Dr. Delaney Kirk

Taking Back the Classroom: What I learned From My "Class From Hell"

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Dr. Delaney Kirk

Is it just me or does there seem to be a lack of respect for professors by college students today? Have students become more demanding, less responsible, and deficient in plain old common courtesy? What ever happened to civility in the classroom? Interestingly enough, Albert Shanker addressed this potential problem back in 1995 at a conference held by the American Federation of Teachers. He stated that public schools suffer from inappropriate behavior from students because the students have been taught that this is acceptable at an early age. A six year old is disruptive and the other students look around to see what will happen, convinced that if a lightening bolt doesn’t come down from the skies, that at the very least the student will be sent to the principal’s office. But as Shanker says, many times nothing happens. There is no punishment. And the rest of the students realize that the teacher is not the leader of the class…the six year old is.

Fast forward twelve years and these same students are now in college. My first introduction to this problem of classroom management occurred recently when I experienced the “class from hell.” I had been teaching for 20 years and was just dumbfounded by the behavior of the students in this class: coming to class tardy, having their cell phone ring during class, leaving in the middle of class to go to the bathroom, turning in papers late. One student even fell asleep during every class period. After whining several times with my colleagues about the lack of respect we received from our students, I finally decided I had to do something. Not all my colleagues agree but I’ve decided to return to a “zero tolerance” policy for disruptive behavior.

I went back into my “challenging class” at mid-term and laid down some new ground rules. First I apologized. After all, I was teaching them management skills but had not set up my expectations so really I had no right to be angry. So I told them…here are the new rules. Turn off your cell phone when you come to class. Be in class, seated, and ready to participate at the beginning of the class time. Plan to spend the entire period in class unless you have cleared an exception with me beforehand. Expect to attend to bathroom and other needs before class. Expect to contribute your share of work to your team project and do your best to make the team experience a positive one for all members. Keep an open mind and treat members of the class, guest speakers, and me with respect.

I have to admit that even I, a tenured full professor, hesitated before laying down the law with that class. After all, those all-important student evaluations are used in making my pay raise decisions too. However, I began talking to friends and colleagues at other universities and found out that they were experiencing the same problems. While most “new” teachers are comfortable with the content of what they are teaching, many do not feel that their doctorate-granting institutions have prepared them in “how” to manage their classrooms. Even those of us who have been doing this for a while may not feel that we really know how to discipline our students or even that we should have to. After all, shouldn’t college students know how to conduct themselves in a classroom?

Why are we having so much trouble with our students? Part of this is probably our fault as instructors. Many of my colleagues “dress down” in the classroom and have the students call them by their first name as a way to relate to their students. In addition, universities are putting an emphasis on the student as customer and giving student evaluations a great deal of weight in determining renewals of contracts. Thus, my colleagues tell me they are afraid to say no when asked to allow late papers, give extra credit, or make-up tests. They feel that they have lost control of their own classrooms.

So what advice would I give to others in taking back this control? One of the most important things is to establish the tone of the class on that very first day. Essentially this first class period is exciting and scary for both the student and the professor as both are meeting each other for the first time. Even for students who have had the professor for class before, there is some anxiety as to what this class will involve. Just as many of us tend to make snap judgments when we meet someone new, most students decide that first day how they feel about that particular course, whether they like the subject matter, the other students in the class, and the teacher. Thus it makes sense to make the first day of class a successful one that sets the tone, requirements, and expectations of the class.

The first day of class

Preparation for the first day should really begin before the semester or quarter starts. Checking out the classroom layout, determining where you will stand, and establishing how to work the equipment in the room will all help to reduce your own anxiety. Give some thought as to how you will dress for class. Your clothing sends a message to the students as to how formal or informal the class will be and helps to establish your credibility. I think it is particularly important to err on the formal side if you are young, female, or a minority. Also, decide what you want your students to call you. Professor or Doctor or even Mr./Mrs. will establish that you are in charge. After all, you are there to teach and facilitate their learning, not to be their best friend.

Some professors spend very little time in the classroom the first day and just hand out the syllabus. This may reduce the professor’s anxiety but it also tells the students that the class time is not really important. Others use the time to deliver a full lecture on chapter one of the textbook which tends to overwhelm the students. Probably a middle ground is the most appropriate.

Certainly the syllabus should be discussed as there is little guarantee the students will read it on their own. The professor can emphasize his or her expectations for various assignments, discuss classroom policies, and answer questions regarding requirements. Explain what the course will teach them and how it fits in with the other courses in the college. Keep in mind that the students probably have several classes and will not be able to remember everything said about the syllabus. Thus it will be important to go over again various deadlines and expectations about future assignments as the semester progresses.

Establish your credibility

It is important to give a brief outline of your academic credentials, work background, and teaching experiences. This is not something I used to do when I first started teaching as I made the assumption that if the university hired me, the students would assume I was qualified. Tell a “war story” from your work experiences to show that you have made mistakes also. Explain why you went into teaching. Show your enthusiasm about the course content and why you think this particular class is important to the students.

Set expectations that first day

If one of your classroom policies is coming to class on time, make sure that you are also on time or even a few minutes early. If you have a cell phone, bring it with you and make a display of turning it off before class. To emphasize that you are taking the class seriously, give the students an assignment to do that will be collected at the next class meeting. Or assign some reading to do and announce you will have a short quiz on the material during the second class. If the class involves writing, then have them write. If you will be using cases, then do a short case that first day. Keep in mind that the students are trying to figure out on that first day what the class expectations will be. This includes whether the classroom will be formal or informal, whether the professor has a sense of humor or will always be very serious, how much student discussion will be expected, etc. Give the students an idea of what they, and you, will be doing.

Student Feedback

Do a two minute paper at the end of class asking for questions anonymously. This gives you feedback on what the students were afraid to ask in class. You might also consider doing this once a week to see what the issues are so that you can address them before they become problems.

Remember that learning to manage your classroom is a craft that can be learned and improved upon like any other skill. It is important to set your expectations and communicate them and to enforce these fairly and consistently. If you tell your students that being on time is important, they will look to see how you handle those students who come in tardy. You can’t set your classroom rules and not discipline those students who break these rules.

And what about my class that inspired this article? Did the students “ding” me on evaluations at the end of that semester? No. In fact they seemed appreciative that I had established some guidelines and let them know my expectations. Perhaps in the long run, they find this new informality in the classroom uncomfortable also.

Delaney J. Kirk, Ph.D., SPHR, is a tenured Professor of Management at Drake University with 25 years of teaching experience in both large and small, public and private universities. She has conducted teaching workshops at a number of universities and professional conferences and has taught three day workshops on classroom management at Duke University, Columbia University and the University of Washington as part of the Chautauqua national program for college professors. She was selected for the prestigious Drake University Board of Governor’s “Excellence in Teaching” Award and is the author of "Taking Back the Classroom". You may contact her with your own personal classroom experiences and questions at delaney.kirk@drake.edu

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