Teacher: Please close out of that site and begin working on your project.
Ava: I was looking at videos to research for your stupid class.
[Ava drops the tablet onto her desk.]
Teacher: Hey, we need to have a chat. [motions for Ava to follow her.]
Class: Ooooohhhh!
[ Johanna Staubitz commentary ]
In this clip, Ms. Harris more directly instructs Ava to stop using the tablet. So note that the reprimand is phrased in terms of what
Ava should stop doing rather than what she should do. And Ava is defensive and she calls the class stupid. She calls your class stupid,
Ms. Harris. And Ms. Harris then reacts and escalates the situation to a full power struggle by saying publicly while walking away so
she has to speak louder so more people can hear it that Ava and Ms. Harris need to have a chat. That implies that Ava needs to get
up and follow. And so now she's put this demand out there where both parties are going to have to dig in if they want to look like
they're in control. It's important or it's clear that that's important to Ava. And we know that's important to Ms. Harris as a teacher.
But unfortunately, being put in this position, Ava’s choice between digging in and not following instructions and publicly following
Ms. Harris' directive, there is kind of a recipe for trouble. Ava, remember, is very competitive, very concerned with winning and coming
out on top. So that just particular way of thinking or set of preferences is definitely at odds with a teacher strategy of saying we need
to come have a chat, implying that they should go do so. So now her escalation has more to do more to it than simply the difficulty
of that transition from high preferred activity to low preferred activity. Now she's in a relatively public power struggle with Ms.
Harris.