Get Your Students Hired
Hi William,
I always try to use a very calm demeanor when responding to an angry student via email. The approach and tone are very important.
Patricia
Hi William,
It is easy to become angry. We have to get the person to see the other side, by remaining calm, listening, and offerring great advice.
Patricia
So true! Becoming angry is never a solution. It only gives credence to anger as an acceptable response to a situation.
Sometimes a student is angry with the instructor, sometimes with the material or course, sometimes they may just be angry.
Always be patient. For online instructors this means we should respond to an angry email right away. Take some time to digest what is going on: what the student is really angry about. Formulate your response, think about it, re-think it before replying.
I had a student, not so much angry, but she had quite an attitude, and hearing from other instructors, this was a common thing for her...She approached me about a midterm grade, asking why she got a "B" if her work was so good. I started to explain, while showing her the breakdown of her grading rubric, where the points were removed...The attitude started to escalate, to which I told her I would further discuss it after class if the grading rubric did not answer the rest of her questions.
I then informed my Director of the situation so that if the student moved forward, with the attitude and wanted to discuss her grade, from me, the department would know where things stood.
Hi Jack,
Documentation is a life saver. If it is in writing the proof is there.
Patricia
The very first thing that needs to be done is move to a more private setting than a classroom and listen to what the Student has to say making eye contact and get to the heart of the problem. Many times if the Student is able to just vent the problem is resolved. Record keeping is a wise thing to do if the Student has continued issues with anger so if other departments need to be involved there is documentation of past occurences.
Listening in the public setting tends to redirect the focus of the class. First, I ask the student to lower his/her voice. If that doesn't work, I ask the student if they will discuss this with me in private. If they are not willing to discuss the problem in private, then it has escalated and is probably a good thing to listen with witnesses. I have already informed my students on the first day of class that I am the authority. They do not have to agree with my thoughts and decisions but they do have to follow them. They can disagree and discuss it with me as long as it is done in a calm tone. Like anybody else if a person is yelling and visibly disturbed, auditory communication has been greatly decrease because distance is being increased and walls are being built. The brain is now engaging all of the senses more acutely depriving the ears of sole engagement. If they cannot get themselves under control a period of 15 minutes is imposed to allow for them to cool off and compose their thoughts. They can then continue to discuss the problem. The loss of control for a second time will get them dismissed for the day with an absent for the day.
take student aside and then listen to why he is angry. If it appears that it is a home issue help them to understand that everyone has home issues and that coming to work or school is a "getaway" from personal issues.
Depending on the school and resources available I would try to direct the student to the appropriate resource for help.
If it is any sort of school issue then address it accordingly.
It may be necessary to get the involvement of the Department Chair involved if need be. I would also document all contacts with the student as back up if the student remains a problem in the classroom setting as they may have to be dismissed from the course.
Hi Katherine,
Excellent advice! This really works. I have utilized these pointers a few times.
Patricia
Hi Jerry,
You're right. If you bark, the angry student will bark even louder.
Patricia
Hi Stephen,
You must handle angry students very carefully. Normally, listening is the solution to the problem.
Patricia
Hello B. A.,
You're right, sometimes your anger/frustration is not unique to you, and invariably others are going through the same thing, and all can benefit from a good conversation about the situation.
Patricia
Hello Mary,
You really try to communicate with your students effectively. You've mentioned several different ways to try to converse with your students. You exhaust every avenue. I can tell you are there for your students.
Patricia
Hi Mary,
I take the same approach to grading as you do. I think it is a very fair approach, and the students appreciate the attitude toward grading.
Patricia
i will try to get them outside the class and allow them to vent there problem or problems. when you know what is bothering them it is much easier to deal with rather than argueing with the student and making the situation worse.
Patricia-
I set the tone at the very beginning of the session by providing a clear rubric for every task. I then tell students that if they think I took points off where I shouldn't have, to send me an email and "state their case". I let them know I will hear what they have to say, and reconsider the grade, if necessary. Adding to this, I tell them if I didn't take off points where I actually should have, it is to their benefit and they don't need to let me know. Of course, I take great pains to make sure I do the math correctly :-)
Stephen and Others:
I wholeheartedly agree! If they do this in a chat session, I offer to meet them outside class, on the Live Interactive System. If this doesn't resolve the situation, I will either ask them to send me an email, or if they would like me to phone them.
You are so correct, Stephen, in not meeting the student's expectation of retort.
I think that many times the student is angry because of their life situation, lack of understanding what is required of them, frustration with the situation at hand....boom...anger. Listening to find out why they are angry or frustrated is the best way to start to get the anger out and then come up with a solution for them. It is also possible that what is a problem for them may be a problem for all, and that the solution for their problem may be something that may benefit the whole class.
How I get through to an angry student is to talk to them, first I try to find out if there is any thing I could do for them without prying into their private lives, second I will ak the student if it something I or the school had done to make him angry if not why is he taking it out on the class or the instructor, this will sometimes calm the situation and the student will apoligize and everything will go back to normal.