I'm a doctoral student taking an undergraduate class.I told the students I would be TAing in my respective field this fall and they wanted to know what course I would be TAing, so they could take the class and "train me" -- whatever that means.
Then they told me horror stories of them locking their teacher out of the classroom in high school, making new teachers cry, etc. Maybe high school is a different ball game than college? Please say yes!
Q: Has a student every done anything mean to you?!
In college, you call security and they are escorted out. Now with new extra pepper spray and rubber bullets!
ReplyDeleteNo but seriously. My students are sometimes rude (texting, coming in late or leaving early, whispering in class), but they never do stuff that stupid.
It is not uncommon for me to remind freshmen during the first class that they don't have to be here and that someone is paying for them to be here. Since we're a SLAC, I also tell them that if they want to be a loner and not participate, they should save their money right now and go to the cheaper state University nearby so they can be faceless number in a class of 100+. Never had any problems of the sort you described. At most, unhappy students write you a bad eval, go to RYP, or complain to the chair.
ReplyDeleteSimilar experiences.
ReplyDeleteWhen I taught in an urban high school, those students would occasionally pull that sort of stuff because they knew consequences were pretty much prohibited.
At the college level though, you really do carry the big stick.
If they want to risk forfeiting a couple thousand dollars in tuition to be a prick, there are bigger problems at play.
Just remember to have campus security and the media center on speed-dial. I never needed to called security, but the media center got a few "hey where's my projector" calls.
just the occasional "you blow" comment on RYP or in an eval. (shrug)
ReplyDeleteOTOH, a group of students in another department had to be warned about ganging up on several professors in their department. They'd give awful evals, gossip behind the profs back, etc. it was very HS "mean girl" crap. They'd take the same class as a group. One of the asst deans told me they started breaking the group into different classes and once the ringleaders were isolated, the problem stopped.
Rule number one. Do not share anything with undergrads. I wouldn't have let them know I was a doctoral student, nor that I would be on the other side of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are TAing in the fall, seriously, they don't need to know anything about you. Anything you say will be used against you.
Rule number 1.1 - Unshare anything that you can. Privatize your facebook, sanitize any public profile of you. My university had a "people finder" thing online that, unbeknownst to me, had my phone number available. I learned about this when I received a call at 12:30 AM from a student inquiring about homework due the next day. The people finder now has my name only. Google yourself, search your school's page for yourself, rummage around on the internets. Look at what you find from a student's perspective and decide if you mind them knowing.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit curious as to why you're taking an undergraduate class as a doctoral student. That coupled with the context of your question suggests to me you might be a bit new to your program and/or teaching. Maybe you just graduated with your B.A., so you might not be much older than the undergrads.
ReplyDeleteAs you've noticed, some of those undergrads are fresh from high school. High school students are assholes to teachers, parents, staff, and each other. Once they get into college, you can help them understand that undergrad is a time to start acting more like an adult and less like an asshole high school student.
Have students ever been mean to me? The answer is no. Act like the adult in the room and they will fall in line. Dress like an adult, speak like an adult, and don't take any shit whatsoever. In high school, you cause problems, you go to the office. In college, you cause problems, I ask you to get the hell out of my class. If you refuse, I will call security and they will escort you out of my class.
However, I've never ever had to do that because I don't take shit.
I'm also in a doctoral program, and taught high school students for several years before I started grad school. The high school kids were occasionally rambunctious, but never too much of a problem. The college students I've TA'd for so far have been, on the whole, quite well behaved. The biggest 'problem' I've had was with one student who would routinely leave in the middle of class for a "bathroom break"- when I pointed out to her that it was disruptive and was hurting her participation grade, she apologized and stopped. So, as I said, quite well-behaved on the whole.
ReplyDeleteEchoing the advice others have given you here: you may not be that much older than your students (I'm not either), but you are in authority over them. Own it. You are not their peer, nor their fellow merry prankster. Act like a well-reasoned, organized, assertive adult, and you'll nip nine-tenths of student behavior problems in the bud. The other one-tenth? Address the issue matter-of-factly with the student, report to your supervisor, and (if necessary) flunk their asses without compunction.
Lest you worry that this will make you unpopular: I routinely get glowing teaching evals from students and colleagues (not to brag).
Best of luck!
Hi Bison: I guess CM edited my email--I had mentioned that I was in a language class, which I need for my research. To my knowledge, universities (or at least mine) don't offer graduate level language classes, so I'm stuck in undergraduate language classes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice about how to act around them.
Bison, some universities cross-list a grad-level class with an undergrad one. For instance, I have taken courses for grad credit (doctoral-level) that also had undergrads in it, but I had a different work-level and expectations. Some profs, tho, expected the same level from everyone (low or high depending). Having had this experience a handful of times, I now firmly believe it's a bad idea and all grad students should avoid it if they can.
ReplyDeleteI have taken some of these cross-listed classes, and the graduate students often end up being like an extra TA, leading group discussions and mentoring undergrads. It was not ideal.
Delete@Atua, that makes sense. I have taught some cross-listed courses, but the typical undergraduates were juniors or seniors who more or less acted like adults. If I've had problems, it's teaching intro classes where typically only the first years actually reminisce about high school hijinks. Your current language class might actually be a useful learning experience in observing how the professor handles (or mishandles) potentially rambunctious first years.
ReplyDeleteYour mileage may vary, but in the classroom I try to always be approachable, be respectful, and be professional. Like I said, no problems yet and I've taught my share of undergraduates.
when they ask if you're a "real teacher", just remind them you give real grades- this worked like magic for me, when I didnt look much older then them (looking too young to be the teacher is no longer a problem, alas). Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSo... it wasn't THAT mean... but it still happened.
ReplyDeleteIt was my second year teaching and there was an "oozeball" championship happening right outside my building. That's mud-volleyball for those who don't know. In any case, the girls would come into our building's bathroom to clean up, which mean there was an inch of mud all over the floor (in some cases literally due to clumps).
I ran to the bathroom before class to pee and noticed that the bitchy girl in my class was in there too. Joy. The only stall open was the handicapped one on the end, so I grabbed it, did my thing, and tried to open the door.
Which is when the lock broke. Completely. It was stuck shut and I couldn't get out.
I peered out of the door crack and there was bitchy girl. She saw my panicked look, laughed at me, and walked out the door.
Today I'd say something. Then I was just horrified. After all, she was IN the class I was going to be late for.
I didn't want to crawl under the door because of the mud on the floor, and I didn't have my phone with me to call somebody. So...
...so I stood on the goddamned toilet and used the railing to boost myself over the stall wall, jump down in the stall next to mine, and exit that way.
I'm VERY GLAD to this day that nobody walked in while I was straddling a bathroom stall wall near the ceiling!
She looked QUITE disappointed when I walked in right on time. :)
Ah, yes. It's good for profs to occasionally do physical, real-life Indiana Jones stuff. It keeps up the flow of oxygen to the brain, to everyone's benefit. I wish I could have seen the expression on that mean little creep's mug. ;-)
DeleteIs being screamed at and called names mean?
ReplyDeleteThe_Myth: Sadly, the class isn't cross-listed for graduate units. This puts me slightly behind the rest of my cohort, though I will still comp on time. For a language class it's just not possible to get cross-listed units because even if I'm a graduate student, I'm still at the same level as other students. Anyways, this is my last semester in an undergrad course... though I did one in the fall too, with the same students and language.
ReplyDeleteAs university faculty, we are strongly obliged to try using reasoning first. First, calmly point out that they are just hurting themselves, and that someone is paying for them to be here, and that I don't take attendance, so they don't really have to be here.
ReplyDeleteIf reasoning fails, I can put a stop to childish nonsense quickly by using the ultimate insult to an 18-to-22 year old: by pointing out how CHILDISH and IMMATURE it is. I've never had to threaten to call security, although it's in the back of my mind.
If they complain the the Chair, I now AM the Chair. MUA-HA-HAAA!!! It's so much fun to send some whiny little shit on his way, particularly since we currently have no Dean, and our Provost is facing a faculty uprising. Any little creeps we get literally don't know where to turn to next!
P.S. To answer your question, "Has a student ever done anything mean to you," I say yes: the worst was when I was bicycling home one night, and some boys drove up alongside me in their pickup truck, and threw paper cups containing ice at the back of my head. They hit me, too, twice. It's too bad it was dark and I couldn't get their license plate numbers. I vaguely recalled their faces, from my general-ed class of over 100: I looked for them the next week, but couldn't find them, but then they might have been in a section from a previous semester. It's a good thing I don't carry a gun, because I would have used it.
DeleteWow. If any student ever did anything mean to me, I. would. obliterate. them.
ReplyDelete