Angry students
Good way to handle angry students.
Part of my responsibility is to work as tutor and coach in our student success center. Almost every week, I deal with couple of students who are angry for various reasons. Some of them are angry because they think their instructors are not fair to them, or the homework is too hard. First thing I do is to listen to them- let them vent out, it helps them to calm down. Then I always suggest- lets sit down and see what can we do to solve the issue. Most of the time, they are happy in the end. I use the same technique in my class room too.
I had an angry student this year who borderline threatened me. He was older than me, and I think he was angry/embarrassed that I asked him to stop packing his bag and please focus on the lecture. I was right to ask him to do this, but I still keep thinking of what I should've done so that it didn't escalate to the point it did, with him pointing at me and saying angrily "you need to calm your attitude down!" I think one huge problem is that humans in general often are unaware how they come off to other people. While I may have thought I was being fair and non-threatening to this student, he obviously felt differently. I went immediately after class and met with the department head to discuss what happened. This helped a lot. Getting feedback from another teacher, if you've been totally honest about what happened in the situation, is a good way to get a sense of whether you handled it properly.
I always try to calmly listen to their concerns and discuss the issues they're having. If that doesn't work, I off alternatives for others to discuss concerns with the student (administrator, etc).
