What if your administration doesn't back you up?
I'm an instructor at a for-profit technical school. Although the school catalog lists very specific and strict policies regarding inappropriate behavior by students, the administration rarely backs our instructors. On more than one occasion I have requested that a student be removed from my classroom due to repeated disruptive behavior. On each occasion, however, I was basically told that we cannot afford to lose a student. How is an instructor supposed to adequately manage the classroom when administration is much more interested in focusing on the monetary bottom line?
Hi Theresa,
I agree! The instructors should feel like their administration will back them fully. Instructors need the support of the administration. As an administrator, I always back my instructor in front of the student. If the instructor does something that I do not agree with, I will let the instructor know privately how it should have been done for future reference. It is awful when an instructor feels as though their legs have been cut from under them.
Patricia
I have heard this statement more than once.This is a problem that I have seen a few times. It doesn't make the instructor look good when the administration does not back them. The students are taking notes. They will continue to act unappropiately if they know that the administration will not "back" their instructors and willtake full advantage of it.
Hi Alicia,
Great points made! I firmly believe in handling student problems on my own, but sometimes you simply have to get higher authority involved. By you being very open and thorough with your rules and consequences, I can certainly see how you probably hardly ever have to get administration involved. Your students know off the bat for every choice, here is the consequence.
Patricia
David,
There is a way to avoid involving administration. I have created a set of rules of conduct for each class. I give this to the students on the first day of class. I also require them sign a sheet of receipt to acknowledge their understanding.
The rules of conduct simply states how inappropriate behavior will be handled in my class. I simply state what will be done to handle the situation instead of sending the student out to see the appropriate administrative official. If it is in writing and they have acknowledged it then it must be followed.
Every school has a disciplinary policy. These guides have to be respected in order to keep accreditation. Steps usually include a verbal warning, written warning and then action of suspension or expulsion of a term. Sometimes a student can become so volatile that it takes immediate action of their removal.
If the steps-of-diffusion, suggested in the coursework, are not effective; then college policy has to take place (MaxKnowledge. (2011). If a student refuses to leave a classroom in order to continue to rant and be disruptive at the expense of the other students; then they need to be given an option. Give the other participating students a break. This defuses the situation and eliminates an audience to the student who is “show boating.” The options are the disruptive student can 1) calm themselves down by also taking a break before returning to class; or 2) leave the classroom for the day.
If they refuse either option then you can get administration. If administration refuses to act and the behavior continues to escalate; then for the safety of yourself and the other students the police department can be called for the removal of the student. He/she has been asked to leave the class and refusing to leave places them as trespassers.
This kind of scenario should be discussed at faculty orientation as well as faculty meetings. This is an administrative issue and if administration does not enforce safety to ALL students; the Board of Directors must be informed. The police report serves as a written account and proof that you, as the instructor, took affirmative action to diffuse the situation.
A reminder to the student that you are the instructor and have an agenda of information that needs to get to all the students is your job. Bullying does not have a place in a college classroom.
MaxKnowledge. (2011). MaxKnowledge: ED104 Class management strategies. Apple polishing students. Center for Excellence in Education. Washington D.C.: Imagine America Foundation. Retrieved May 18, 2011 from website: http://www.iaf-cee.org/elc/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=6714
I am in the same boat.
I had a student outburst that stunned me. I asked him to leave and go see the chair, but he refused, and continued his rant.
I ended up leaving to get the chair, and when she finally did show up she just watched from the doorway.
I didn't feel backed up at all. It was so bad that the other students in the class were upset with him after he left.
I have had other times when a fight was about to break out and I went for the VP, same thing, they were slow getting to the classroom and then didn't do anything but watch thru the window.
Lucky for me this doesn't happen often.
I, too, have encountered situations similar David. When this happens, the news spreads throughout the class and other classes that the instructor does not have the backup from admin and then a culture is created. Not only a student culture in which they can essentially get away with anything but also a culture is instilled into instructors that they are just there for a paycheck which often times can lead to job burnout. It is very difficult to reverse- in fact, it's pretty much impossible to reverse once this culture is instilled. I understand that for-profit schools are based on the business model of profit/loss but in the long run the graduates of the school will not be able to perform all necessary skills adequately and word will get around NOT to hire your school's graduates. Which then leads to unacceptable placement numbers, then revoked accreditation, then the school is out of business...or at least seriously hurting. It's a nasty, vicious cycle. The immediate numbers/profits trumps eventual reputation blemishes every time.
Well, David, as a for-profit school, there does need to be a balance between education and business. How do instructors get the backing needed in order to run the classrooms effectively when they feel they don't get the backing deserved? Well, I tend to have the student leave and go see their program chair. If the program chair is not in his office, then I have them leave and come back the next day ready to participate appropriately in the class or be prepared to leave again. I try to encourage open and honest discussion with my students and that seems to ensure no situations arise or escalate. Also, if tensions are getting high in class or it's a particularly stressful class, I try to set aside a few minutes here and there for everyone to just vent their frustrations, then everyone can take a big deep breath, then we can continue.
