"the Angry Student": always male?
This blew my mind in the online course material (I have to paraphrase, as the copy-past isn't working, but it'll be close enough):
"He (the pronoun "he" is used as the Angry Student will always be a male) will..."
Waaaaay, way off base. never mind the sexism in such a generalization, but my own experience alone debunks such a statement (yes, yes, anecdote does not equal evidence, but, c'mon...).
The "ladies" can be just as angry as the "gentlemen", and, in this day as age, just as violent.
Hi Earl,
I've witnessed this type of behavior from females. Females can become very angry.
Patricia
Have to agee with this - sometimes women can be more vicious than men and actually come to blows with another student
Patricia (and Scott),
I'm curious -- does the anecdotal evidence that, in most cases, angry students are male take into consideration the gender-ratio of the classes studied? The courses I teach tend to have far greater numbers of males than females (a class with zero or one female is quite common) so I wonder if an angry female would even expose her anger. I would really be interested to hear of a situation where the lone female student in a class composed mostly of males was, indeed, the angry, disruptive student!
Just a thought...
Bob
Hi Natalie,
Great point made! My school is 97% female. I get angry females frequent.
Patricia
Hi Janette,
I've noticed men appear to be much more even keeled than women.
Patricia
This statement was off for me as the issues I generally have with angry students involve a female student. They can be the same if not worse than a male student. I don't think this statement is the best as it doesn't seem to go along with the experience shown in this forum.
Working in an institutional setting, as well, the female offenders are often times more combative than male offenders. Maybe times have just changed as well.
I usually have little problems with male students or redirecting male students if the topic of discussion veers from the topic at hand.
-Sex ratio: Perhaps our confounding variable?-
Something to also consider is the male to female ratio of program/school. If the majority of the students are female, then of course you will have a higher population of angry females. The reverse could be true in programs with more males. The programs with a fairly even split will probably see a more equal number of both male and female "angry" students.
Hi Jacalyn,
I've had my share of angry females as well.
Patricia
I have to disagree, I have had my share of angry students that are female. I have had them come in and be angry about something that has nothing to do with school and take it out on the instructor by making comments or being disruptive when doing an assignment. So the angry student always being a male is not so true.
Jacalyn Hutchison
Hello Christine,
You are on point. The good should never have to suffer with the bad. Remove the problem and move forward with teaching.
Patricia
One angry female always attrack a companion - remember two cords are stronger than one. Anger almost always comes from outside situations that arn't left at the door or from a trigger statement in the classroom. Don't let one student control your class - teach for the majority - invite the angry student to talk to you in private and continue class whenever possible. Send angry student to see the director and go on with class.
Hi Michael,
You're right. It can occur with anyone.
Patricia
Hi Elise,
First of all, this should not be allowed and personnel knows about it. The dirctor or academic dean should not let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch. This student needs to be dealt with.
Patricia
My angry students have been female, and are indeed angry about their life experiences. In some cases it has been resolved by helping them get in touch with student services to help with housing etc.
This last quarter I had an angry student who was very passive-aggressive. She would do the minimum she could in class, and then go out into the school and brag about how much trouble she gave the instructors. This woman was in her early 50s. In this case there was very little that could be done.
Hi Janet,
Women appear to become angry a lot easier than men. The smallest thing that goes wrong can trigger anger from women.
Patricia
Hello Joseph,
Women can be very challenging to deal with. They seem to become upset a lot easier than men.
Patricia
Hello Todd,
Women can be a big handful. Attitudes can really flare. I've seen it.
Patricia
Hi Frances,
I've seen some of those students who are just mad with the world because of their short comings. I try my best to reach these students by trying to engage in conversation, smiling and being friendly.
Patricia
