Cornell University’s “Getting Started with Managing Classroom Conflict” guide is a rich resource detailing how to navigate contentious situations in a classroom. One tip on that guide is to practice SOAR: Stop, Observe, Assess, and React. That guide does not elaborate on what implementing the SOAR technique look like in a classroom; here are my thoughts on what an educator might to do practice SOAR during a contentious classroom moment at MSU.
Stop – Before speaking, pause to consider your physical, emotional, and intellectual position in the classroom. Consider the diversity of viewpoints among the students. Rarely will any classroom situation require immediate action. Taking even a brief moment to slow down helps to convey a sense of calm and purpose in any actions you do take.
Observe – Take in the entirety of the classroom environment, including the posture and attentiveness of all the students. Make a mental note of the physical environment, should you need to usher students aside or guide students out of the space. Quickly determine where the agitation is in the room; sometimes students not directly involved in a conflict might react in unexpected ways. Use this moment of observation to evaluate what students you need to address directly.
Assess – Determine if a response is merited in the immediate classroom setting. If possible diffuse the situation and address it with individuals outside of the classroom at a later time. Your goal in moments of conflict should not be to win an argument. Seek to understand and to be calm, modeling for students what civil discourse looks like.
React – If immediate action is needed, state clearly that threats, violence, and harmful actions will not be tolerated.
- Contact MSU DPPS if there are signs of imminent harm, violent threats, or weapons, or ask a responsible bystander to do so:
- Emergencies: Call or Text 9-1-1
- Non-Emergencies: Call 517-355-2221
- If students are in a physical altercation with each other, use a strong, loud voice to say STOP. Often that verbal cue can be enough to cause beligerents to realise they need to redirect their emotions. Do not enter into an altercation yourself. Work to keep the situation from escalating. Calm heated emotions with a respectful tone.
- Consider these sentence starters from “The Art of Coaching Teams: Building Resilient Communities that Transform Schools.”
- Ideally you will reach a point of control and calm when you can indicate that opinions around contentious topics matter, but that the class also must go on.
- Consider giving students an opportunity to write about their opinions or feelings about a conflict. If you are comforatble doing so, provide students a platform to share with the class the contents of that writing, encouraging them to seek to understand each other without expecting that everyone will agree.
- Also if you are comfortable doing so, offer your office hours as a time where civil conversation about the matter can continue later on.