The issue arises when student that have never had boundaries and are feeing restraint by them. It’s difficult to follow rules when they say “why should I because the other teachers /professor don’t reinforce them. And so and so gets to do it.†Being fair across the playing field is important with faculty calibration. Being tough on students may mean following rules so that they can succeed in the work force and be professional. My son stated the above quote to me on day when he explained he would rather have I teacher help him get good grades by learning the material so he can apply it on the job. Getting the answers up front might get him an A, but he wouldn’t know how to apply it in the work force.
Instructor should set or establish rules that pertain to the classroom, one way to do this is a have the students and the instructor set the rules together and place them on the board and when students are not following the rules instructor may point at the rules or reinforce the rules that are not be followed. This is a good practice to try in the classroom environment.
I disagree. More often than not students want boundaries to follow. Professionalism is just that. A guideline to follow in the real work environment. If students are told in expressed details that their attitudes and mind set will directly effect their professional standing. They generally dont mind the nudge in the right direction. As long as it in a constructive manner tough is always better.
In my experience some students are upset when the rules are enforced. but when the instructor and program director are consistent and enforce the rules the students will appreicate it down the road. I have had to tell students to leave campus because of not being in dress code and using bad language. they were very upset, but in the end they were hired off of extern and thanked me later.
Gary, how can students create such strife? What are the issues that they might use?
Gina, have you noticed any common characteristic to the outliers? A specific age or background perhaps?
We need to stick together and not let the students turn us against each other.
I have found most students appreciative of rules and professionalism. But I also have a few students who constantly challenge and want to make their own rules. They question me with standard rules and policies, suggesting that they have heard differently from other instructors.
Unfortunately, it seems a growing number of students expect (require?) an explanation before they will accept classroom (or even work place) rules. I'm sure this can be very taxing.
I believe structure helps students feel safe. They resist rules but will appreciate the success that the rules help them achieve. The hard thing is that students don't realize that the rules helped them until they are finished, so it can be taxing for the faculty.
Charlene, do you have any first hand experience to confirm the impact of being firm about expectations in the classroom?
Yolanda, why would students be upset when an instructor creates professional rules? That's an essential part of preparing for a success career.
There have been studies done that suggest that being tough on students creates students that succeed more than when teachers are easy on students. I think there are always going to be students that challenge rules and respect.
