I once saw my classmates engaged in a heated debate with a teacher in a classroom while I was a school student.
The two clashed when the classmate used his mobile phone freely in class, which was forbidden, and when told to stop him before the session had finished, was not able to hear any words about it. The enraged teacher eventually spoke insulting and degrading words to the student that led to stress in the classroom.
How the Conflict Was Resolved
After seeing that the argument was attracting unnecessary attention from other students, the teacher chose to cool down for a moment and then called the student to walk with him outside of the class. One way of resolving a conflict is having a face-to-face talk to avoid any further misunderstanding, which was what the teacher initiated when the student could not hear any word of it. A better alternative to such misunderstanding is consulting with the school counselor, which was what the teacher resorted to, and the two made the situation clear (Manning & Bucher, 2013).
How the Conflict Could Have Been Avoided
The best way to avoid conflict situations is obeying the set rules and respecting the seniors (Espelage et. al., 2013). It is precisely stated that cellphones should not be used during the class session. Hence, the student should have waited until the class was over rather than disrespecting the teacher by using it. Another way to avoid a conflict is to have self and emotional control so as to prevent the outburst of negative and offensive words. The teacher should have acted mature by taking the necessary action of taking the student to the disciplinary board rather than uttering demeaning words to the student.
References
- Espelage, D., Anderman, E. M., Brown, V. E., Jones, A., Lane, K. L., McMahon, S. D., ... & Reynolds, C. R. (2013). Understanding and preventing violence directed against the teachers: Recommendations for a national research, practice, and policy agenda. American Psychologist, 68(2), 75.
- Manning, M. L., & Bucher, K. T. (2013). Classroom management: Models, applications, and cases. Pearson.
