Angry student: internal or external
I am in a culinary school where students are reliant on the performance of a team in order to finish daily tasks. I have found that there are differences in handling students with different origins of their anger, and I am curious if they should be handled the same. I chalk it up to internal vs external locus of control, but is there more clarity here? I find some students appear predispositioned to an angry state internally, while others anger seem to responsive to external stimuli, such as other students behaviors, despite its roots being internal as well.
Interesting post! I wouldn't necessarily handle the situations the same, and certainly, the root of their anger can open doors that we are not qualified to guide them through. Some internal anger issues are best directed to school counselors and administration--while we can provide a listening ear and direct them to professionals who may be able to assist them, we have to be careful not to "counsel" or "diagnose". I think when it comes to other anger issues (stress, a feeling of no control over schedules, etc.), we can chart a solution plan to help them stay on track with coursework. At any rate, I think that providing a listening ear is a good first step for both scenarios, even though the end result may mean "handing" the student off to those better qualified to assist with anger issues.
Hi Katrina,
I concur! We must use good judgement as to when a situation is beyond our scope and should be directed to an expert.
Patricia
