ABSTRACT
Many potentially angry situations can be contained successfully by providing a teaching and learning environment that recognises the individual needs of all concerned. Seating plans, appropriate activities and positive relationships between students and adults can negate the need to manage anger. Under these circumstances opportunities for anger rarely arise. If they do, however, it is important to remember that anger is a perfectly normal emotion, it is how it is managed that is key. The teacher's role in the classroom is to know the individual student, become familiar with their signs and signals, and teach them some management strategies of their own. Visual reminders, such as a wall-mounted anger thermometer or a 'What makes me angry' chart, act as a permanent reminder to the class. For older students, one-to-one private meetings, held when neither party feels angry, are a very useful opportunity to discuss early warning signs, individual behaviour and effective management strategies.
