In any given classroom any given day the students and teachers could be dealing with outside issues that affect their classroom behavior. On one particular day, a teacher was dealing with the knowledge that a pipe burst in her kitchen and her floors were flooded. The same day one of her students was in a negative mood due to the fact that he was staying at a home for the week where he didn’t get to do the things he liked to do. It also happened to be the day before progress reports were to go home. The teacher had a lot on her plate and could not leave to go home to deal with her personal issue which was weighing on her. She did not know the extent of the damage. The student with the at home frustration was fighting to get control somewhere, so he attempted to get that control in the classroom. He did anything and everything he could think of to get his teacher’s attention and control the flow of the class. He didn’t want to do anything else that he did not choose to do. None of his acts were positive. The teacher who was dealing with her own lack of control in her home situation also felt compelled to have control of her classroom environment. Both the teacher and student were walking fine lines between slight agitation and complete combustion. The teacher had been trained in a classroom management practice that dealt with her taking control of herself and her emotions as a way of avoiding unnecessary conflict with a student and being a catalyst for further classroom disruptions. She had negative run-ins with this particular student earlier in the school year and she finally decided to employ her training. Though the student did not fully comply with her assignments and request, he didn’t have the opportunity to escalate and turn the tables on her. His non-compliance got him a trip to the principal’s office and eventually to the school counselor. The teacher got to continue teaching and the other students in the class got to see she would not be easily swayed or jostled.
