Saturday, November 3, 2012

Restraining Myself in Class


Yesterday, I was teaching my class and had to deal with two rude young men joking around, talking over me and interrupting me. That behavior didn't last long, because I nipped it in the bud by telling them that if they didn't knock it off, I would remove them from class. Hey, the chairs in my class room have wheels on them; I could have rolled one right out the door, and I know someone would have volunteered to push the other one out. They weren't exactly attentive the rest of class, but I decided to write them an email instead of calling them out in front of their classmates again. This is what I wrote:

Gentlemen,

Your behavior in class today was quite disappointing. You were disrespectful to me and to the other students who were trying to learn. I know you are capable of acting like gentlemen. Please do so in the future.


Sincerely,


Professor....  


 What do you think? Good response? My students are well aware that even though I encourage a friendly class, I like to joke around and I will act silly to get them to remember--well, anything, that I won't take any crap. I was this close to going all Mean Mommy on them and yelling speaking sharply. So I, personally, think my response was pretty good. But feel free to weigh in with your opinions!

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