Dealing with difficult students
It is challenging task for the teacher. Some students are not co-operative in the class, they are the first persons to talk about teacher with others or complaining to higher authorities.
i have dealt with a few difficult students in my time and for me it has been effective to get them to see that the disruptive behavior is not only causing a problem for them and me as the instructor but also gets in the way of the entire class' ability to get the required information from my course.
I have found the more of a problem child a student is the more they are actually scared and need encouregment more than they want to let on
Hi Keila,
It is good to build a good relationship with your students. Some students are just hard core, and really when you get to know them they are big teddy bears.
Patricia Scales
When I used to work in student services, I often worked with that relationships between instructors and difficult students. It was always interesting to listen and then resolve those issues, as many of them are based in miscommunication or the simple fact of personalities that do not match. I think all instructors should use all the resources their school offer to deal with difficult students. Ususlly with a good leader, there will be an established team that will assist with this.
Hi Verna,
I love your perspective. As educators we do not have to tolerate unprofessional/rude behavior from students. Do not put up with it. Most of your students are really serious about learning. We are not going to let one bad apple ruin it for all.
Patricia Scales
That's true. It seems that the most difficult learner really wants some attention rather than try to alleviate the problem. I just had this issue in the classroom and had to really calm the person down to try to find the issue at hand.
Megan
I can't agree with you more, when I find myself dealing with a challenging student, I go back over the professional guidelines that we have our students read and sign, and then I ask the student if there is a problem and then I show them empathy but also make them understand that there are rules for a reason and if they can not follow them then maybe they need to take a second look at themselve because I will not put up with their behaivor and that it is not fair to the rest of their peers for the disruption in class.
I couldn't agree with you more. I find that I direct students in regards to proper behavior and my words are completely ignored.
