I sort of lost my temper in class today. It's not like I yelled, but I told a student to quit talking a second time, because she kept chattering, and not about what we were discussing, and while another student was trying to speak on topic.
I get so tired of that sort of rude behavior.
But I'm going to pay for it on my evaluations, I bet.
Completely understand this feeling. But you were right to do that!
ReplyDeleteI do the same, occasionally, and I don't even have tenure. But whatever...
ReplyDeleteYeah - I had to bad-cop my intro classes today because many people are slacking off, not coming to class, and just emailing me their assignments whenever they feel like it. I'm going to do mid-semester evals with them on Friday, and I bet they complain I'm not treating them like adults. Well, guess what? They aren't acting like adults. If I did their job the way they handle their classes, I'd be fired and guaranteed never to have a job in this field again. But they don't see it that way. Whatever. I'll happily hand out Fs. Less grading for me to do, honestly. I'm swamped.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry about the evals--mine are actually worse when I allow such behavior to continue, rather than taking the class in hand. I'll bet that everyone else was pleased that you quieted her.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand chatting students. It drives me crazy! You reminded me of a Prof Hacker post, though, on this very topic. It's nice to know we aren't alone!
ReplyDeletehttp://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/disruptive-student-behavior/22792
I agree with heu mihi -- my students *like* it when I tell chatty students to shut up. They come up and tell me so. Their attitude is they're paying for this class to hear me teach, not someone else talk about their weekend.
ReplyDeleteI rate my prof's higher that make disruptive students stop, or dismiss them from class entirely if they wont. I can't stand it when prof's just let it go!!! So good for you for saying something. I'm sure the REAL students in your class appreciated it :)
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