Dear Auntie Siobhan: My Administration Won't Support Me or My Class Rules

Auntie Siobhan is taking time away from her regular blog, Classroom as Microcosm, to answer teachers' questions.  Today: how can I be a good teacher if I can't uphold my principles?

Dear Auntie Siobhan,

I teach at a college where I have had disciplinary problems with many of the students.  In particular, I had a student who failed to come to class for two weeks (he went on vacation) then showed up to hand a paper in two weeks late.  I did not accept the paper as per my late policy.  This student then came to my office and would not take “no” for an answer.  He would not leave my office when I told him I would not accept the paper, and then, after I’d left for the day, he slipped the paper to another teacher to place on my desk.

Because of the zero I gave him, this student failed my course, at which point he became more irrational than ever.  He wrote me several emails telling me I had promised to let him rewrite the paper, that I would pass him, etc.  I told the student I was sorry that there seemed to be a misunderstanding, but he was not going to “rewrite” the paper after term had ended.  By this point, too, I had submitted the final grades to the college.

The student wrote back and basically called me a liar.  I could not have submitted the grades, he claimed, and he demanded that I grade a revised paper by him.

I was deeply disturbed by this exchange and felt I needed back up.  On the advice of a colleague, I copied my reply to this student to the chair of my department, outlining the truth of my statement and that the matter was now closed.

I heard no more from this particular student, but the chair basically told me that I was too hard on the students—my late policies, which teach the students preparedness for university (which I understood was my job) caused too much conflict.  The message I seemed to receive from the chair was to give in to these irrational and irresponsible students rather than hold to my convictions.

After this episode I am left feeling deflated and as though I am at odds not just with the students but with the faculty and administration as well.  I do not feel supported, nor do I feel I can live up to my own principles as an educator in this system.

I know that I face certain challenges as a teacher which could be the root of this dilemma:  I am not a young or inexperienced teacher, but I look young.  I am also a woman.  Nevertheless, this episode has left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Do you have any advice as to how to deal with situations like this?  How can one educate students when one is not encouraged or supported to adhere to one’s principles?

Sincerely,

D for Deflated

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dear Deflated:

This is indeed a troubling situation, and you're not alone in it.  Many teachers feel that when it comes to setting limits for students, they don't receive much support.  I have heard many stories about teachers who, when trying to enforce their classroom policies or to discipline students for inappropriate behavior, have been told by administrators that they need to lighten up, that the situation is their fault, or that they just need to handle the problem on their own.

We can't necessarily change others' attitudes or demand the respect we need in these circumstances, but there are some things we as teachers can do, both in advance and in the moment, in order to make such situations as easy on us as possible.

1. Determine whether your school has set or recommended policies concerning student behavior.

If your school already has policies in place about accepting late assignments, student attendance, etc., it's essential to know what these are.  This is one way to establish support for yourself - you can simply direct the student and the administration to these policies and point out that by enforcing them, you are only doing what you've been told to do.  Most colleges have some sort of handbook outlining student and teacher responsibilities.

However, it's not always possible to find all this information in one place, and not all problems are covered by such policies.  That's where #2 comes in.

2.  Run your classroom rules by an administrator or senior colleague before communicating them to your students, and ask for advice.

There are two main advantages to doing this.  One is that your confidant can point out any places where you might run into trouble, and any rules that might be difficult to enforce; he/she might also be able to suggest areas where you could try to be flexible or more strict.  The second is that if you do this, you will already have a supporter in your camp.  If an administrator has collaborated with you on your policies, that administrator may be willing to go to bat for you if problems arise.

3. Set your policies out very clearly in your course outline, review them carefully with your students at the beginning of the term, and refer students back to them immediately when they contravene them.

I expect you did this, but it bears mentioning: students don't usually remember policies communicated orally.  There needs to be a written document that they can be directed to if they question your rules.  Set everything down on paper, and upload the course outline if you have an online classroom or class website.  Finally, produce the paper for the administrators who question you, demonstrating that there was no reason for the student to misunderstand what was expected.

4. Communicate with an administrator or senior colleague as soon as a serious problem arises, and ask for advice.

This has advantages similar to #2.  A confidant may genuinely be able to give you good advice about whether you should use a lighter hand in a particular situation, but perhaps more importantly, you will have implicated that person in the outcome; he or she may be more willing to support you when things get out of hand if you have approached him/her about the problem already.

For example, let's say you visit your department chair and say, "A student has just handed in a paper two weeks late.  I have clearly indicated on my course outline that I don't accept papers more than a week late.  What should I do?"

The chair might say, "The student knows your policy, and he'll just have to suck it up and take the consequences," and then you can refer back to this conversation later if the problem escalates.

Or the chair might ask, "Well, can you compromise?  Can you give the student a severely reduced grade - say, a 30% for having submitted the paper, no feedback, and zero tolerance for the rest of the semester?"  (I sometimes do this.)  And you can discuss whether this is acceptable to you, and perhaps you can come to some sort of understanding about whether the chair will support you if there are further problems.

The point is to get people in your corner the moment you smell an issue.

There is another possible positive outcome of communicating about this at an early stage: after discussing the problem, you can, as you did in this case, cc the administrator on any further email communications.  As you saw, this is often enough to make an irrational student back off.

It's easy for teachers to feel alone, and lonely, when students are causing big problems.  It's also natural to feel hesitant about discussing these problems with others, especially people like administrators, who may have both a stake in our success and a say in whether we get re-hired.

The truth is, though, airing our problems can actually increase others' respect and support for us, because it shows we have the self-confidence to consult our colleagues, and enough trust in them to consider their suggestions.

None of the moves I outline above will guarantee unconditional support, but they can increase the chances that someone will get your back in a stressful situation.

*

Readers: Do you agree with this advice?  Have you had trouble getting support from your administration when dealing with uncooperative or irrational students?  What did you do?  Please share your thoughts!

If you have a question about teaching for Auntie Siobhan, please send her an email at siobhancurious@gmail.com, or visit her blog, Classroom as Microcosm.

Image by Craig Jewell