Stevie Ersland

I agree that documenting everything that happens with a challenging student can definitely cover your butt.
From my own personal experiences in teaching and dealing with challenging students I've come to realize that they are usually the ones that need the most help. My experience with challenging students have been that they portray themselves to their classmates and myself that they know much more about anything than the rest of us do. After further questioning I come to find out they don't know as much as they claim and it's actually their "guard." Instead of people thinking they don't know anything they pose as if they know everything and that's how they protect themselves. It is challenging, but after awhile you learn from these experiences and gain more knowledge on how to deal with these types of students.

Patricia Scales

Hi Laura,
Documentation says it all. It is the best system to fall back on. Documentation is your proof.
Patricia

Laura McCay Suchanick

I agree. A colleague and I were having trouble with a difficult student that claimed to be "bipolar" and would lash out at us in emails and then act totally different in class. Administration forced us to break our tutor policy, causing us to look like fools, but our documentation will prove to be a good idea if this occurs again.

Linda Clarkson

I agree.
I was taught, "if it's not written down, it didn't happen"
From a legal point of view, it is hearsay, if not written.

Patricia Scales

Hi Stephen,
Documentation tends to serve well with anything. I like your idea of documenting students challenging behavior. When things are documented, you always have something to refer to.
Patricia

Stephen Thrasher

As a new instructor, I feel like documenting challenging student behavior is goin to help me.
Seeing if this is a onetime thing or has this student had these problems with other instructors, And seeing what they did to get across to the student.