Get Your Students Hired
When I was reading the section on removing a student from your class it reminded me of the following incident;
On December 1, 2005 at approximately 11:55 AM I was about to start my ARB121 Radio Broadcast Advertising Sales class when student X walked in wearing a t-shirt that depicted a smile face with a cat’s tail hanging from the mouth the caption under the cartoon read “I eat pussyâ€. I quietly asked Mr. X to either turn his shirt inside-out , wear his jacket to cover the shirt or leave. He respectfully replied that he was not going to do any of those things and that he was exercising his First Amendment rights.
I explained that if this was the University of Minnesota or a public school he would have a stronger argument but, that he was on private property and would have to follow one of my requests. He refused.
Instructor Y is cross-training in my class. I quietly explained to him that a student was being insubordinate would he please go get security. Mr. Y got security and the guard asked Mr. X to leave. Again, Mr. X refused; the guard explained that the police would be called. Mr. X acknowledged this outcome.
At approximately 12:30 the police arrived and escorted Mr. X from the classroom.
All parties involved remained calm throughout the incident.
Before class was dismissed I explained that everyone in the room, including Mr. Y and me, had signed the policy recognizing that our schooo has zero tolerance for harassment. I went on to tell them as their instructor it is my responsibility to enforce that policy.
Fortunately that was the first and last time that I had to do that
Hi Marlene,
Wow, you are a real big person. At my institution this student would have been suspended for violating the conduct code. If the student was granted the right to return, he would have had to apologize to the instructor and the entire class before being allowed to return.
Patricia
I recently had to ask a student to leave the classroom because he became disrespectful. Once addressed, he became combative and therefore he was asked to leave. The next day, he was still angry. I gave him a verbal written warning - he disagreed with this consequence & walked out of the room cursing. The following day he apologized, thanked me and told me that he doesn't want to be "that person" anymore. He wants to be better and has been working at it, but its a work in progress. We reviewed the verbal written warning, signed it and he was a delight in class for the remainder of the term. The class also respected me and my authority more because I demanded respect.
The removal of a student from the class may be the result of numerous activities. At my college misbehavior in the classroom may be one issue; and non-adherance to the dress code (scrubs are necessary in the medical field) is another.
Students who have used cell phones in class against class and school regulations have been dismissed for that class day (unexcused). If they miss a quiz or an exam, they usually quickly understand the consequenses of their action since those activities can not be made up.
Scrubs are required when working in the lab. Those not meeting the dress code requirement are not allowed to participate, thus removed from class.
A third issue has been students who have come to class and then sleep in class. They are awakened and advised to remain awake or "go home." If they attempt to remain in class, but go to sleep again, they are removed from class.
All of these potential behaviors, and others, are addressed in the orientation session for the class and potential consequences explained.
A student who does not follow a direction regarding classroom behavior must be dealt with properly. Fortunately having to have law enforcement involvement is rare.
I get student every month for 4 wks, although they come from another instructor, I still go over the rules and regulations aswell the policies and procedure here at school, and if they could not follow instruction, I would not hesitate to go and get someone.
It was good that you kept calm and referred to the policy. Students need to understand that their rights do have responsibilities that go along with them.
Hi Kevin,
Wow, some students are simply stubborn. It is a shame you had to go to this extent to get the student to leave the classroom. You handled the situation extremely well with great tact and professionalism.
Patricia