A Conflict in the Classroom
Scenario
Mustafa is a very ambitious student. He studies very hard and asks a lot of questions in class. Often, his teacher says that he does not know the answer and that Mustafa should look up the information himself. The last time he said that, the class laughed and Mustafa felt embarrassed. He feels angry towards his teacher because the teacher does not seem to take his questions seriously and even seemed to make fun of him. Mustafa pays a lot of money to attend this language school and feels like he should be treated with more respect.
Task 1
Discuss the following with your small group.
Task 2
It is normal for people to have arguments or to hurt one another’s feelings. It is normal to get angry. Reconciliation is the idea of a restored relationship. People reconcile when they express their hurt feelings, solve problems, and forgive one another.
Imagine a situation where Mustafa decides to talk to his teacher about the frustration and embarrassment he feels. Create a one-page dialogue that allows both participants to express their feelings. Make sure that the dialogue leads to reconciliation, where both Mustafa and his teacher feel that their issues have been resolved.
Note:
This worksheet was originally created as an appendix for an article I wrote for the International Journal of Christianity and English Language Teaching. The article provides greater context for this worksheet and describes my belief that the topic of reconciliation is an important one for the language classroom. This worksheet aims to create a larger degree of student-teacher empathy in the classroom and give students practice dealing with conflict in a culturally appropriate way.
Scenario
Mustafa is a very ambitious student. He studies very hard and asks a lot of questions in class. Often, his teacher says that he does not know the answer and that Mustafa should look up the information himself. The last time he said that, the class laughed and Mustafa felt embarrassed. He feels angry towards his teacher because the teacher does not seem to take his questions seriously and even seemed to make fun of him. Mustafa pays a lot of money to attend this language school and feels like he should be treated with more respect.
Task 1
Discuss the following with your small group.
- Turn this paper over and explain the situation in your own words. Then reread the scenario.
- What is causing the conflict?
- What emotions is Mustafa feeling?
- Do you think the teacher is being disrespectful?
- What emotions do you think the teacher is feeling?
- Why do you think the teacher keeps telling Mustafa to look up the information himself?
- Does the teacher know how Mustafa feels?
- What should happen next?
- What will happen if Mustafa talks to his teacher about this problem?
- What will happen if Mustafa stays silent?
Task 2
It is normal for people to have arguments or to hurt one another’s feelings. It is normal to get angry. Reconciliation is the idea of a restored relationship. People reconcile when they express their hurt feelings, solve problems, and forgive one another.
Imagine a situation where Mustafa decides to talk to his teacher about the frustration and embarrassment he feels. Create a one-page dialogue that allows both participants to express their feelings. Make sure that the dialogue leads to reconciliation, where both Mustafa and his teacher feel that their issues have been resolved.
Note:
This worksheet was originally created as an appendix for an article I wrote for the International Journal of Christianity and English Language Teaching. The article provides greater context for this worksheet and describes my belief that the topic of reconciliation is an important one for the language classroom. This worksheet aims to create a larger degree of student-teacher empathy in the classroom and give students practice dealing with conflict in a culturally appropriate way.