Childhood Anger and Anger Management

by Andrew Metzger

First of all, I must confess to experiencing a flood of childhood memories as I read the STS Childhood Anger and Anger Management course. Yes, I was all-too-often that angry little boy with whom some poor child care provider or teacher had to contend. I place a tiny bit of the blame for my behavior on being the youngest of three siblings—yes, the little brat of the family—but most of it was on me. I was never violent, but oh, I could act out when I didn’t get my way!

I wish the adults overseeing me had known some of the excellent techniques detailed in the STS Childhood Anger and Anger Management course. The heart of the course involves a variety of effective techniques to help children evaluate emotional situations, recognize emotions that trigger anger, and respond to emotional situations appropriately. It’s all about redirecting that negative energy that can well up in any youngster under the wrong circumstances.

But this blog is not going to be all about exploring distant memories. I actually have ongoing experience with a certain group of children over the past couple of decades. As a volunteer who works with a local children’s chorus and with area children’s theater productions, and also a journalist who writes about area performing arts events, I have become quite familiar with “stage children.” Oh, and don’t let the words “children’s chorus” fool you. The shows this group puts on rival Broadway productions!

So, does the phrase “stage children” conjure up images of perfect little angels largely incapable of anger? If it does, let me start by quoting this paragraph from the STS Childhood Anger and Anger Management course:

“Six-to-eight-year-olds need to be first and best. They are verbally and physically aggressive and tend to tease and bully. They worry and show concern over what is fair or unfair. When angry, they will hit, fight, and damage items other children care about. They quickly become jealous if siblings get more attention than they do. At this age, they are learning to control their anger and resolve problems. They are able to empathize with other children and value peer relationships.”

I cited this particular paragraph because certain parts of it jumped out at me as directly applicable to the world of children’s theater. Let’s isolate those parts.

Everyone who has directed children’s theater knows all about the need to be first and best. Dealing with children who did not receive a big role when they have absolutely NO doubt that they were the best of the best at auditions calls for all sorts of anger management skills. The idea of this age group showing concern over what is fair and unfair also applies here. The parents of these children represent an additional element. The term “momager” (combination mom and manager) has come into wide usage these days, but that’s another course!

Then there’s the reality of bright, articulate, egotistical youngsters who can be verbally…aggressive in ways that would put the characters in “Mean Girls” to shame. Many a director has had to nip this sort of behavior in the bud early in a rehearsal process.

The word jealous also appears in the above-quoted paragraph. It’s used in the context of sibling jealousy, and very often siblings do audition for and are cast in the same shows, but any director who doesn’t head off a jealousy epidemic before it runs rampant through his entire “theater family” is in deep trouble.

The value placed on peer relationships enters into the equation in a big way. This manifests in the form of cliques—those elite subgroups within casts in which peer pressure is especially intense and outsiders are not welcome. There’s plenty of potential for anger anytime cliques form. Directors who fail to dissolve clicks are doomed to deal with a cast divided against itself.

I’ll end by quoting lines from the song “Kids” from the musical “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Kids!
You can talk and talk till your face is blue!
Kids!
But they still just do what they want to do!
Why can’t they be like we were,
Perfect in every way?
What’s the matter with kids today?

 
Andrew Metzger
Guest blogger
School Training Solutions

Creating an Incentive to take Training

In an effort to retain school bus drivers and to give drivers an incentive to be the best and safest driver they can be, George Dickerson, Uinta County District #1 Transportation Director, started an Advanced Bus Driver Certification program to increase the level of training for his bus drivers. He paired this certification program with a horizontal step on the salary schedule to reward them and give them an achievable goal.

Giving the drivers something to work toward helps them keep their performance standards high and reach their goal. The training is already available through the WYDOE and FEMA and is unpaid, although some drivers use the Support Staff Development program. The district benefits by having safer, more conscientious drivers, and decreased new driver training costs.

Mr. Dickerson’s solution to his district’s very common transportation department issues is cost effective and readily available. School Training Solutions is proud to be included in his curriculum and would like to express our sincerest, “JOB WELL DONE!”

If you are interested in implementing a similar program in your county, Mr. Dickerson would be happy to share details of his program, his lessons learned, and other experiences. As always, STS is available to help in any way possible.

Keep thinking outside the box!

School Training Solutions is in Sandestin, FL for the 2016 Florida Association for Pupil Transportation Summer Symposium.

School Training Solutions (STS) offers a comprehensive online school bus operator certification course organized to meet State of Florida mandated training requirements for school bus operators. The STS program is also designed to meet the professional development training needs of transportation specialists serving Florida school districts.

The STS Florida course, combined with a county’s behind-the-wheel training, exposes drivers to an ideal blended learning experience. The online course for bus drivers includes the full 20 hours of training mandated by the State of Florida’s Department of Education (DOE), broken down into 13 lessons plus an end-of-course test. If you have any questions about our training, would like to see a demonstration of our courses, or would like to meet with me to discuss training options, stop by the booth, give us a call, or visit our website for more information.

Thank you all for visiting our booth at the 2015 OAPT Trade Show in Norman, OK! These are our hottest topics:

1. OK School Bus Driver Certification Training. Our online Oklahoma School Bus driver training is recognized by DOE as covering the classroom requirement for school bus drivers. This is an affordable, convenient, web-based option for training. This training is available for purchase through OAPT!

2. OK School Bus Driver Inservice Training. Our online Oklahoma School Bus driver curriculum can also be used for inservice training. A list of the accepted inservice training topics is available on the OKDOE Transportation webpage. Look for the Annual Inservice Verification Form and SDE Approved Subjects document. This web-based training is also available for purchase through OAPT!

3. OK School Bus Driver Re-Certification. After a period of inactivity, a school bus driver may be required to recertify by taking training on specific topics. OAPT offers an online version of this Re-certification training!

If you would like to find out more about the exciting online training options for Oklahoma school bus drivers, please contact us or OAPT directly. Thanks again for attending the Conference and Tradeshow!

Happy E-Learning!

Benefits of Online Training

School Training Solutions® (STS) represents a truly modern option for Florida school districts looking for the ideal way to implement bus driver certification training. Organized to meet State of Florida mandated classroom training requirements for school bus operators, STS offers an online course that is both user-friendly and is recognized by Florida Department of Education (DOE). This program enables bus drivers to mesh the convenience of online coursework with the county-provided, behind-the-wheel training mandated by the Florida DOE to create a truly effective, blended learning experience.

The 21st century has seen a steady increase in the number and variety of online training and education programs available to all ages, as well as the number of people taking advantage of these programs. The increase among postsecondary students, alone, is telling. According to a 2013 report issued by the Babson Survey Research Group, over 6.7 million students above the K-12 level were enrolled in at least one online class in 2011. Add in K-12 students and adult learners in various areas, and the total number soars into the tens of millions.

Many factors have contributed to this increase.

Whenever students of any age are asked what they like best about distance learning programs, the first answer is almost always the convenience of taking courses online. With access to a computer and an Internet connection, class is in session anywhere, anytime! It only takes a few minutes to turn on a computer, open the web browser, and access the courseware of choice. This eliminates the time and expense involved in traveling to and from a class location. The convenience of online classes also allows students the flexibility to mold their studies around job and family obligations, not to mention those unexpected occurrences that are part of life. Conventional classroom instruction takes place on a rigid time schedule. If you miss a class, you miss the material covered that day and it can be difficult to catch-up.

This flexibility factor is also perfect for blended learning situations as it enables students to arrange their online studies in such a way that they can easily meet any “hands-on” obligations that may be required in a training program.

As an added bonus, students also get to decide exactly when to start an online training program. Conventional classes have very rigid schedules regarding when they are offered. If a student can’t meet the specific schedule offered, he or she may have to wait months or even longer before the class is offered again. Online training is all about making courses available when and where it is most convenient for the student.

With online training, students also have the ability to set their own pace for covering material. Not everyone learns at the same speed, and it is important for each individual to feel comfortable with the amount of information being presented and absorbed in any given timeframe. In a classroom setting, material is delivered at one speed as determined by the instrucBenefitsof online training www.faptflorida.org 15 tor. When students set their own pace with online training, information can be reviewed as many times as needed for full absorption.

Cost is also a factor. When someone signs up for an online training program, the up-front cost is all-inclusive. Conventional classroom instruction involves not only the cost of the class, but also books and other training materials, along with expenses involved in traveling to and from the class location. For organizations offering training programs, going the online route eliminates costs connected with items such as classroom space, instructor fees, course materials, and equipment.

Online training also provides students with instant feedback as they progress through a course. Through the use of embedded questions and end-of-lesson tests, students know right away if they have a grasp of the material being presented. Compare this to the time delay involved in waiting for tests or reports to be graded by an instructor.

Finally, online training enables students to control their “classroom environment.” Who hasn’t gone through the stress of a classroom setting filled with distractions of various kinds? These distractions – human or otherwise – can greatly curtail one’s capacity to learn. With online training, the reality of a stress-free environment is right at our fingertips!
There’s a growing body of statistics which indicate that online training has led to an increase in learning achievement and course completion. Is it any wonder?

Be sure to visit the School Training Solutions website at https://schooltrainingsolutions.azurewebsites.net. A division of Smart Horizons, STS offers a comprehensive range of online training organized to meet both state mandated in-service training requirements and the professional development training needs of all school district employees.