One of the most frustrating things that I experiance as an instructor is the first day of class. Rarely do all of my students show up for the first day of class. What is the best way to deal with this on the second day of class when they do show up? Obviously they have no idea what is going on, but the rest of the class is ready to dive in and start learning.

If students are talking amoung themselves and you notice the topic slowly moving towards gripping about the school or program and then other students start listening in and adding to the whining, what is the best way to intervene? This is in a lab class where students are allowed to be social with one another as long as they are doing the tasks assigned to them. Also, during open lab time, when no formal class is going on and I am just sitting in to assist students.