Students
I just stop and say to the student's who are talking that I will wait until they are finished and remind them that this is wasting class time, and usually that is all that it takes.
Anthony, do you find it is the same students each time that cause the disruption?
James Jackson
I have a student currently that loves to say little sarcastic comments under his breath during class. It is very annoying and disruptive! He also never takes anything seriously and when I ask a question, he always says some sassy, sarcastic answer! I tried the whole pause and look at them thing and that isn't helping. What else can I do to gain his respect and help him take my class seriously?
Megan, first you need to get come to a realization the student may never take the class seriously, this is something probably deep rooted. That said, you need to have a conversation and find out why the student feels the need to be disrespectful and disruptive. The student may think they are just being amusing to their peers and not fully understand the level of disruption. Some students do not have a safe environment to be themselves so a classroom is a perfect place to act out scenarios that they would never attempt in other places. The challenge now is to better understand what is causing the outbursts and find a way to use that energy in a positive manner within the classroom. Have the conversation with the student and come back to The Lounge and allow us the opportunity to work through this together.
James Jackson
