How to Get the Most Out of Your Teacher’s Help

Teachers want to help, and also we have a lot on our plate.The best way to get a teacher’s help is to make your problem their problem too.Fortunately the strategy I’m about to teach you goes hand in hand with leveling the playing field with your bully or bullies.What you want is to be on equal footing with all the other kids involved and for the teacher to initiate any problem solving that occurs.The reason you want to be on equal footing with the bully or bullies is so they don’t see you as a tattletale. They need to see you are equal to them: Equally naughty, equally guilty, equally tough.Let’s face it, being a tattletale is BF. It sets you apart from other kids, reliant on busy adults who may or may not get it.This brings me to the second part: Why you want teachers to imitate problem solving that occurs.When the teacher brings up the problem, they are more invested in solving it. Teachers are responsible for maintaining order among students, and they will work hard to do so once they see the problem as theirs to solve. More on this in a little bit.The added benefit of the teacher initiating problem solving is that ALL kids involved are equally in trouble, and nobody can be blamed for the teacher getting involved because the teacher did it on their own.Or so it would seem…This is how you get the teacher involved. This is how you tell the teacher you need help without tattling on anyone:Step one: Tell the teacher you have had enough of the bully or bullies, and that you plan to stand up for yourself even if you have to do it during class.Step two: Make a scene with the bully during that teacher’s class or in front of that teacher outside of class. It’s much better to do it during their class.That’s it! But…you must be willing to actually make a scene. You might seem worse behaved than the bully, or like you started it. So what!Remember your goal is to create a problem for the teacher that they need to solve, so they initiate whatever discipline, problem solving and resolution has to happen.Now for some key points to keep in mind:-You don’t have to warn the teacher ahead of time, but if you trust them and want to let them know where you’re coming from, go for it.-You should feel free to make a scene in front of the teacher, but make sure you do it after the bully has said or done something deserving of your big response. Let loose in a way that fits the situation and is proportional to the bully’s behavior. In other words, match what they’ve done or dish it back with slightly more intensity.-Be willing to get in some trouble—it’s a small price to pay for involving a teacher in a way they can/will actually help. When I say some trouble I mean disrupt class to stand up to the bully. I don’t mean go totally bananas and break school rules at the highest level.