Teaching Students Who Fight or Act Aggressively

There are a number of reasons why a child acts out in a violent way or fights with other students. Sometimes aggression is a manifestation of an emotional disability, but often there are children without disabilities who display aggressive behaviors due to poor impulse control, a fear of being embarrassed in front of his or her peers due to a lack of confidence, or for a variety of other reasons. Whether the aggressive student has a disability or is acting out for some other reason, the behavior needs to be addressed and inventions put in place to decrease and eliminate aggression. These interventions are meant to be proactive and used with students before a fight has occurred. Obviously, once physical aggression has taken place the teacher will have to follow the school's policy on fighting.

A classroom that contains an aggressive child will need to be highly structured with clear expectations and consequences and very little unstructured downtime. The aggressive student will need to be seated near the teacher or another adult (if one is present in the classroom). The teacher needs to be in a mobile position to carefully monitor all students at all times to look for signs of conflict. If where the student is initially seated is not working, the seating arrangement may need to be adjusted to find the best place for the aggressive student to succeed behaviorally and academically. Seat the student near positive role models and away from students that may be instigating aggressive behavior. Intervene as quickly as possible at the first warning signs of anger or frustration, such as holding a private discussion with the student or allowing him or her to take a moment in the hall to regroup. When holding the private discussion, speak in a calm voice. Try to communicate more positive ways that the student can deal with frustration rather than acting out. Discuss the consequences of acting out aggressively towards others, such as being suspended, not being able to participate in "fun" activities, or possibly facing criminal charges. The teacher should also keep in close contact with the student's parents or guardians about classroom behavior.

Because some students act out violently they are frustrated with the level of work that they are given it may be necessary to adjust the level, either differentiating instruction to make the work more challenging or more accessible, depending on the student's needs. If there is a great deal of importance placed on competition among students, try to create an environment where all students understand that they should do the best that they can on assignments and positively reinforce students who demonstrate sufficient effort.