Case
Dealing with angry parent

You are teaching one of your classes, when all of a sudden, an outraged mother comes through the door and knocks down everything in her way. The parent's child and you have had a difficult time lately, due to disciplinary problems in the classroom. You have tried to set up meetings with the parents, but they refuse to come in, they just claim that the child is not at fault. You have just given the student another detention that day, and they had to call home. The mother is sick of you giving her child detention. She is yelling everything in the book at you and threatening to hurt you. It seems there is no way to calm her down, and there is a possibility that any move might make her go into attack mode which would threaten the students. What do you do?

Posted on: 09/26/12 | Views: 3760
Solution #1
Considering this parent may be a threat to the students, you can call someone from the office to assist you, and separate the parent from the students as soon as possible. The best thing you can do is try to calm down the parent, while assistance comes to you. Let the parent know that this conversation can take place, but not in this current setting. There is a possibility that the parents could have no idea as to what is going on, as the child could be lying to their parents. It seems that this conversation was inevitable, and it is best for it to take place in private when both parties are calm.

I agree getting the office and administration involved is the best solution.

13 0
Solution #2
I do not understand how the parent is allowed to come down to the class during class time. Anyways, the principal needs to intervene with this problem. I am sure he/she is aware of the situation and there needs to be conference with everyone to determine what the problem is and determine a solution for it. This is needs to happen quick. Also, the parent needs to realize that they can not act this way and probably does not need to approach this teacher without another school administrator present.
9 0
Solution #3
The first thing I would do would be to call administration for assistance. I then would try to calm the parent down while keeping a reasonable distance. if in a pod setting, I might ask a neighboring teacher to come into the room with me and help me move the students out of the room and away from the volatile parent. This behavior is beyond unacceptable, and it is best to allow administration deal with it accordingly. First priority is the students' safety, then your own.

I think this works in both the students and the teachers factor. Having a third party involve should help the parent calm down and get rid of the negativity. This also leaves room to get the students out of the classroom if needed or move the conversation outside of the classroom.

8 0
Solution #4
I would have immediatley called the office or sent one of the student's to the office to get assistance. I would try to calm the parent down by explaining this is not the type of behavior you want your students to see.
7 1
Solution #5
There are a lot of possibilities to provide a solution to this scenerio. When dealing with the parent, it is best to document the child's problem behavior and your conversations about it, don't talk to a parent or write when you're mad, and talk to other teachers who work with the child. When you are meeting with the parent, start on a positive note, don't propose your solution first, use 'active' or reflective listening, describe the problem in behavioral, nonjudgmental terms, and never bring the child in the room until you and the parents are on the same side. If there continues to be issues then you need to bring it to your principals attention.

I like how you state on documenting the students behavior. This could help the parent understand why their child is going to detention and how they can help prevent this problem from happening again.

5 0
Solution #6
I would immediately call the resource officer for assistance. I would also document everything that occurred so I could well prepared for any meeting that will arise from this altercation. The more documentation I can provide during the meeting, the more the parents or guardians will see that this is not just a one time incident.
5 0
Solution #7
This type of scenario is a good example of why it is important to document all interactions with the parent and the student regarding issues in the classroom. I would contact the office immediately. The teacher needs to protect their students and this parent's behavior is unpredictable. It is not up to the teacher to resolve this very serious situation. The teacher should stay calm, try to reason with the parent and signal to 2 students to go get help right away if possible. After this situation is resolved, the teacher should by no means ever have contact with this parent again for their own protection.
5 0
Solution #8
I would ring the emergency button and continue to talk calmly to the parent. When help arrives I would ask for a meeting to be set up as soon as possible. I would make sure I have proper documentation of what the infraction were, when they occurred, and what action was taken. I would also make sure I had the dates I tried to contact the parent to resolve the issues. By bring as much documentation as possible, the parent and the administration will she that I did all I could to solve the problem.
4 0
Solution #9
The first thing that is done is to call administration to ensure you and the children's safety. The parent is then made to leave and the administration will have to take over the situation and attempt to diffuse the incident. A meeting should be set up with the teacher and the administrator so that they can understand what has all been taking place. Hopefully all incidences with the student and parent have been documented. After that, a meeting with the administration and the teacher should occur to attempt to come to a solution.
4 0
Solution #10
I think you should contact your Principal and your Assistant Principal for assistance in dealing with this parent. The last thing you want to do is potentially harm the students in the class by aggravating the parent. You may also need to contact the School Resource Officer, the Behavioral Specialist, and the School psychologist for an evaluation and intervention in dealing with the student and his or her mother.
3 0
Solution #11
I would contact the office immediately. This woman has come into your classroom is disrupting your teaching and threatening to hurt you. She has become a danger not only to yourself but also your students, since she is in the room. This behavior should not be tolerated or continue.
3 0
Solution #12
As a teacher you should contact the office right away to have the principle get involved. Make sure to keep students calm and quiet so the problem won't get worse then it already is. Once the principle get involved she/he will take further action.
2 1
Solution #13
I would call the administration right away. I would also step right outside the door (So i could still see my class) and try to calm the parent down until help arrives.
3 2
Solution #14
I would contact the office and administration immediately. While waiting for them to intervene, I would try to calm down the parent as much as possible and remind them that the students are listening.
0 0
Solution #15
First, contact administration to have them step in before the parent comes to your room. Then, keep track of all the meetings you have offered that parent to have as proof that you are making steps to create a solution to the problem. Keep as many records as you can for yourself.
0 0
Solution #16
Children are usually a product of their environment. Immediately call an administrator. It sounds like this teacher has done everything to bridge the relationship between school and home. Physical or verbal outburst is unacceptable and administration should be brought into this.
0 0
Solution #17
I would call the administration right away. I would also step right outside the door (So i could still see my class) and try to calm the parent down until help arrives.
1 1
Solution #18
I would be concerned about the student safety. I would ask the class to line up and go to the classroom next door. I would have them tell the teacher to call the office and send someone immediately.
1 1
Solution #19
I would ask the parent to list her concerns in a written communication form and explain I feel more comfortable communicating this way.
2 3
Solution #20
As soon as the parent came in to the classroom displaying this type of behavior the teacher should have picked up their phone to call the office for assistance. I would also send two students into the next classroom to ask for help. The office will then set up a procedure so that the parent cannot enter the school or classroom. The teacher and parents also sound like they need an intermediary.
1 3
Solution #21
I would ask the parent to please calm down, while I pick up the phone and ask for assistance. I would invite the parent to sit down and stay during class. I will explain that she can see first hand how the class is run. I would invite her to come in as often as she would like, as long as she is not disruptful, disrespectful or using inapropriate language. I would ask her if she would stay in class and assist in the behaivior of her child then I would let the child skip detention. Once I was done teaching I would ask her to talk quietly by my desk. I would ask her for solutions to the students behavior, maybe if she is involved she would not be so angry.
2 5