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Principals’ Social and Emotional Competence:A Key Factor for Creating Caring Schools

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Principals’ Social and Emotional Competence:A Key Factor for Creating Caring Schools

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GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING HIGH-QUALITY SCHOOL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS

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GUIDE FOR DEVELOPING HIGH-QUALITY SCHOOL EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANS

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State of New Jersey, Department of Education School Preparedness and Emergency Planning

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State of New Jersey, Department of Education School Preparedness and Emergency Planning

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The New Jersey Department of Education takes proactive measures to protect the safety and security of all our students and staff members. Through the Department's Office of School Preparedness & Emergency Planning (OSPEP) the goal is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the school population by providing direct support to New Jersey's schools in establishing safe and secure school environments and increasing their capacity to respond in the event of crises.

The unit provides support to district and school leaders in assisting with the establishment and maintenance of a school safety and security plan that addresses all hazards and follows the phases of crisis management planning - mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. To achieve these goals, the staff of the OSPEP works in conjunction with the New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.

Through the OSPEP, the NJDOE is committed to providing information and assistance to both public and nonpublic schools on topics such as: site-specific vulnerability assessments, crisis response, contingency and continuity plans, target hardening, mitigation measures and communication protocols.

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office of school preparedness & emergency planning (ospep)

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Office of School Preparedness & Emergency Planning (OSPEP)

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The New Jersey Department of Education takes proactive measures to protect the safety and security of all our students and staff members. Through the Department's Office of School Preparedness & Emergency Planning (OSPEP) the goal is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the school population by providing direct support to New Jersey's schools in establishing safe and secure school environments and increasing their capacity to respond in the event of crises.

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Lenape Valley Student Handbook/Code of Conduct

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Lenape Valley Student Handbook/Code of Conduct

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Parent/Student Handbook / 2020-2021 Parent/Student Handbook

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Paterson Public Schools' Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Policy

Paterson Public Schools' New Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Policy Safe, caring, and orderly schools is one of this district's top priorities. In January 2011, Governor Christie signed the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights" and in doing so, New Jersey now has the toughest anti-bullying law in the nation. This new law is intended to strengthen the standards and procedures for preventing, reporting, investigating, and responding to incidents of harassment, intimidation, and bullying of students that occur in school and off-school premises.

New Jersey's anti-bullying law specifically includes protection for groups defined by race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical, or sensory disability, or by another other distinguishing characteristic. It is important to note that the State's new definition for Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB), also includes "electronic communication" as cyber-bullying, or bullying via text messages or social networking sites, has become a growing problem in schools throughout the country.

Since students learn by example, school administrators, faculty, staff and volunteers need to recognize that school staff members have the public's trust and confidence to protect the well-being of all children in our school district. We want our students to know that diversity is valued, and that stereotyping and harassment are not acceptable behaviors. Our students and staff are strongly encouraged to work together to prevent acts of harassment of any kind. Please note that students or staff who are found to have engaged in acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying will be subject to discipline.

If a student believes he or she has been subjected to harassment or a hostile environment, the student is encouraged to report this to the school principal, administrator or the school's designated Anti-bullying specialist. The Paterson Public School District is committed to prompt follow-up to any such report and the district will conduct a full investigation. Results of this investigation will be shared with the students' parents or guardians.

Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Resources

Nicole Y. Payne

District HIB Coordinator
Office: (973) 321-2404
Email: npayne@paterson.k12.nj.us

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Paterson School District - Paterson, New Jersey -curriculum, k-12, elementary school, middle school, high school, calendar, events

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Paterson Public Schools' New Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying Policy Safe, caring, and orderly schools is one of this district's top priorities. In January 2011, Governor Christie signed the "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights" and in doing so, New Jersey now has the toughest anti-bullying law in the nation.

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Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying Policy

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The board of education prohibits acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of a student. A safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Harassment, intimidation, or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its pupils in a safe and disciplined environment. Since students learn by example, school administrators, faculty, staff and volunteers should be commended for demonstrating appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation, or bullying. Please refer to the "Anti-Bullying" supporting documents located in the left-hand side of this page for more information.

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Anti Bullying Bill of Rights Act - East Orange School District

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The board of education prohibits acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of a student. A safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Harassment, intimidation, or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its pupils in a safe and disciplined environment.

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Section Section Title

A. Policy Statement

C. Student Expectations

D. Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Actions

F. Anti-Bullying Coordinator, Anti-Bullying Specialist,

and School Safety/School Climate Team(s)

Intimidation, or Bullying

I. Reprisal or Retaliation Prohibited

J. Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Action

for False Accusation

Publication and Dissemination

and Prevention Programs

Reevaluation, Reassessment and Review

N. Reports to Board of Education and New Jersey

Department of Education

O. School and District Grading Requirements

P. Reports to Law Enforcement

Q. Collective Bargaining Agreements and Individual

R. Students with Disabilities

S. Approved Private Schools for Students with

Disabilities (APSSD)

A. Policy Statement

The Board of Education prohibits acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying of a student. A safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Harassment, intimidation, or bullying, like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its students in a safe and disciplined environment. Harassment, intimidation, or bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior that may involve a real or perceived power imbalance. Since students learn by example, school administrators, faculty, staff and volunteers should be commended for demonstrating appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation, or bullying.

For the purposes of this Policy, the term "parent," pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-1.3, means the natural parent(s) or adoptive parent(s), legal guardian(s), foster parent(s), or parent surrogate(s) of a student. Where parents are separated or divorced, "parent" means the person or agency which has legal custody of the student, as well as the natural or adoptive parent(s) of the student, provided such parental rights have not been terminated by a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

1. Is reasonably perceived as being motivated by either any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory disability, or by any other distinguishing characteristic;

2. Takes place on school property, at any school-sponsored function, on a school bus, or off school grounds, as provided for in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15.3;

3. Substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school or the rights of other students; and that

a. A reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, that the act(s) will have the effect of physically or emotionally harming a student or damaging the student's property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to his/her person or damage to his/her property; or

b. Has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of students; or

c. Creates a hostile educational environment for the student by interfering with a student's education or by severely or pervasively causing physical or emotional harm to the student.

"Electronic communication" means a communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to: a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager.

C. Student Expectations

The Board expects students to conduct themselves in keeping with their levels of development, maturity and demonstrated capabilities with proper regard for the rights and welfare of other students and school staff, the educational purpose underlying all school activities and the care of school facilities and equipment consistent with the Code of Student Conduct.

The Board believes that standards for student behavior must be set cooperatively through interaction among the students, parents, school employees, school administrators, school volunteers, and community representatives, producing an atmosphere that encourages students to grow in self-discipline. The development of this atmosphere requires respect for self and others, as well as for school district and community property on the part of students, staff, and community members.

Students are expected to behave in a way that creates a supportive learning environment. The Board believes the best discipline is self-imposed, and it is the responsibility of staff to use instances of violations of the Code of Student Conduct as opportunities to help students learn to assume and accept responsibility for their behavior and the consequences of their behavior. Staff members who interact with students shall apply best practices designed to prevent student conduct problems and foster students' abilities to grow in self-discipline.

1. Student responsibilities (e.g., requirements for students to conform to reasonable standards of socially accepted behavior; respect the person, property and rights of others; obey constituted authority; and respond to those who hold that authority);

2. Appropriate recognition for positive reinforcement for good conduct, self-discipline, and good citizenship;

3. Student rights; and

4. Sanctions and due process for violations of the Code of Student Conduct.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15(a) and N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(a)1, the district has involved a broad-base of school and community members, including parents, students, instructional staff, student support services staff, school administrators, and school volunteers, as well as community organizations, such as faith-based, health and human service, business and law enforcement, in the development of this Policy. Based on locally determined and accepted core ethical values adopted by the Board, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1(a)2, the Board must develop guidelines for student conduct pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1. These guidelines for student conduct will take into consideration the developmental ages of students, the severity of the offenses and students' histories of inappropriate behaviors, and the mission and physical facilities of the individual school(s) in the district. This Policy requires all students in the district to adhere to the rules established by the school district and to submit to the remedial and consequential measures that are appropriately assigned for infractions of these rules.

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1, the Superintendent must annually provide to students and their parents the rules of the district regarding student conduct. Provisions shall be made for informing parents whose primary language is other than English.

D. Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Actions

Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Actions - Students

Factors for Determining Consequences - Student Considerations

1. Age, developmental and maturity levels of the parties involved and their relationship to the school district;

2. Degrees of harm;

3. Surrounding circumstances;

4. Nature and severity of the behavior(s);

5. Incidences of past or continuing patterns of behavior;

6. Relationships between the parties involved; and

7. Context in which the alleged incidents occurred.

Factors for Determining Consequences - School Considerations

1. School culture, climate, and general staff management of the learning environment;

2. Social, emotional, and behavioral supports;

3. Student-staff relationships and staff behavior toward the student;

4. Family, community, and neighborhood situation; and

5. Alignment with Board policy and regulations/procedures.

Factors for Determining Remedial Measures

1. Life skill deficiencies;

2. Social relationships;

3. Strengths;

4. Talents;

5. Interests;

6. Hobbies;

7. Extra-curricular activities;

8. Classroom participation;

9. Academic performance; and

Environmental

1. School culture;

2. School climate;

4. General staff management of classrooms or other educational environments;

5. Staff ability to prevent and manage difficult or inflammatory situations;

6. Social-emotional and behavioral supports;

7. Social relationships;

8. Community activities;

9. Neighborhood situation; and

10. Family situation.

Examples of Consequences

1. Admonishment;

2. Temporary removal from the classroom;

3. Deprivation of privileges;

4. Classroom or administrative detention;

5. Referral to disciplinarian;

6. In-school suspension;

7. Out-of-school suspension (short-term or long-term);

8. Reports to law enforcement or other legal action; or

9. Expulsion.

Examples of Remedial Measures

Personal - Student Exhibiting Bullying Behavior

1. Develop a behavioral contract with the student. Ensure the

student has a voice in the outcome and can identify ways

he or she can solve the problem and change behaviors;

2. Meet with parents to develop a family agreement to ensure

the parent and the student understand school rules and expectations;

3. Explain the long-term negative consequences

intimidation, and bullying behavior continues;

5. Meet with school counselor, school social worker, or school

psychologist to decipher mental health issues

(e.g., what is happening and why?);

6. Develop a learning plan that includes consequences

and skill building;

7. Consider wrap-around support services or after-school

programs or services;

8. Provide social skill training, such as impulse control,

anger management, developing empathy, and problem solving;

9. Arrange for an apology, preferably written;

10. Require a reflective essay to ensure the student understands

the impact of his or her actions on others;

11. Have the student research and teach a lesson to the class

about bullying, empathy, or a similar topic;

12. Arrange for restitution

(i.e., compensation, reimbursement, amends, repayment),

particularly when personal items were

damaged or stolen;

13. Explore age-appropriate restorative

(i.e., healing, curative, recuperative) practices; and

14. Schedule a follow-up conference with the student.

Personal - Target/Victim

1. Meet with a trusted staff member to explore the

student's feelings about the incident;

2. Develop a plan to ensure the student's emotional and

physical safety at school;

3. Have the student meet with the school counselor or school

social worker to ensure he or she does not feel responsible

for the bullying behavior;

4. Ask students to log behaviors in the future;

5. Help the student develop skills and strategies for resisting

bullying; and

6. Schedule a follow-up conference with the student.

Parents, Family, and Community

1. Develop a family agreement;

2. Refer the family for family counseling; and

3. Offer parent education workshops related to bullying and social-emotional learning.

Examples of Remedial Measures - Environmental

(Classroom, School Building, or School District)

1. Analysis of existing data to identify bullying issues

and concerns;

2. Use of findings from school surveys

(e.g., school climate surveys);

3. Focus groups;

4. Mailings - postal and email;

5. Cable access television;

6. School culture change;

7. School climate improvement;

8. Increased supervision in "hot spots"

(e.g., locker rooms, hallways, playgrounds, cafeterias,

school perimeters, buses);

9. Adoption of evidence-based systemic bullying

prevention practices and programs;

10. Training for all certificated and non-certificated staff

to teach effective prevention and intervention skills

and strategies;

11. Professional development plans for involved staff;

12. Participation of parents and other community members

and organizations (e.g., Parent Teacher Associations,

Parent Teacher Organizations) in the educational

program and in problem-solving bullying issues;

13. Formation of professional learning communities to

address bullying problems;

14. Small or large group presentations for fully addressing

the actions and the school's response to the actions, in

the context of the acceptable student and staff member

behavior and the consequences of such actions;

15. School policy and procedure revisions;

16. Modifications of schedules;

17. Adjustments in hallway traffic;

18. Examination and adoption of educational practices for

actively engaging students in the learning process and in

bonding students to pro-social institutions and people;

19. Modifications in student routes or patterns traveling to

and from school;

20. Supervision of student victims before and after school,

including school transportation;

21. Targeted use of monitors (e.g., hallway, cafeteria,

locker room, playground, school perimeter, bus);

22. Targeted use of teacher aides;

23. Disciplinary action, including dismissal, for school

staff who contributed to the problem;

24. Supportive institutional interventions, including

participation in the Intervention and Referral Services Team,

pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:16-8;

25. Parent conferences;

26. Family counseling;

and bullying response plan;

28. Behavioral expectations communicated to students

and parents;

29. Participation of the entire student body in problem-solving

30. Recommendations of a student behavior or ethics council;

31. Participation in peer support groups;

32. School transfers; and

33. Involvement of law enforcement officers, including

school resource officers and juvenile officers or other

appropriate legal action.

Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Actions - Adults

Target/Victim Support

Sufficient safety measures should be undertaken to ensure the victims' physical and social-emotional well-being and their ability to learn in a safe, supportive, and civil educational environment.

1. Teacher aides;

2. Hallway and playground monitors;

3. Partnering with a school leader;

4. Provision of an adult mentor;

5. Assignment of an adult "shadow" to help protect the student;

6. Seating changes;

7. Schedule changes;

8. School transfers;

9. Before- and after-school supervision;

10. School transportation supervision;

11. Counseling; and

12. Treatment or therapy.

The Board of Education requires the Principal at each school to be responsible for receiving complaints alleging violations of this Policy. All Board members, school employees, and volunteers and contracted service providers who have contact with students are required to verbally report alleged violations of this Policy to the Principal or the Principal's designee on the same day when the individual witnessed or received reliable information regarding any such incident. All Board members, school employees, and volunteers and contracted service providers who have contact with students, also shall submit a report in writing to the Principal within two school days of the verbal report.

Students, parents, and visitors are encouraged to report alleged violations of this Policy to the Principal on the same day when the individual witnessed or received reliable information regarding any such incident.

The district may consider every mechanism available to simplify reporting, including standard reporting forms and/or web-based reporting mechanisms. For anonymous reporting, the district may consider locked boxes located in areas of a school where reports can be submitted without fear of being observed.

F. Anti-Bullying Coordinator, Anti-Bullying Specialist, and School Safety/School Climate Team(s)

1. The Superintendent shall appoint a district Anti-Bullying Coordinator. The Superintendent shall make every effort to appoint an employee of the school district to this position.

The district Anti-Bullying Coordinator shall:

The school Anti-Bullying Specialist shall:

a. Chair the School Safety/School Climate Team as provided in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-21;

The School Safety/School Climate Team shall:

Notwithstanding any provision of N.J.S.A. 18A:37-21 to the contrary, a parent who is a member of the School Safety/School Climate Team shall not participate in the activities of the team set forth in 3. a., b., or c. above or any other activities of the team which may compromise the confidentiality of a student, consistent with, at a minimum, the requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232 and 34 CFR Part 99), N.J.A.C. 6A:32-7, Student Records and N.J.A.C. 6A:14-2.9, Student Records.

A Board hearing shall be held within ten business days of receipt of the request for a Board hearing. If the preliminary determination, upon review of the facts presented in the reported incident or complaint, is to continue with the harassment, intimidation, and bullying investigation, the investigation shall be completed in accordance with N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15.b.(6) and this Policy.]

The investigation shall be initiated by the Principal or the Principal's designee within one school day of the verbal report of the incident. The investigation shall be conducted by the school Anti-Bullying Specialist in coordination with the Principal. The Principal may appoint additional personnel who are not school Anti-Bullying Specialists to assist with the investigation. Investigations or complaints concerning adult conduct shall not be investigated by a member of the same bargaining unit as the individual who is the subject of the investigation. An investigation concerning a staff member shall not be conducted by a staff member who is supervised by the staff member being investigated or who is an administrator in the district. The Principal or designee, in consultation with the Superintendent or designee, will appoint a staff member to complete these investigations.

The investigation shall be completed and the written findings submitted to the Principal as soon as possible, but not later than ten school days from the date of the written report of the incident. Should information regarding the reported incident and the investigation be received after the end of the ten-day period, the school Anti-Bullying Specialist shall amend the original report of the results of the investigation to ensure there is an accurate and current record of the facts and activities concerning the reported incident.

The Superintendent shall report the results of each investigation to the Board of Education no later than the date of the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting following the completion of the investigation. The Superintendent's report shall include information on any consequences imposed under the Code of Student Conduct, any services provided, training established, or other action taken or recommended by the Superintendent.

A parent may request a hearing before the Board of Education after receiving the written information about the investigation. Any request for such a hearing shall be filed with the Board Secretary no later than sixty calendar days after the written information is provided to the parents. The hearing shall be held within ten business days of the request. The Board of Education shall conduct the hearing in executive session, pursuant to the Open Public Meetings Act (N.J.S.A. 10:4-1 et seq.), to protect the confidentiality of the students. At the hearing, the Board may hear testimony from and consider information provided by the school Anti-Bullying Specialist and others, as appropriate, regarding the incident, the findings from the investigation of the incident, recommendations for consequences or services, and any programs instituted to reduce such incidents, prior to rendering a determination.

At the regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting following its receipt of the Superintendent's report on the results of the investigations to the Board or following a hearing in executive session, the Board shall issue a decision, in writing, to affirm, reject, or modify the Superintendent's decision. The Board's decision may be appealed to the Commissioner of Education, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 6A:3, Controversies and Disputes, no later than ninety days after issuance of the Board of Education's decision.

The Board shall establish a range of responses to harassment, intimidation, and bullying incidents and the Principal and the Anti-Bullying Specialist shall appropriately apply these responses once an incident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying is confirmed. The Superintendent shall respond to confirmed harassment, intimidation, and bullying, according to the parameters described in this Policy. The range of ways in which school staff will respond shall include an appropriate combination of counseling, support services, intervention services, and other programs. The Board recognizes that some acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying may be isolated incidents requiring the school officials respond appropriately to the individual(s) committing the acts. Other acts may be so serious or parts of a larger pattern of harassment, intimidation, or bullying that they require a response either at the classroom, school building, or school district level or by law enforcement officials.

For everyincident of harassment, intimidation, or bullying, the school officials mustrespond appropriately to the individual who committed the act. The range of responses to confirmed harassment, intimidation, or bullying acts should include individual, classroom, school, or district responses, as appropriate to the findings from each incident. Examples of responses that apply to each of these categories are provided below:

1. Individual responses can include consistent and appropriate positive behavioral interventions (e.g., peer mentoring, short-term counseling, life skills groups) intended to remediate the problem behaviors.

I. Reprisal or Retaliation Prohibited

Examples of consequences and remedial measures for students who engage in reprisal or retaliation are listed and described in the Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Actions section of this Policy.

Examples of consequences for a Board member who engages in reprisal or retaliation may include, but not be limited to: reprimand, legal action, and other action authorized by statute or administrative code. Remedial measures may include, but not be limited to: counseling and professional development.

J. Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Action for False Accusation

The Superintendent shall ensure that notice of this Policy appears in the student handbook and all other publications of the school district that set forth the comprehensive rules, procedures, and standards for schools within the school district.

The Superintendent shall post the name, school phone number, school address, and school email address of the district Anti-Bullying Coordinator on the home page of the school district's website. Each Principal shall post the name, school phone number, address, and school email address of both the Anti-Bullying Specialist and the district Anti-Bullying Coordinator on the home page of each school's website.

N. Reports to Board of Education and New Jersey Department of Education

O. School and District Grading Requirements

Each school and each district shall receive a grade for the purpose of assessing their efforts to implement policies and programs consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18:37-13 et seq. The grade received by a school and the district shall be posted on the homepage of the school's website and the district's website in accordance with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 18A:17-46. A link to the report that was submitted by the Superintendent to the Department of Education shall also be available on the school district's website. This information shall be posted on the websites within ten days of receipt of the grade for each school and the district.

P. Reports to Law Enforcement

Q. Collective Bargaining Agreements and Individual Contracts

Nothing in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13.1 et seq. may be construed as affecting the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement or individual contract of employment in effect on the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act's effective date (January 5, 2011). N.J.S.A. 18A:37-30.

The Board of Education prohibits the employment of or contracting for school staff positions with individuals whose criminal history record check reveals a record of conviction for a crime of bias intimidation or conspiracy to commit or attempt to commit a crime of bias intimidation.

R. Students with Disabilities

Nothing contained in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13.1 et seq. may alter or reduce the rights of a student with a disability with regard to disciplinary actions or to general or special education services and supports. N.J.S.A. 18A:37-32.

S. Approved Private Schools for Students with Disabilities (APSSD)

N.J.S.A. 18A:37-13 through 18A:37-32

N.J.A.C. 6A:16-7.1 et seq.; 6A:16-7.9 et seq.

Memorandum - New Jersey Commissioner of Education - Guidance for Schools on Implementing the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act - December 16, 2011

Revised: 15 August 2011

Revised: 15 September 2011

Revised: 21 November 2013

Revised: 23 August 2018

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Section Section Title A. Policy Statement C. Student Expectations D. Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Actions F. Anti-Bullying Coordinator, Anti-Bullying Specialist, and School Safety/School Climate Team(s) Intimidation, or Bullying I. Reprisal or Retaliation Prohibited J. Consequences and Appropriate Remedial Action for False Accusation Publication and Dissemination and Prevention Programs Reevaluation, Reassessment and Review N.

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Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying are not tolerated in Scotch Plains - Fanwood Schools. At each building, there are procedures in place for addressing any and all reports of harassment, bullying and/or intimidation. In addition, there are Anti-Bullying Specialists appointed to work with all parties to ensure that our schools are a safe and nurturing place to learn and grow.

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Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) / Overview

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Excellence, Opportunity and Affirmation For Every Child

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HIB adopted at the 5-22-12 board mtg FINAL-Jersey City

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Sparta Township School Anti-Bullying Webpage

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Sparta Township School Anti-Bullying Webpage

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Student Support Services / Harassment, Intimidation, & Bullying (HIB)

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The Sparta Board of Education believes that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards. Since students learn by example, school administrators, faculty, staff, and volunteers are required to demonstrate appropriate behavior, treating others with civility and respect, and refusing to tolerate harassment, intimidation or bullying.

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District Anti-Bullying Coordinator
Mr. Joseph Cappello, MSW, SAC
325 Franklin Avenue
Nutley, New Jersey 07110
(973) 661-8989
jcappello@nutleyschools.org

The "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act" enacted by the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly requires that each district post staff contact information, policies, and other information regarding harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). The following information is intended to serve as a resource for parents/guardians, students and staff.

Board Policies related to HIB:

Policy 5512 Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying

Regulation 5512 Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying

Policy 5600 Pupil Discipline / Code of Conduct

Regulation 5600 Pupil Discipline / Code of Conduct

HIB Presentations:

Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Definition

"Harassment, intimidation, or bullying" means any gesture, any written, verbal or physical act, or any electronic communication, as defined in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-14, whether it be a single incident or a series of incidents that:

Is reasonably perceived as being motivated by either any actual or perceived characteristic, such as race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or a mental, physical or sensory disability; or by any other distinguishing characteristic;

Takes place on school property, at any school-sponsored function, on a school bus, or off school grounds, as provided for in N.J.S.A. 18A:37-15.3,

Substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school or the rights of other students; and that

a. A reasonable person should know, under the circumstances, that the act(s) will have the effect of physically or emotionally harming a student or damaging the student's property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm to his/her person or damage to his/her property; or

b. Has the effect of insulting or demeaning any student or group of students; or

c. Creates a hostile educational environment for the student by interfering with a student's education or by severely or pervasively causing physical or emotional harm to the student.

Schools are required to address harassment, intimidation, and bullying occurring off school grounds, when there is a nexus between the harassment, intimidation, and bullying and the school (e.g., the harassment, intimidation, or bullying substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school or the rights of other students).

"Electronic communication" means a communication transmitted by means of an electronic device, including, but not limited to: a telephone, cellular phone, computer, or pager.

Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Grade:

The New Jersey Department of Education has released school and district HIB grades as per the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights (ABR) Act. The Nutley Public Schools has posted its Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act grades to the district's HIB webpage, and to each individual school's webpage. These grades were determined by a district self-assessment released by the New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Joseph Cappello, the Anti-Bullying Coordinator, at 973-661-8989.
2018-2019 Self-Assessment 2017-2018 Self-Assessment 2016-2017 Self-Assessment 2015-2016 Self-Assessment
NJDOE Websites and Resources

New Jersey Department of Education Keeping Our Kids Safe, Healthy and in School
www.state.nj.us/education/students/safety/behavior/hib

www.state.nj.us/education/students/safety/behavior/hib/tutorials/

Guidance for Schools on Implementing the Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act
www.nj.gov/education/students/safety/behavior/hib/guidance.pdf

Cyberbullying Research Center
www.cyberbullying.us

Garden State Equality
www.gardenstateequality.org

Stomp Out Bullying
www.stompoutbullying.org

United States Dept. of Health & Human Services in partnership with the Deptartment of Education and Department of Justice
www.stopbullying.gov

Anti-Bullying Coordinator
Joseph Cappello
325 Franklin Avenue
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 661-8989
jcappello@nutleyschools.org

Anti-Bullying Specialist
Nutley High School
Lisa Cassilli
300 Franklin Avenue
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 661-8997
lcassilli@nutleyschools.org

Anti-Bullying Specialist
John H. Walker Middle School
Alisa Gennace
325 Franklin Avenue
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 661-8875
agennace@nutleyschools.org

Anti-Bullying Specialist
Lincoln School
Nancy Thunell
301 Harrison Street
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 661-8502
nthunell@nutleyschools.org

Anti-Bullying Specialist
Radcliffe School
Lauren Alfaro
379 Bloomfield Avenue
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 661-8820
lalfaro@nutleyschools.org

Anti-Bullying Specialist
Spring Garden School
Nancy Thunell
59 South Spring Garden Avenue
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 320-8384
nthunell@nutleyschools.org

Anti-Bullying Specialist
Washington School
Kelli Cerniglia
155 Washington Avenue
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 320-8383
kcerniglia@nutleyschools.org

Anti-Bullying Specialist
Yantacaw School
Lauren Alfaro
20 Yantacaw Place
Nutley, NJ 07110
(973) 661-8892
lalfaro@nutleyschools.org

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Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying | Nutley Public School District

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District Anti-Bullying Coordinator Mr. Joseph Cappello, MSW, SAC 325 Franklin Avenue Nutley, New Jersey 07110 (973) 661-8989 jcappello@nutleyschools.org The "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act" enacted by the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly requires that each district post staff contact information, policies, and other information regarding harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB).

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Chatham Middle School HIB Resources and Webpage

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Chatham Middle School HIB Resources and Webpage

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Prevention of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying / Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (HIB)

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Prevention of Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying

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The PRIDE program is an alternate education program servicing students in grades ninth through twelfth. PRIDE offers pertinent supports to assist in appropriate behavioral and emotional regulation of our students.

As high school is a vital part of a child's life, PRIDE understands the importance of an educational setting within the least restrictive environment. This program is within the Bloomfield High School building, allowing students to maintain their already established friendships, make new connections, and attend school with their peers.

PRIDE provides therapeutic support with goal-oriented strategies, behavioral techniques, and cognitive restructuring. This program assists in the reinforcement of positive communication skills, social etiquette, interpersonal and interpersonal relationship building, and academic success. Through behavior management, progress monitoring, therapeutic components, and motivational strategies, the students in this program gain a sense of competence, belongingness, and PRIDE.

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The PRIDE program is an alternate education program servicing students in grades ninth through twelfth. PRIDE offers pertinent supports to assist in appropriate behavioral and emotional regulation of our students. As high school is a vital part of a child's life, PRIDE understands the importance of an educational setting within the least restrictive environment.

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Center for the Professional Education of Teachers

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By ROBERTA LENGER KANG

What do you do?
I'm a teacher.
Oh wow, I could never do that! [long pause] It must be so rewarding, though.

I've had this conversation at least a hundred times, maybe more. There's the same rhythm of awkward pauses each time, where the other person looks to say something positive, and I recall small, not-so-rewarding incidents that have happened over my teaching career.

Yes, I do find my work in education, both in and out of the classroom, to be extremely rewarding when I focus on the big picture. But on a day-to-day basis, teaching can be a struggle. It's a struggle because, contrary to popular belief, teachers do not teach Math or Science, or History - they teach students. From tiny to tall, students are actual human beings with independent identities, personal autonomy, and a will of their own. The concept of "controlling your class" is both inaccurate and impossible. On any given day, a highly effective teacher can facilitate, guide, support, foster, and nurture a positive learning environment - but we can never control it. Subsequently, creating classroom culture or managing student behaviors is a major stressor for teachers at all levels.

Many teachers maintain the myth of classroom control and as a result, they may struggle to embrace student-centered instructional strategies like peer-to-peer discussions, group work, and student choice on tasks. The more fear we have, the more likely we are to become hyper-vigilant micro-managers in the classroom, which can sometimes magnify small issues and escalate conflicts, creating disruptive and potentially dangerous power dynamics that can block off relationships and erode trust between teachers and students. None of which feels rewarding, I promise.

As teachers, we have a lot of power and responsibility to set the tone in our own classrooms and create a culture of learning that empowers students to engage in the lessons with respect for themselves and others. Here are three ways we can de-escalate conflicts and maximize positive learning opportunities for students.

Don't take it personally

The first thing we want to remember is that all of our students are actual human beings who typically live 23 hrs and 10 minutes a day without us. When they enter into our classroom after a bad morning, feeling hungry, distracted, or any number of other emotions, it's easy for us to take their words and actions as a personal attack. This can put us on defense, or worse - on the offense.

Before reacting, we will benefit from asking a few simple questions that will help us to strategize our next steps.
​

What's happening? When 25-30+ students enter the classroom, it's impossible to see and hear everything that's happening to every student. Before we make assumptions about who's doing what, we can take a moment to articulate what's happening, for ourselves and our students. Can we name the negative behaviors we want to see eliminated? Can we name the positive behaviors we want to see implemented?

What is the catalyst? Can we determine what initiated their behavior, whether it's something that originated within our class, or something may be happening outside of the classroom?

What action should I take? When asking this question, we have to check out motivation and goals. It's easy to fall into the trap of seeking punishment as payback for our personal offense. This often results in a power struggle that distracts further from the learning process and distances us from our students. Instead, we must set aside any personal offense we may have experienced and focus on helping the student to positively engage in the learning community.

Eliminate sarcasm, passive aggressive, or threatening language from communication with students, for example: "Thanks for showing up, finally" for students who are late to class; "Late again, hope it was worth it"; or "If you come late to class again you'll be hearing from me at home!"

​Any way we slice it, these tactics are disruptive, escalating moves that are more likely to push students further away rather than help them reframe their own behavior.

​

​

Focus on positive and personalized interactions with students that describe the desired behavior and the purpose of what we're doing. Using the same lateness example from above, alternatively we can say things like: "I'm glad you're here, we're on page 52"; "Go ahead and get started on your assignment but let's check in later about being on time to class"; or "I just want to remind you about our class policy for being on time. If you're late again, according to the policy, I'll need to call home to strategize a plan with your family. Let's see what we can do before we get to that stage, how does that sound?"

​If we are more focused on helping students get to the goal of learning, then we can let go of the idea of winning when it comes to creating a positive classroom culture.

Praise publicly

Even in the smallest classes, teachers are outnumbered. As a result, we're hyper-focused on distracting, disruptive, disrespectful, and defiant behaviors and we're far more likely to address everything that's going wrong, rather than what's actually going right. Often, we're addressing negative classroom behaviors in front of the whole class because it's more efficient to say, "Brian, stop talking" from the front of the room than it is to walk to the back of the class and talk with Brian privately in the middle of a lesson. But culture is shaped primarily by the narrative, and as teachers, we have the privileged opportunity to set up a positive narrative in our space. By eliminating public criticism, and praising publicly instead, we have the power to create positive momentum, spotlight all the students who are doing the "right" thing, and set clear expectations for what students are supposed to do.

​Eliminate public criticism of individual students, addressing behavior concerns to the whole class, and displaying power/authority by ejecting students from class based on non-violent behaviors. We want to be mindful that while these may be efficient ways to deal with unwanted student behaviors, each of these methods belittles and publicly shames individual students in front of their peers, and this action is more likely to increase the growing tensions.
​

Name and count positive behaviors publicly. Many negative behaviors stem from students who are striving to gain attention from a caring adult or other students - sometimes, even negative attention is better than no attention at all. Instead, we should refocus how students receive support and attention so that we can reinforce positive behavior strategies. By calling out the behavior you want to see, and the value the activity brings to students' lives, we're able to create a new narrative and a new normal.

Reflect & redirect

​Our goal is not to become afraid of addressing students' negative behaviors directly, but rather to begin addressing them strategically. If we can remove our personal feelings from the situation, we'll be better positioned to find a method for motivating students to fully commit to a proactive and positive learning environment. Part of that methodology is public praise - the other part is personalized reflection and redirection. Especially when working in a culture that is vastly different from one's own, focusing on short, private conversations when it's necessary to address a negative behavior can only have a positive impact on the culture.

Eliminate public critique, accusations (even if you know you're right), and public tug of wars with students. These reactions will increase power struggles, negative cultural dynamics, and escalate the conflicts. ​

​

Increase private conversations that prioritize a brief reflection on the disruptive behavior followed by direct feedback about what the student should do instead. Dealing with these conflicts individually and privately allows students de-escalate conflicts because they're less concerned with how they may appear in front of their peers.

Consider ways to ask students two simple questions if they're struggling to focus on their specific task.
​This extremely short private conversation has the ability to change the dynamic between teachers and students as well as avoiding public battles for power.

"Do you have any questions about what you're supposed to be doing?" - the answer is almost always, "no questions."

"Is there anything preventing you from getting to work right now?" - the answer is almost always, "nothing," in which case, your response can be, "Great! Please get started then!"

​Our classroom spaces will feel physically and psychologically safer when we acknowledge that students' behavior is a form of communication, even when directed towards us. When we allow ourselves to be personally offended, we are likely to simplify the situation and vilify the student. This leaves us more likely to respond defensively, criticize, and engage in power struggles. Each of these instincts are likely to increase tension and escalate conflicts at the exact moment when we know that diffusing the situation would be more beneficial to our students and ourselves.

​

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De-escalating conflicts in the classroom

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​​As teachers, we have a lot of power and responsibility to set the tone in our own classrooms and create a culture of learning that empowers students to engage in the lessons with respect for themselves and others. Here are three ways we can de-escalate conflicts and maximize positive learning opportunities for students.

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Anger, Irritability and Aggression in Kids

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Angry feelings often bubble into outbursts for children and teens. Parents may wonder whether their child's behavior is normal; Yale Medicine can help.

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Addressing teacher perception

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Now in a revised and updated 6th edition, the groundbreaking, research-based approach to understanding and parenting children who frequently exhibit severe fits of temper and other challenging behaviors, from a distinguished clinician and pioneer in the field.
What's an explosive child? A child who responds to routine problems with extreme frustration-crying, screaming, swearing, kicking, hitting, biting, spitting, destroying property, and worse. A child whose frequent, severe outbursts leave his or her parents feeling frustrated, scared, worried, and desperate for help. Most of these parents have tried everything-reasoning, explaining, punishing, sticker charts, therapy, medication-but to no avail. They can't figure out why their child acts the way he or she does; they wonder why the strategies that work for other kids don't work for theirs; and they don't know what to do instead.

Dr. Ross Greene, a distinguished clinician and pioneer in the treatment of kids with social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, has worked with thousands of explosive children, and he has good news: these kids aren't attention-seeking, manipulative, or unmotivated, and their parents aren't passive, permissive pushovers. Rather, explosive kids are lacking some crucial skills in the domains of flexibility/adaptability, frustration tolerance, and problem solving, and they require a different approach to parenting.

Throughout this compassionate, insightful, and practical book, Dr. Greene provides a new conceptual framework for understanding their difficulties, based on research in the neurosciences. He explains why traditional parenting and treatment often don't work with these children, and he describes what to do instead. Instead of relying on rewarding and punishing, Dr. Greene's Collaborative Problem Solving model promotes working with explosive children to solve the problems that precipitate explosive episodes, and teaching these kids the skills they lack.

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the explosive child [sixth edition]: a new approach for understanding and parenting easily frustrated

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family & relationships / children with special needs

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family & relationships / conflict resolution

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family & relationships / parenting / general

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family & relationships/children with special needs

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family & relationships/parenting - general

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family & relationships / children with special needs

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family & relationships / conflict resolution

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family & relationships / parenting / general

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family & relationships/children with special needs

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family & relationships/parenting - general

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family & relationships: children with special needs

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family & relationships: parenting / general

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The Explosive Child [Sixth Edition]: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children

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Buy The Explosive Child [Sixth Edition]: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children: Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com

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Dr. Ross W. Greene, a psychologist who works with easily frustrated children and their parents, is the author of the book, The Explosive Child. He advises parents and teachers to identify the causes of a volatile child's frustration and work with the youngster to help him or her develop coping skills that can prevent explosions and lead to more compliance. Included: Strategies for working with explosive children in the classroom.

Imagine teaching in a classroom where a child swears loudly -- or kicks a desk -- or hits another child -- or runs out of the room -- whenever he or she is angry.

On the other hand, maybe imagination isn't necessary. Maybe you already have one or more volatile students in your class, and you and your principal are drained from trying to find a way to keep all your students safe and to help them all learn.

Dr. Ross W. Greene offers the following suggestions for ways adults can help prevent meltdowns in volatile children:

* Find out "What is the kid's deal?," explore what fuels the explosions.

* Anticipate situations that might trigger an explosion.

* Create an environment in which explosions are less likely to occur.

* Focus more on communicating with the child and on collaborative problem solving and less on rewarding and/or punishing behavior.

To find ways of coping with explosive children, some teachers and school psychologists are turning to advice from Boston psychologist Dr. Ross W. Greene. Greene's book, discusses how to identify and help children who are non-compliant or who have Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Such children tend to explode -- launch into tantrums or rages -- at the slightest provocation.

Greene, who has appeared on The Oprah Show, Dateline NBC, and Good Morning America to discuss his approach, works with ODD children and their families at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he is director of cognitive-behavioral psychology at the clinical and research program in pediatric psychopharmacology. He also is an associate clinical professor of psychology in the psychiatry department at Harvard Medical School.

For more information about Dr. Ross W. Greene, read Defusing Explosive Children, an Education World Wire Side Chat.

Greene discussed his book and his technique with about 440 teachers and school psychologists at the Maryland School Psychologists Association 2001 conference in Hunt Valley, Maryland, which Education World attended.

Laura Shriver, a school psychologist at Francis Scott Key High School in Carroll County, Maryland, and co-chair of the conference program, reported that association members expressed a great deal of interest in Greene's topic. "There are a lot of violent acts in schools, a lot of explosive children. It is a pressing issue," Shriver told Education World. "I hope teachers use the skills themselves and educate other teachers."

Conference participant Amy Shulkin has experience with non-compliant children as a professional and as a parent. A counseling psychologist at Krieger Schechter Day School in Baltimore, Maryland, and the parent of a teenager with explosive behavior, Shulkin said she found Greene's book helpful.

"It was a relief to hear someone validate my experiences," Shulkin told Education World. "I bought books about dealing with difficult kids, but nothing worked. Dr. Greene's book helped me adjust my expectations; it's a way of conceptualizing problems I had not had before." She also recommends Greene's book to the parents of students with whom she works.

FOCUS ON PREVENTION

The keys to Greene's approach involves treating explosive children as if they are deficient in the skill of handling frustration rather than willfully disobedient. Then, pick your battles.

"Children do well if they can," Greene told conference attendees. "If they can't, we adults need to figure out why so we can help them. The explanation guides intervention."

A child's explosions, or meltdowns, as Greene calls them, have to do with a youngster's inability to think clearly in the midst of frustration. When asked to shift gears, some children cry. Others explode; they do not have the vocabulary to express frustration.

Focusing on what makes easily frustrated children melt down, rather than simply responding to the explosion, is far more likely to change behavior, according to Greene. "If what you do after the fact is not accessible and meaningful [according to the child's thought processes] prior to the next incident, the response is not worth it."

FAIR DOES NOT MEAN EQUAL

Shifting the mindset from reacting to preventing meltdowns takes work, Greene noted. Many of the children he works with have been punished for non-compliant behavior at home and at school and have shown no improvement.

In working with children and their families, Greene often meets with children's teachers and other school staff. Responses to an explosive child in the classroom could include allowing the student to do the following:

run out of the room to a desk in the hallway to calm down.

visit a display in the back of the room when he or she is frustrated.

work with another student on an assignment. If an easily frustrated student has difficulty writing, for example, he or she could dictate thoughts to another child.

One concern teachers express most frequently, Greene said, is about how other students will react if a teacher responds to an easily frustrated child differently. If teachers recognize the needs of all students, however, then accommodating an explosive child should not be any more of an issue than helping a student with a reading disability, he explained.

"Good teachers are able to meet the needs of individual students and meet the needs of the larger group," Greene contended. "If a teacher sends kids out of the room because they are messing up, it sends a powerful message about those who don't fit in. If [other kids] ask 'How do you have time for one?' the answer is you are doing it for all. Fair does not mean equal."

Teachers need to encourage all students to work at maximum potential, to behave in a manner that does not detract from their work or the work of others, and to treat everyone with kindness and respect, Greene added.

Brenda Frazier, a K-12 psychologist in the Williamsport (Pennsylvania) Area School District who attended the conference, said she has heard concerns from teachers about making adjustments for explosive children.

"Teachers are afraid that some behavior-management techniques will be perceived as favoritism," Frazier told Education World. "I have had teachers ask 'What do I do with the other kids?' The response is that everyone has different needs; some need help with reading, some with behavior. We should continue to encourage teachers to treat kids as individuals and reinforce the concept that fair does not mean equal."

Greene noted that collaboration among school staff to meet students' needs does require more time. "Schools should be run like in-patient clinics; they need to give people more time to meet and look at individual education plans."

Pam Hanna, another conference attendee, is a K-5 special education resource teacher at Annapolis Elementary School in Annapolis, Maryland. She agreed that a supportive classroom atmosphere can help all students. "You need to do this with the entire classroom, build an environment where students help one another," Hanna said, "although it's hard for teachers to take something else on."

WHAT IS THE KID'S DEAL?

The first step in working with ODD, or non-compliant children, is determining "What is the kid's deal?" or what triggers explosive behavior, according to Greene. Studies show that 80 percent of explosive children also have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD.) Many children diagnosed with ODD show symptoms of some other psychiatric disorder as well, he added.

Once there is an understanding of what fuels explosions, all adults involved with a child -- parents, teachers, and administrators -- have to help the child learn not to explode. Other students in the class can help too.

"The definition of good parenting and good teaching is being responsive to the hand you've been dealt," Greene told conference participants.

Some children may require medication to reduce their explosiveness, according to Greene, but that should be determined only after the child has had an extensive medical and psychological evaluation. Medication should be administered and monitored by a pediatric psychopharmacologist -- that is, a psychiatrist or other physician whose specialty is prescribing psychotropic medications for children.

School personnel should have access to an adequate level of clinical expertise, said Greene. "All school systems should have a pediatric psychopharmacologist on call."

A plan to work with an explosive child should include collaborating with the child to resolve conflicts, anticipating situations that easily frustrate the youngster, and creating alternatives to those circumstances. "Inflexibility plus inflexibility equals a meltdown," according to Greene.

Goals for the plan should include reducing the number of meltdowns, pursuing adult expectations, and teaching the child the skills he or she lacks, such as flexibility and tolerance for frustration.

To do that, teachers and parents working with the youngster need to emphasize the following:

antecedents rather than consequences

situational specificity

cognition

graduated training (shaping) of cognitive skills

the neurobiological chemical underpinning of behavior.

According to Hanna, teachers at her school already have been trying to get more background information about students. "What it gives us is good information so we can build on it. We're finding out what is driving their behavior or performance."

WHICH BASKET?

Once the question "What's this kid's deal?" has been answered, the next step is prioritizing issues. Greene recommended using a system of "baskets" labeled A, B, and C. Basket A issues are ones that are worth the risk of meltdown; Basket B issues can be discussed to help a child build skills for problem solving. Basket C issues are shelved for the time being. Putting an issue aside for a while is not the equivalent of giving in -- it just means that other concerns are more important at the moment, Greene stressed.

Discussions about Basket A issues almost always start with "No," "You must," or "You can't" and should be confined to such issues as health, safety, or protection of property, Greene says. "Basket A feels efficient -- but meltdowns take a lot of time."

Discussions about Basket B issues begin with "Let's," he said, and the adult expresses empathy, as in "Let's try to work this out. I can see you are frustrated."

Easily frustrated children also need training and reinforcement in using such simple phrases as "I'm frustrated," "I'm angry" or "I need a minute" to help them identify what they are feeling and prevent loss of control, Greene added.

EDUCATORS, PHYSICIAN RESPOND

Although all the educators Education World spoke to at the conference said that Greene offered practical advice they were eager to try, others do view his approach with caution.

Dr. Lawrence Diller, a behavioral pediatrician and the author of Running on Ritalin, which examines the increase in ADHD diagnoses over the past few years and the popular response of prescribing medication to treat it, told Education World that aspects of Greene's approach concern him. Diller thought that many of the children Greene describes still could respond to more "typical disciplinary techniques and limit-setting, appropriate for their age and temperament."

"My fear is that parents who have kids on the borderline [of becoming explosive] will seize on this to justify that their kids can't behave, and we will wind up with more explosive adolescents," Diller explained to Education World. "I am ill at ease with how this will be misinterpreted by a public already uncomfortable with discipline."

Diller says his opinion is based on his experience working with difficult children -- many of them 4, 5, or 6 years old -- and their parents. "I saw tentative and inconsistent parenting and inconsistencies between the parents," Diller said. "I'm not blaming the parents; these children are not easy to raise. But it seemed reasonable to me to work with the parents and help them learn to deal with their kids."

Several of those at the conference, however, said they wanted to try the "basket' technique. Guy Wellman, a middle-school special education teacher, said he "likes the tools Greene is offering, such as 'Let's work it out.'" All the ten students in his class have ODD, Wellman noted. "We have many meltdowns."

One student swears whenever he is frustrated. "I am looking forward to talking with him to help him come up with better ways of expressing himself."

Nettie Watkins, a psychologist for the Baltimore schools, said when she meets with teachers, she tries to increase their awareness of underlying factors to a student's behavior. Watkins added that she was encouraged by Greene's ideas. "I'm quite impressed. These are the best, most-practical things I can apply. It's a good match with the population and the problems they have."

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When It Comes to Volatile Kids, Pick Your Battles | Education World

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Dr. Ross W. Greene, a psychologist who works with easily frustrated children and their parents, is the author of the book, The Explosive Child. He advises parents and teachers to identify the causes of a volatile child's frustration and work with the youngster to help him or her develop coping skills that can prevent explosions and lead to more compliance.

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Monique Morris and The criminalization of Black Girls

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Monique Morris and The criminalization of Black Girls

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Explores the relationship between Black girls and the education system. In her book Pushout she encourages respect and: "We are not going to discipline for attitude".

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Monique W. Morris: Why Black girls are targeted for punishment at school -- and how to change that

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Around the world, Black girls are being pushed out of schools because of policies that target them for punishment, says author and social justice scholar Monique W. Morris. The result: countless girls are forced into unsafe futures with restricted opportunities. How can we put an end to this crisis?

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Anger can make you feel as though you're at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful emotion. Learn how to control it.

Cite this

American Psychological Association. (2023, November 3). Control anger before it controls you. https://www.apa.org/topics/anger/control

We all know what anger is, and we've all felt it: whether as a fleeting annoyance or as full-fledged rage. Anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems-problems at work, in your personal relationships, and in the overall quality of your life.

Anger can make you feel as though you're at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful emotion.

What is anger?

The nature of anger

Anger is "an emotional state that varies in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage," according to Charles Spielberger, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in the study of anger. Like other emotions, it is accompanied by physiological and biological changes; when you get angry, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of your energy hormones, adrenaline, and noradrenaline.

Anger can be caused by both external and internal events. You could be angry at a specific person (such as a coworker or supervisor) or event (a traffic jam, a canceled flight), or your anger could be caused by worrying or brooding about your personal problems. Memories of traumatic or enraging events can also trigger angry feelings.

Expressing anger

The instinctive, natural way to express anger is to respond aggressively. Anger is a natural, adaptive response to threats; it inspires powerful, often aggressive, feelings and behaviors, which allow us to fight and to defend ourselves when we are attacked. A certain amount of anger, therefore, is necessary to our survival.

On the other hand, we can't physically lash out at every person or object that irritates or annoys us; laws, social norms, and common sense place limits on how far our anger can take us.
[Related: Want to achieve your goals? Get angry]
People use a variety of both conscious and unconscious processes to deal with their angry feelings. The three main approaches are expressing, suppressing, and calming. Expressing your angry feelings in an assertive-not aggressive-manner is the healthiest way to express anger. To do this, you have to learn how to make clear what your needs are, and how to get them met, without hurting others. Being assertive doesn't mean being pushy or demanding; it means being respectful of yourself and others.

Anger can be suppressed, and then converted or redirected. This happens when you hold in your anger, stop thinking about it, and focus on something positive. The aim is to inhibit or suppress your anger and convert it into more constructive behavior. The danger in this type of response is that if it isn't allowed outward expression, your anger can turn inward-on yourself. Anger turned inward may cause hypertension, high blood pressure, or depression.

Unexpressed anger can create other problems. It can lead to pathological expressions of anger, such as passive-aggressive behavior (getting back at people indirectly, without telling them why, rather than confronting them head-on) or a personality that seems perpetually cynical and hostile. People who are constantly putting others down, criticizing everything, and making cynical comments haven't learned how to constructively express their anger. Not surprisingly, they aren't likely to have many successful relationships.

Finally, you can calm down inside. This means not just controlling your outward behavior, but also controlling your internal responses, taking steps to lower your heart rate, calm yourself down, and let the feelings subside.

As Dr. Spielberger notes, "when none of these three techniques work, that's when someone-or something-is going to get hurt."

Anger management

The goal of anger management is to reduce both your emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes. You can't get rid of, or avoid, the things or the people that enrage you, nor can you change them, but you can learn to control your reactions.

Are you too angry?

There are psychological tests that measure the intensity of angry feelings, how prone to anger you are, and how well you handle it. But chances are good that if you do have a problem with anger, you already know it. If you find yourself acting in ways that seem out of control and frightening, you might need help finding better ways to deal with this emotion.

Why are some people more angry than others?

According to Jerry Deffenbacher, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in anger management, some people really are more "hotheaded" than others are; they get angry more easily and more intensely than the average person does. There are also those who don't show their anger in loud spectacular ways but are chronically irritable and grumpy. Easily angered people don't always curse and throw things; sometimes they withdraw socially, sulk, or get physically ill.

People who are easily angered generally have what some psychologists call a low tolerance for frustration, meaning simply that they feel that they should not have to be subjected to frustration, inconvenience, or annoyance. They can't take things in stride, and they're particularly infuriated if the situation seems somehow unjust: for example, being corrected for a minor mistake.

What makes these people this way? A number of things. One cause may be genetic or physiological: There is evidence that some children are born irritable, touchy, and easily angered, and that these signs are present from a very early age. Another may be sociocultural. Anger is often regarded as negative; we're taught that it's all right to express anxiety, depression, or other emotions but not to express anger. As a result, we don't learn how to handle it or channel it constructively.

Research has also found that family background plays a role. Typically, people who are easily angered come from families that are disruptive, chaotic, and not skilled at emotional communications.

Is it good to "let it all hang out?"

Psychologists now say that this is a dangerous myth. Some people use this theory as a license to hurt others. Research has found that "letting it rip" with anger actually escalates anger and aggression and does nothing to help you (or the person you're angry with) resolve the situation.

It's best to find out what it is that triggers your anger, and then to develop strategies to keep those triggers from tipping you over the edge.

Strategies to keep anger at bay

Relaxation

Simple relaxation tools, such as deep breathing and relaxing imagery, can help calm down angry feelings. There are books and courses that can teach you relaxation techniques, and once you learn the techniques, you can call upon them in any situation. If you are involved in a relationship where both partners are hot-tempered, it might be a good idea for both of you to learn these techniques.

Some simple steps you can try:

Breathe deeply, from your diaphragm; breathing from your chest won't relax you. Picture your breath coming up from your "gut."

Slowly repeat a calm word or phrase such as "relax," "take it easy." Repeat it to yourself while breathing deeply.

Use imagery; visualize a relaxing experience, from either your memory or your imagination.

Nonstrenuous, slow yoga-like exercises can relax your muscles and make you feel much calmer.

Practice these techniques daily. Learn to use them automatically when you're in a tense situation.

Cognitive restructuring

Simply put, this means changing the way you think. Angry people tend to curse, swear, or speak in highly colorful terms that reflect their inner thoughts. When you're angry, your thinking can get very exaggerated and overly dramatic. Try replacing these thoughts with more rational ones. For instance, instead of telling yourself, "oh, it's awful, it's terrible, everything's ruined," tell yourself, "it's frustrating, and it's understandable that I'm upset about it, but it's not the end of the world and getting angry is not going to fix it anyhow."

Be careful of words like "never" or "always" when talking about yourself or someone else. "This !&*%@ machine never works," or "you're always forgetting things" are not just inaccurate, they also serve to make you feel that your anger is justified and that there's no way to solve the problem. They also alienate and humiliate people who might otherwise be willing to work with you on a solution.

Remind yourself that getting angry is not going to fix anything, that it won't make you feel better (and may actually make you feel worse).

Logic defeats anger, because anger, even when it's justified, can quickly become irrational. So use cold hard logic on yourself. Remind yourself that the world is "not out to get you," you're just experiencing some of the rough spots of daily life. Do this each time you feel anger getting the best of you, and it'll help you get a more balanced perspective. Angry people tend to demand things: fairness, appreciation, agreement, willingness to do things their way. Everyone wants these things, and we are all hurt and disappointed when we don't get them, but angry people demand them, and when their demands aren't met, their disappointment becomes anger.

As part of their cognitive restructuring, angry people need to become aware of their demanding nature and translate their expectations into desires. In other words, saying, "I would like" something is healthier than saying, "I demand" or "I must have" something. When you're unable to get what you want, you will experience the normal reactions-frustration, disappointment, hurt-but not anger. Some angry people use this anger as a way to avoid feeling hurt, but that doesn't mean the hurt goes away.

Problem solving

Sometimes, our anger and frustration are caused by very real and inescapable problems in our lives. Not all anger is misplaced, and often it's a healthy, natural response to these difficulties. There is also a cultural belief that every problem has a solution, and it adds to our frustration to find out that this isn't always the case. The best attitude to bring to such a situation, then, is not to focus on finding the solution, but rather on how you handle and face the problem.

Make a plan, and check your progress along the way. Resolve to give it your best, but also not to punish yourself if an answer doesn't come right away. If you can approach it with your best intentions and efforts and make a serious attempt to face it head-on, you will be less likely to lose patience and fall into all-or-nothing thinking, even if the problem does not get solved right away.

Better communication

Angry people tend to jump to-and act on-conclusions, and some of those conclusions can be very inaccurate. The first thing to do if you're in a heated discussion is slow down and think through your responses. Don't say the first thing that comes into your head, but slow down and think carefully about what you want to say. At the same time, listen carefully to what the other person is saying and take your time before answering.

Listen, too, to what is underlying the anger. For instance, you like a certain amount of freedom and personal space, and your "significant other" wants more connection and closeness. If he or she starts complaining about your activities, don't retaliate by painting your partner as a jailer, a warden, or an albatross around your neck.

It's natural to get defensive when you're criticized, but don't fight back. Instead, listen to what's underlying the words: the message that this person might feel neglected and unloved. It may take a lot of patient questioning on your part, and it may require some breathing space, but don't let your anger-or a partner's-let a discussion spin out of control. Keeping your cool can keep the situation from becoming a disastrous one.

Using humor

"Silly humor" can help defuse rage in a number of ways. For one thing, it can help you get a more balanced perspective. When you get angry and call someone a name or refer to them in some imaginative phrase, stop and picture what that word would literally look like. If you're at work and you think of a coworker as a "dirtbag" or a "single-cell life form," for example, picture a large bag full of dirt (or an amoeba) sitting at your colleague's desk, talking on the phone, going to meetings. Do this whenever a name comes into your head about another person. If you can, draw a picture of what the actual thing might look like. This will take a lot of the edge off your fury; and humor can always be relied on to help unknot a tense situation.

The underlying message of highly angry people, Dr. Deffenbacher says, is "things oughta go my way!" Angry people tend to feel that they are morally right, that any blocking or changing of their plans is an unbearable indignity and that they should not have to suffer this way. Maybe other people do, but not them!

When you feel that urge, he suggests, picture yourself as a god or goddess, a supreme ruler, who owns the streets and stores and office space, striding alone and having your way in all situations while others defer to you. The more detail you can get into your imaginary scenes, the more chances you have to realize that maybe you are being unreasonable; you'll also realize how unimportant the things you're angry about really are. There are two cautions in using humor. First, don't try to just "laugh off" your problems; rather, use humor to help yourself face them more constructively. Second, don't give in to harsh, sarcastic humor; that's just another form of unhealthy anger expression.

What these techniques have in common is a refusal to take yourself too seriously. Anger is a serious emotion, but it's often accompanied by ideas that, if examined, can make you laugh.

Changing your environment

Sometimes it's our immediate surroundings that give us cause for irritation and fury. Problems and responsibilities can weigh on you and make you feel angry at the "trap" you seem to have fallen into and all the people and things that form that trap.

Give yourself a break. Make sure you have some "personal time" scheduled for times of the day that you know are particularly stressful. One example is the working mother who has a standing rule that when she comes home from work, for the first 15 minutes "nobody talks to Mom unless the house is on fire." After this brief quiet time, she feels better prepared to handle demands from her kids without blowing up at them.

Some other tips for easing up on yourself

Timing: If you and your spouse tend to fight when you discuss things at night-perhaps you're tired, or distracted, or maybe it's just habit-try changing the times when you talk about important matters so these talks don't turn into arguments.

Avoidance: If your child's chaotic room makes you furious every time you walk by it, shut the door. Don't make yourself look at what infuriates you. Don't say, "well, my child should clean up the room so I won't have to be angry!" That's not the point. The point is to keep yourself calm.

Finding alternatives: If your daily commute through traffic leaves you in a state of rage and frustration, give yourself a project-learn or map out a different route, one that's less congested or more scenic. Or find another alternative, such as a bus or commuter train.

Do you need counseling?

If you feel that your anger is really out of control, if it is having an impact on your relationships and on important parts of your life, you might consider counseling to learn how to handle it better. A psychologist or other licensed mental health professional can work with you in developing a range of techniques for changing your thinking and your behavior.

When you talk to a prospective therapist, tell them that you have problems with anger that you want to work on, and ask about their approach to anger management. Make sure this isn't only a course of action designed to "put you in touch with your feelings and express them"-that may be precisely what your problem is. With counseling, psychologists say, a highly angry person can move closer to a middle range of anger in about 8 to 10 weeks, depending on the circumstances and the techniques used.

What about assertiveness training?

It's true that angry people need to learn to become assertive (rather than aggressive), but most books and courses on developing assertiveness are aimed at people who don't feel enough anger. These people are more passive and acquiescent than the average person; they tend to let others walk all over them. That isn't something that most angry people do. Still, these books can contain some useful tactics to use in frustrating situations.

Remember, you can't eliminate anger-and it wouldn't be a good idea if you could. In spite of all your efforts, things will happen that will cause you anger; and sometimes it will be justifiable anger. Life will be filled with frustration, pain, loss, and the unpredictable actions of others. You can't change that; but you can change the way you let such events affect you. Controlling your angry responses can keep them from making you even more unhappy in the long run.

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Anger is a normal, healthy response to a threat and may be used for a constructive purpose. When anger becomes uncontrollable or is unexpressed, it may lead to destructive thoughts or actions. Learn how to control it.

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Social Emotional Learning Before and During the Pandemic: The Wingman Program in Bloomfield

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"The Wingman program is designed as a social emotion learning SEL program to help students make connections with each other. While it was introduced districtwide in the Bloomfield school district before the pandemic, the district has continued to use it throughout the last several months. after. In this interview, Ian Hockley, executive director of Dylan's Wings of Change, along with Joseph Fleres, assistant superintendent of curriculum and Michael Bruno, supervisor of guidance at the Bloomfield school district, discuss meeting the social-emotional needs of their students with NJSBA's Ray Pinney."

Please click HERE to view the video

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Social Emotional Learning Before and During the Pandemic: The Wingman Program in Bloomfield

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Please see the attached message "The Wingman program is designed as a social emotion learning SEL program to help students make connections with each other. While it was introduced districtwide in the Bloomfield school district before the pandemic, the district has continued to use it throughout the last several months.

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Virtual Back to School Nights/Meetings [PTO, etc.]

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Virtual Back to School Nights/Meetings [PTO, etc.]

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Allows for parents and guardians to participate more than they typically would due to scheduling

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Integrating Mindfulness in Your Classroom Curriculum

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Make mindfulness a part of classroom learning by integrating it into curriculum-themed activities through exercises in breathing, sensory experience, guided imagery, and movement.

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Social-emotional skills are essential in the healthy development of infants and toddlers. In this course you will learn about social-emotional milestones and what to do if you have a concern about a child's social-emotional development. This course will also address the impact high-quality environments have on social-emotional development, as well as the role you play as a responsive, nurturing caregiver.

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Conflict Resolution at School and on the Playground

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Children find themselves in precarious situations that often lead to escalated conflict with their peers. Conflicts arise in the classroom, lunchroom, library, school bus, playground, while standing in line, and any place where kids gather. During adolescence into the developing stages of puberty, many children act out their emotions in the form of teasing, gossip, and physical aggression. If left unchecked, these same behavioral patterns will transfer over into the teenage years, where stiffer competition exists among peer groups. The inability to resolve conflict without resorting violence is symptomatic of youth's inability to handle confrontation. Teaching youth how to resolve conflict in a peaceful way can help reduce incidents of violence and criminal mischief. Conflict resolution education aims to make that a reality.

Conflict resolution education attempts to instill problem-solving skills among the children in dispute. It involves allowing both parties to express their points of view, interests, and provide ways to find acceptable solutions. Conflict resolution educational programs equip educators with the necessary tools to teach kids how to resolve conflict in nonviolent ways. The most effective programs encompass multiple components to achieve this outcome, including problem-solving skills, effective communication and listening skills, critical and creative thinking skills, and other important life skills.

Educators have identified four conflict resolution strategies that can be used in a variety of school-based settings. These four conflict resolution strategies include peer mediation, process curriculum, peaceable classrooms, and peaceable schools. All four approaches provide youth with the necessary tools to help cope with conflict. Educators can work with their local school district to determine which approach to use for the best results. Many experts assert that the youth will learn to recognize and resolve problems before they escalate.Many schools and communities have adopted the peer mediation approach to teaching conflict resolution. Under this approach, trained mediators work with their peers to resolve conflict. Mediation programs aim to reduce traditional use of punishment, such as suspension, detention, and expulsion. Peer mediation programs have proven effective in most cases involving conflict turned violent. As a result, these programs have become highly valued among teachers.

Teachers also have the option of devoting a separate course, or curriculum, to the principles and processes of conflict resolution. The process curriculum approach aims to teach kids how to solve disputes by helping them envision scenarios that could occur in the future. This approach introduces ways to solve problems before they arise. The same applies for the peaceable classroom approach, except that it integrates conflict resolution into the daily curriculum and overall management of the classroom. The peaceable classroom approach reinforces cooperative behavior and encourages the acceptance of diversity. It also teaches caring and effective communication.

Schools that have adopted the peaceable classroom approach typically have the entire school involved the process. In fact, many schools have adopted the peaceable school approach, which incorporates the above three approaches. A peaceable school creates an environment where everyone works together toward conflict resolution, including students, teachers, and administrators. The peaceable school approach ensures that the entire school remains watchful of possible conflicts.

The aforementioned conflict resolution programs have helped schools, communities, and juvenile justice settings improve their overall climate. Many institutions have reported a reduction in disruptive and violent behavior, chronic school absences, and disciplinary referrals and suspensions. These conflict resolution programs have also given the young increased self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-respect. Adults play an important part in making sure kids exercise their newly found conflict resolution skills. Therefore, it remains vitally important for school personnel to set an example. All of these programs aim to keep both children and adults in line without resulting to violence.
Kim Hart
Educational Outreach
kim@playgrounds.net

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Conflict Resolution at School & on the Playground

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Children find themselves in precarious situations that often lead to escalated conflict with their peers. Conflicts arise in the classroom, lunchroom, library, school bus, playground, while standing in line, and any place where kids gather. During adolescence into the developing stages of puberty, many children act out their emotions in the form of teasing, gossip, and physical aggression.

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Students are provided extra support for Language Arts and Math.

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DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.95395

Abstract

Conflicts cannot cease to exist, as they are intrinsic to human beings, forming an integral part of their moral and emotional growth. Likewise, they exist in all schools. The school is inserted in a space where the conflict manifests itself daily and assumes relevance, being the result of the multiple interpersonal relationships that occur in the school context. Thus, conflict is part of school life, which implies that teachers must have the skills to manage conflict constructively. Recognizing the diversity of school conflicts, this chapter aimed to present its causes, highlighting the main ones in the classroom, in the teacher-student relationship. It is important to conflict face and resolve it with skills to manage it properly and constructively, establishing cooperative relationships, and producing integrative solutions. Harmony and appreciation should coexist in a classroom environment and conflict should not interfere, negatively, in the teaching and learning process. This bibliography review underscore the need for during the teachers' initial training the conflict management skills development.

Keywords

school conflicts

classroom conflicts

school conflict management

teacher-student relationship

chapter and author info

Authors

Sabina Valente*

Center for Research in Education and Psychology, University of Évora, Portugal

Abílio Afonso Lourenço

University of Minho, Portugal

Zsolt Németh

Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Sport Science and Physical Education, Department of Theory and Practice of Sports, University of Pécs, Hungary

*Address all correspondence to: sabinav@uevora.pt

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.95395

From the Edited Volume

Interpersonal Relationships [Working Title]

Dr. Martha Peaslee Peaslee Levine

1. Introduction

One of the most striking characteristics of human beings is the diversities. Different ways of being, thinking and existing, different needs, world views, ethical positions mark the relationships between people. In this sense, interpersonal conflicts are understood as tension that involves different interests or positions, are inherent to human relationships, and are present in various social organizations, among them, the school.

The school as microcosms of society brings together different views of the world, different ways of being, thinking, and living, thus becoming a space for representing social differences and being a place where different conflicts occur daily. Dealing with this situation type requires learning and that is why teachers need training in conflict management so that they can correctly manage the classroom conflicts and educate also your students for conflict management.

Recognizing that the school is an organization that brings together social diversity and adopting as an assumption that interpersonal conflicts are inherent to human relationships, we define the school conflicts as this chapter theme. In this sense, this chapter addresses school conflicts with a focus on classroom conflicts in the teacher-student relationship. In the first part, a brief reference is made to the conflict. This is followed by a review of the bibliography on school/classroom conflict causes.

Due to its intrinsic characteristics, school is a favorable medium for conflict situations development. So, the conflict in the education system can be seen from the dialectic between the macrostructure of the education system, the general policies oriented towards it, and the management processes that prevail in each school [ 1].

The conflict presents formative possibilities, since the perception of the differences existing between people/or groups and their needs, values, ideas, and different ways of living are essential to a democratic society [ 2]. In this sense, it is important to enhance positive conflict characteristics and reduce the negative ones. So, the difficulty in resolving conflicts is largely due to the difficulties existing between those involved in the conflict to be able to communicate effectively. Therefore, the constructive and educational potential of conflicts depends largely on the skills of those involved. Thus, knowing how to communicate, and respecting the rights of others and existing differences are essential for conflicts to revert to social and human development benefits.

The concern with improving coexistence in schools, centred on the conflict variable, is addressed in different studies, whose objectives mark both understanding the school conflict [ 3, 4, 5, 6], as well as preventing its occurrence [ 7]. Since it is impossible to eliminate school conflicts, it is essential and urgent to reduce their intensity, duration, and severity, so that the teaching and learning process is not harmed. In this sense, this chapter addresses also the strategies used to manage classroom conflict, and some examples of programs that work these skills on teachers and students.

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2. Conflict

The conflict is defined and classified from different perspectives, and its definition can differ, in context, process, intervention, and study areas [ 1, 8]. Conflict is a phenomenon of incompatibility between individuals or groups with irreconcilable ends and/or values ​​between them, considering it a social process [ 1]. For this author, four elements are present and must be addressed in all conflicts: the causes that give rise to it; the conflict protagonists; the process and the way the protagonists face the conflict; and the context in which it occurs. In turn, Chrispino [ 9] understands conflict as to any divergent opinion or a different way of seeing or interpreting an event, that is, the conflict originates in the difference of interests, desires, aspirations, or positions between individuals. He adds that conflicts can arise from difficulties in communication and assertiveness.

In this way, we can say that there is a conflict when two or more people interact with each other and perceive incompatible differences, or threats to their resources, needs, or values and when they respond according to what was perceived, then the ideal conditions for conflict are created. The conflict intensity, duration, or severity can then increase or decrease depending on the strategies used to resolve it. Regardless of the different conflict definitions, there is no conflict if the individuals involved are not aware of its existence. This conclusion is consensual to the majority of the definition proposals and to the attempts to conceptualize the conflict found in the specialized literature.

In addition to different conflict definitions, there are also different proposals for classifying it. Concerning the different conflict classification [ 8, 10, 11] the emphasis is placed on the theoretical proposals of [ 8, 11]. Conflicts can be classified into five different types: structural, value, relationship, interest, and data [ 11]. In structural conflicts, causes are associated with unequal control situations, possession or resource distribution, unequal power, and authority, geographical, physical, or environmental factors that prevent cooperation and time pressures. In value conflicts, it highlights situations of opposing ideas or behaviors, different ways of life, ideology, or religion. Relationship conflicts are caused by strong emotions, misperceptions or stereotypes, inadequate or deficient communication, and negative and/or repetitive behaviors. The causes of interest conflicts are perceived or real competition over fundamental interests (content), procedural interests, and psychological interests. Finally, about data conflicts, [ 11] highlights the lack of information or wrong information, different points of view on what is important, different data interpretations, and different assessment procedures.

In turn, Torrego [ 8] presents a typology that seems to reflect the type of school conflicts: relationship-communication conflicts; interest/needs conflicts; and preferences, values, and beliefs conflicts. As for the relationship-communication conflicts, it cannot be said that there is a concrete cause that justifies their appearance, however, it appears as a result of the relationship deterioration itself. As such, aggressions, struggles, offenses, defamations, rumors, humiliations, misunderstandings are part of this type of conflict, but also perception conflicts, because, despite the conflict reality being only one, this fact does not invalidate that those involved have their view of it. Interest or needs conflicts usually occur when one party considers that it will only be able to satisfy its needs/interests if the other gives in to theirs. This conflict type can include those that stem from disagreement about how to perform jobs or tasks and those that result from the need felt by one of the parties to own or be coerced into giving in: objects, time, space, or any type of appeal. Finally, preferences, values, and beliefs conflicts result when these systems are discordant or viewed as such by those involved in the conflict. However, this conflict type can be resolved if the parties identify higher values ​​common to both.

It is important to say that the conflict constructive paradigm indicates that the conflict has positive and negative aspects, advantages, and disadvantages. This new model is opposed to the classic model and indicates that moderate levels of conflict are perceived as positive [ 12]. The conflict effects are positive, when they are well managed, to establish more cooperative relations and seek to reach an integrated solution, for the benefit of those involved in the conflict [ 10]. In any organization, the existence of low levels of conflict leaves the organization vulnerable to stagnation, to making impoverished decisions, even to the lack of effectiveness; on the other hand, having too much conflict leads the organization directly into chaos.

Given the above, we can say that conflicts are inherent to human relationships since human beings are characterized by diversity. The school, by bringing together people from different social groups with different values and worldviews, becomes a locus for conflicts.

3. School conflicts

The school is a society microsystem, in which are reflected constant changes. Thus, one of the most important school functions is to prepare students, teachers, and parents to live and overcome the difficulties of a world full of rapid changes and interpersonal conflicts, contributing to the development process of each individual. For being a society microsystem and bringing together different ways of life, thinking, feeling, relationship, constitutes a space conducive to interpersonal conflicts.

School conflict is defined as the disagreement between individuals or groups regarding ideas, interests, principles, and values within the school community, perceiving the parties their interests as excluded, although they may not be [ 13], being that the most frequent school conflicts occur in the relations between student-student and between student-teacher [ 14].

Conflicts in the school can be classified according to their causes and those involved. For Martinez [ 15], the conflicts between teachers are mainly caused by lack of communication, personal interests, previous conflicts, issues of power, or political and ideological differences. This author indicates that conflicts between students and teachers, as they happen due to the lack of understanding of the teacher's explanation, due to arbitrary grades and divergence in the evaluation criteria, lack of didactic material, discrimination, disinterest in the study material, and because the students are ears. In turn, conflicts between students can arise due to misunderstandings, fights, the rivalry between groups, discrimination, bullying, use of spaces and assets, dating, sexual harassment, loss or damage of school assets, diverse elections, travel, and parties. Conflicts between parents, teachers, and administrators can arise due to aggressions that occurred between students and between teachers, due to the loss of work material, problems in the school canteen or similar, lack of teachers, lack of pedagogical assistance by teachers, evaluation, approval and disapproval criteria, failure to meet bureaucratic and administrative requirements of management [ 15].

From the literature review, it is possible to infer and highlight the different causes pointed to the school conflict. Participating teachers in the Göksoy and Argon [ 16] study indicate as causes for school conflict: the communication failures, personal, political/ideological, and organizational causes.

With a very similar rating, Jares [ 1] indicates four main causes: ideological-scientific, related to different pedagogical, ideological, and organizational options, and the type of school culture or cultures that coexist; power causes, related to organization control, professional promotion, access to resources and decision making; causes of structure, related to the ambiguity of objectives and functions, organizational fragility, organizational and variable contexts; and personal and interpersonal causes, related to self-esteem, security, professional dissatisfaction, and communication. Also, Burguet [ 17] points out as possible causes for the school conflict in the school's organizational structure.

In this sequence, and given the increase in school conflicts, Ibarra [ 18] recognizes as school conflict causes: the increase in compulsory schooling, the increase in the number of students per class, teachers perceive a progressive decline in their authority about students, and students are less likely to comply with certain rules and limits, which results in conflict situations. Regarding the increase in compulsory education, this leads to a greater number of unmotivated and undisciplined students, which implies an increase in school conflict. Likewise, the increase in the number of students per class, without increasing the facilities or associated conditions, increases the conflict occurrence, because of their negative changes in the physical and psychological environment, in overcrowded classrooms, with a lack of space for practical and collaborative activities.

In addressing interpersonal relationships in schools cannot neglect family background. When dealing with interpersonal relationships in the school context, it is necessary to take into account the family reality of each student, since the family interpersonal relationships have a strong connection with the school conflict [ 19]. Distinguished authors indicate that school conflict situations often have their genesis at the family level [ 17, 20] since they are the most deprived families, where alcoholism, domestic violence, and unemployment problems occur, being that all these violence and incivilities manifestations that arise in the students' lives are transported to school. Burguet [ 17] points the dismissal of families as educational agents. This author highlights the overprotection with a sense of guilt for not dedicating more time to children, the experience of fatherhood as a "burden" of those who educate in aggressiveness, and the criticisms of parents, and society itself, to teachers, instigates conflicts. In other words, the role of the family often does not seem to offer a good foundation in the education of young people, which is reflected in their behavior in the processes of interaction at school. As Berkowitz [ 20] indicates, many of the interaction problems originate in the family, and the student reproduces the behaviors he learns with his parents.

It should be noted that the context experienced by the Covid-19 pandemic has a greater impact on students from poorer families. The situation of these most vulnerable students was a problem whose dimension grew with online classes, as they encountered immense barriers and lack of support for quality education during confinement. Thus, students who before the pandemic were unmotivated and presented conflicting behaviors at school should be the target of more support during this pandemic phase, to minimize the conflicting behaviors. It should also be noted that although family-school relationships are extremely important for students' learning and development, family participation in school is not always satisfactory.

So, the family and the school must go together to contribute to the conflict becoming part of a process of growth, acceptance of the other, and accountability. Learning to deal with school conflicts positively is essential for the development of healthy relationships.

Another cause of school conflicts is pointed to society and the values it conveys, Burguet [ 17] points to the example of social communication, which encourages violence through violent programs, broadcasting news with prejudiced and conflicting messages. All of these situations enhance the conflicting attitudes of children and young people, which are reflected in school behaviors.

3.1 Conflict in the classroom

The school builds a social interface favorable to involvement, where conflicts proliferate in the educational process complexity, being common and daily in classes. Thus, in the classroom different types of conflict occur, being a challenge for most teachers to know how to face, manage, and resolve these conflicts [ 7].

Teachers often perceive conflicts as indiscipline, violence, disrespect, and like all situations threatening his authority, and inexperienced and experienced teachers emphasize the teacher-student conflict as a frequent situation in difficult classes [ 21]. In this context, Silva and Flores [ 19] refer to the negative effect that these situations have on attainment and student motivation, so it is urgent to find solutions to avoid or mitigate such effects.

The classroom coexistence problems are mainly related to social and pedagogical changes [ 22]. In this sequence, there are several conflict situations that teachers can face during classes. Some of those indicated by the teachers are, namely: the student's presence that did not focus on activities; students with serious learning and communication difficulties; students groups who do classroom not work and maintain an aggressive and provocative attitude; students with destructive attitudes towards school material, theirs and/or colleagues, as well as aggressive and violent attitudes towards colleagues and teachers; apathetic students, who do not show classes enthusiasm; and in extreme situations, students who take and display instruments in the class that can be used as weapons, in an attitude of defiance to the teacher [ 23].

Given the increase in the classroom conflicts, multiple causes, which include a combination of external and internal factors in the school environment, are indicated, such as the increase in compulsory education, the increase in students per class, the progressive decline in the teacher's authority about students, and students are less likely to comply with rules and limits, which results in conflict [ 18]. The increase in the year of schooling also leads to greater difficulties in living and learning in the classroom, and older age student's groups consider themselves inserted in an educational system that sometimes does not respond to their needs and some of them consider not be essential to your life. So, the increase in compulsory education leads to a greater number of dissatisfied, unmotivated, and undisciplined students. Likewise, the increase in students per class, without increasing the facilities or associated conditions, negatively affects the psychological environment in overcrowded classrooms, with a lack of space for practical and collaborative activities. In turn, the progressive decline in teacher authority in relation to students and students are less likely to comply with certain rules and limits, results in conflicts in the classroom.

Conflicts in the teacher-student relationship are recurrent in the classroom, and [ 17] indicates as causes generating conflict, not only concerning the expectations of the teacher-student but also the student towards the teacher. In this sequence, the authors highlight the following problems that cause conflict: discipline problems, adaptation to individual differences problems, and evaluation problems.

As for discipline problems, these are the result of provocation and contempt of the student towards the teacher, or the teacher towards the student, to exercise their authority. In turn, problems of adaptation to individual differences are related to heterogeneous behaviors and diminished personal relationships. As for the problems related to the evaluation, result mainly from the personal rhythms of each student and teacher.

Students' undisciplined classroom behavior can lead to conflicts that divert the teacher's attention to issues that blur him from his teaching function [ 19]. In this context, Pérez-de-Guzmán et al. [ 7] indicate disinterest, mainly academic, as the main source of classroom conflict, also mentioning that one of the conflicts that persist and continues to be common is the lack of study habits and the carrying out work, leading to a negative attitude during class. Also, the mandatory stay in the classroom, away from the interests and expectations of some students, is recurrent as a conflict cause.

There are many and diverse classroom conflict situations that disturb the class dynamics. And in situations where the conflict remains latent, the result of the diversity of class interests, if the teacher does not create a good environment, acting positively about communication, the use of legitimate authority, and the conflict management, he will see conflicts increase exponentially within the classes [ 24]. Thus, regardless of the classroom conflicts type, if they are not managed, they accumulate, which makes them more cohesive and complicated, triggering negative feelings in those involved, and negatively affecting the educational quality [ 24].

The causes of the aforementioned conflicts are linked to personal issues and interpersonal relationships. And, most of these conflicts reveal an undisciplined character and increase daily in the class context. In this way, the teacher in the absence of solid guidelines can develop discontent, insecurity, and dissatisfaction that are reflected in his conflict face performance. Another aspect to be highlighted is that related to the power or lack of it that, increasingly, the teacher presents, and that reveals itself in discontent. In short, there is a gap in society, between the values ​​it promotes and demands the school and the lack of credibility that is given to the teacher, questioned before the disapproval of parents and society itself, which instigates an even greater student's conflict, in classes.

3.2 Positive and negative impacts of school conflicts

Conflict can inspire innovations and creative strategies in addressing challenging issues, as well as improving work, results, and encouraging organizations to achieve higher levels of quality and achievement. In this context, Göksoy and Argon [ 16] argue that school conflicts have positive and negative impacts on psychological, social, and organizational results.

Negative psychological impacts include discomfort, insecurity, insignificance feelings, sadness, resentment, frustration, and stress. In turn, at the social level, results of hostility, intolerance, and violence are present [ 16]. As for the negative results within the institutions, the author highlights the existence of a tense environment, weakened cooperation, communication failures, poor performance, and an undisciplined environment. Inevitably, in this way, there is a decrease in education quality.

The conflicts traditional and negative view has implications for the training of students, as the current discourse in many schools is about how to avoid conflicts since their educational potential is sometimes not perceived by the school community. This discourse conceives the conflict by the violent consequences that result from its non-management.

Conflict is recognized as an engine of social development and its effects are positive when the conflict is managed well. Thus, about the positive impacts arising from the school conflict, these have various levels of benefits [ 16]. At a personal level, the conflict allows learning to be related to the perception of errors, and to develop new ideas. On the other hand, at the social level, it enables the reinforcement of communication, respect for others, and enhances commitment. Regarding the benefits at the organizational level, it makes it possible to understand problems, seek and develop new solutions, and develop a democratic and enriching environment in the school. Thus, conflicts can contribute to the construction of broader visions of certain situations and, at the same time, guarantee rights and opportunities for all, regardless of interpersonal differences.

4. Strategies for classroom conflict management

Teachers' perceptions of conflict indicate that they focus mainly on the conflicts' negative aspects [ 6, 25]. It is noteworthy that the methods most used at school, face of students conflicting behaviors, include warning, disapproval, summoning guardians, and in some cases, student suspension. Methodologies that provoke negative feelings and, later, originate new undesirable behaviors, being applied without taking into account the needs, personal conflicts, problems, and students expectations [ 26]. As indicated by Torrecilla et al. [ 22] if the teacher is not an effective conflict manager, he will project this lack of skill, resulting in negative learning for students.

As noted earlier, classroom conflict is an unavoidable reality. Thus, being inevitable, adequate strategies are needed to resolve it so that the conflict potential advantages are taken advantage of and its harmful effects are minimized or canceled out. Conflict management strategies are understood as the behavior types that are adopted in the conflict context, that is, they are basic strategies to manage a situation in which the parties consider their interests to be incompatible.

It is important to note that the choice between different conflict management strategies depends on the conflict level and the various situations that must be managed effectively [ 27], that is, to manage conflict functionally, it is important to recognize that one strategy may be more appropriate than another, depending on the conflict situation, being considered appropriate if its use leads to the effective formulation or resolution of the conflict [ 27]. So, strategies refer to specific patterns of behavior that are adopted in conflict situations. Following this approach, Rahim and Bonoma [ 28] established five conflict management strategies using two dimensions "self-concern" and "others concern". They are different strategies for conflict management and correspond to the attitudes to confront and conflict resolutions.

These five strategies for conflict management are [ 27]: (a) Avoiding: when conflicted parties show low levels of concern for others' interests and a low level of concern for oneself. Strategy characterized by a low degree of assertiveness and a low degree of cooperation, where neither its interests nor those of its opponents are satisfied; (b) Dominating: reflecting the attempt to satisfy one's interests without consideration of the interests of the other. Characterized by a high assertiveness and lack of cooperation, in which the acquisition of objectives is viewed with supremacy over the interests of the other party. Furthermore, it is often considered an aggressive strategy; (c) Obliging: tends to be adopted by those individuals who attempt to play down the differences and emphasizes commonalities to satisfy the concerns of the other party. Represents a conflict management strategy where the cooperation is high, and assertiveness is low; (d) Integrating: individuals who use this strategy manage conflicts directly and cooperatively, seeking to solve in collaboration with the other, is a strategy connected with problem-solving. The use of this involves openness, exchanging information, looking for alternatives, and examination of differences to reach an effective solution for everyone involved in the conflict. Is a strategy useful for effectively dealing with complex problems; and (e) Compromising: represents the attempt to satisfy, moderately and partially, the interests of all those involved in the conflict, and shares commonalities with all of the other four strategies. Is a strategy that requires compromise and assignment. Compromising is an intermediate strategy on assertiveness and cooperation, which implies a compromise in the search for an acceptable intermediate position for everyone involved in the conflict.

Among the variables that influence the choice of different conflict management strategies, the teachers' emotional intelligence stands out. Valente and Lourenço [ 24] conclude that teachers who tend to have higher levels of emotional intelligence use more integration and commitment strategies, for conflict management in the classroom, and fewer strategies of consent, avoidance, and domination. Too, the findings of Aliasgari and Farzadnia [ 29] indicate that teachers prefer the integrating strategy over the other conflict management strategy. So, in the presence of classroom conflict, the teacher proposes alternatives, applies open lines of communication, makes concessions, accepts responsibility, maximizes similarities, and minimizes existing differences between self and student [ 24]. Therefore, the integrating strategy is connected with classroom problem-solving, the use of this strategy involves openness and exchanging information, being the ideal strategy in dealing with complex classroom problems [ 24]. When applying a commitment strategy, the teacher's objective is an intermediate solution for conflict management, for this, he knows how to reduce differences with the student suggests an exchange of proposals with the student, and provides a quick solution to conflicts in the classroom [ 24]. This is an intermediate strategy on assertiveness and cooperation, which implies a compromise in the search for an acceptable intermediate position for everyone involved in the conflict [ 27]. In this way, teachers' emotional intelligence allows for better conflict management, which supports the development of interpersonal relationships in the classroom and enables a favorable environment for teaching and learning.

So, conflicts involve, in addition to interpersonal skills such as availability for dialog, emotional intelligence skills, which require the perception and recognition of the affective dimension, and the feelings of those involved. In this sense, we can say that the evolution of interpersonal relationships has not kept pace with scientific and technological developments. We were not educated to know how to interpret the language of emotions, just as we did not learn to solve conflict situations. We do not learn to perceive and manage emotions. Thus, the emotions that emerge from conflicts must be the target of attention and discussion, so that teachers and students are aware of their emotions and know how to deal with them.

The concern with improving coexistence in schools, namely about conflict, is mentioned in several studies, whose objectives refer to the understanding of school conflicts, as well as preventing their occurrence through programs aimed at teachers and students [ 4, 5]. Thus, the school community must develop effective skills for conflict management, increasing self-awareness, and understanding of conflict through formal education sessions.

The manage conflict ability is not innate, so it must be learned through educational interventions. There are different programs that work these skills in the educational context, of which they stand: Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, Regulating (RULER), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

RULER program was created based on the emotional intelligence Mayer-Salovey's model [ 30]. This training program focuses on emotional intelligence development and involving the students, parents, teachers, and the entire educational community [ 31]. RULER focuses on learning skills that deal with issues of interpersonal conflict and teach strategies for emotional regulation. Empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of RULER programs indicates that they enhance students' academic performance, improve the quality of learning environments, improve teacher-student relationships and reduce student behavior problems, being a success in reducing violence and abusive classroom behavior [ 32].

The SEL was developed with the aim of preventing school violence and includes five areas of interconnected skills (self-knowledge, social awareness, self-management and organization, responsible problem solving, and relationship management). Teaching these skills is vital to deal with behavioral, academic, disciplinary, and safety problems, promoting self-awareness, managing emotions, and acquiring skills such as empathy, the ability to perceive different perspectives and points of view, respect for diversity, and the ability to make the right decisions [ 33]. SEL programs refer to processes of developing socio-emotional competencies, which depend on the individual's ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions. These skills are the main building blocks for other outcomes that SEL programs include, such as the ability to persist in the face of challenges, stress management, the ability to develop healthy relationships, build trust in others, and to thrive both in the academic context, as in personal and social life. In a study carried out on more than 213 SEL programs, it was concluded that a school that successfully applies a quality curriculum of the SEL program can achieve behavioral improvements and a positive increase in the results of assessments [ 34].

CASEL program was created with the aim of establishing social and emotional education in a school context and making it a reality in today's education. Its purpose is to apply high-quality, evidence-based SEL programs, from pre-school to secondary education [ 35]. The results of this program reveal significant changes in the socio-emotional capacities, social interactions, and academic results of the students who attended these programs. Among the results, it should be noted that students show greater communication skills, are more collaborative in teamwork, and more resistant to challenges and difficulties [ 36].

4.1 School conflicts management

The school is a space for socialization par excellence and, precisely, due to the variety of styles, cultures, and values, it becomes an environment rich in conflicts. Conflict, commonly seen as something negative, destructive, and generating violence, is, in fact, extremely necessary for individual evolution. It should be noted that the conflict itself does not generate violence; this comes when there is a lack of peaceful solutions to conflict resolution, when there is no conflict constructive management.

Among the conflict management methodologies used in the school, the following stand out: arbitration, conciliation, negotiation, and mediation. School arbitration is a dialog process that takes place between the involved in the conflict with the presence of a third party that determines the conflict resolution based on the benefits of the parties with their authority and knowledge [ 37]. The school conciliation is a dialog process carried out between the involved in the conflict, with the support of a conciliator, who helps them decide, based on their interests and needs. This may present proposals for solutions that the parties can accept or not. The decision-making power belongs to the parties, even if the solution comes from the conciliator [ 37]. In turn, the school negotiation is a dialog process focused on conflict resolution between the involved in the conflict, which either meet face to face to work together unassisted to conflict resolution. Negotiation is one of the most used conflict management mechanisms in the classroom. The school mediation, this is a dialog process carried out between the parties in conflict, assisted by a third party, the mediator, who should not influence the conflict resolution, acting as a communication facilitator. Inserted in a socio-constructivist paradigm, it is considered not only as of the most current and flexible instrument for peaceful conflict resolution at the educational level, and promote a new culture for conflict management. Arising not only to solve school problems, but equally as a feasible way for creative conflict modification [ 38].

A more detailed approach to school negotiation is presented as it is considered the most appropriate method for resolving classroom conflicts, in teacher-student relationships. Negotiation includes a set of behavioral skills that teachers must master. It is essentially a well-structured process and based on some tacit behavior, being understood as a process of communicative interaction in which two parties seek to resolve a conflict of interest, use dialog, and progress gradually through mutual concessions. The negotiation process implies several skills, which stand out, effective communication, considered the main tool of the negotiation process.

Effective communication is essential to the school conflicts negotiation, as it enhances: the fear decrease of being rejected, the anxiety reduction produced in the struggle for acceptance and recognition, a greater predisposition to listen to the other and recognize their positive aspects, a strengthening of self-esteem, an increase in the degree of security, and a decrease in defensive-offensive behavior [ 39].

Concerning the negotiation phases, although there is no consensus on the definition of the negotiation stages, there are at least three that are classically identified [ 40]: definition of the content and limits of the negotiation (exploratory stage), with the manifestation of antagonism, facing individuals the "dilemma of trust" and the "dilemma of honesty"; negotiation dynamics (dynamic and tactical stage), with manifestations of concession flexibility, systematically assisting proposals and counter-proposals, constituting the central moment of the negotiation process; and, the resolution and agreements stage, this more integrative, brief, and intense phase, almost always implies tension and uncertainty.

These phases testify to the transformation that the negotiations must undergo and must respond to the three negotiation objectives, namely: identification of differences between the parties, making joint decisions, and building a commitment to resolve the conflict.

It should be noted that during a conflict negotiation, it is also important to highlight the importance of [ 39]:

Empathy: the pillar of good communication and the connection between teacher and student, which allows one to understand each other's feelings and motivations;

Assertiveness: being able to expose your point of view, emotions, or opinions without provoking a defensive attitude, through a self-affirmative phrase that tells students what to think without blaming you, not putting you as an opponent. Being assertive requires understanding limitations to do another. The teacher when negotiating a conflict must establish his position and build self-confidence thus limiting abuse situations without attacking students;

Active listening: a tool is useful to obtain more information, corroborating data so that the student knows that he was heard. When we listen actively, we are asking, paraphrasing, asking for clarification, defining, and contextualizing. Some ways of they appear can be by echo, repetition of what the other said, reformulation, expressing in words what was understood, resolving points or questions, summarizing and ordering information or reflection of the feeling, an expression of what we perceive of the other; and

Feedback: the teacher must support and encourage positive behavior, correcting the inappropriate ones. To put feedback into practice, it is necessary to let the student know what the teacher feels and what he thinks.

That way, thinking of the joint construction of solutions to the conflict, through the correct use of empathy, assertiveness, active listening, and feedback can make those involved in the conflict evaluate their actions and rethink their attitudes, discovering ways to solve the problems, trying to maintain respect and balance. Knowing how to listen, evaluate, rethink with everyone involved in the conflict, creating the habit of dialog. Because when those involved in the conflict participate in the construction of possible actions for solutions, relationships can be restored, and the conflict constructively resolved. Therefore, classroom conflicts when managed constructively contribute to the preservation of interpersonal bonds and promote the socio-emotional skills of involved, since it makes possible to develop skills to know how to see reality from the perspective of the other, knowing how to cooperate, and also learn that conflict is an opportunity for growth and maturation.

As seen, although conflicts have negative impacts in general, the constructive and destructive consequences of conflict depend on the management skills of the individuals who experience it [ 25]. Effective conflict management strategies minimize the conflict negative impacts and enhance the positive ones, helping to improve interpersonal relationships and job satisfaction at school.

In general, teachers and the school ignore the importance of conflicts in the integral development of the student and training as autonomous citizens. In this way, most schools do not conceive of conflict resolution as an integral part of the curriculum, emphasizing only the contents of the curricular subjects. They leave aside interpersonal relationships, homogenizing the training of students without promoting the development of problem and conflict management skills. Thus, for the educational potential of the conflict to be truly used in the school context, it is necessary that the community, and especially teachers and management bodies, recognize the conflict possibilities. Constructive management of school conflicts is important and necessary for new generations to learn to live with social differences.

In this sequence, educational action is required, intentionally aimed at conflict management as an element inherent to the human condition and indispensable to democratic societies. Therefore, the formative potential of the conflict depends on the strategies used to resolve the conflict and the management that takes place. The way to conflict management, in turn, depends on how those involved experience the conflict. Therefore, the negative view of the conflict and the lack of perception of its educational potential can prevent those involved from developing essential skills such as respect for diversity, respect for the rights of others, and availability for dialog.

Pérez-de-Guzmán et al. [ 7] indicate that training in conflict management, generates very positive results in all members of the educational community, verifying a reduction in the interpersonal conflict between teacher-student. Also, Massabni [ 41] defends the urgency to prepare teachers to face professional conflicts; otherwise, we will have a generation of teachers able to succumb to the pressure that the profession is going through, to accept the reduction of their action, their status, and to share their commitments with other professionals, who take away the property of regulating their work. It is necessary to support teachers and provide them with tools to develop their ways of managing conflicts.

By making conflicts the subject of reflection and explaining the professional context in which teachers work is, in the opinion of [ 41], the commitment of the different higher education institutions that form them. It is important to work not only on the training of future teachers but also on training in the active teachers in conflict management, small or large, which inevitably emerge in the teacher-student relationship, throughout their professional life. Also, the Freire et al. [ 42] results support the importance of professional development opportunities with a focus on facilitating the relationship of teachers with students with perceived challenging behavior.

5. Conclusions

The school is an institution that reproduces a microcosm of society, bringing together diverse identities. This context with diverse personalities, rules, and values is full of conflicts, problems, and differences between the different actors that make up the school (students, teachers, staff, and parents). Thus, the school system, in addition to involving a range of people, with different characteristics, includes a significant number of continuous and complex interactions, depending on the stages of development of each one. So, school is a place where individuals with different characteristics, backgrounds, experiences, and personalities live together daily. Among so many differences, naturally, divergences of the most diverse species arise. It is essential, then, the proper management of conflicts that may arise so that harmony and respect are present in the school of the main causes presented for the school conflict, we highlight family problems. Being the family the main student emotional support, it becomes the life model of this. In this way, unstable and weakened family relationships directly affect the behavior of your children, behaviors that these after reproduced in the school social relationships. The families of the most deprived students are considered less functional. They do not contribute to the growth of positive feelings, they do not carry out good communication between family members, nor do they assist in healthily making decisions that are, based on the exchange of ideas together instead of imposition. In this sequence, students from more dysfunctional families need school increased support to learn and develop interpersonal skills. Thus, family and school must go together to contribute to the conflict becoming part of a process of growth, acceptance of the other, and accountability. Learning to deal with conflicts positively is essential for the development of healthy relationships.

The school, by bringing together people from different social groups with different values and worldviews, becomes a locus for conflicts. Thus, the conflict must be understood as a reality inherent to the educational context, and the school, as responsible for the education of values and skills for living together must be differently prepared to deal with the conflicts that occur in it.

Conflicts of various types have always been present in the classroom, and the causes that originate them are of great importance, as they allow a better conflict understanding and, consequently, a more correct intervention to its management. It should be noted that personal harmony and the development of attitudes that promote understanding, dialog, and tolerance are indispensable for negotiating conflicts in the teacher-student relationship. The way to intervene in classroom conflicts is essential in education, not only in terms of content, but also as a series of vital procedures in interpersonal relationships. As Lapponi [ 39] points out, for conflicts correct negotiation with the student, it is necessary to communicate effectively, cooperate, decide responsibly, and so teach to resolve conflicts.

Ending school conflict is impossible, since they are intrinsic to the human being, being an integral part of their development and the interpersonal relationships they experience daily. Learning to live with school conflict requires creating attitudes of openness, interest in differences, and respect for diversity, teaching how to recognize injustice, taking measures to overcome it, resolving differences constructively, and moving from conflict situations to reconciliations. So, it is essential that the initial and continuous training of teachers encompasses conflict management, providing them with tools so that they can resolve the conflicts they experience in the classroom.

In summary, it is important to conflict face and resolve it with skills to manage it properly and constructively, establishing cooperative relationships, and producing integrative solutions. Harmony and appreciation should coexist in a classroom environment and conflict should not interfere, negatively, in the teaching and learning process.

Sabina Valente, Abílio Afonso Lourenço and Zsolt Németh (December 23rd 2020). School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships [Online First], IntechOpen, DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.95395. Available from:

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School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships

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Conflicts cannot cease to exist, as they are intrinsic to human beings, forming an integral part of their moral and emotional growth. Likewise, they exist in all schools. The school is inserted in a space where the conflict manifests itself daily and assumes relevance, being the result of the multiple interpersonal relationships that occur in the school context.

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Due to COVID, we began live streaming athletic events. I hope that still continues post-pandemic. It really allowed a lot more family members to see their student athlete play their sport.

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National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

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When a large-scale tragedy occurs, it can cause strong and deeply felt reactions in adults and children. How adults express their emotions will influence the reactions of children and youth. Caregivers can help youngsters manage their feelings by modeling healthy coping strategies and closely monitoring their own emotional state and that of those in their care.

Common Reactions to Trauma

It is not uncommon to feel any or all of the following:

These reactions are often closely linked and can be difficult to separate, (e.g., where does grief end and outrage begin). Children, in particular, may have trouble understanding and talking about their feelings. Emotional reactions take place over a period of time and may not happen in any particular order. They can affect our behavior, our ability to function, and our overall sense of well-being. The intensity and ways we express our reactions will vary depending on our personal experience, general mental health, other stress factors in our lives, our coping style, our ability to self-monitor our emotional state, and our support network. Children of all ages may need guidance and support from the significant adults in their lives as they work through their thoughts and emotional reactions to the event.

Anger: A Natural Reaction

For many people, adults and children alike, anger will be a natural extension of other emotions because it is a defensive mechanism that makes us feel more in control. As well, anger with the perpetrators of these horrible acts is, in many ways, justified. The desire to "retaliate" can be strong-but quite harmful if not redirected to a positive outlet. In some situations, a significant factor in the expression of anger is when there is an "enemy" on which to focus our feelings with whom others might be inappropriately associated. Adults must ensure that children do not "take out" their anger in inappropriate ways, such as lashing out at classmates or neighbors who might be unfairly associated with the perpetrators of violence because of their ethnicity or other affiliations. The key is to direct anger and other strong emotions in socially and psychologically healthy ways.

Recognizing Anger

The first step in helping children manage their anger is getting your anger under control. Be aware of cues in your own behavior. If necessary, ask someone you trust (a family member, friend or colleague) to give you feedback on your anger reaction, and seek help, if needed. Observe the behavior of other adults around you and your child(ren) and be supportive if they show signs of increased anger.

Signs of Anger in Adults

Short temper/impatience

Sleep and/or eating problems

Restlessness and agitation

Hitting and slamming objects, pets, or people

Desire to inflict harm

Verbal outbursts toward family, friends, or fellow workers

A sense of losing control over your life

Poor concentration or attention span

Obsessing about the event

Physical health affected; increase in blood pressure, dizzy, headaches, heart rate elevated, clenched jaw, knot in the stomach, and tight muscles, etc.

You feel life should be fair, but it is not; and things are not how you want them to be

Social media posts expressing intolerance and/or anger

Signs of Anger in Children

Behavioral outbursts, many times without an obvious cause

Sleep problems

Fights at school or home

Physical attacks on others or animals

Disobedience from otherwise well behaved child(ren)

Child states he/she is really sad and does not know why

Complaints of stomachaches and headaches; or vague aches and pains

Other reactions similar to those of adults

Social media posts expressing intolerance and/or anger

Dealing With Anger

Some people have more problems than others dealing with anger. They either try to deny or ignore their feelings and keep them inside, or overreact and "blow-up." These negative coping strategies can be physically and emotionally unhealthy. Pretending we don't feel badly can have long-term effects that may eventually cause us to "lose it." Conversely, psychological research shows that acting out your anger will not relieve it, but instead will make it more intense. We can learn to control or diffuse anger by how we think about the event or people involved and by finding other ways to regain our sense of control and security. Anger can also mask other emotions, such as grief, loss, or fear. It is important to address these related emotions as a way to deal with angry feelings.

Controlling Your Anger

Admit you are angry.

Recognize this is a common reaction to an overwhelming event. It is how you control and manage your reaction that makes the difference.

Try to identify the related emotions that may be fueling your anger, (e.g., sorrow, fear.)

Find appropriate outlets for these related and equally important emotions, (e.g., talk with family members or friends, seek grief counseling, get involved in activities to help victims, etc.)

Understand that how you think about the event can unnecessarily contribute to anger and other strong emotions. Develop a "positive" outlook and look for what can be done to help rather than harm.

Stop, take a deep breath, visualize something peaceful or enjoyable, and try to relax for a few minutes.

Avoid/decrease negative ways to cope, such as misuse of alcohol or drugs.

Find an acceptable outlet, such as exercise, getting involved with your favorite hobby, sports.

Distract yourself from continuing to think about the event -- call a friend, participate in an enjoyable activity.

Keep a sense of humor.

Turn off the TV and radio; play your favorite music.

Maintain daily routines.

Consult your doctor or a mental health specialist if your reactions continue to intensify, or you feel like doing harm to yourself or others.

If you are seeing a mental health professional, be sure to share your angry feelings.

Helping Children Control Anger

Realize they will imitate your responses and reactions.

Let them understand anger is a normal emotion under these circumstances. However, acting out anger, hurting others, and uncontrolled anger is not okay.

Answer their questions honestly and openly; but always consider their developmental age.

Make family time to talk to the child(ren) about their reaction to the events.

Highlight the many positive examples of people helping others and coming together as a community.

Have child(ren) come up with ideas on how to help those who have been injuredor otherwise effected by the tragedy.

Teach them to stop, take a deep breath, and imagine a restful scene or enjoyable activity for a few minutes as a way to relax.

Turn off the TV and make sure exposure to violence in the media, including social media, is restricted or monitored.

Try to understand and encourage children to talk about their fears/sense of loss.

Try to help them see how they would feel if someone hurt, yelled at, or hit them.

Reinforce that the act of one person should not be generalized to an entire group. It is unfair to blame others who have no direct connection to the event.

Sports, exercise, or other physical activity can be quite helpful.

Be flexible in discipline and monitor your reactions to their misbehaviors.

Seek mental health or physician consultation if these reactions do not clear up after 30 days.

Keep family and school routines; get back to a normal life schedule as soon as possible.

If age permits, get the child involved in volunteer work or community service, such as the Red Cross or Animal Shelter, where a child can feel that he/she is making a difference.

Warning Signs of Serious Emotional Trauma

While strong emotional reactions to tragic events are normal, most will fade over the following weeks and most children soon will be able to resume normal activities with minimal displays of anger or anxiety. However, if any of the following symptoms or behaviors continue beyond a few weeks, or if any of these symptoms are exhibited to such a degree that it severely impacts the child's ability to participate in school or home activities, parents and teachers should seek mental health services for evaluation and possible treatment.

Disruption in peer relationships (little or no interactions with friends, significant increase in conflict with classmates or friend).

Strained family relationships (high degree of misbehavior, lashing out against family members, refusal to participate in normal family routines).

Significant decrease in school performance.

Ongoing physical complaints with no apparent cause.

Use of alcohol or other drugs (or increase in comparison to previous behavior).

Repeated nightmares and reporting strong fears of death, violence, etc.

Repetitive play re-enacting the traumatic events.

Low self esteem, negative talk about self (if this was not apparent prior to the trauma).

General lack of energy and lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities.

Parents and teachers can help children overcome traumatic effects of a tragedy and use the process as an opportunity to teach them how to cope more effectively and deal with new challenges. Depending on the scope of the event, the process may take time and patience and the willingness to reach out to friends, neighbors, and co-workers to lend mutual support.
© 2016, National Association of School Psychologists, 4340 East West Highway, Suite 402, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 657-0270, Fax (301) 657-0275; www.nasponline.org

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Managing Strong Emotional Reactions to Traumatic Events: Tips for Families and Teachers

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When a large-scale tragedy occurs, it can cause strong and deeply felt reactions in adults and children. How adults express their emotions will influence the reactions of children and youth. Caregivers can help youngsters manage their feelings by modeling healthy coping strategies and closely monitoring their own emotional state and that of those in their care.

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East/West Wing Program

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The "East/West Wing" program offers a viable and suitable education option for students who have not experienced success in their present settings and who require a small group environment and increased attention from school staff.

The "East/West Wing" program offers a non-traditional yet effective learning environment. The program is small, carefully staffed, and provides intense, comprehensive, and individualized services to students and their families.

Program Goals:

Paraprofessional: Jumanne Charles

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The "East/West Wing" program offers a viable and suitable education option for students who have not experienced success in their present settings and who require a small group environment and increased attention from school staff. The "East/West Wing" program offers a non-traditional yet effective learning environment.

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Schools Are Teaching Negotiation, Peer Mediation Skills

Scott Willis

Schools are hardly immune to the violence that plagues American society. At some high schools, students are as likely to be carrying weapons as textbooks, and violence can erupt over incidents as trivial as the way one student looks at another.

Although the problem at most schools is not so acute, more and more educators are coming to believe they must show their students constructive ways to resolve conflict. By teaching students how to negotiate and mediate disputes, and by developing a climate that fosters collaborative problem solving, many schools are hoping to reverse the trend toward violence they see in society at large.

More than 5,000 schools nationwide offer some kind of conflict resolution program, estimates Annette Townley, executive director of the National Association for Mediation in Education (NAME). Interest in these programs is rapidly rising, she adds.

The most popular kind of conflict resolution program is peer mediation, experts say. In peer mediation programs, a cadre of students are trained to help their schoolmates resolve disputes. Peer mediators do not impose solutions; rather, they help the "disputants" work out their own solution to the conflict. Mediators work alone or, often, in pairs.

Though the details of the process may vary, most peer mediations follow the same basic steps. First, the mediator and disputants come together. This can happen in several ways: The mediator may intervene in an ongoing dispute (in the cafeteria or on the playground, for example), an adult may refer a dispute to mediation, or the disputants themselves may seek it.

After the disputants have agreed to participate in the process, the mediator lays some ground rules: no interrupting or put-downs, for example. Then each disputant tells his or her side of the story, speaking only to the mediator. The mediator paraphrases and summarizes what she hears and asks clarifying questions.

After both disputants have told their stories and expressed their feelings, the mediator tries to help them see the conflict not as a competitive situation, but as a shared problem they must solve together. Then the disputants brainstorm ways to resolve the conflict. Once they have agreed on the best solution, they pledge to abide by it. Sometimes the solution is put in writing and signed by both parties. The mediator may check with the disputants later to make sure their agreement is "sticking."

Around 80-90 percent of peer-mediated agreements hold-a higher rate "than if the principal just lays down the law," says Virgil Petersen of the University of West Virginia. "The disputants own the solution," he says, because they have hammered it out themselves.

What kinds of conflicts do peer mediators help resolve? Conflicts run the gamut from playground fistfights to arguments over whose turn it is to use the classroom computer, experts say. Many disputes stem from rumors and gossip, name calling and harassment, and boyfriend/girlfriend troubles.

Of course, not all student conflicts lend themselves to mediation. Experts agree that conflicts involving violence, weapons, illegal activity, or blatant injustice need to be settled by adults. Peer mediators should not get involved in disputes over drugs, for example, says Jim Halligan of the Community Board Program, which provides conflict resolution resources. "We're not going to mediate for a kid who thought he got shorted on the amount of cocaine he bought for $300," he says wryly.

A fundamental rule of peer mediation is that if the disputants agree to a solution, adults must respect it-even if they do not consider it the best solution possible. (This assumes there has been no intimidation.) Some adults fear that students will devise solutions that are objectionable-that accommodate prejudice, for example, says Halligan. "That's not going to happen," he asserts. "Kids have more sense than that."

Peer mediations often take place during lunch or recess and sometimes during class time. David Sponheim, who teaches at Highlands Elementary School in Edina, Minn., does not want his students to miss instruction while they mediate disputes. "This is where the ideals of the program meet the realities of the classroom," he says. If a conflict arises while he's teaching, he either postpones the mediation or settles the problem himself then and there. But overall he has found peer mediation "a very positive part of our school and my classroom, both in management and in teaching kids some very important life skills."

Mediation Skills

Peer mediators need many skills if they are to succeed in their role, experts say. First, they must be good communicators: They must be able to listen carefully, restate and clarify what they are told, and ask neutral questions. They must be able to detect the underlying cause of a conflict-the disputants' differing perceptions or assumptions, for example. Equally important, they must know how to defuse anger and develop empathy between disputants. And, finally, they need the self-control to keep the mediation process confidential (unless they have heard allegations of abuse or threats of serious violence). To develop these skills, peer mediators need 15-20 hours of advance training, with follow-up sessions every two weeks, Petersen recommends.

Surprisingly, experts agree that popular and successful students are not the only candidates for peer mediators. "The mediator doesn't have to be a kid who's looked up to by everybody," says Terry Amsler, executive director of the Community Board Program. "Negative leaders"-bullies and troublemakers-often make good peer mediators. When given responsibility within the system, these students often rise to the occasion.

To select peer mediators, most schools survey students, asking them, "Whom would you trust? Whom would you like to talk to?" But schools should also hold some slots for appointments, advises Terry Kelly, who ran a peer mediation program at a junior high school in Booth, W.Va., for three years. This allows the school to balance the pool of mediators in terms of gender and race, she says.

One sensitive issue in peer mediation is the degree to which mediators should address causes of conflict such as racism and sexism. Does eliciting issues of bias help restore harmony among students or merely widen estrangements?

Mediators do need to deal with these issues, believes David Johnson, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Minnesota and co-author of Teaching Students to Be Peacemakers. But he concedes that it's "tricky" to do so. "There's a lot to be learned if it's [done] in a constructive context," he says-but care must be taken to ensure that the discussion doesn't "escalate in a negative way."

Issues of bias should be dealt with "as much as appropriate to resolve the problem," says consultant Marcia Peterzell, who ran a conflict management program at a San Francisco high school for over six years. "It's good for disputants to be challenged" on their prejudices, she believes, as long as the focus remains conciliation, not therapy.

"You don't go deeper than what the disputants are presenting," advises Ellen Raider of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution. But if a larger pattern emerges-if a school has recurrent conflicts with racial overtones-then educators should recognize the need for training in multiculturalism and understanding bias.

Terry Kelly adds a practical footnote: If a dispute involves issues of gender or race, "always make sure you have a balanced team of mediators" to work with the disputants.

Research on peer mediation programs is too scanty to determine how successful they are, says Daniel Kmitta, a doctoral student at the University of Cincinnati, who is studying this question. But there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence in favor of such programs, he notes. Students report that they are fighting less often, and teachers say their school climates have improved.

Teaching All Students

Some experts believe peer mediation programs, while worthy, do not go far enough. Schools should teach all students negotiation and mediation skills, they believe, rather than just a cadre of peer mediators.

David Johnson advocates this approach. "You need every kid trained in the same system," he says, "so that when a conflict arises, everybody knows what to do." In teaching these skills at an elementary school, Johnson gave 25-minute lessons daily for three or four weeks, then one or two lessons per week to explore topics in more depth.

"This stuff needs to be way overlearned," Johnson emphasizes, because the process of negotiation is contrary to our instinctive desire to strike back during a conflict. To override such instincts requires "hundreds of repetitions" of the process. "You just don't get this at a conflict awareness weekend or day of training," he says.

Besides learning to negotiate and mediate, all students can benefit from learning good communication skills, anger management, and perspective taking, says Larry Dieringer, executive director of Educators for Social Responsibility, whose Resolving Conflict Creatively Program is being used "in a lot of tough areas in New York City and New Orleans," among other cities. Students should also learn about prejudice and discrimination, as well as how to be assertive without attacking others, he believes.

Where in the curriculum can these skills and concepts be taught? According to Dieringer, they can be infused into the traditional subject areas. In studying literature, for example, students could identify and analyze conflict themes. In math and science, they could study the conflicts raging over acid rain and the destruction of the rain forest. Although teaching this content takes up instructional time, in the long run teachers save time because they don't have to spend so much time resolving disputes, he says.

Changing the School Culture

Some experts urge that efforts to address conflict resolution should involve everyone at a school-not just students. "Most schools initially gravitate to peer mediation programs, because they think if they fix the kids everything will be okay," says Townley of NAME. Although peer mediation programs are "wonderful," they are limited to a small group of people-and therefore provide only a limited impetus for changing behavior and attitudes.

At best, schools should take a systemic approach, Townley recommends. They should begin with staff development for adults so they can serve as role models. "Kids see the way adults resolve conflict all the time," she notes. If everyone in the school tries to "live" the skills and philosophy, the program becomes part of the fabric of the school, not just an add-on.

To change the school culture, staff members must learn and practice the skills of negotiation and mediation, Raider agrees, because adults can't say to students, "Do what I say, not what I do." Adults need to learn these skills "at their own level," or they will have false expectations for students. Through role playing, adults need to learn how hard it is to change behavior, she says. "They have to feel it viscerally."

Can conflict resolution programs prevent serious violence in schools? Experts are quick to point out that these programs are not a panacea. "We don't believe these programs in and of themselves solve violence," says Amsler. However, they are an important "tool toward that end." Serious violence won't be reduced until educators "work at the organizational level" by involving the whole school community, Raider believes.

Raider is "very hopeful" regarding the future of conflict resolution programs in schools. "A critical mass is building, of folks who understand this stuff," she says. But she adds that the movement is "still in its infancy."

"More and more, people are thinking it's a really good idea" for schools to address conflict resolution, Halligan says. "We look at it as a basic skill for kids today."

Resources

From ASCD:

Adult Conflict Resolution, a videotape staff development program, presents a framework that will help educators negotiate solutions to the conflicts that arise in today's collaborative school environment. Stock no. 614-251. Price: $328 (ASCD members), $398 (nonmembers). For more information, contact ASCD's Order Processing Dept. at (703) 549-9110.

To join ASCD's network on Conflict Resolution, contact Mary Ellen Schaffer, Asst. Principal, Elsie Johnson School, 1380 Nautilus Lane, Hanover Park, IL 60103; (708) 830-8770 (tel.) or (708) 893-5452 (fax).

Organizations:

Children's Creative Response to Conflict Program, Fellowship of Reconciliation (an interfaith, pacifist organization), Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960; (914) 358-4601.

Community Board Program, 1540 Market St., Ste. 490, San Francisco, CA 94102; (415) 552-1250 (tel.) or (415) 626-0595 (fax).

Educators for Social Responsibility, School Conflict Resolution Programs, 23 Garden St., Cambridge, MA 02138; (617) 492-1764.

National Association for Mediation in Education (NAME), 205 Hampshire House, Box 33635, Amherst, MA 01003-3635; (413) 545-2462.

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Schools Are Teaching Negotiation, Peer Mediation Skills Scott Willis Schools are hardly immune to the violence that plagues American society. At some high schools, students are as likely to be carrying weapons as textbooks, and violence can erupt over incidents as trivial as the way one student looks at another.

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Oppositional, Defiant & Disruptive Children and Adolescents: Non-Medication Approaches for the Most Challenging ODD Behaviors (Walls)

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defiant & disruptive children and adolescents: non-medication appoaches for the most challenging odd behaviors

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psychology / psychopathology / anxieties & phobias

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psychology / psychotherapy / child & adolescent

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psychology/psychotherapy - child & adolescent

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psychology / psychopathology / anxieties & phobias

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psychology / psychotherapy / child & adolescent

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psychology/psychotherapy - child & adolescent

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Oppositional, Defiant & Disruptive Children and Adolescents: Non-Medication Appoaches for the Most Challenging ODD Behaviors

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Oppositional, Defiant & Disruptive Children and Adolescents: Non-Medication Appoaches for the Most Challenging ODD Behaviors [Walls, Scott] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Oppositional, Defiant & Disruptive Children and Adolescents: Non-Medication Appoaches for the Most Challenging ODD Behaviors

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WIN Class

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Monthly newsletters updating parents and the community about different things happening in the school building.

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Conflict resolution skills are good to teach all kids in your classes at the beginning of the year and then again once a month to keep the strategies fresh in kids minds

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Student discipline is the biggest source of friction in the teacher-principal relationship, say 52 percent of teachers and 24 percent of principals surveyed by the Education Week Research Center.

That's in large part due to the competing priorities of each job, writes Arianna Prothero for Education Week. "Principals must adhere to district, state, or federal policies aimed at, say, reducing suspensions and expulsions," Prothero writes. "Teachers-whose performance is judged in part on test scores and other measures of achievement-are often focused on keeping order in their classroom."

As many schools and districts continue to shift from zero-tolerance discipline policies that research shows have disproportionately impacted black and Latino students to less restrictive and more rehabilitative practices, inconsistencies and frustrations can emerge as teachers and administrators try to implement new practices they aren't familiar with. "The move to rein in traditional forms of discipline like out-of-school suspensions can create real conflict," writes Prothero. "Especially if teachers feel new policies have been sprung on them without adequate training and support."

Three strategies are key to helping teachers and principals see eye-to-eye on discipline: clear and consistent communication; building and maintaining relationships among the school's many stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, and parents; and providing ongoing teacher training.

Establish Clear Communication

Develop clear guidelines about who handles student misbehavior-and communicate those guidelines. This practice cuts down on confusion about how, and by whom, incidents should be handled.

"I think the biggest thing is sitting down before the school year and getting a blueprint for what the classroom expectations are and what behavior a teacher is going to manage and what the office is going to manage," says Russell McDaniel, the principal of the junior high school in Celina Independent School District, a rural district in Texas. "Here's the expectations for the teachers, here's the expectations for the students, here are the steps, and here is a reward system built into it."

Clear communication helps reduce confusion and frustration for teachers and parents, and ultimately brings everyone closer to the end goal: ensuring that all students are educated in a safe environment.

Develop Relationships

Long before a conflict arises, relationships-between principals and teachers and between educators and the larger school community, including parents-are a key to successful conflict resolution.

"For Kerensa Wing, the principal of Collins Hill High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia, teachers must be included in the restorative process-namely by asking for teacher input on the consequences," Prothero reports. "She has found it's meaningful to get students' input as well-and, subsequently, their buy-in-on discipline."

This includes, for example, making sure teachers, and the broader community, have a say about adopting discipline changes: "We have a 'student expectations committee' where we allow teachers and students and administration to come together to discuss the local rules... to review those each year to make sure they're still relevant," says Wing. "Just having those healthy discussions, and the teachers knowing they have input in those decisions, that helps as well."

Don't Underestimate the Need for Training

Without being given the basic tools to implement a new approach to discipline, teachers may not feel equipped to effectively carry out new routines in the classroom. Ongoing training, for teachers and administrators alike, should be a cornerstone of successful classroom management.

"While the training required will vary depending on the specific school, the discipline philosophy it's using, and the students it serves, it's important that it's not a one-off thing," says Wing, the Georgia principal. "It must be for all teachers and it must continue over time."

Conflicts about discipline may be especially poignant for teachers because the stakes are high when it comes to keeping classrooms under control. "We have been going through an era of blaming teachers for a lot of society's failures," says Judith Kafka, a professor of education policy and history at the City University of New York. "Especially in a context when teachers are told: 'We are going to judge you based on student test scores.' Then teachers are going to feel more pressure to say,... 'I don't have time to deal with a child who is presenting challenging behavior because that's going to put us a whole day behind.'"

Even with these three practices in place, tension between teachers and principals over discipline will remain. Indeed, policies around discipline should be considered a core competency of school systems, says Kafka, rather than just an extra thing schools need to deal with. "I would argue it's a fundamental purpose of schooling. It's teaching [students] how to behave in a social world. Just like kids make mistakes in reading, in math, they make mistakes in behavior."

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Key Strategies for Reducing Friction Over Student Discipline

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Student discipline is the biggest source of friction in the teacher-principal relationship, say 52 percent of teachers and 24 percent of principals surveyed by the Education Week Research Center. That's in large part due to the competing priorities of each job, writes Arianna Prothero for Education Week .

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Teaneck HIgh School

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Background information and important links.

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Children thrive in environments where they feel safe, stable, and bonded to their family. Unfortunately, children that are in contact with the child welfare system have experienced negative and often traumatic situations that can have a lasting impact. In order to support the wellbeing of children and families, the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) framework identifies discouraging conditions that children may experience, so that prevention strategies can work to reduce the likelihood of their recurrence and mitigate their effects.

What Are ACEs?

ACEs are traumatic events that occur before a child reaches the age of 18. ACEs include all types of abuse and neglect, such as parental substance use, incarceration, and domestic violence. ACEs can also include situations that may cause trauma for a child, such as having a parent with a mental illness or being part of a family going through a divorce. A landmark study in the 1990s found a significant relationship between the number of ACEs a person experienced and a variety of negative outcomes in adulthood, including poor physical and mental health, substance use, and risky behaviors.The more ACEs experienced, the greater the risk for these outcomes. By definition, children in the child welfare system have suffered at least one ACE. Recent studies have shown that compared with the general population, these children are far more likely to have experienced at least four ACEs (42 percent vs. 12.5 percent).

How Can This Information Help Children?

Research about the lifelong impact of ACEs underscores the sense of urgency in implementing prevention activities to protect children from these and other early traumas. When children do experience trauma, understanding the impact of ACEs can lead to more trauma-informed interventions that help to mitigate negative outcomes. Many communities are now exploring how a focus on reducing ACEs can help prevent child maltreatment, produce healthier outcomes for children and families, and save costs down the road. The following resources provide an overview of ACEs and how healthy outcomes from positive experiences can be used to help mitigate the impact of ACEs on child development.

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Includes resources about ACEs such the foundational study, infographic, and learning modules.

ACEs and Toxic Stress: Frequently Asked Questions [Infographic]
Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child (2020)
Presents an infographic that defines adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and explains how they relate to toxic stress. The website also explores how trauma is connected to ACEs and toxic stress and how to reduce their effects.

Adverse Childhood Experiences
Child Trends (2019)
Presents key facts about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and examines trends related to ACEs, focusing on differences by age, race, poverty level, and parental education.

Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Different Than Child Trauma, And It's Critical to Understand Why
Bartlett & Sacks (2019)
Child Trends
Describes how adverse childhood experiences differ from other commonly used terms, including childhood adversity, trauma, and toxic stress. The resource defines each of these terms and provides information on them.

Early Adverse Experiences and the Developing Brain
Bick & Nelson (2016)
Neuropsychopharmacology, 41
Reviews evidence suggesting that early exposure to adverse experiences involving child maltreatment in a family setting negatively affects the developing brain in ways that increase risk of problems. The article later explains they hope to improve outcomes with prevention and intervention services for children and families.

Excessive Stress Disrupts the Architecture of the Developing Brain
Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child
Discusses how coping with various types of stress is an important part of healthy child development and how when confronted with toxic stress, the response can be extreme, long-lasting, and lead to lifelong repercussions.

Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: A Technical Package for Policy, Norm, and Programmatic Activities (PDF - 3,994 KB)
Fortson, Klevens, Merrick, Gilbert, & Alexander (2016)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Presents specific strategies to prevent child abuse from occurring and approaches to reduce the immediate and long-term effects of child abuse and neglect. The package offers information to inform policies at the community and State levels.

Road to Resilience: Raising Healthy Kids: Adverse Childhood Experiences
Mayo Clinic Health System (2020)
Offers information on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) through a 6-week virtual training program to help youth combat ACEs. The training materials consist of a game board, a toolkit, and a video. Additional videos are also available.

Healthy Outcomes From Positive Experiences

Essentials for Childhood: Promoting Healthy Outcomes From Positive Experiences (PDF - 633 KB)
Sege & Linkenbach (2014)
Pediatrics Perspectives
Examines how safe, stable relationships in childhood promote positive health outcomes and reduce the risk of maltreatment as well as the ways in which child-serving professionals can support these relationships.

HOPE - Healthy Outcomes From Positive Experiences
Presents a multidisciplinary approach to strengthening positive childhood experiences to mitigate the effects of adverse childhood experiences on child development.

Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels (PDF - 347 KB)
Bethell, Jones, Gombojav, Linkenbach, & Sege (2019)
JAMA Pediatrics
Examines the relationship between positive childhood experiences and socioemotional support with adult depression and negative mental health outcomes when controlling for adverse childhood experience exposure levels.

1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). About the CDC-Kaiser ACE study: Major findings. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html.

2ACEs in young children involved in the child welfare system. Retrieved from https://www.flcourts.org/content/download/215886/file/ACEsInYoungChildrenInvolvedInTheChildWelfareSystem.pdf; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016). About the CDC-Kaiser ACE study: Data and statistics. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/acestudy/about.html.

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Children thrive in environments where they feel safe, stable, and bonded to their family. Unfortunately, children that are in contact with the child welfare system have experienced negative and often traumatic situations that can have a lasting impact.

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PD Model for implementation of titled area

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PD Model for implementation of titled area

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This paper presents a staff-development model to implement a school-wide conflict management plan. Results of an ongoing conflict management plan following its third year from an urban middle school are included to illustrate a conflict prevention and management strategy that was motivated and shaped by the school's culture and climate realities. The strategy is based on the premise that the effectiveness of the conflict management program improves when the philosophical orientation for conflict management is articulated, understood, and implemented by the administration, faculty, students, and parents.

References

Borko, H. , and Putnam, R. T. 1995. "Expanding a Teacher's Knowledge Base: A Cognitive Psychological Perspective on Professional Development." in Professional Development in Education: New Paradigms and Practices, Huberman, M. , and Guskey, T. R. , eds., New York: Teachers College Press, pp. 35-65.
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Hargreaves, A. 1995. "Development and Desire: A Postmodern Perspective." in Professional Development in Education: New Paradigms and Practices, Huberman, M. , and Guskey, T. R. , eds., New York: Teachers College Press, pp. 9-34.
Google Scholar

Huberman, M. , and Guskey, T. R. 1995. "The Diversities of Professional Development." in Professional Development in Education: New Paradigms and Practices, Huberman, M. , and Guskey, T. R. , eds., New York: Teachers College Press, pp. 269-272.
Google Scholar

Zhang, Q. 1994. "An Intervention Model of Constructive Conflict Resolution and Cooperative Learning," Journal of Social Issues, 50(1): 99-116.
Google Scholar

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Implementing a School-Wide Conflict Management Program: Staff Development is the Key - Patsy E. Johnson, 1996

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This paper presents a staff-development model to implement a school-wide conflict management plan. Results of an ongoing conflict management plan following its third year from an urban middle school are included to illustrate a conflict prevention and management strategy that was motivated and shaped by the school's culture and climate realities.

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Last year this time we were at 158 suspensions. This year we're at 37. Now although we did have 37 incidents this year, how do we repair the harm that's done? How do we let both students know that they are valuable assets to the community and we want to bring them back into the community so that they can continue to be successful academically? MEGAN THOMPSON: Multiple academic studies have found that suspensions makes it more likely for that student to dropout of high school. The trend particularly affects students of color.

The U.S. Department of Education has found that nationwide, black students are three times more likely to be suspended than white students. And a 2011 study of nearly one million students in Texas found that those students who were suspended or expelled were nearly three times more likely to come into contact with the juvenile justice system within the next year.

Coordinator Mischael Cetout argues that the restorative justice model can help prevent kids from ending up in prison down the road...not just in his school, but across the nation.

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Schools resolve conflicts by getting kids to talk things out

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Schools across the country are moving away from an era of zero-tolerance policies and shifting toward methods that involve restorative justice, encouraging students to resolve their differences by talking to each other rather than resorting to violence. In New York City, five schools that have implemented this system are already seeing results.

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Student provided topics
Virtual events for parents [how to deal with virtual learning, students struggling with mental health through virtual learning, etc.]

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Code of Conduct High School Pompton Lakes 

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Code of Conduct High School Pompton Lakes 

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Changing School Culture - Educational Leadership

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Pages 21-24

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Pompton Lakes Code of Conduct - Middle School

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Pompton Lakes Code of Conduct - Middle School

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Nick Angrisani

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Bayonne Board of Education Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Policy

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Bayonne Board of Education Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Policy

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Bayonne Board of Education
Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Policy

The Bayonne Board of Education prohibits acts of bullying, harassment and intimidation of students and staff. The board has determined that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards, and for staff to educate students effectively. Harassment, intimidation or bullying like other disruptive or violent behaviors, is conduct that disrupts both a student's ability to learn and a school's ability to educate its pupils in a safe environment. All members of the Bayonne public schools community have a right to live and work in an environment that is safe Harassment and bullying will not be tolerated because it can lead to more serious violence, and because such behavior is gravely inconsistent with district efforts to improve academic performance, improve school attendance and reduce the drop-out rate Student and staff who are intimidated and fearful cannot give the single-minded attention they need to success.

All student and staff are expected to treat each other with civility and respect and not to engage in behavior that is disruptive or violent. Therefore, the school district will not tolerate acts of harassment, intimidation or bullying against any students or staff.

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Bayonne Board of Education Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying Policy The Bayonne Board of Education prohibits acts of bullying, harassment and intimidation of students and staff. The board has determined that a safe and civil environment in school is necessary for students to learn and achieve high academic standards, and for staff to educate students effectively.

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A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors pdf icon [4.09 MB, 64 Pages, 508] This technical package is a collection of strategies that represent the best available evidence to help states and communities prevent or reduce youth violence.

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How well do you know your students? In a Nevada school, a simple strategy pushes teachers to look beyond the lessons.

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San Francisco Unified School District Restorative Practices Whole-School Implementation Guide

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San Francisco Unified School District Restorative Practices Whole-School Implementation Guide

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Restorative Practices:Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools A Guide for Educators

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Restorative Practices:Fostering Healthy Relationships & Promoting Positive Discipline in Schools A Guide for Educators

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A Restorative Climate for Learning - Educational Leadership

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Show & Tell: A Video Column / Reducing the Impact of Mobility

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Show & Tell: A Video Column / Reducing the Impact of Mobility

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September 2017 | Volume 75 | Number 1
In Sync with Families Pages 82-83

Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

In searching for factors that positively affect student's learning, John Hattie (2009) stumbled on a few things that, instead, get in the way. The good news: Hattie found there are few things educators do that harm students' chances of learning. But examining the five percent of influences (of all 200 Hattie examined) that impede learning can be enlightening. This column focuses on the influencing factor on Hattie's list with the most negative impact: student mobility. When students change schools, their achievement often declines precipitously.

The effect size of mobility on student achievement is -.34. That's right, negative. An effect size is a statistical tool used to aggregate data to determine the average impact of various factors and to explore the size of the difference a factor makes. In education, effect sizes can be used to estimate the number of months or years of learning growth a specific intervention is likely to produce. Something with a small effect size might generate a month's worth of growth; something with a large effect size could generate 1.5 years of growth. Factors with a negative effect size decrease growth.

Hattie suggested that, in education research, an effect size of .40 for any factor is equivalent to about a year's worth of learning for a year's worth of schooling. Thus, a situation in which a student changes schools often would equate to the loss of nearly a year of learning for that learner.

Student mobility is high in many areas. Take Colorado, for example. For the 2015-2016 school year, the statewide student mobility rate was 19 percent; some districts were in the range of 30 percent or more.

We think it's worth considering whether there's much overlap between students who move often and those who don't perform well in school. Yet schools rarely address the issue of student mobility in school improvement efforts. For instance, not one of the Local Control Accountability Plans of 75 California school districts we randomly selected focused on mitigating the effects of mobility as a way to improve students' learning and achievement.

Softening the Blow

But some school systems, leaders, and teachers are taking action to reduce the impact of mobility on students' learning. In fact, the school where we teach, Health Sciences High and Middle College, has an onboarding process for every new student. In the video accompanying this column, you'll meet a new student enrolling in this school and see how from his first day, designated educators help him connect with the staff, understand expectations in classrooms, and feel valued as a member of the learning community.

Such processes, often done in partnership with families, help ease any new student's transition. Let's look at actions that schools can take to lessen the blows that accompany school switching-many dramatized in this video.

Gather Information from Family Members and Teachers

One reason mobility has such a negative impact is because of lost instructional time. When a new student enrolls and the teacher knows nothing about that student, it can take months before the correct scaffolds and supports are in place.

To ensure that there aren't gaps and redundancies in a student's learning, gather as much information from family members as possible. We encourage schools to develop a checklist of information they want to obtain so teachers get a better sense of the new student's learning needs. This may seem obvious, but busy educators often forget to collect this information from caregivers.

When any new student enrolls at Health Sciences High, the office staff collects specific information from family members-and alerts teachers that they'll have a new class member the following day. One San Diego elementary school we know asks parents of newcomers about the curriculum used at the last school, who the teachers were (so they can contact them), in which areas the new student excelled, and if there are any instructional needs to be addressed.

Imagine the impact a conversation between the sending teacher and the receiving teacher could have. One district we know of pays sending and receiving teachers a stipend to have several short conversations about students who transfer schools within their system. Think how much more likely it is that an incoming student will receive lessons tailored to her needs.

Ease Them In

Years ago, a new student enrolled in Doug's 4th grade class. A well-meaning staff member from the front office opened the classroom door and said, "This is Juan-Pablo. He's new, and he's in your class. Good luck!" This wonderful young man wasn't expected by the school, and he knew it. His name wasn't on the birthday wall. He didn't have a desk (much less one with his name on it), a writer's notebook, or any other supplies taken for granted by the other students. And Doug was in the middle of what he thought was a great lesson. At that moment, Doug had to decide either to stop the lesson and welcome Juan-Pablo or continue with the lesson and have him wait.

Contrast this with Ellery's first day, shown on the video. He receives a school tour and is invited to stop into classes on his schedule, observe how learning happens, and even chat about his perceptions with a sympathetic administrator.

Foster Friendships

In transitioning to a new school, the key to success is often friendships. Students who make a close, personal friend within the first month of enrolling in a school benefit in academic as well as social ways. Students learn more because they're less anxious and isolated. Unfortunately, some teachers don't see it as their responsibility to facilitate friendships. One educator recently told us, "I'm not a matchmaker."

But if we value students' learning and we know that gaining a friend in a new situation helps learning, isn't it reasonable to suggest that friendship facilitation is our responsibility? Encouraging friendships for new kids should be valued as an instructional strategy. Consider these simple actions:

Learn something about every student. Use this information to connect students who might enjoy the opportunity to get to know one another.

Consider where you seat the new student. Maximize the connections the student can make with peers.

During unstructured times, such as recess, bring new students subtly into conversations or introduce them to like-minded peers. This ensures that any isolated student has someone to hang around during these times.

Create a group of student ambassadors, like those who greet Ellery, who intentionally engage new students in social activities and introduce them around.

We wonder if mobility is contributing to the achievement gap. We're concerned that mobility is accepted as inevitable-and rarely addressed. Imagine the achievement gains any school could realize if it simply erased the negative impact students changing schools has on learning. Not to mention that students might like school better.

Endnote

Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge.

Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are professors in the Department of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and teacher leaders at Health Sciences High and Middle College. They are ASCD authors, and their work inspired ASCD's FIT Teaching®.

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Reducing the Impact of Mobility - Educational Leadership

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September 2017 | Volume 75 | Number 1 In Sync with Families Pages 82-83 Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey In searching for factors that positively affect student's learning, John Hattie (2009) stumbled on a few things that, instead, get in the way.

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September 2017 | Volume 75 | Number 1

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Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey

How one school treats each new student as a valued learner from day one. Watch the video.

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September 2017 | Volume 75 | Number 1 Unlocked articles can be read for free by all visitors. Members and subscribers log in to read all articles. Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey How one school treats each new student as a valued learner from day one. Watch the video.

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Disengagement Problems Disguised as Discipline Problems

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Disengagement Problems Disguised as Discipline Problems

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Disengagement Problems Disguised as Discipline Problems

Amy Rodriguez

The pulse of a school is felt in its routines-the bells that mark time in predictable, 45-minute increments, the thrumming beat of students' footsteps and hum of their chatter as they transition from one class to another-the steady sounds that are as natural to those who inhabit school buildings as breathing. All too often included in the acoustics of a regular school day is the cacophony of disengagement. The disengaged raise their voices, march out of the classrooms, wander the hallways; and when they do, they are disproportionately represented by our most vulnerable students; our black and Latino girls and boys.

One of my most jarring experiences as an administrator was receiving a "persistently dangerous" designation from the state. Looking in the eyes of students as they wandered the halls or hid in the nurse's station, I knew our school didn't have a safety problem; we had an engagement problem. The data we were sending to the state-page after page of incident reports-read more like a pulp fiction novel than an objective report of incidents. My colleagues and I analyzed these reports for times, dates, and locations of incidents and found patterns of behavior. We created an Incident Reduction Plan to identify the discipline policies and classroom management practices that fueled student disengagement, and therefore "persistent danger," in our school. Three areas became focal points of our plan:

Developing de-escalation strategies to help prevent behaviors that create a risk of physical injury.

Reframing communication to give student identity and culture a voice and to prevent instigating violent responses to school policies.

Examine behavioral data and student feedback and reflect on the role school policies play in exacerbating negative trends. With student guidance, adjust policies.

With student voice as the connective tissue, this three-tiered approach has helped us adjust schoolwide policies in order to better support and engage the whole child.

Relate and De-Escalate

School discipline policies are generally punitive and do little to offer strategies to de-escalate negative interactions with and among students (Kupchik, Green, & Mowen, 2015). My school shared grounds with three other schools, and as the high school principal, my office was located near the shared safety office. From my perspective, the damaging effects of these punitive policies were painfully obvious. One afternoon, I heard a crash and screaming from the safety office. Above the chaos, I heard a familiar voice. "Is that my Fatia?" I wondered. A student of mine from middle school who had transferred to the high school, Fatia's face maintained shadows of the little girl I knew. On the floor were remnants of a broken clock recently ripped off the desk and hurled at the wall. She sat in the corner, frantically seeking something else to throw, when an safety officer whispered to me that if Fatia didn't calm down, they were going to cuff her. "Fati, can I come to you?," I asked. She nodded, and when I wrapped my arms around her to give her a hug, she collapsed into tears. She needed to cry, to release her anger and her frustration, and to know she was safe and with someone who would hear her voice.

Punitive education policies set disproportionately rigid rules for our most vulnerable students. Fatia was trying to get to the guidance counselor and found herself close to being handcuffed. In this school, our policy mandated students report to class in order to obtain a pass, but Fatia needed help now. Well-meaning staff implementing this policy inadvertently triggered Fatia's frustration. My history and relationship with Fatia allowed me to defuse a difficult situation. She knew I would listen to her, no matter what. De-escalation strategies work when they're built on relationships and trust. By prioritizing de-escalation in our incident reduction plan, our school culture shifted to supporting staff in maintaining a calm demeanor and approaching students with kindness rather than hostility. For example, during a difficult interaction with a student, staff calmly acknowledge students' feelings and give students time to process what they feel, while inviting them into a collaborative problem-solving space. An educator might tell the student, "I can see you're feeling frustrated and angry right now, and I would like to understand what's made you so upset." Then students are given space to process their feelings. This ensured our students were less likely to feel trapped during a time of crisis and significantly reduced our number of incidents.

Give Alex a Voice

As early as 6th grade, Alex was no stranger to others' assumptions about him. Each day, teachers instructed him to pull his pants up, take his hood down, stop talking, lower his voice. If he wasn't being corrected for his clothes and speech, he would get an earful about missing homework. It is no surprise that Alex often stormed out of classrooms and walked the halls, irate at what staff felt were "the littlest things." What teachers did not know was that Alex's mother had only recently regained custody of him and that his beloved father was missing from the picture.

Alex's context required a nuanced and culturally appropriate approach to affect change (Gay, 2015). Alex and I talked about what would have to happen in order for him to stay in class and do the work. He wanted to sit alone without teachers standing over him as he worked and to be given feedback in private, not in front of peers. Alex wanted the freedom to walk out of the classroom when he felt overwhelmed or upset, and in return, he promised not to be gone for too long and to leave and return without disrupting the class.

The middle school teachers and I gave Alex his space, and slowly his need for breaks lessened. He was able to enter a classroom and work on any given assignment. The frequent class disruptions faded. Giving Alex a voice to advocate for his own needs allowed him to keep his identity and individuality intact in school, which in turn created an opening for him to be present in class and as a part of the school community.

Examine Data and Adjust Policy

After looking at the number and location of reports, we found that most incidents happened in the hallways, after lunch. In meetings and advisories, students were telling us that having teachers pick students up from lunch and transition them back to the classroom wasn't working. We listened to this and modified the policy to allow students to transition themselves, while teachers greeted them at the classroom doors. This change gave students a greater sense of independence and a chance to reconnect with friends and ease back into learning for the afternoon. Changes like these communicate that schools are listening to students, that what students want matters, and that staff trust students to make positive decisions for themselves.

Student Voice as a Mechanism for Change

In my "persistently dangerous" school, some teachers were reluctant to release authority because they felt uncertain about what to do when they encountered noncompliant behavior. Several staff attended a series of trainings about de-escalation and shared the strategies they learned; like acknowledging a student's feelings in times of crisis, expressing a desire to understand why a student feels that way, and giving a student space to process emotions. Staff role-played situations students might encounter at school and at home, as well as how to give students safe spaces to express these concerns in advisory.

Student surveys on climate and culture are another way students can safely express their experiences in school. Engaging in small routines like administrators meeting with grades and classes each week not only builds rapport, but also provides leadership a direct line to students' thinking and feelings. Providing a method for students to share their thoughts about processes and perceptions of school gives students voice and fosters a sense of students as integral part of the community. Building relationships, through homerooms, advisories, or just small conversations in the hallway or lunchroom, demonstrates an authentic, positive regard for students by school staff.

Over time, student discussions during weekly meetings with administrators shifted from discontent about teachers and school policies to ideas about what programs and curriculum students would like to see. Our community began to manifest the vision of the school-an environment that nurtures tomorrow's leaders. Moreover, we experienced a drastic reduction in behavior incidents, from 37 incidents in one school year to seven incidents in the next.

No matter who they are or where they are from, students want their voices to be heard. Listen to the behavior problems in your school, and you will hear the voices of the marginalized and disengaged. We teach about Rosa Parks and the Civil Rights movement, but we do not give children permission to sit-in for their beliefs in school. Students need positive ways to influence the rhythm of the school day, too.

References

Gay, G. (2015). The what, why, and how of culturally responsive teaching: International mandates, challenges, and opportunities. Multicultural Education Review, 7(3), 123-139.

Kupchik, A., Green, D. A., & Mowen, T. J. (2015). School punishment in the US and England: Divergent frames and responses. Youth Justice, 15(1), 3-22.

Amy Rodriguez is a principal with 15 years' experience in New York City Public Schools.

ASCD Express, Vol. 13, No. 11. Copyright 2018 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

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ASCD Express 13.11 - Disengagement Problems Disguised as Discipline Problems

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Disengagement Problems Disguised as Discipline Problems Amy Rodriguez The pulse of a school is felt in its routines-the bells that mark time in predictable, 45-minute increments, the thrumming beat of students' footsteps and hum of their chatter as they transition from one class to another-the steady sounds that are as natural to those who inhabit school buildings as breathing.

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Promote empathy and perspective-taking, and help students challenge prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. Start by reviewing bullying basics and testing yourself for hidden bias, then follow up with activities that remind students to Speak Up at School. And, since students aren't the only ones who bully, assess the power dynamics among the adults in your building.

"Hate, bias and passivity toward harm to others all thrive on a lack of knowledge. We stand up for one another when we get more informed about fellow human beings and the world."

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Promote empathy and perspective-taking, and help students challenge prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination. Start by reviewing bullying basics and testing yourself for hidden bias, then follow up with activities that remind students to Speak Up at School. And, since students aren't the only ones who bully, assess the power dynamics among the adults in your building.

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Creating a Climate Hospitable to Education

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Creating a Climate Hospitable to Education

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Creating a Climate Hospitable to Education

Learn how principals can effect changes in their school culture to positively impact student achievement with this professional development video for school leaders. Kimberly Washington, principal of Hyattsville Middle School in Hyattsville, MD, and Tom DeGrazia, principal of P.S. 66 in Bronx, NY, discuss how they implemented significant changes in the climate and culture at their respective schools and the impact that has had on student success.

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Creating a Climate Hospitable to Education

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Learn how principals can effect changes in their school culture to positively impact student achievement with this professional development video for school leaders. Kimberly Washington, principal of Hyattsville Middle School in Hyattsville, MD, and Tom DeGrazia, principal of P.S.

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NJPSA Education Law Primer: Student Discipline What You Should Know

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NJPSA Education Law Primer: Student Discipline What You Should Know

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Achieving Educational Excellence for All:A Guide to Diversity-Related Policy Strategies for School Districts

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Achieving Educational Excellence for All:A Guide to Diversity-Related Policy Strategies for School Districts