I would say this, get to know your students as best you can, especially those who tend to be more emotional.

Get to know when you can push them to work harder and when you should back off.

One technique I like is a personal weather report, have each student say or write down their personal weather report if it’s 75 and sunny, you can expect that student to work hard and push them when they aren’t.

If it’s a Tsunami day you may want to back off a little.

Another quick inventory of emotion is to have students draw a face that depicts their emotion i.e. a smiley face, frowning, sleepy etc… These activities are pretty quick and painless and tell you a lot about the emotional construct of your class for the day.

Students are going to perform best when they feel safe physically and emotionally in the classroom. This sort of learning community takes time to build and can be accomplished through teambuilding exercises, collaborative projects, group discussions, class discussions etc….

It can also be important to provide students with an outlet for pent up emotions. If applicable, incorporate journalling into your class or allow a few minutes at the beginning of each class to let a few students share what’s on their mind.

Don’t ignore significant events students know what’s going on in school, in their community and in the news and it effects them emotionally. If something significant has happened provide a few minutes of discussion to address the issue and then focus them on the task at hand.

If a students emotions are being disruptive to the class, take that student aside and discuss the issue, avoid calling them out in front of their peers or dismissing their feelings, they will be more likely to open up to you if you are discrete and sincere.

Praise publicly (to an extent) and punish privately.

I say to an extent (above) because sometimes students are dealing with peer pressure to not do well in school, sometimes keeping a students success private can help them maintain their “image” with their peers and continue to succeed academically.

One thing I would avoid is sarcasm or joking about a students emotions. Some students are dealing with very adult issues. While it is important to help guide young people and help them sort out their priorities, young people’s emotions are very real and kids need to feel respected, justified and valued.

I spent a year with at-risk students. These kids believe that anger is a birthright. I believe that anger is a cheap high.