Coping with aggressive student behavior is crucial to providing a safe and orderly classroom and school environment. Approaches for improving student behavior, ranging from enhancing a student's interpersonal skills to restraint techniques (such as the prudent use of physical force) are covered in this booklet. The material blends information in the literature, which covers aggressive student behavior, with the experiences of teachers and administrators. Practical solutions are emphasized. The information is presented in a story format in which two young teachers set out on a journey to learn more about successfully coping with a student whose behavior is out of control. The teachers' journey takes them on a visit to an exemplary middle school, where they learn about keeping the student's behavior in bounds, improving interpersonal skills, developing social decision-making skills, and using restraint techniques, some of which are illustrated. Ways in which teachers can explore their own hot-button issues are also offered, as is a scenario in which a teacher uses "verbal judo" to defuse a tense situation with a student. The text closes with a 10-point checklist for reviewing the different ideas covered in these two fictional teachers' day. (RJM)