In all of my classes at the moment, I’ve got students that think they are much better than where the test results placed them. As a result, I keep getting into shouting matches with loud, talkative students that think they know better than me.
One group of boys was taken from another level and dumped into what was my smallest class, which only had eight students. Now we are at a near capacity eleven, and the boys I added were actually moved to join overachieving students from another class. What used to be a class of talkative girls and some quiet boys is now full of loud mouth smart asses. Of course, the students don’t know each other, and they don’t know their test results, but one particular loud mouth boy, who happens to be the oldest, has an ego to match his over-sized girth. He did no better than average on his tests, but often tries to lecture me on pronunciation, classroom rules, and homework. I can’t stand him.
Today, since the new boys were joining the class after I had explained some of the material had to take a test they weren’t able to study for beforehand. I told them that I understood if they didn’t know any of the answers, and that they wouldn’t be punished for getting everything wrong. All they had to do was try, be quiet, and let the other students take the test.
The new boy takes this to mean that he wants to waste class time arguing with me. As I hand out the test, he raises his hand and tells me he wasn’t in class last time to study. No kidding! I think I would have remembered who was in class, since I take attendance every day. I told him I knew his situation, and that he just needed to be quiet and try. He then explained to me again that he didn’t want to take the test. When I handed him the sheet of paper he whined even more. I told him he could sit in class and pick his nose for five minutes if it meant he would just be quiet so other people could study.
The problem is that one boy talking back sets the tone for class. The rest of the boys were emboldened by his actions. A student that wasn’t even brave enough to say his name in the first class was flicking me off behind my back. Luckily my other students caught him and ratted him out. I threatened to remove the offending finger the next time I saw it in the air. Blood was in the air at this point, and I was a viper. The loudmouth managed to keep his back talk to his nearest neighbors for the rest of class, and I invited him to share anything he had to say to me in the teacher’s room after class.
When I let out class, he bolted for the door. I informed my director about his actions and she wasn’t surprised to hear that the loudmouth had been getting under my skin. I think he did the same thing to Korean teachers, or just has an abrasive personality some people, like myself, get annoyed by having to deal with in class.
In the next class, it was a complete bit of role reversal. I had some awful students during my lowest level intensive courses that tested into a moderately high level reading book. The girls in the class have such nasty personalities that you can’t help but think they are always talking badly about someone. The boys have attention spans shorted by too much Internet gaming. Usually students such as these are a complete pain, but the topic for today was Online gaming. The boys knew nearly all the vocabulary, while the girls didn’t have a clue. The boys did very well on their tests, while the girls struggled and resented having been placed in a class where we could spend a class talking about video games and not be getting in trouble.
I caught a girl not reading along, and when I asked her to follow along, she got nasty about it. She wasn’t doing the work, and I called her out on it. She told me she thinks the book is much too easy for her, but she didn’t score well enough on her test to go any higher. I should know, I graded her work. She and I have never gotten along since I saw past her "princess complex" after a single day of class with her.
After the class, my director stopped all the students and asked me about their behaviors. Gave the abnormally well behaved boys praise while telling what happened with the sour faced girl. I don’t like the fact that my director asked me to basically chastise someone in my class in front of their peers. I would rather handle specific problem students individually to prevent shame and tears. The girl that was singled out probably lost a lot of respect from her peers, and pride since she thinks she’s so special. The rest of the students left while she got a more personalized talk from me through the director. She was in tears. If it knocks her down a few pegs, it might be for the best. I was unmoved.
