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No More Professor Nice Guy

October 26, 2011, 3:06 pm

By Isaac Sweeney

I sometimes wish I were more of a hard-ass when it comes to the classroom. I’m pretty laid-back though. Some might even say I’m passive aggressive. Instead of yelling at students who are texting in class, I may sing a little song: “Nooo phooones in the claaasroooom.” The students laugh — or at least roll their eyes but they also put their phones away.

This laid-back approach has served me well. It fits with my personality and the students seem comfortable about having honest discussions. That is, most of the students seem comfortable. There are always a few who try to take advantage. They come in late, crack a joke, and think their tardiness is excused because, well, Sweeney’s chill enough to excuse it. Then they are taken aback when I speak to them after class about coming in late. Sometimes speaking to them after class helps. Sometimes it doesn’t.

If I were a hard-ass, students would always be on time. They would always be present. They would come to class prepared. They would give me all of their attention.

Of course, they might be less comfortable when we’re having discussions. In fact, we probably wouldn’t have as many discussions. But they would be present. And because the hard-ass version of me would give difficult quizzes more often, they probably would come to class having read and studied the required materials. Everyone would have a pen and paper.

Their minds may wander, sure, but they would at least look like they were paying attention. The may not respond much to me. The may not feel inclined to talk to each other. But they would be there, able to make the grade. They would be less responsible for their own knowledge and they would rely more on me to provide what they need to know so they can pass. So I’m thinking about venturing over to Hard-Ass Land to see what it’s like over there.

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  • isugeezer

    Surely, you jest.  No matter how hard your ass gets, there will still be students who won’t come to class, won’t read the assignment, won’t bring pen and paper, and will still not give you their attention. And, of course, they will still be stunned that you didn’t “give” them an A.

  • litprofessor

    The author appears to be talking with tongue firmly in cheek.  Unfortunately, he is also demonstrating lots of either/or thinking.  Obviously, the writer believes that his laid back approach will lead to more interaction and discussion among his students.  It’s funny that he does not equate their texting or phone interaction with not paying attention or not participating in those same discussions.  Let’s see–a student can either have a hard-ass instructor and not pay attention or the student can have a laid-back instructor and participate.  Please, let’s talk about oversimplification.  Being tough on classroom expectations, such as showing up and proper etiquette, and making the classroom conducive to discussion are not mutually exclusive.  Both deal with the proper environment for discussion in a scholarly setting.  A teacher can be tough on attendance and still be lively and engaging as he or she facilitates a discussion.

    The classroom is about balance–balance between firm and laid back, and between various student methods of learning and assimilating of ideas.  The exclusively laid-back instructor will get run over and taken advantage of; the exclusively hard-ass instructor will have student shut down.  However, different segments of the classroom experience can be compartmentalized to maximize the proper balance of structure and free expression of ideas.

  • 22108469

    At the end of every day, I hear tales of the classroom from Professor Hard Ass. Many do not do the readings. Many cut and paste their papers from the Web. Many are uninterested in the topic of the required course. But there are apparently no disturbances in the classroom. Once every few weeks I lunch with Professor Nice ‘n’ Stressed. The students are cheating in class. They send hateful emails. The laugh derisively when the equipment malfunctions. Neither professor is “popular.” Conclusion: the student body is what it is, and I am what I am.

  • cpri2405

    Don’t do it. Have you seen the video of the Cornell professor yelling at his students discussed on the Chronicle and Inside Higher Ed about 6 months ago? Most hard-asses end up either outwardly or inwardly raging at students and make either themselves or their students or both miserable. Plus, as you allude in your post, it is unlikely that being a hard-ass actually improves student learning in the long run.

  • 5768

    Whether held by students or their teachers, the minimal expectation that students show up on time and pay attention is better regarded as a virtue. It you feel like you are a “hard ass” by holding such expectations and in doing so succumb to your aggressive side then “the suckers got you down.” Gird up your loins, toe the line, and assert virtue!

  • Brian Abel Ragen

    Your disscussions may in fact be better. If you are not rude when you become strict, students may feel excited to be getting the adult dose of intellectual life.

    But some students will see grown-up demands as an imposition, so if you salary depends on avoiding negative student evaluations . . . well, you have a choice to make.

  • ederieux

    Almost everything useful I know about this topic I learned from doing the opposite and realizing it was a mistake.  So, to the extent it helps someone avoid those mistakes:
    1. Never change the rules or your approach in the middle of a semester.
    2. Put the rules in writing and cover them aloud in the first class meeting.
    3. Enforce them with no exceptions and no excuses.
    4. Never raise your voice or get antagonistic.  Just state the rule and the consequence in a reasonable voice.  If someone argues, listen, then restate the rule and the consequences and end the conversation.   
    5. One rule that helps.  “Class time is a time for learning things that are not on the exams. [Elaborate here if you feel like it.]  If you are absent x times you have missed X% of the learning available during classtime and your final grade will drop x points.  If you are not in your seat with your phone turned off at X:00 you will be counted absent.  There are no “excused” absenses or tardies.  You are here or you are not.  You need not tell me why you are absent or late or left your phone on. It will make no difference to the application of this rule.”
     

  • duppy_conqueror

    “If I were a hard-ass, students would always be on time. They would
    always be present. They would come to class prepared. They would give me
    all of their attention.”

    Haha! Well, a guy can dream!

  • cust0s

    UNLESS the school has a contradictory policy, I make attendance optional with the caveat that there will be 11 “random” pop quizzes throughout the course worth 20% of their final grade.  I acknowledge that people have issues and I will drop the lowest grade of the 11.  The quizzes only take 5 minutes, and beyond that the class is fun.  I only want interested students coming to my classes.  If they turn in papers and complete final exams on time and careless about the 20% well that’s on them.  *shrug*

  • graddirector

    I never require attendance in my classes, but also give no pity when they do not do well as a result.

    All of my students are over 18.  If they got a job after high school instead of going to college and came to work late or not at all, they would be fired.  I look at an “F” as the equivalent situation.  Just because our students often do not act like adults, does not mean that they should not be treated as adults.

    Further, if a student could get As on my tests without coming to class, I would have no issues with that since it would say that my class really is a waste of their time (however, I have never had that happen so I guess my presence in the classroom is a value added to their education).  It is not like any student who is so disinterested in the material that they do not come to class is going to add anything of interest to the class discussion.  If they are going to be a bump on a log, they can do that in their dorm room.

  • yellow1

    Sweeney, I hope you are joking a bit. Being a hard ass would not make them be on time, present, prepared, and give you all their attention. Continue doing what you do because it works. Dealing with the individuals who are on their phones, a little late, etc.on an individual basis puts the responsibility back on the students. Blanket policies that assume all students won’t be on time, present, prepared, etc. and include some harsh penalties will only widen the gap we often have between ourselves and our students.

  • polisciguy

    I’m with litprofessor on this one. I have a few hard-and-fast rules (attendance being one of them), but discussions in my class can get pretty lively (and we’re talking politics here, a topic most of my students admitted they didn’t care about when they walked in the door). Then again, I make it a point to respect their time by being ready to go when class begins and being willing to let them out early when we are done for the day. I know my students because they pick their seats but I have a chart that helps me remember who sits where. 

    I have discovered that students will accept a few of my oddities because they know I care and want them to learn and (hopefully) apply what I am teaching to their daily lives. And pretty much every day I leave class I have a smile on my face. 

  • proftowanda

    Yes, I enjoyed that part, too.

    As if it — attendance, attentiveness, assiduousness, etc. — is about us.

    It’s about them.

    That’s an intriguing aspect of this article:  It’s all about the author, with no reasons given as to why to change, other than the author’s whim or wish to experiment? 

    I cannot determine which students are the author’s concern, if students are the concern at all.  If the author’s attentive and assiduous students, attending and on time, are doing well in this “laid-back” learning environment, leave well enough alone.  If they are not doing so, then there may be reason for improving control of the classroom so that the other sort of students do not distract classmates and lower their learning level and their grades. 

    Or, if the overly laid-back students are the concern, and cracking down actually would change their ways — at least in this class; again, it’s them — then crack down.  But what is the basis?

    Are the overly laid-back students flunking?  Or are they doing fine without being attentive and assiduous?  If the latter, then the author may want to focus on other aspects of what he is doing, or not doing, beyond the question of whether to be their buddy or their classrooom cop.
      

  • usaret

    I find that if I involve the students in classroom rule-making at the beginning of the course, they tend to follow them better than if I simply issue them an edict in the syllabus. They feel some ownership, and tend to enforce their own rules better among each other. This is, of course, not a universal panacea, but it does seem to reduce the friction caused by different expectations. I also try to figure out ways to make what we do in class more interactive–group exercises, individual responses to questions, frequent assessments about what they learned on 3×5 cards at the end of class–all those little things seem to help focus their attention on something other than being bored and getting out their phones (which I am beginning to think is an indicator of boredom in some students, but an almost unconscious behavior in others).

  • http://chronicle.com/blognetwork/castingoutnines Robert Talbert

    There’s a fine line between being a hard-ass (HA) and being a jack-ass (JA). 

    Being firm in your expectations and the boundaries you set might cast you as being a HA but if you do so out of a desire to create a fair and reliable environment for learning, you are not being a JA. If on the other hand you do it because you like seeing students get busted for breaking rules, this is firmly in JA territory. 

    Giving assessments that challenge students and force them to keep up with their work is being HA, but if you do it because you care about whether they are learning and trending towards meaningful post-collegiate lives, this is not being a JA. Giving students impossible work, or work that does not correspond to learning objectives, or not even having learning objectives for anything to correspond *to*, is being a JA. 

    So I guess the difference is whether you care about students or not. Profs who care about students can be a HA and elicit the kinds of behaviors that correlate with learning without being idiots or sadists about it. Profs who don’t can only hope to amuse themselves by their own jack-assery. 

    By the way, I’ve found that students are keenly aware of the difference I am mentioning. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Thomas-Polaczek/100000687613004 Thomas Polaczek

    Texting in class is RUDE and INMATURE

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Thomas-Polaczek/100000687613004 Thomas Polaczek

    How about grading ? Do you provide HONEST grades ? OR “curved ones” to please your students?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Thomas-Polaczek/100000687613004 Thomas Polaczek

    I wonder how you would approach teaching a foreign  language to your students.

    “Do not worry! Your message is important. Do not worry that you still mix up two languages” Your self-esteem is more important…….

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Thomas-Polaczek/100000687613004 Thomas Polaczek

    Some CC instructors give all A’s to anybody who show up. 

  • missoularedhead

    I’ve found that coming across as a hard ass the first couple of weeks (in that I answer students’ phones that ring, ask them what’s so interesting in their crotches when they text, etc), and then gradually lightening up is a good approach. But I also tell them that if I don’t know their name by the end of the semester, they haven’t done enough to earn an A.  Coming to class is expected, and a C. It’s actually doing the work that moves the grade up.

  • proftowanda

    Well put. I recall a student newspaper survey of profs that called me “tough but fair.”  That came after a few years in the trenches to figure out how to hit the balance.  I read that and said, aha, that’s what I wanted to see.  (So I’ve continued to struggle to maintain that eval ever since.)

  • cust0s

    “ask them what’s so interesting in their crotches”

    Uhhh, be careful with that one.  O_o

  • yellow1

    The problem of grade inflation is not specific to CCs. Pretty big assumption is made in your post no matter how it’s framed too.

  • hoppingmadjunct

    The single most significant way I’ve found to address these issues is to structure required first-year writing courses around a thousand-point system. Everything counts, from 2 pts per on-time attendance (plus a 5-pt penalty for each absence over five) to 2-5-pt reading quizzes,10- to 25-pt informal and preliminary writing, 50-pt annotated bibliographies, to 100-point drafts and 100-point revisions — including a point off for “every time I see you with a hand-held electronic device in class” (when that happens, all I need to do now is raise an eyebrow or point, not stop class anymore).

    True, this system takes a lot of forethought and a five-page syllabus, and some of the points are softer than others — the 50 points for class engagement, e.g., half of them awarded at mid-term, with verbal feedback — but it frees me and students alike to focus on our work. Students know or can figure where they are at all times and why, and though I’d feared that this system would lead to all of us become points-obsessed, the opposite seems to have happened.

  • dohertpk

    i genuinely find this hard to relate to. is this a peculiarly American classroom experience? I have never heard of this kind of student attitude in Irish or UK institutions.

  • mplonghorn

    Thanks for sharing you views, Professor Isaac “Nice Guy” Sweeney.  Although I am just starting my career as a faculty member at a community college, I am understanding how frustrating it is to maintain a “nice guy” personality to my students.  I found that good students take advantage of my “approachableness ” (is that even a word?) to ask questions and get advice on, say, what discipline of engineering he/she should go into.  However, I do find myself take advantage of by the not so good students, whose behavior range from excuses on why their assignment is late to acting up and disrupting class.

  • http://twitter.com/Meldenius J Matthew Melton

    I definitely relate. I laid ground rules at the beginning of the semester, but these were routinely ignored. Rather than get irate in class, which was an enormous temptation, I experimented with sending everyone a carefully worded and somewhat humorous email reminder about the ground rules, along with an appeal to bring their A-game to class. To my surprise, it worked like a charm.

  • raza_khan

    Hi Isaac

    Even with more than 13 years of teaching, all I can is that you have to find your “comfort zone/level” in YOUR class.  All you have to ensure that is that you get the respect that you deserve in the class.  The students are to be treated as adults.  You have to ensure that your respect is not diluted by either their or even perhaps your own behavior in the class.
    Of course, as faculty, we do have high expectation of our students.  The day you decide to lower those expectations or give up on the expectations is the day that faculty member should seriously consider on choosing another profession than higher education faculty member.

    best,

    Raza
    ___________________
    Raza Khan, Ph.D.
    Dr.Raza.Khan@gmail.com

  • keithrichard21

    As an instructor myself I find it difficult to approach teaching outside of my personality, I frankly find it more work and I am not being real to myself or my students. Your personality should demand respect and discipline despite the fact that your are laid-back. The problem lies in not following through concerning the discipline mandated on the syllabus concerning tardiness, late assignments and/or cell phones just to name a few.  

  • spinnaker

    Part of getting them to work hard is getting them to respect you, but they won’t respect you if they never see a compassionate or empathetic side. And part of it is war. You have to calculate all these things, and recalculate.
    And part of it is a compromise and a guess when you have no job security and no feedback from the college. The idea that you’re just doing the job for fun is a rationale for various kinds of neglect.

  • facultydiva

     The overall graduation rate for student athletes is usually higher because it includes athletes who have no shot at making money off their athletic talent – if you remove football and basketball, the rate would be higher but those two sports probably bring down the overall rate.

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