Dealing With Students

[Sun_Worshiper]

Also, how do you deal with students who play on your emotions?.

Of all the transformation I've seen in a quarter-century of teaching, this is the one that gets me the most.  We all have the duty to be flexible, but I'm finding that appeals to issues that are not clearly acute in any way (e.g. car trouble, "I've got a lot on my plate," took the wrong bus, etc.) are being employed by the same subset of students as part of pleas for indefinite flexibility on everything from attendance to due dates.  Each new week brings with it more of these types of excuses.  Everything should apparently be negotiable in intro classes with scores of students.

As for referring students to campus resources helping with everything from counseling to food insecurity, forget it.  Most of my students aren't interested, and simply want to deal with their stated issues in terms of out-of-class makeup assignments and extensions.  As for administrators, forget it: they don't want to stick their necks out giving advice and specialize in winking with messages that are endless variants of "work with these students."

Agreed.

Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion these days, but being endlessly flexible to accommodate students is not doing them any favors. Yes, there are extenuating circumstances, but a lot of things that students want latitude on would not fly in the workplace.

[mythbuster]

I have taking to saying frequently "The semester is a finite period of time." Endless extensions are not actually possible, and are almost always bad ideas that lead to snowballing issues.

[fosca]

Also, how do you deal with students who play on your emotions?.

Of all the transformation I've seen in a quarter-century of teaching, this is the one that gets me the most.  We all have the duty to be flexible, but I'm finding that appeals to issues that are not clearly acute in any way (e.g. car trouble, "I've got a lot on my plate," took the wrong bus, etc.) are being employed by the same subset of students as part of pleas for indefinite flexibility on everything from attendance to due dates.  Each new week brings with it more of these types of excuses.  Everything should apparently be negotiable in intro classes with scores of students.

As for referring students to campus resources helping with everything from counseling to food insecurity, forget it.  Most of my students aren't interested, and simply want to deal with their stated issues in terms of out-of-class makeup assignments and extensions.  As for administrators, forget it: they don't want to stick their necks out giving advice and specialize in winking with messages that are endless variants of "work with these students."

Agreed.

Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion these days, but being endlessly flexible to accommodate students is not doing them any favors. Yes, there are extenuating circumstances, but a lot of things that students want latitude on would not fly in the workplace.

My school basically wants us to be endlessly flexible with students, but I don't think that sets a good policy (plus it often causes students to try to do the entire course in the last week, which doesn't end well for them, and which the college also doesn't like and the college also blames me for).  So I ask for some sort of documentation, whether it's a positive COVID test next to their ID or some sort of receipt/doctor's note/police report/etc.  I do allow work late, up  to the end of the semester (with a 50% penalty after five days late) and I drop lowest whatevers, so I think it's fair.

[arcturus]

My asynchronous online, large enrollment, GenEd STEM class has a lot of low-stakes assignments. I do not allow late work and I do not drop lowest scores (in part because the only way students will learn anything in this class is to do the assignments, since they do not choose to read the book or watch the videos...). My rationale for not allowing late work is that such policies can cause students to spiral. In particular, if they were not able to do the work in my class due to event [X], they are probably also behind in their other classes too. Trying to do this week's work plus last week's work, plus still deal with whatever continuing fall-out from event [X] remains, is often a recipe for falling even further behind. By not allowing late work, my students can put their efforts into their other classes (which they care about more than mine, in any event) and into regaining control of the other aspects of their lives.

[Langue_doc]

How do you deal with a student in your class who constantly rolls their eyes every time you say something and then looks around at the other students in class? This has been a distraction to me because I have noticed students will look at this student when I say something to see if this student approves.

OP's concern was about this specific behaviour which is inconsistent with a tic or some sort of mannerism. Stu is clearly creating an environment that is not conducive to learning. OP, how do the other students respond to Stu? Students in my evening classes would find such behavior to be disruptive and expect the instructor to handle the situation. Here, in the city, we have students who work during the day, and then take courses in the evening or weekends, and who would not tolerate disruptions. I've had students who worked in construction, in stores, as nannies, and also students who have had to arrange for childcare so that they could come to class. They deserve an environment where they are not distracted by an obviously bored student. 

[Sun_Worshiper]

How do you deal with a student in your class who constantly rolls their eyes every time you say something and then looks around at the other students in class? This has been a distraction to me because I have noticed students will look at this student when I say something to see if this student approves.

OP's concern was about this specific behaviour which is inconsistent with a tic or some sort of mannerism. Stu is clearly creating an environment that is not conducive to learning. OP, how do the other students respond to Stu? Students in my evening classes would find such behavior to be disruptive and expect the instructor to handle the situation. Here, in the city, we have students who work during the day, and then take courses in the evening or weekends, and who would not tolerate disruptions. I've had students who worked in construction, in stores, as nannies, and also students who have had to arrange for childcare so that they could come to class. They deserve an environment where they are not distracted by an obviously bored student. 

When I first started teaching I had a student who was disruptive in a somewhat similar way to OP's situation. This went on for several weeks. One day, I got fed up and said something to the effect of "anyone in this class who doesn't read or pay attention, acts disruptively, and compromises the learning environment, should just stay home, because I don't want them here." As soon as I said it, I could see that the other students in the class were relieved and I realized that they were on my side. From there, the classroom vibe changed for the better.

OP, you are an authority figure in this situation. If there is a problem that is making it difficult for students to learn then you need to take charge and handle it. You can do it in various ways (ignore the student, challenge them in front of the class, take them aside and ask them to tone it down, etc.), but if a student is being purposefully disruptive then you need to take steps to stop them.

[Caracal]

How do you deal with a student in your class who constantly rolls their eyes every time you say something and then looks around at the other students in class? This has been a distraction to me because I have noticed students will look at this student when I say something to see if this student approves.

OP's concern was about this specific behaviour which is inconsistent with a tic or some sort of mannerism. Stu is clearly creating an environment that is not conducive to learning. OP, how do the other students respond to Stu? Students in my evening classes would find such behavior to be disruptive and expect the instructor to handle the situation. Here, in the city, we have students who work during the day, and then take courses in the evening or weekends, and who would not tolerate disruptions. I've had students who worked in construction, in stores, as nannies, and also students who have had to arrange for childcare so that they could come to class. They deserve an environment where they are not distracted by an obviously bored student. 

When I first started teaching I had a student who was disruptive in a somewhat similar way to OP's situation. This went on for several weeks. One day, I got fed up and said something to the effect of "anyone in this class who doesn't read or pay attention, acts disruptively, and compromises the learning environment, should just stay home, because I don't want them here." As soon as I said it, I could see that the other students in the class were relieved and I realized that they were on my side. From there, the classroom vibe changed for the better.

OP, you are an authority figure in this situation. If there is a problem that is making it difficult for students to learn then you need to take charge and handle it. You can do it in various ways (ignore the student, challenge them in front of the class, take them aside and ask them to tone it down, etc.), but if a student is being purposefully disruptive then you need to take steps to stop them.

For what it's worth, my first few years teaching, I had some issues with students who seemed to be trying to challenge or undermine me in class and it really hasn't been a problem since. I suspect it's just that as I became more comfortable and confident as a teacher, students stopped feeling like I was open to direct challenges. I didn't become an authoritarian or anything, I think I just fill the space in the classroom in a way that doesn't give students the impression they can try to take over.

[Sun_Worshiper]

How do you deal with a student in your class who constantly rolls their eyes every time you say something and then looks around at the other students in class? This has been a distraction to me because I have noticed students will look at this student when I say something to see if this student approves.

OP's concern was about this specific behaviour which is inconsistent with a tic or some sort of mannerism. Stu is clearly creating an environment that is not conducive to learning. OP, how do the other students respond to Stu? Students in my evening classes would find such behavior to be disruptive and expect the instructor to handle the situation. Here, in the city, we have students who work during the day, and then take courses in the evening or weekends, and who would not tolerate disruptions. I've had students who worked in construction, in stores, as nannies, and also students who have had to arrange for childcare so that they could come to class. They deserve an environment where they are not distracted by an obviously bored student. 

When I first started teaching I had a student who was disruptive in a somewhat similar way to OP's situation. This went on for several weeks. One day, I got fed up and said something to the effect of "anyone in this class who doesn't read or pay attention, acts disruptively, and compromises the learning environment, should just stay home, because I don't want them here." As soon as I said it, I could see that the other students in the class were relieved and I realized that they were on my side. From there, the classroom vibe changed for the better.

OP, you are an authority figure in this situation. If there is a problem that is making it difficult for students to learn then you need to take charge and handle it. You can do it in various ways (ignore the student, challenge them in front of the class, take them aside and ask them to tone it down, etc.), but if a student is being purposefully disruptive then you need to take steps to stop them.

For what it's worth, my first few years teaching, I had some issues with students who seemed to be trying to challenge or undermine me in class and it really hasn't been a problem since. I suspect it's just that as I became more comfortable and confident as a teacher, students stopped feeling like I was open to direct challenges. I didn't become an authoritarian or anything, I think I just fill the space in the classroom in a way that doesn't give students the impression they can try to take over.

I agree that as one becomes more comfortable and seasoned there is less of this kind of thing. But sometimes a professor has to take charge and exercise their authority for everyone's sake.

[Langue_doc]

How do you deal with a student in your class who constantly rolls their eyes every time you say something and then looks around at the other students in class? This has been a distraction to me because I have noticed students will look at this student when I say something to see if this student approves.

OP's concern was about this specific behaviour which is inconsistent with a tic or some sort of mannerism. Stu is clearly creating an environment that is not conducive to learning. OP, how do the other students respond to Stu? Students in my evening classes would find such behavior to be disruptive and expect the instructor to handle the situation. Here, in the city, we have students who work during the day, and then take courses in the evening or weekends, and who would not tolerate disruptions. I've had students who worked in construction, in stores, as nannies, and also students who have had to arrange for childcare so that they could come to class. They deserve an environment where they are not distracted by an obviously bored student. 

When I first started teaching I had a student who was disruptive in a somewhat similar way to OP's situation. This went on for several weeks. One day, I got fed up and said something to the effect of "anyone in this class who doesn't read or pay attention, acts disruptively, and compromises the learning environment, should just stay home, because I don't want them here." As soon as I said it, I could see that the other students in the class were relieved and I realized that they were on my side. From there, the classroom vibe changed for the better.

OP, you are an authority figure in this situation. If there is a problem that is making it difficult for students to learn then you need to take charge and handle it. You can do it in various ways (ignore the student, challenge them in front of the class, take them aside and ask them to tone it down, etc.), but if a student is being purposefully disruptive then you need to take steps to stop them.

For what it's worth, my first few years teaching, I had some issues with students who seemed to be trying to challenge or undermine me in class and it really hasn't been a problem since. I suspect it's just that as I became more comfortable and confident as a teacher, students stopped feeling like I was open to direct challenges. I didn't become an authoritarian or anything, I think I just fill the space in the classroom in a way that doesn't give students the impression they can try to take over.

I agree that as one becomes more comfortable and seasoned there is less of this kind of thing. But sometimes a professor has to take charge and exercise their authority for everyone's sake.

This. "Everyone" includes students who are paying tuition, juggling jobs and families, rearranging schedules so that they can come to class, and on occasion also taking care of parents. I've had at least two students, under 20 or 21, having to take on adult responsibilities, either because the student was the only one in the family who spoke and understood English, and in the other instance the student had to get power of attorney to take care of a parent who refused medical attention. Ignoring disruptions does no one any favors, including the one causing the disruptions.