The Waiting Room

OK, time for one of my infamous rants.

You know what I don't understand? Strike that...I do understand, I just don't know how to fix this issue. Anyway, what is grinding my gears lately is the rampant discipline issues going on at my campus. Lately, we have been dealing with students who think that they are still in middle school or on the street.

Last night I got an email from my veteran adjunct who told me that in one of her law classes, two girls got into a verbal altercation about something one had said to another person. Then, three other students decided to be a bunch of "Budinsky" and got involved in the argument. Two of the students involved went through conflict resolution last term for being "Mean Girls".

This term I had a student whose defiance got her suspended for the term. We've had similar cases in other departments. In fact, I have to appear at a discipline hearing tomorrow regarding a student who refused to leave a colleague's office after being told repeatedly to leave. I actually called security to have the student removed.

Folks, this is college. Not high school or middle school. You need to check your ego, attitude and baggage at the door.

I understand why they act this way. You can blame it on a host of things. Lack of "home training", being part of a generation who were told how "special" they were, never having anyone set boundaries for behavior...I could go on and on. It's a particular challenge with the particular demographic that my college services.

Honestly, I am getting really tired of it all. I am not a babysitter or a probation officer. I am a college professor. My job is to teach, guide and encourage learning, mental growth and personal development. If someone is not willing to do that, I say "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out." College is not a right, it is a privilege. There a plenty of people out there who would love the opportunity to attend school, learn and make something of their lives. But, they cannot do that with these, to borrow a phrase from Husband which is rather profane but apt, pecker-heads.

I know I wrote recently about not focusing on the 1% of the world that makes things unbearable for the 99%. But, I am wondering if all of these problems with the 1% is not isolated to just my college or even the demographic. And, how do you not necessarily solve the problem or even eliminate it, but how do you put parameters in place to limit the impact? I hear my 99% echo the same concerns that I have.

So, how about the rest of you? Do you see an increase in classroom management and discipline issues?