Teachers typically get ready for class by thinking about the content for the day. What will be your focus? Do you have the notes and materials you need? How will you engage your students?

Then the unexpected occurs — and it has nothing to do with what you’ve prepared. A student’s comment pushes a hot button. You’re confronted about a grade. You see an open backpack that contains a gun. Students are talking about the suicide of a peer. There’s a major emergency event on campus.

Suddenly you find yourself at loss — this is not what you had in mind when you envisioned your life as an educator!

Here are some resources to help you out when you are dealing with the unexpected as you teach:

• Coping with Canceled Classes (and Technical Difficulties)
• Dealing with Distressed Students
• Handling “Hot Moments” in the Classroom
• Responding to Traumatic Events