Thread: Guidance Please

I have a few students who complain about everything. they dont seem to enjoy the class much. I guess they firgure since they paid for it they may as well stay. But they are disrupting others who are actually enjoying themselves. I was going to make an announcement reminding people about why we are in class to de-stress and have a goodtime not complain and make others feel bad. Not in those words but in a nicer more professional manner. What do you think?

go for it
have you ever wondered if "they" are like that everywhere?

Originally Posted by zamora

go for it
have you ever wondered if "they" are like that everywhere?

More than likely they are like that everywhere. Some people you just can please.

Yes you need to speak up to gain control of your class!! Your students that are trying to pay attention will appreciate you for it. You don't want to lose the good students because of these disruptive ones. I once had to kick a student out of the class (I let her know she wasn't to come back). The other students in the class later told me how much she disrupted the class and was glad I stood up for them. I actually didn't realize just how bad the situation was until after I kicked her out and then the other students told me how much she bothered them in class and brought down the whole atmosphere. It was sooooooo much nicer without her there.

Thank you for the advice and I definitely will bring it up.

Originally Posted by Belliedansa

I have a few students who complain about everything. they dont seem to enjoy the class much. I guess they firgure since they paid for it they may as well stay. But they are disrupting others who are actually enjoying themselves. I was going to make an announcement reminding people about why we are in class to de-stress and have a goodtime not complain and make others feel bad. Not in those words but in a nicer more professional manner. What do you think?

Being 'nice' will get you nowhere. You don't have to rude or horrible, but you do have to be assertive and put your foot down regarding disruptive students, who, if left to their own devices can totally destroy a class...then you'll end up with no one. My advice, have a private word. If that fails, ask them to leave.

I agree with talking to them in private. Someone who is oblivious of the impact they have on other people may be just as oblivious to the fact that you're talking about them when addressing the class. And if they are aware, they may feel like you're publicy telling them off...and start complaining about that, too!

You could initially try to use a friendly approach - talk to them with the assumption that they're unaware of how they're affecting the class. But point out what their impact is, because they may not realise...and if they do realise it, it allows you to imply: "I'm aware of what you're doing, and I'm not going to let this continue."

For eg, you could say something like "I know you can get frustrated at times, and I'm sure you don't mean to put that on everyone else, but when you say xyz, it drags other people down and makes it hard for them to have fun."

Or perhaps "You're expressing a lot of frustration about xyz, yet you're still coming to class. I'm a bit confused. Are these things really bothering you? Or are you just letting off steam? I would like to do my best to ensure you're enjoying your time here." And if they are just letting off steam, point out the negative impact saying such things has on the class.

I am torn on what to do. I shoudl talk to her privately but I also think everyone else in the class should be aware of how I feel about such situations. To let them know it will not be tolerated. Instead of just one person. It could be more than one person and I only know of her at this point. I feel like the whole class should understand how such actions affect others and to be more respectful.

If you want a student opinion, I think you should talk about it with them. The way you presented it at the beginning of this thread sounds like a very kind and perfectly reasonable way to mention it. The classes I have been in so far, there hasn't been anyone who is disruptive. But if there was, I would want the instructor to say something. Even the smallest distraction can throw someone off when they are trying to learn.