Dealing with challenging students

What do you do when a student:
•undermines your authority,
•leaves class repeatedly for bathroom breaks or to talk on the phone,
•appears not to pay attention during class,
•smells strongly of body odor, strong perfume or cigarette smoke,
•is verbally or physically threatening to you,
•practices annoying and/or disruptive behaviors,
•monopolizes the conversation,
•falls asleep in class,
•is repeatedly tardy,
•refuses to participate in class discussions or group work,
•flirts with you,
•shares or copies work,
•submits a plagiarized paper,
•sits in the back and chats with a classmate, or
•is just plain disrespectful?
A student might belittle the instructor or engage in a battle of the wills. This student should be privately told that his/her attitude was confrontational and asked how this might be resolved. Be careful not to read most questions about content, interpretation or assignments as a challenge of authority. Poor hygiene, too much perfume, cigarette odor or other strong odors can be distracting or even nauseating to students. The cause for the odor might be culturally-based in bathing preferences between cultures. This can be a real problem for some faculty members while others will never encounter the dilemma. I suggest letting the offending student know that in close quarters, some students have issues with strong smell. Verbal or physical threats are serious matters. As a general rule, consult professional experts for assistance immediately.