August 1, 2010

When Students Become Class Bullies, Professors Are Among the Victims

When Students Become Class Bullies, Professors Are Among the Victims 1

Patrick Bernard, Agence France-Presse, for The Chronicle

Katherine Almquist, an associate professor at Frostburg State U., says she made a big mistake by letting a disruptive student stay in class.

Enlarge Image
close When Students Become Class Bullies, Professors Are Among the Victims 1

Patrick Bernard, Agence France-Presse, for The Chronicle

Katherine Almquist, an associate professor at Frostburg State U., says she made a big mistake by letting a disruptive student stay in class.

By Audrey Williams June

Katherine Almquist is certain that, every semester, at least one of her students will push the limits of classroom civility and the professor-student relationship. The wild card, however, is just how over-the-top the incident will be.

"It's all about acting out aggression now. They don't hold anything back," says Ms. Almquist, an associate professor of foreign languages at Frostburg State University. "Dealing with it is just part of my job."

She is not exaggerating. The topic