Most educators have had students who push the limits in regard to
needing help with assignments, skills, and/or personal issues. Teachers
tend to be caring, compassionate people with “rescuer” tendencies, so
they can easily be overwhelmed by these students. For example, you may
have an individual in a class who constantly wants to reply to
questions, dominate discussions, get your undivided attention on the
progress of their assignment, etc., or you may have students who want to
pull you aside to share their latest personal crisis and seek your
advice. Perhaps the most awkward example is a student with some
reasonable accommodations who tries to push these well beyond their
intent.
So what is a caring teacher to do? This post should help.
The 90/10 Rule
Dr. Mary McKinney stated the larger context of this issue well when she labeled this the 90/10 Rule
(2003). McKinney explains that often people will talk about how 80% of
the stress in our lives comes from only 20% of our problems (2003). This
is also known as the Pareto Principle
after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who noticed that 80/20 splits
are common in human culture, and relationship expert Dr. Adam Sheck
explains that this does apply to our relationships (18 January, 2011).
McKinney, however, explains that when it comes to the relationship
between needy students and teachers, the rule narrows to 90/10, meaning
that 90% of a teacher’s stress derives from 10% of the
students—specifically, these needy, disruptive students.
An Ounce of Prevention
There are some steps faculty should take prior to and at the start of each class; these should then be maintained throughout the semester.
• Be Prepared: One way to reduce the incidence of disruptions from attention-seeking students is to plan a class that is well managed and engaging for students while setting up boundaries on your time. For instance, McKinney suggests not being available to students 24/7; rather set up clear policies for how you handle email and other communication (e.g., only during office hours) (2003). She also suggests establishing clear policies about late papers and missed exams (2003). I would add that you should consider expanding these policies to include other expectations including classroom behavior and interaction; however, do so only within the guidelines of your institution as some do not allow faculty to make any changes to a standard syllabus. Likewise, focus on creating assignments and activities that will keep students actively interested and engaged. Generally, making the course content relevant to students’ lives is a good place to start. McKinney mentions not over-preparing for lessons as this can become an endless pursuit of perfectionism: “Allow yourself to teach a ‘good enough’ class” the first time through; then build upon it each semester as you receive both solicited and unsolicited feedback from students (2003). I would add that being a bit flexible with how you approach a lesson based on the day’s context can sometimes result in a better learning experience.
A Pound of Cure
McKinney (2003) quite rightly suggests being fully aware of what campus resources exist and how to refer students to them: counseling and psychological, health, academic, and disability services; staff and administrative support; and even transportation information and security. Sometimes students will offer you information on their situation that is helpful to retain for the future. I once had a student hand me a small laminated poster on different types of seizures and how to respond; I carried that in my classroom notebook for a few years. Also, don’t be afraid to reach out to these resources. Sometimes faculty feel as if it may reflect badly upon them to refer a student to an academic center or to review a situation with their department chair. The opposite is true: Academic centers want to assist and your supervisor will be glad to see you are taking action to address an issue rather than letting it intensify.