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A primer for coping with class disruption Community college professor takes students seriously
Jan. 19, 2006 Charlie Clarke teaches at Monroe Community College. Charlie Clarke takes teaching seriously. That means he takes mediating seriously. When a student at Monroe Community College acts out, he pays attention. His first response is one of concern and authority. "I bring students back to the roles. I'm the teacher. You're the student." The sequence of steps for responses is prevention first, intervention as necessary and then, emergency responses, said Clarke, who has honed mediation and conflict resolution skills through years of activism in the Monroe CC Federation of Teachers, which he now serves as president. If a student complains that "the reading was BS," Clarke will respond: "'What I hear you say is that something in the reading really bothered you. What in the reading?' I take them seriously." Otherwise, said the psychology professor, if they're only "attempting to break my chops," then everyone else is observing the antics. "We have to seize the opportunity to change someone's behavior. We're community college teachers. A lot of these students come from places where no one takes them seriously," he told colleagues at the New York State United Teachers community college conference last fall. If students are talking in class, he will walk over and respectfully say, "We can't hear you. Can you speak up so the rest of the class can hear?" When a student raises personal issues in class — such as when a student challenged a mixed-race colleague who was teaching African-American women's literature for not being "black enough" — Clarke advises his peers to take it outside. He suggests approaching the student: "Why don't we schedule time outside of class to discuss this?" That defuses a heightened classroom situation, validates the student's concern and clears room for discussion. "Part of what makes college exciting is discussion," Clarke said passionately. He recommends teachers consider their goals before intervening with a problem, and ask themselves if this is the best time to address it. Focus on the behavior causing the problem, not the person. "Don't intervene if you're too emotionally worked up," he said. Once, he interrupted a male and female student fighting outside class by asking each, "Are you feeling unsafe right now?" This put the emphasis on behavior and reaction. "Raise people's consciousness to their behavior," he said. Finally, Clarke starts the first class of each semester by handing out important papers, including a course information sheet, which includes a civility statement — students must arrive on time; are not to work on other materials in class; cannot eat in class; and must turn off beepers and cell phones "unless you're an organ donor or recipient." He asks student-parents to tell him ahead of time if they are on alert that day for an emergency call. On the first day of class, this professor also has students sign an "informed consent." This declares they have read the course information sheet, understand and accept the conditions of the class and acknowledge it is academically rigorous, can be personally challenging and, in some cases, deals with themes that may be emotionally charged. Signing papers makes a pact between student and teacher, and clarifies expectations, he says. — Liza Frenette |
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