The first class that I taught at a career college was an eye opener. One of the first mistakes that I made was assuming that since I was dealing with adults, my students would act like adults. Wrong! I've had classes of middle-school students who were better behaved and more respectful. While half of my class behaved as I would have expected, the other half put me through a "baptism by fire". As often happens, it was a case where one "bad apple" on the "challenging" side of the room strongly influenced others in her group. I doubt that there was a day that I didn't have to say "we can discuss that after class if you'd like". The student never ever stayed. I spoke with the student individually outside of the classroom, and soon realized that actions that you and I (and most people) would consider rude or disrespectful- she did not. Fortunately, I knew that administration was behind me and if necessary, I would have asked her to leave the class and advised that she would not be able to come back until we met with administration together. What I tried to do was never lose sight of the fact that I was the instructor and it was my obligation to be firm but to stay calm and treat treat her respectfully regardless of how she treated me. After we spoke one day, and she began to realize that I was not "out to get her", her attitude improved tremendously and she became much less disruptive in class. I think that she also realized that most of her "friends" had already began to realize that I genuinely wanted them all to succeed. I was there to teach and help them. How did I win her friends over? Simply by not allowing the fact that they could have been considered to be "associated" with her to influence the way I treated them. As I worked with this group of students individually, one by one they seemed to begin distancing (although slightly) themselves from her behavior. At the end of the term, students from the "good side" of the room actually wrote in their course surveys that they found it amazing that I never "lost my cool" and that they were impressed with my professionalism and the way I handled the situation over the course of the semester. I often wonder what they might have written if I had reacted to the antagonism with antagonism and handled the situation (most likely with at least a few sarcastic comments) as I perhaps might have been inclined to.