Why Adults Strike Back: Learned Behavior or Genetic Code?
Do you agree or disagree with Dr. Long's discussion about counter aggression? Is this information applicable to the public school setting?
This article was a very interesting read. I found that some of the reasons teachers become counter aggressive to be familiar, sadly. The author makes a great point that we are all too aggressive. For most of us, we were brought up this way and it is ingrained in our DNA. We are so quick to defend ourselves, even when we are not sure we are being attacked. When students are acting out, it could be for a number of reasons and getting upset about it does not help the issue. Teachers need to be able to see the speed bump on the road and be able to get over it without adding aggression. When teachers handle things with aggression, it causes more harm than good and those students who have behavior issues will continue to behave poorly because they do not feel a connection to their teachers. This starts a bad cycle and the student will most likely decide to act poorly. Even still, teachers should not hold prejudices against bad behavioral students because sometimes, when caught in a nasty situation, they may not be the one causing the issue.
A great example of this comes to mind. Over the weekend, there was man killed by police officers because they thought he was involved in a huge physical fight. He resisted the police's tackles because he was innocent and did not understand why they were beating him to the ground. Six or more officers ended up suffocating the man under their weight and force. This man, a large black man, was the courageous man who stepped in between two people fighting. He stopped them and in return, was killed. I seem to believe that these (white) police officers thought he was guilty because of the color of his skin (horrible). As teachers, we need to keep an open mind. Even if we do not "like" a kid, or he or she had been horrible in class, this child may not be the one responsible for causing the situation. If they are falsely accused, it stirs up more aggression towards school and in return, he or she could quit, or do something that they may regret.
All - in -all, I agree with the author and his views of how adults can aid in student aggression and it is very applicable to public education.
Right now I feel counter aggressive towards this Google account. I just
ReplyDeletespent a good 15 minutes reading your well-worded and articulate post, wrote
a response that was just spectacular, only to have Google act like it never
happened when I hit the post button. So, to try and reiterate what was true
literary genius I will once again embark on writing my commentary. You made
some excellent posts in your blog response. My favorite was, "sometimes
teachers, when they become so incensed by a student's behavior, immediately
react negatively or engage in acts of counter aggression'. This is so true.
When we are tired, hungry or just plain mentally spent after dealing with
students all day we can all be guilty of counter aggressive behavior.
Dealing with teenagers is like riding one of those crazy roller coasters at
Six Flags. It can be a thrilling ride but may make you dizzy or even vomit
at the end! Am I being melodramatic? Perhaps but this is turning out to be
an enjoyable task! I think that taking a few minutes at one of our staff
meetings to remind everyone that their reactions to student's behaviors can
have such a tremendous influence, both positive and negative on the outcome
of the situation, would be time well spent. I think we should take it a step
further and include ALL of the staff including custodial, secretarial and
kitchen staff who also come into a great deal of contact with the students.
I can't imagine that any of us would purposely act counter aggressively, but
certainly it does happen more often than we would like.
The above blog was meant for Steph but I can't get it to post there - thanks Jen!
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