class harassment
I would like to know how to handle the class when they ridicule students for studying, or being too smart, or answering questions. I had a very diverse class; from ages to culture and past experiences. In the class, I also has LPN's who were not interested in helping the other students with skills. How do you handle that too? Natalie E
Racheal,
They are a valuable resource so we should use them when we can. It helps the other students and builds confidence in the experienced students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with charging more "experienced" students with mentoring their classmates. I do the same when the task at hand allows.
Patricia,
Thank you for outlining this option for working through this difficult situation. Always a challenge when working with students like this.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Hello Natalie and Dr. Meeks: I suppose that I am stubborn, but I would do just the opposite as Dr. Meeks suggests. I would explain to the class the importance of learning how to be a leader and a follower when on-the-job and how we all are put in both of these positions from time-to-time. I would split-up the LPNs and ensure that each individual one was put into a group of students who need help. Then, I would make that LPN the "leader" of the group and responsible for the rest of the group members. The LPN-Leader would create 5 essay type questions (with answers) that would be used for group discussions for studying the material. Each group member would have a "job" of his/her own. For example: If the task was studying for a test- One person would make flash cards, another might develop a 10-question fill-in-the-blank quiz with answers, another would make several mnemonics, etc... There would be 2 grades for the whatever task was- One for team cooperation and one for the individual "jobs". I say, "Divide and conquer the bullies".
Natalie,
I cannot help you with the LPN students that are unwilling to help others. What class are you presenting to? Ridiculing another student, for positive academic qualities, in your presence, should never be tolerated.
Every student wants to fit in, and go along with the others in the class, but on my campus, if one student, recently, had not broken out of that mindset, one other student would have suffered a very poor outcome.
Natalie,
You start by being a strong learning leader and instill within the class a feeling that you are in charge. Explain how you will operate the course and what your expectations are in terms of student interaction. This will not stop the ridicule but will reduce it. As with all bullies you cannot stop them completely but you can reduce their impact. Also, encourage those that are doing well and strive to support them as they are going to continue to be successful in their career development.
As for getting the LPNs not helping others I would try to structure the class so they don't have to do anything except look after themselves. This way you can focus on those that may need some extra assistance without having to listen to your LPNs whine about helping others.
You have a tough situation and I wish you the best with this student population.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
