Power of the Story & More on Frustration-Aggression

Before I pick up on yesterday's topic, Frustration-Aggression-Displacement, I want to respond to Tyler's recent comment on teacher confidence. You can read his comment and his story for yourself on the right, and it's well worth reading because it elegantly illustrates the important point of preparedness.

I'll now elaborate on how essential it is that teachers tell their stories, as Tyler did. We don't really need to solve each others' classroom management/ discipline problems, actually we can't solve anyone else's problem because we haven't lived that problem (a concept we'll discuss in later blog). We simply need to share our stories, think of it as a casual form of action research. Stories are narrative and narrative can become data and that's useful. You take it, draw your own conclusions, and apply as necessary (at the very least, teacher stories are almost always interesting). So tell your stories - they're fairly useless to the profession if you keep them to yourself.

So, back to Frustration-Aggression-Displacement (F-A-D) and the role it plays in classroom meltdowns. Let's focus on secondary students , they have so much on their minds that your content may not always find its way in on a regular basis. Frustration can result from issues inside the classroom or they can bring it in with them. The frustrations you cannot prevent or address early on can become so great that aggression is the student's only outlet. That aggression then gets dumped (displaced) on you or another student or students. Don't freak. As quickly as possible, learn where the frustration came from and dive right in and intervene. That doesn't mean right then and there in the classroom, it does mean that day and the next until you get the job done.

More on this topic throughout the year. In the meantime reflect on how you react anytime you are in a pressure cooker situation. How do you handle your own frustration? What makes you "blow up"? It's good to know because you don't get to "blow up" anymore—you're the teacher.

Breathe deeply and do so often.

Stef