Anger Management Class:
A Teacher's Perspective
This essay reflects my experiences teaching anger management classes in a
clinical setting. Some of the details are different in the classes I now offer at Anderson & Anderson.
The first night of anger management class. No matter how many times I teach this class, it always seems to start the same. Butterflies waltz in my stomach while I run the last few handouts through the copier. I step out into the lobby and it's not hard to pick my students out from the rest of the crowd. Mine are the ones slumped in the couches, armored behind crossed arms with the I-don't-even-know-why-I-have-to-be-here mask over their faces. The fun is just about to begin.
I'm eager, because I know what they don't--it's normal to feel sullen, resentful, and withdrawn when beginning a mandated anger management class. Anger is a normal human emotion that mentally and chemically prepares the body to defend itself. My students are heavily defended, but I have a surprise for them when they walk into my classroom. I'm not going to pose as some infallible establishment "shrink" who will shame them into changing. I'm not going to attack them. I'm going to welcome them.
After we're all assembled, I recite the old adage "those who can, do; those who cannot, teach." Then I tell them it's no accident that I'm teaching anger management. At this point my students begin to exhibit signs of confusion. They haven't been attacked, they haven't been shamed, and their teacher has nearly confessed to being angry himself! While they're off guard, I invite them to list things about the world that make them angry on a sheet of paper. After collecting the papers, we list these things on the board. This inevitably provokes a lot of "Yeah, me too!" responses.
The discussion that follows from this allows us to construct the idea that anger is normal, that we're not here to punish people or force them to repress their emotions. Anger management class exists to help the students recognize their feelings early, to control how they act on them, and to learn how to resolve conflict. By now, most students have engaged with the class. They participate, they share ideas and feelings.
But this isn't just a feel-good encounter group. We introduce material and exercises to help the students confront their own anger triggers. They take responsibility for monitoring their own anger levels and sharing about that experience in class. We use Aristotle to evaluate anger, asking the students to compare the reasons they're in this class to his criteria:
Anyone can become angry--that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way--this is not easy.
We never require students to explain what they did to get sent to anger management class. Rarely do we end a series of ten classes without everybody telling their story. We cover the psychobiology of anger, so students can understand what happens to them when they fly into a rage. We cover the health effects of anger, leaving students gasping when they discover that living life angry damages their health as much as smoking a pack of cigarettes each day!
We don't tell our students what to do, but we do offer them tools. We start with Anger First Aid on the first day of class. We add other self-awareness tools and exercises. We explore emotions that hide underneath anger. We teach non-violent communication techniques and model partnership in teaching. Students explore anger in their families of origin and how it impacts them today. We confront issues of power and domination, not just in family situations, but in society. Throughout the class we strive to avoid cliches and heavy-handedness. We allow theories of multiple intelligences to inform our curriculum and teaching styles, reaching some with words, others with art, action, and imagination. We make faces, throw balls, find analogies, role play, list, and share. It stops being a class and becomes a joint venture in improving the world by improving ourselves.
One student attended class to keep from losing his job. He had acted out his anger in the workplace and felt that his boss was out to get him. He started the class just wanting to get it over with, but actively participated. I really enjoyed seeing him becoming excited about the material we covered and the processes he was learning. On the next-to-last day of class, he could hardly wait to share—he'd gotten a new job with a new employer and didn't need this class any more, but he wanted to finish it up because he was having so much fun and it had been so helpful to him.
For an anger management student's perspective (not one of mine), read Rick Levin's article, The Fury Trip.
Site visits
Last updated: 02/14/2004