Conflict Resolution Advice for High Schoolers

Small misunderstandings or disagreements can often lead to violence or unnecessary altercations among teenagers in high school. If you are experiencing a conflict with someone at school, there are several ways that you can try to resolve the conflict before involving school administrators or other authority figures. If you do feel that your safety is threatened in any way you should not hesitate to notify your administrators, parents or local authorities if necessary.

Anger Management

• Anger can be one of the most difficult emotions to control and properly direct. When involved in a conflict it is important to try and keep your cool so that the situation does not escalate. This can be challenging if the other person is yelling or making derogatory remarks, but it is important that you handle yourself calmly and rationally no matter how the other person is behaving. This does not mean that you should deny that you are angry but rather identify your feelings so that you can take steps to deal with them properly instead of attacking others. A simple technique for anger management that can be quite effective is to stop and count to ten. Take a few deep breaths and ask yourself what exactly about the situation is making you angry. Determine if you are angry at the present situation or if the cause is related to previous events. If things are getting too heated never hesitate to walk away. Conflict is most successfully resolved once both parties have had time to take a break and gain some perspective on the situation. Before attempting to resolve the conflict talk the matter over with a trusted friend or family member. Talking about the conflict will help you feel better and they may be able to offer helpful advice.

Steps to Conflict Resolution

• Once you and the other person have had a chance to calm down you may want to try and contact the other person to set up a time to meet and discuss the disagreement. Before the two of you meet, you should make sure that you are both willing to follow a few simple ground rules during your discussion. Agree to avoid yelling and interrupting and try to meet in a public, neutral location. You may want to invite a mediator if you feel that it would be helpful. A mediator is helpful if the two of you have very opposing views, as the mediator will offer an objective perspective and help the two of you find common ground. The two of you should try to brainstorm ideas for possible solutions to the problem. Think of ways that the two of you can better get along and be willing to compromise. You may find that your ability to work through a conflict and produce a positive outcome can actually enhance the relationship, and the two of you may even be able to be friends.