How to deal with student problems.

“Many Students feel overwhelmed and frustrated by the task of trying to manage a classroom learning environment. When a large number of students are simultaneously trying to get their needs met, some are bound to become annoying, boisterous, stubborn, loud, aggressive, forgetful, selfish, inconsiderate, absentminded, or capable of destructive behavior”. (G. Thomas, ‘Teacher Effective Training (T.E.T), (New York, Three Rivers Press 1990 pp. 125)

If there is a problem within the class with a particular student, often it is caused by external factors. For example; some students may stare out the window, some may be loud, argumentative or simply even disengages with the classroom activities. Thomas Gordon advocates that these problems need to be addressed before any learning could be achieved. In other words, students need help from their teachers in other ways other than just book learning. Most teachers have had no prior learning about how to deal with such factors other then their own life experience, Gordon believes that in order to be a good and effective teacher, their communication skills, and the teacher needs psychology skills need to be developed in order to achieve effective teaching and learning. So, perhaps by adopting the communicative skills as devised by Dr. Gordon such as; Listening, Talking, and by addressing the external problems that are happing within the home, the connection between the teacher and student may be fulfilled and effective teaching may start to happen. Perhaps the problems need to be attacked first, i.e. the student may be hungry, so the student may need fed?

Thomas Gordon’s theory of conflict resolution can be implemented through a “Peace Table,” which is permanently located in a section of each classroom. If a conflict among students occurs in a classroom setting, the students are required to sit at the “Peace Table” and discuss their individual feelings. The peace table is equipped with a graphic organizer, which lists the steps students are required to take in order to resolve the conflict. The steps are as follows:

  1.   Student A uses I-messages to explain how he/she feels about the present situation.

  2.   Student B practices active listening while Student A shares his/her feelings.

  3.   Student B uses I-messages to explain how he/she feels about the present situation.

  4.   Student A practices active listening while Student B shares his/her feelings.

  5.   Students A and B agree on a common solution after their discourse is complete.