Research shows that this can best be achieved by incorporating instruction in anger and conflict management skills into the core curriculum of elementary, middle, and high schools over a sustained period of time. This extends a young person's repertoire of responses to anger and conflict. Successful programs should also assume that conflict is natural and inevitable among human beings and that responses to conflict are learned . The conceptual for these programs must further assume that there are positive and negative responses to conflict. One response to conflict is anger.
Unchecked anger can lead to aggression and then to violence.
Another is denial, which leads to low self-esteem and illness. However, we can learn to manage our anger constructively by recognizing its signals, identifying positive thoughts and strategies to handle it, and taking action to remain calm and in control. The ideal model proposes that, once calm, we must pause and decide whether to choose from a repertoire of problem-solving behaviors or avoid a dangerous confrontation. When learned together, the positive strategies of managing anger, using empathy, avoiding dangerous situations, and problem solving can lead to a sense of personal self-control and to safe, peaceful resolutions with others. At a time when human survival depends on finding alternatives to violence for resolving conflicts, there is no more compelling mission for educators.