Balance of Power

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Balance of Power

Control shifts back and forth constantly in the classroom and in relationships. As Glasser (1984) discusses in his book, Control Theory, sometimes the struggle for control occurs because of a perceived or real need. He lists human needs as:

survival [food, air, water, shelter]

belonging [security, comfort, legitimate membership in a group or community]

power [sense of importance, stature, mattering to others]

fun [having a good time, emotional stimulation]

freedom [self direction, right to choose, responsibility].

Some of the most frustrating occurrences in the school day are a result of the student or teacher feeling powerless or out of control.

Examples
Teacher	Student
Yelling or shouting Punishing Bawling student out	Not listening Talking during instruction Making faces or mimicking

Many defense mechanisms protect the need to feel in control.

Click here to do a self survey on self control.

When upset, anxious or angry, we tend to become defensive. The following chart provides examples of common defenses.

	Defenses		accusing intellectualizing denying attacking or defying intimidating glaring complying surliness
rationalizing judging explaining being smug withdrawing laughing pouting sarcasm	projecting moralizing quibbling minimizing silence grinning threatening flattering	blaming analyzing interrogating evading shouting staring joking manipulating

This list is amusing since these behaviors are present in nearly every interaction. You may want to print out this list and monitor the next gathering of adults to see how frequently these defenses occur. Your findings may suggest that feeling in control is an important and pervasive feeling.

It can be enlightening to ask someone to monitor an hour of interactions in the classroom, observing the number of times defenses are used, the defenses of specific students and which students elicit defensive maneuvers in the teacher.

Gain Control of Control Issues

Emotions trigger defenses. When we feel anxious, we engage in controlling behaviors. Anger also triggers these feelings and thus, the behaviors or reactions. This is called the "fight-flight" response.

Click on the rage button to find out your hostility quotient.

This next illustration provides a guide to gaining control of our fight and flight reactions.

Strategies for Coping wtih Hostility chart

Glasser, W. (1984) Control theory: a new explanation on how we control our lives. New York: Harper & Row.

Once you have completed this topic you should:

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E-mail J'Anne Ellsworth at Janne.Ellsworth@nau.edu

Course Created by J'Anne Ellsworth & Center for Technology Enhanced Learning