 October 1997 |
October 1997 | Volume 1 | Number 2
Schools as Safe Havens
Weaving Anger Management into the Classroom Culture
High Point Adolescent School in Morganville, N.J., is an out-of-district educational placement for students with serious emotional difficulties. Many of our students are here because they need to learn how to control their anger. Therefore, we teach students specific skills to help them manage their angry feelings in a socially appropriate manner. Students at High Point Adolescent School learn to:
Recognize the triggers of their angry feelings
Identify their physiological responses when angry
Develop and use prosocial strategies to manage anger
Evaluate how they respond in angry situations
A key objective of the program at High Point Adolescent School is to normalize anger. We tell the students that anger is a normal emotion and that we cannot take their angry feelings away from them. We can, however, help them manage their angry feeings so that these feelings work in their favor. Our strategies can be used by teachers in all settings to help students understand that when anger-provoking incidents occur, there are specific strategies they can employ to control their anger. One tool students can use is the Anger Log (see box). The Anger Log helps students assess the outcome of their chosen behavior strategy; judge how they handled themselves; and reflect on how they would handle the same anger-provoking incident the next time.
Name:__________ Date:________ |
1. What was your trigger? __ I did something wrong __ Somebody started fighting with me __ Somebody took something from me __ Somebody did something I didn't like __ Other |
2. Where were you when you got angry? __ Home __ My Room __ School __ My Classroom __ My Neighborhood __ Other |
3. How angry were you? __ Burning Mad __ Really Angry __ Moderately Anger __ Mildly Angry __ Not Angry |
4. How did you handle your anger? __ Broke something (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Counted backward (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Cried (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Hit someone (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Talked it out (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Told a friend (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Told an adult (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Threatened someone (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Walked away (This time__ Next time__ ) __ Other (This time__ Next time__ ) |
5. Was the outcome: ___ Positive ___ Negative |
6. Did you make anger work for you? ___ Yes ___ No |
7. How did you handle yourself? __ Poorly __ Not so Well __ Okay __ Good __ Great |
8. How would you handle your anger next time? _______________________ |
Adapted from Feindler, E.L. and Ecton, R.B. (1986) Adolescent Anger Control: Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques. New York: Pergamon Press. |
Students should be urged to faithfully log when they successfully manage anger, as well as when their reactions are problematic. Then, each week, students can report on their use of the Anger Log during the previous week. An in-class review of the incidents recorded in the Anger Log gives students a starting point for discussing how to apply anger management principles. Students can also use the incidents they record in the Anger Log as role-play scenarios.
Role-play is central to the program: Students are given an opportunity to reenact anger-provoking incidents and analyze them using all the anger management principles they have learned. When an incident is presented, volunteers serve as the director of and actors in the role play. The director stops the action when the anger reaches a boiling point. The actors then discuss the anger triggers present in the scenario and describe the physiological signs of anger they observed as they reenacted the incident. The actors also share what they were thinking during the role play and identify those thoughts that served to escalate or calm their anger. Emphasis is placed on helping students develop a repertoire of calming thoughts and appropriate behaviors. The actors and their classmates then analyze the outcome. How well did the actors handle their angry feelings? Did their anger work for them? What impact did their actions have on the relationship between them and the other person? On their self-concept? Finally, the actors can replay the same scenario using anger management techniques.
Results
The program at High Point Adolescent School appears to work. Teachers have reported that students who previously disrupted the class, became verbally abusive, and threw objects when angry are now able to request a "time out" to cool down. Several students in one classroom, whose anger "trigger" was name-calling, now understand that a negative or violent response to such incidents hurts them as much it may hurt the name caller. Our anger management program firmly communicates the expectation hat students can exert self-control and handle their anger in a positive way.
Dr. Millicent Kellner is a school social worker and licensed clinical social worker at High Point Adolescent School. You can learn more about High Point's anger management program by calling her at 908-591-1750. The address is: CPC Behavioral Healthcare, Inc., 1 High Point Center Way, Morganville, NJ 07751.
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