The Agitator

Effects: How behavior affects teachers, classmates, and parents in the school learning environment and the home family situation.

• Others are influenced to do or say what the agitator would not do or say him/herself.
  
  
• Learning experience in the classroom is seriously disrupted by the agitator's activities because students and teacher alike are distracted from the work or discussion at hand.
  
  
• Social experience of students in the halls, cafeteria, etc., becomes negative.
  
  
• At times, others are led to admire the agitator's sly and manipulative behavior. Therefore, he/she is a hero to some.
  
  
• Teacher can easily start to feel threatened and as if he/she were losing control of the class.
  
  
• Classmates can begin to feel as if they might be able to get away with similar behavior.
  
  
• Class may be in a continual or almost continual uproar regarding some issue.
  
  
• Teacher influence and credibility may be reduced.
  
  
• Teacher may lose self-control.
  
  
• Teacher may feel inadequate. As a result, he/she can become tense and transmit this tension to the agitator and other students.