How to Deal with Overconfident Students? Mainly the Stubborn Children:

We all have seen stubborn kids…those eye rolls and adamant not to participate, to not study, and so on. Teachers especially have more than their fair share of these types of behaviors in the classrooms.

So, how to deal with overconfident students or those who are extremely stubborn ones.

As students steps into the teenage phase, they tend to act cool and feel that everything they do is right. Often they are over-confident which further leads to huge disappointments. 

It is easy to feel defeated in a classroom full of overconfident stubborn kids all day long. However, don’t be despair. 

First let’s understand, what are the characteristics of an overconfident stubborn child. Often we misunderstood knowing them hence, we struggle to instill good habits and manners.

Understand a strong-willed child is creative and highly intelligent. Such kids will ask a lot of questions that may convey rebellion. They have their opinions and would not be ready to listen to what teachers say.

Some of the characteristics are:

  • Children are strong-willed hence they need acknowledgment often they want to be heard. 
  • They are attention seekers
  • Kids throw tantrums
  • They have strong leadership qualities and can be bossy at times
  • They like to do things how they want and at their pace

Dealing with overconfident stubborn teenagers will require an immense level of patience and effort.

You need to understand your child’s behavior patterns. We will give you tips which might help in dealing with such teenagers. 

Why Being Overconfident Is Not Good For Kids?

Parents might think that their kid is better than others, but other kids might not feel the same.

One should never boast their capabilities or knowledge. While knowing everything is good, it may irk others as they don’t get the chance to grow.

Overconfident kids don’t think much about others. While it may appear like confidence at first, soon, the kids start lacking compassion and thoughtfulness because their minds are too full of themselves, and do not care about what others might think.

Also, when kids think that they are the best or always right, it may mold them into narcissistic personalities. When they grow up, these people are hard to deal with and believe that they are always right. 

Also, your kid will start losing friends, cousins, and other family members because they won’t be able to relate to him, and his social circle will shrink.

For kids, it is essential for their overall development. But a kid who always believes that he is superior and always right is often left out by his friends.

The first responsibility lies with parents that stop this behavior. It will not stop overnight but will require patience and some serious talks and activities. 

Secondly, teachers play an essential role in identifying children. If you have difficult or overconfident children in your class, it is important to talk to parents.

Apart from that, you must take some measures by yourself to deal with him. 

How to Deal with Overconfident Students:

Translate The Walk-In in A Way They Understand

Bossy kids can be challenging. It is almost impossible to make kids understand the right point of view.

Rather, instead of talking about your experience and your patterns make them understand the concepts in a way that they can easily relate to and understand.

The simplest way to make them understand is to use role-play reinforce scenarios where you want your growing children to show some manners and courtesy.

Demonstrate how easy it is to instill manners and how it is beneficial to them once they step out in the real world.

Never Abandon Them

Eventually, there will be frustration creeping in. There will be a strong desire to move on from that kid. However, the best teachers will resist their urge and try reinforcing the expectations for the child.

So, when the child has a smaller success getting through school like without any issues or homework. You will recognize the change and appreciate the same with an act of encouragement. 

Align Their Confidence With Results

The first thing about overconfident children is that they think they know everything, and it causes a downward slope in learning. They are not curious enough like other kids and may not focus on their studies as they used to do earlier. 

If you have such a kid in your class, it is time to talk to them about their performance. Check if they are doing good in class or activities.

Usually, these students don’t act well in their class. Also, if they answer incorrectly in class, correct them immediately, which will stop them from creating false notions in their head of always being correct.

Also, tell them the correct answer and why they are wrong.

Find A Balance

While some parents try to boost their kid’s confidence, on the other hand, some are looking toward reducing it. Why? Because they affect not only themselves and their progress but also others.

So, you need to find a balance where you don’t crush their confidence at all but reduce at a slower pace. 

Also, give a chance to those students who are shy and lack self-confidence.

It will create balance in the classroom, and the overconfident student will learn that he is not the only one in class, but other people also need to be thought about.

Use Activities To Help Them

Kids who get their way always become overconfident. As a teacher, you must understand if the kid’s parents are attentive enough.

When both parents are working, they try to make up for lost time with material things. They spend little time with kids and thus shower all their love, making them ignorant and arrogant.

These kids who get everything before asking for it don’t value things. It also makes them weak as they don’t know the value of earning. 

You can play games with kids and teach them the value of earning. Choose rewards and make it clear that only the winner will get them. It will boost their competitiveness, and they will focus on earning it.   

Help Them With A Hobby

When kids think that they know everything, introduce them to something they don’t know. Say, you can introduce a kid to painting, playing a game, or collecting stamps or coins.

It helps them learn that not everything is easy and there are things they don’t know. It also inspires them to work hard and focus instead of trying to be superior.

See Other Side Of The Content

Taking into consideration the child’s behavior, understand that he/she may be coming from a background that fosters a defiant attitude.

Take this into consideration and keep in mind that even though for a smaller period of time you will be stepping into a parenting role. 

Offer words of encouragement, and most importantly be there to listen to them. Practice patience as deep inside they are still a kid. 

Do Not Yell, Scold or Lecture

Yelling, scolding, and lecturing are not going to help or say it will worsen the situation.

Especially this will be more damaging if you are doing this towards a particular child in the class in front of others. This will create friction between you and your stubborn students and guarantee that it will worsen their behavior.

Tap Into Their Interest And Allow Their Choices 

One of the most simple and effective ways to win over stubborn students is by tapping into their interests.  Since you have already spent some time building rapport with your students.

Having a comfortable environment will help students to feel safe to share a bit about themselves.

Let your students have choices, and being a teacher you should embrace their choices. This is a good start to engaging stubborn students.  

Practice Empathy and Lot Of Patience

This is one of the simplest yet most effective strategies to implement. However, it requires an immense level of patience with no shortcuts to it.

All you have to do is remove yourself from such a tense situation, realizing that your stubborn student’s behavior isn’t behaving well and this has absolutely nothing to do with you. 

If you can see that, you’ll have all the patience and understanding in the world. Student frustration is one of the root causes.

If you think you can work with your student by practicing patience, not only the situation but you eventually will see a change in behavior in your student as well. 

Use Technology In Your Teachings

No matter what kind of teenagers you are dealing with in today’s world, they all love gadgets.

It is something they cannot do without. While dealing with stubborn students try bringing in tools and digital toys wherein they can easily connect with you.

This acts as a bridge in an uncomfortable situation. For e.g. in an art class, prefer having digital tools and technology for photorealistic drawings. 

Engage them with the tools which will help in easing off the tense situation into a normal one. 

Don’t Argue

When you argue with difficult students, it puts them on equal footing with you, creating a “your word against theirs” situation. This negates the effects of accountability. It also opens the floodgates: everybody will be arguing with you.

Don’t Hold A Grudge

It is obvious to get stubborn children in your class but it is you who have to remember that every day will be a new day for you. And this should be your daily mantra with difficult students. 

Your students need to know that they will have a clean start every day and so do you. Say more hellos and smile and let your students know that you you’re happy to see them every morning. 

Don’t Lose Your Temperament

When you let the stubborn student get under your skin it’s obvious to lose temperament. Even if it is an “eye roll” or a “sigh” it does impact.

The student gets the message and with that, there are other students who get affected. All in all, it spoils the classroom atmosphere.

Students are likely to push the buttons and they will do it as much for fun. It is important for a teacher to remember not to lose cool. 

Related Read: Ten Challenges Faced by Teachers Today and Tips to Overcome Them

Don’t Ignore The Misbehavior

Your class will be always there to look up to you when you are dealing with a stubborn teenager.

This sets you as a bad example in the class, making it worse. Instead of a difficult student breaking a rule, no matter what do not enforce rules immediately.

Action Plan For The Parents

Teachers will be doing their best to improve your teenage kids. Parents too need to put in the effort as well. Talk to your kids in a more subtle way and let them know that you will be always there for them.

Your teenage children are passing through the crucial phase of their lives where everything is blown out of proportion. 

Focus on improving manners in your house. Come up with different ideas, so that your growing child doesn’t feel like you deliberately instilling good behavior.  

For e.g. you can keep a “Manners Month” next month you can keep “Role-Playing Their Favorite Character” and come up with different ways to instill respectful behavior in a fun process. 

Become your kid’s best friend, keep that in mind so that you won’t have a complaining kid when they become an adult. 

Treating your teenage children in a similar way that you are treating your friends will help them grow into independent and self-reliant people. 

Closing Thoughts

You want your children to form their opinion and be expressive when they are adults. You want them to do better, and successful and be always become a better version. 

All in all, you want the best for the children so that they can enjoy their life to the fullest. You want them to be independent and able to negotiate but without hurting other people.

So the above-mentioned tips will help you to tone down the overconfident, stubborn teenagers in your class. Teach them how to ask for what they want in a respectful way.