Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Deana,
I have been down this road and it is never pleasant. What I do is make my requirements clear and have a rubric of how points are given for each part of an assignment or project. If more information is needed by the student I lay out exactly how the points were earned.
When I have a student complaint that it is my fault I am more than happy to talk with the student about the concern. I ask that the student write down the exact nature of the concern and what the issues are surrounding the concern (lack of points, etc.). I have found that in 99% of the situations the complaints and whining stop. They don't want to write down the compliant or if they do they realize that the complaint is not as major as they make it.
Another I do is to ask the student about how I can change what I am doing if the situation is my fault. This to stops most complaints because they just want to blame shift and not really deal with the issues.
Hope these ideas are of help.
Gary

Rebecca Halbkram

I am an instructor and I find that by having a private talk with the student and really being truthful about attitude works very well. I use the "I messages" making sure that they feel at ease and it is not a confrontational meeting. I usually tell them that there isn't any problem or sitution I haven't heard...I am a mother, teacher, wife, ect and it helps them to open up to problems they are having because it's usually something within their life that is causing the attitude.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Rebecca,
Good approach. It always surprises me that students don't think instructors have any life experiences. Many of them think we live in a mist and come out of it to teach and then fade back into it. By combining a mixture of course content with life experiences an instructor is able to touch the lives of students in many different ways. Well said.
Gary

Linda McHenry

This is always a difficult situation, and it can certainly put a damper on the classroom environment. I will not allow a student to argue a question just for the sake of arguing. For example, if the student does not agree with the answer on their test or homework assginment, I will not argue the point with them. I ask them very calmly to please put in writing to me why their answer is correct, and the answer key to the test is wrong. That will usually stop another further complaining, but then on the other hand some students will research and explain why their answer is correct. If they presented a good enough case to me, then I will give them credit for that answer that they missed.

Richard Horn

I really understand frustrations the guidance in this course is an example of that

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Richard,
Thank you for your forum response. I am not clear as to your comments and was wondering if you would be able to expand on them so I might be able to respond?
Looking forward to your contributions in this forum.
Gary

Richard Ullery

Usually what sets a student off has little or nothing to due with what they are actually frustrated about, but rather the trigger. Sometimes sitting down with a student after the class and outside of the class room will disarm them enough to get enough information to find what the real cause of the furstration is. It is often job, money or family support issues.

Gary Meers, Ed.D.

Hi Richard,
Right you are about what sets a student off. It is most often something that has occurred outside of the classroom but is brought in by the student. By having a short session before or after with such a student you can do much to get them back on track. Good suggestion, thanks for sharing.
Gary

Amelia Ryan

I have to deal with this problem a lot. I talk to my whole class about it a bit at the beginning of the quarter. The gist of the talk is: successful people accept credit for their own successes but also responsibility for their own failures. A good student recognizes that when she doesn't do well on a test, it is because she didn't study as much as she should have or was not as focused as she should have been. A poor student will blame the questions, the instructor, the lighting in the room, etc. I stress that we all need to take responsibility for our own learning. I share some of my own experiences as a someone who went back to school as a mom and had to deal with outside stress and responsibilities. I understand that some days and weeks will be harder than others, and I'm always willing to listen, but ultimately we are each responsible for our own progress.

Valerie Christie

After our corporate owners changed the financial aid processes, we had two quarters during which excess funds arrived later than expected. Many students were furious. They either could not or would not accept that we did not have the money to give to them. I actually had faculty coming to get me (I am the DOE) in order to calm down classes. We even had students accusing us of having their money but holding on to it so we could collect interest.

Eventually we were authorized to give out $12 checks to the students so that they would have gas money etc.... This seemed to make them even more angry. Although they made claims about not having enough money to drive home, pay their rent, ot feed their children, many refused the $12.

To the extent possible we just had to keep trying to offer instruction and keep reminding the students that that was the real purpose of their being in attendance. It was tough going though.

Thomas Chesney

Some student frustrations take time to identify. Students can be masters of cover-up. However, sooner or later these frustrations will come to the surface. I try to encourage students to remember the reasons they came to college in the first place. What was your goal? Has that changed? They need to see their frustrations/problems as temporary compared to the permanency of their education. Granted, this is more difficult with students who were "forced" into education when they really did not want to be there. As a general rule, focusing on your original goals helps to place things in a more appropriate perspective.