As I start to write this, I can see my tag of "bothersome" doesn't even begin to describe the deep distaste I have for this student. And I feel bad talking about not liking students because I genuinely enjoy about 90 percent of them. But here goes.
On the first day of class this young woman announced she wasn't sure why she had to take my class since she already knew all the material. My class is a requirement for Business majors. Nothing I can do about it. Since then she has been rude to other students, arrives late, leaves early, has been cautioned about her phone use half a dozen times, is consistently rude to me both in person and via e-mail. For weeks I've been simmering with anger but have managed to keep it under control. My class has also turned against her. Her presentation partner dropped the class. She is smart enough. Her work is good, but her rudeness is so offensive that I'm continually having to swallow my anger. Since her presentation partner left, I struggled to find her another partner, and offered extra credit to students who volunteered. While she clearly prefers to work alone, she insisted I find her a partner since she felt I was unfairly penalizing her for her partner dropping. In fact, the part of the presentation she turned in was mediocre, and the opportunity to re-do was perhaps an unwarranted favor. Last night I offered her three options: Stand with the grade, re-do it herself, re-do it with a partner. After initially saying she wanted a partner, she said to her classmate's face--If I have to work with him, I'll do it myself. Now she e-mails me and demands extra credit for taking on the project herself. I refuse saying it was her option in the first place. She e-mails again saying she found my comments offensive. I have six lovely weeks of this creature in my class. I'm honestly not quite sure what to do. Thanks for listening. Send zen waves of patience my way.
Bothersome Student--Very Long Rant Caution
November 1st, 2017 at 05:34 pm
November 1st, 2017 at 07:37 pm 1509565076
There will ultimately always be "one" - the one that is difficult, obstinate, self-righteous, borderline "evil" in situations. I'm sorry that you have found yourself with that "one" at this time. Does her behavior warrant a talk with her counselor? It's your class: I'd strip the options, tell her what she NEEDS to do, or advise she drop your class. And save the paper trail in the event you need to cover yourself.
I wish it was easier. Hang in there.
November 1st, 2017 at 11:32 pm 1509579163
November 2nd, 2017 at 12:09 am 1509581390
November 2nd, 2017 at 01:10 pm 1509628211
November 2nd, 2017 at 09:50 pm 1509659426
November 3rd, 2017 at 12:46 am 1509669982
My daughter got called out on cell phone use once this past summer. She happened to be in class with her brother/my son who reported that she was appropriately apologetic and mortified. She was finalizing details for a shoot the next day, but apparently never used the phone again.
Sounds like a major dose of self-entitlement you're dealing with. So sorry! Ugh!
November 3rd, 2017 at 03:07 am 1509678474
November 3rd, 2017 at 12:14 pm 1509711255
If you can't just get rid of her yourself, I think you owe it to the rest of your students to lay down the law, and if she doesn't like it, hopefully she will just drop out on her own. You need to be firm with her and the other students will only respect you more for it. They don't need the distractions or the bad karma in class.
November 5th, 2017 at 08:46 pm 1509914783
November 7th, 2017 at 01:26 am 1510018018