When we enter into the stress zone… 

1. We will no longer make effective decisions.

             This is where we will make big mistakes.  Any decision we make while in the stress zone will not be the best decision.  We will say things we never thought we would ever say.  We will do things we never thought we would ever do.  We will hear ourselves saying things like, “Why did you…,” “How many times…,” “What am I going to do with you?” 

2. Our emotional perspective changes.

            Our emotional perspective moves us from being pro-active, what can I do to help - to punitive, where can I hide the body?  Consequences become extreme.  We want our pound of flesh.  We believe they need to get what they deserve. 

3. We later feel guilty.

            When we revisit earlier events, we realize that we could have handled things much better.  We may also become conscious of the fact that we actually made things worse.  This will affect the next encounter with our students.  Our guilt will convince us to “cut them some slack.”  The problem is we just allowed inappropriate behavior to occur.   If you do not feel any guilt when you realize you made it worse, then you may have a bigger problem.