes that is all it takes. If that does not work and they seem to esculate during the day, I will have a one on one talk with them. It helps calm them down and it shows them you care.
