3rd Millennium Classrooms will be introducing a new course called Respect & Resolve. Focused on high school students, it will address many components of conflict management, primarily healthy and unhealthy ways of responding to conflict.

During the teen years, the brain is still developing. It doesn’t truly resemble that of an adult until a person’s early 20s. What’s important to note is that the parts of the brain that are responsible for controlling impulses and planning ahead are among the last to develop. Perhaps this is why the phrase “teen angst” has been coined.

As we all know, there are healthy and unhealthy ways to respond to conflict. Unhealthy ways can involve anger, withdrawing love, shaming, isolation, and rejection. Fear, the inability to compromise, and conflict avoidance are also common. Healthy ways to handle conflict involve non-defensive reactions, a willingness to forgive and move forward, and seeking compromise. Dealing with conflict can be done head-on, but not in anger, as the course Respect & Resolve will demonstrate.

Uncontrolled anger can cause mental confusion and lead to impulsive actions and poor decision-making. What does this mean for a growing teen? Well, anger can be a powerful survival tool and a source of energy, but it can also cause the brain to shift into a lower evolutionary level, causing even more problems. Repressed anger in teens can lead to unlimited conflict in the home, at school, and at work.

Non-threatening behavior is especially important. It’s crucial to encourage teens to treat others with courtesy and respect, while also accepting that they should be willing to talk things through constructively.

Sometimes a third-party intervention can be helpful. An entity like 3rd Millennium Classrooms and the up-and-coming course Respect & Resolve can make a world of difference in a teen’s life. Walking in stride with this new course, teens can come to a better understanding of their own feelings and opinions, while recognizing better ways in which to handle conflict on a day-to-day basis.

Learn more about other common issues that teens deal with and how you can help them navigate through the teen years with success.