Classroom Management: When The Teacher Screams, Who Is Really Out of Control?

As much as adults hate to admit it, the children in our midst are a mirror reflecting what we really are. We model the behavior that they imitate, and as much as parents love to blame the television, children really don't imitate TV characters as much as they imitate the parents in the home. Teachers are frustrated when unruly boys and girls disrupt the class, and at some point, teachers raise their voices and holler at the disruptive child, enabling the child to create the same kind of dysfunctional atmosphere of yelling that the child has experienced at home. Teachers find themselves resorting to verbal abuse and insults in order to control the behavior of the students in the class: children choose to be quiet out of fear of public humiliation, a tactic teachers choose to use in order to keep "order." But is this really a good learning environment when the children sit in silence out of fear of being insulted by the teacher? When parents use this control tactic, this is what they condition the child to respond to. So what happens when a teacher tries to model respectful, calm behavior in a classroom at  a school where all the other adults are screaming insults at the children? Do we really believe threats, insults and yelling are good classroom management techniques? Journalist and educator Barbara Pement shares her experience at one private Florida school where many of the staff members and students are family members, and the classroom management techniques seem to mirror dysfunctional parenting techniques. When can screaming at a child be considered abusive behavior? Should a Principal set rules of conduct for teachers? Managing a classroom can be challenging, unless all the adults agree to be a model of respect and self control themselves. When the teacher screams, who is really out of control?