SClarke

The next section of the book is devoted to helping children with more challenging anger.  He provides 32 strategies to deal with these children.  The strategies that I found most useful were those that can be integrated in a classroom, not just an indiviual student.  The following strategies are practical and can be used by anyone in authority to combat anger:

1. Be flexible with orders and give choices.

2.  As often as possible, avoid tangible reinforcement.  The author strongly discourages the use of "bribes" such as candy, small prizes, and stickers as rewards.  In his book, Punished By Rewards, Alfie Kohn (1993) notes that a child who complies in order to get a reward is not "behaving himself", rather, the reward is "behaving him."  Once rewards are one, children often go back to their negative behaviors.  

3.  Don't play Volleyball-  It takes 2 people to argue.  It does no good to verbally retaliate to angry child.  Education and discipline expert Fred Jones (1987) says "It takes one fool to back-talk, but it takes two fools to make a conversation out of it. Back talk is a melodrama written and produced by the student.  If you take you speaking part, the shoe goes on.  If you keep your mouth shut, the show bombs."  Know when to remove yourself from a heataed exchange.

4.  Be Careful with Consequences- It is often easy for an angry child to get at us, and we react with threatening consequences.  Three important things to remember regarding consequences: (a)  Don't shout consequences when you are angry (2)  Don't state consequences you can't keep and (3) Keep your word and follow through with consequences.