Facilitating Self Management

Managing oneself can include being respectful in class 

Self management may be the most important skill students at alternative middle schools can develop to have successful futures. The ability to administer ones time efficiently and taking responsibility for ones own actions are only two of the several factors of learning how to handle oneself. To put self management in simpler terms, it can be explained to students as thinking about actions before they are done, respecting other students, and doing what is right every day.

Showing up prepared and on time are two simple ways to manage time effectivley

Addressing the significance of self management is vital to students making beneficial decisions for themselves. With self management, coming to school on time, coming to class prepared with materials, respecting teachers and peers, staying on task, speaking positive words, and listening to teachers and staff will come easily to students. These may seem like basic tasks, but for a positive middle school experience, being kind to peers and teachers and doing the best one can in classes is integral for future success in further middle school grades, high school, and for the rest of this young person’s career. Supporting students’ goals such as being considerate of others, coming to classes ready to learn, working on academics and asking for assistance will only make those skills grow and expand into future experiences. More tips for developing self management can be accessed right here.

I truly hope this blog has been helpful to you, and I will post more as I have time. Students are the future, and I believe all should be nurtured and supported by any means possible. I appreciate all your thoughts and comments, and as always, thanks for reading!

Controlling Anger

Anger may not be a good feeling, but it is important for students to know anger is a normal feeling. Tempers can stem from several different emotions, including fear, anxiety, frustration, and nervousness. While anger may seen negative, it can actually be helpful for students to express a problem occurring in life, which allows others to help deal with those issues. Yet, students may not know how to express their emotions, and confusion can lead to anger being dealt with in a destructive way.

Taking out anger by breaking things, especially school property, is never acceptable

Students should learn the good and bad ways to deal with feelings of anger. Acts of catharsis such as yelling, swearing, breaking things, or hurting others will all end with unfortunate consequences, and even if doing those actions feels good in the moment, regret will be the ultimate ending. Although, there are some good ways to let anger out and feel better overall, too. Writing, exercising, drawing, reading, and listening to music are just a few ways for children to satisfyingly let anger out. When students are equipped with this knowledge, getting out of bouts of frustration will seem more doable; however, how can students calm themselves down before their anger escalates?

If a student has a mentor, whether teacher or family member, they can share
ways to keep anger in check 

Anger can be chronically and uncomfortably brewing beneath the surface of a child, but when he/she knows what triggers the animosity, steps can be taken to avoid meltdowns. Specific classes or other classmates are a few things that could agitate a student, so having a trusted teacher or staff member to talk to will help the student feel safe and capable of talking about his/her feelings. Between finding expressive coping skills for anger and having a trusted adult to analyze frustration with, students should have a more accessible way to cope with their feelings. Be the active listener, and thanks for reading!

Approaching Fights

While fighting may seem similar to my previous posts , it is actually different from hitting or even bullying. Fighting can include many different forms including making excuses, as a student could be fighting from the truth. Also, temper tantrums, such as making loud noises during class, interrupting the teacher during instructional time, and insulting other classmates are other forms of fighting. Temper tantrums and acting out are fighting the progress of class taking place. Yet another way to conceptualize fighting could be starting an argument. Arguing with other students often leads to elevated emotions and could end in physical fighting, so discouraging bickering will preserve feelings as well as spare potential injuries.

Fighting can make the individual look bad, and the fight could be recorded
and passed around which would be even worse for the situation

Students do not realize when they start fights, problems are typically not solved. The issue will still exist, not to mention learning of the individual and fellow peers is disrupted, and no progress toward a solution is made. Most of the time, fights are escalated from events including messing around, attempting to “be cool” or show off, or mild anger that could evolve into dangerous fighting.

Instead of children creating accidental fights for themselves, we can teach them to manage their emotions and offer practical alternatives to fighting. One of the easiest ways to cool off when getting worked up is deep breathing. Teaching children to close their eyes and take 10 deep breaths when they feel overstimulated is the easiest way to take a step back from a situation and calm down.

Walking away from a fight to cool off can decrease aggression in the moment 

Walking away from the situation and walking off frustration can also diffuse tension in conflicting situations, so letting students know they can ask to be excused from class to cool down or even ask to change seats to move from the tense situation is important. Students also have the right to refuse to fight, and they can learn their voice means something. Suggesting conversation rather than violence can defuse a potentially violent situation, which empowers students to make things happen positively with their words.

However, if all of these alternatives to fighting fail, students should know they can always ask teachers for assistance to abstain from fighting. Teachers can aid students in the previous problem-solving techniques, or direct agitated students to a school counselor or someone else equipped to handle the problem at hand. Fighting often occurs in alternative middle schools, but if students are cognizant of their problem-solving abilities, disputes should decrease. Thanks for reading!