Avoiding Power Struggles in the Classroom Herrell, Chapter 12

These “dogs” are not personally empowered or have feelings of “self worth When the teacher reacts angrily at any type of confrontation, the situation becomes a power struggle These challenges are not personal, so the Teacher should react professionally and appropriately So, in order to avoid power struggles, the teacher must: Disengage from the struggle Interrupt the escalation De-escalate the conflict by using Diversion Time away Cool down Paraphrasing/open ended questions Identify the problem and find a solution Recognize effort and progress

Strategies for reducing Student Anger: Use positive words Use nonverbal strategies Acknowledge the student’s choice Offer face saving route Use humor Label the emotion Examine the cause Individual class exercise Be ready to present in class an example of each Of the strategies to reduce student anger