Teaching is becoming more and more risky. There is no point in ignoring this fact.Conflict with students may not be easy to eliminate but certain measures may be taken to avoid conflict situations. More communication between all the parties concerned would undoubtedly foster greater understanding. Moreover, it would be wise to clarify each party?s role. If parents decide to play their role correctly, reminding their children how they need to behave at school, with teachers, with classmates, with those who are younger or older than themselves, and with the opposite sex, this would go a long way in easing the teacher?s task.

What is acceptable behaviour at school and what is not must be made clear by parents, for education begins at home. It is at home that values like respect must be inculcated. No matter how busy parents are with work and with extra hours, they must be able to find the necessary time to spend with their children and they must make sure that their children project a good image of themselves.

Many students are well behaved, polite and a pleasure to work with. Having them around is a joy. They work regularly and diligently. Only a bunch happens to be rebellious. And it is often enough to have one, just one, undisciplined student around to see one?s life going sour.

<B>A sense of direction</B>

Teachers themselves may do a few things in order not to ignite any conflict with students: be as competent as possible in their subjects and tailor their lessons to suit the ability of the students, be clear in correction criteria and ensure that students, in their turn, know sufficiently well about them so that there is no confusion. They must be fair to everyone. Students must not have the perception that they are partial.

The teacher must never give the impression that he is weak and easy to manipulate. Students must feel that he has a sense of direction and he knows perfectly well what he is doing.

When any action is taken against a student for misbehaviour, the student must be made to feel that it is the school that is doing it, not a teacher in his personal capacity. The teacher must be backed by his school if he is in the right. This support is significant as it not only makes the teacher feel stronger, but it also helps in dissuading other students from going to extremes.

Students must understand that the teacher alone is no guarantee of their success. Their efforts, their regularity, their behaviour, their participation ? everything also counts. Sometimes students believe that only teachers need to work hard, and they will just sit around to take notes and go home.

Students have responsibilities and they must be told this. Whether they like it or not is another matter. They may pretend that they are too young to think about responsibilities. One must not allow oneself to be taken in by this. Don?t tell me a Standard VI student does not understand that it is his responsibility to keep his desk absolutely clean. Don?t tell me that a Form III student does not understand that a classroom is not a restaurant where he can eat whatever and whenever it pleases him.

Observe students? behaviour patterns and spot the likely trouble-shooters or the ones with the peculiar traits ? the one who whirls around and looks up and down at the teacher with a naughty glint in the eyes, the one who wears a permanently wicked grin, the one who gives himself a self-important air, the one who is arrogant in his answers to questions, the one who takes pleasure at making a fool of himself repeatedly, the obsessive talker or eater ? and avoid them where possible.

We do have a few students who are masters at deliberately provoking the teacher. He must not play the game.

<B>Getting informed</B>

The teacher needs to be straight about one thing: there?s no question of mixing private tuition with classroom activities. What is covered, and in whatever way, in private tuition must be strictly private. Students sometimes tend to compare teachers and they may even think that in private tuition, things are done in a better way. Right from the beginning, the teacher must tactfully clarify that he intends to do his work his way and what students are doing in private tuition is their affair. It is also advisable to have an ear to the ground in the staff room to get informed about the experiences of other teachers with certain students in the school. The teacher thus gets to know who is consistently flouting rules, who is creating problems, and of what nature. The more informed the teacher is about certain students, the better he will be prepared to face a bad situation, if ever it occurs.

Moreover, walking into a classroom with stern features and heavy footsteps may send the signal that the students must be ready for an arduous moment. Be relaxed. It shows confidence and a lively mood. Students will feel reassured. When you are relaxed, you control the situation. When you are not, the situation controls you, much to your dismay.

<B>Don?t threaten</B>

A soft reprimand for minor misbehaviour can be more effective than a loud one. At least it does not sound threatening whereas the latter is threatening. And threats are not what students appreciate. Reminding students of what is expected of them may help in preventing any nasty incident.

Unconsciously a teacher may enlarge on the details of a particular incident in class and this may give rise to conflict. Making things more important than they actually are may be dangerous. There are certain things a teacher must learn to live with. Need the student who has the arms sprawled on the desk and who is enjoying every moment of his rest be scolded and punished? Not necessarily. It is much better to have him creating disorder and making your life difficult. Only disruptive behaviour must hold the teacher?s attention.

Should a student misbehave on a particular occasion, he must be brought to book for this rather than for all the peccadilloes he committed in the past. ?You?ve always been like this! You?ll never change!? Such a rash assessment may worsen matters. The teacher would do well not to bring previous occasions of misbehaviour into the present. He never knows when the student may over-react and start sulking and crying and making a scene (children are excellent actors when the occasion demands), winning the sympathy of everyone in the class, leaving him with an unforeseen and embarrassing situation, and having some forty students suddenly against him instead of one.

<B>Listening</B>

Another tactful way to avoid conflict with students is to listen to what they have to say. Giving them the opportunity to express their ideas, their points of view, their interpretations, rather than imposing one?s ideas on them, makes them feel the teacher cares for them and is open-minded. The teacher may not agree with them, but it is wise to disagree with calmness rather than harshly.

To the students who indicates that he is fast going to be a pain in the neck, the teacher may find a suitable occasion to do him a favour, like agreeing to correct and mark his work even if it is handed after the deadline, or wishing him, out of the blue, a happy birthday before beginning a class. This works magic.

The disorderly student is taken unawares and the teacher is able to control his behaviour. He won?t misbehave because he has been made the centre of attention and because it is the goodness in him that has been touched upon. He will keep asking himself how the teacher came to know about his birthday when he himself or his parents or friends may have forgotten it. In the meantime the teacher can carry on with his work in all tranquillity.

<B>Suresh RAMPHUL</B>