Dealing with Angry Students
1-Remain calm and speak in a controlled manner.
2-Try not to take it personally.
3-Acknowledge that the student is angry.
4- Tell the student that if they calm down it will be easier for you to help them Empathize with the student’s frustration, while explaining the University policy, rule or requirement. Empathic statement examples include, “I can see that you’re upset by this†or “This feels like it’s really important to you.
5- Let them know what you CAN do, not what you CAN’T do.
6-Recognize that, while for some students empathy will transform the situation, for others, nothing you say or do will get through to them.
7-If you feel like you can’t respond to the student’s needs, offer to arrange for them to meet with a supervisor. This may encourage them to “cool down†before addressing the issue again.
8-Afterward, be sure to debrief with a colleague or supervisor and attend to your stress and your needs
Thank you. Very good point of view on dealing with angry students..
Hi Sara,
This procedure works well with any angry person. Listening fully to the angry person is key.
Patricia
Hi Amy,
I know it happens, but anger should never be ignored. The worst thing to have happen is to have anger to escalate. When one is angry, listening to the angry individual is key!
Patricia
Good suggestions. I will keep them in mind in case I ever have to implement them. From personal experience, I find that most hostility blows over. If it does not, there might be validity to the anger. It is just not appropriate to display it. One might want to investigate and correct the reason if need be so that the anger does not turn to hostility or worse, action. Sometimes when one is put in a polluted environment for a long period of time, the anger and hostility grows especially if the authority has ignored a serious problem. One example I can think of is a sexually harassing environment that has been brought to administrations awareness but they continue to ignore and or place blame on the victim. I have seen this at a prior place of employment.
This is a very good step by step procedure to dealing with not only an angry student but also a colleague.
