ABSTRACT
On the whole it is wise for teachers to avoid confrontations with pupils when these can be avoided, but there are occasions when they cannot be, and there are circumstances when a confrontation is beneficial. A teacher cannot avoid a confrontation, for instance, if she is summoned by a colleague to help in some crisis which had nothing to do with her. The angry pupil may turn on her and continue with her what he began with her colleague. There are some circumstances when a teacher may decide that he is not going to put up with a pupil’s provocative or stupid behaviour any longer, or he is going to demonstrate to a pupil who continually bullies or teases others that he has met his match. A confrontation would then be beneficial to the boy concerned, to other pupils who witnessed it, and to the teacher’s management. But there are considerations which should guide the teacher in making this decision. If he is convinced that the confrontation would be beneficial he has next to be sure that he can manage it. If, once it has started, the pupil continues to be defiant or provocative, and, if the worst comes to the worst, he has to be sure that he can manage the situation should the pupil attempt to challenge him physically. Once started, confrontations sometimes develop very quickly and unpredictably, so that it is foolish to bring on one and then find that it has gone out of control and escalated into a situation which cannot be managed successfully, so that it becomes an example of pupil hostility and teacher counter-hostility which is demeaning and undignified.
