Larger schools may have a crisis counselor or guidance counselor to help teachers and students. If the school has a peer mediation program, Maria and Darren can probably deal with their disagreement directly. In other schools, teachers have telephones in their rooms and can simply call a counselor, assistant principal, or even a parent to help students like Maria and Darren. Other teachers feel that getting the students out of the classroom as quickly as possible is the best response to this scenario.
It is important to consider all of the students in the classroom, not just the ones involved in the conflict. Should the teacher sacrifice the education of the other students to deal with these two? George Jennings argues that "You don't want to leave 30 students as you escort two down to the office." Isolating the two parties immediately is a good first step. A teacher could send one student down to the office and then a few minuets later send the other one down.
To calm students down in your classroom, separate them and have each write down his/her own version of what happened. Giving students an opportunity to tell their story may calm them down enough to participate in class. After class, you can address how they handled the conflict or have them talk to a counselor or administrator.
Teacher Kim Freund advises, "The best thing you can do is let the chain of command know what is going on and what the situation is so that you prevent that from happening. Sometimes, we think it's just hearsay and blow it off a little bit." The rumor mill can be very quick and hurtful.
Perhaps it would help to bring Teresa and Tanya together to determine the nature of the problem. In many schools, this responsibility lies with a counselor or assistant principal. George Jennings says, "The best way I have found is to call both students in, set the ground rules and say 'we are going to let you talk and see if you can get it resolved right here and now.' Their friends may be stirring up more than the two girls are." Perhaps the boyfriend needs to be a participant in the discussion as well.
Responses differed on whether to get parents involved. On one hand, the conflict between Teresa and Tanya may carry over to the home and the parents may need notification of the problem. On the other hand, Rob Lugo says "If they are high school students, I would not call the parents - I would treat them as adults."
Whether the parents are involved or not, educators need to be aware of the resources for addressing conflict that exist within the school. Chuck Hibbert says "It is important for new classroom teachers to be very familiar with what the school policy is. How am I going to handle the situation? What services and options are available for me? Don't wait till the situation occurs to go and ask." Be prepared.
This document was last updated 6/30/97 by
Chandra Hawley.
Copyright
1996 Indiana University -
Center for Adolescent Studies, all rights reserved.
Kris Bosworth - Director