How to Handle Disruptive Classroom Behavior
By Bernice Resnick Sandler

Although male students occasionally act in an aggressive manner toward female professors, both in and out of the classroom, there has been little attention paid to this problem. Some male students challenge women faculty members in a disparaging, argumentative, insistent and non-intellectual manner, interrupting them continually and disrupting the class flow. Others are directly hostile and may go so far as to call a woman instructor a "bitch" or other derogatory term when they disagree with her.

In her study, "Sex differences in student dominance behavior in female and male professors' classrooms" (Sex Roles, Vol. 8, No. 7, 683-690), Virginia Brooks showed that male students act more aggressively when a class is taught by a woman. The study also showed that men interrupt women students and women faculty more when the class is taught by a female than when it is taught by a male.

There is much that administrators and faculty members can do both to prevent the kinds of abuses by students inflicted on some women faculty and to better respond to abuse by students. The following recommendations are from Women Faculty at Work in the Classroom, or, Why It Still Hurts to be a Women in Labor by Bernice Sandler, 1993:

ADMINISTRATORS CAN . . .

•   respond swiftly and publicly when sexist incidents occur.

•   invoke student disciplinary procedures, where appropriate, and do so publicly.

•   recognize that the absence of an official response is often viewed as tacit or official approval of the behavior.

•   use shame as a public means of dealing with the issue if student disciplinary procedures cannot be invoked. Official condemnation, publicized in the student newspaper, can be helpful in supporting those who are concerned about the behavior and in generating campus discussion.

•   treat the issue seriously. A few years ago, after two male students attached a computerized image of a penis to the door of a female faculty member's office, the faculty at Bates College (ME) canceled all classes and activities so students could attend a series of workshops and seminars on harassment.

•   provide specific training to members of fraternities and athletic teams because these groups may be more prone to harassing women teachers than others.

•   recognize that freedom of speech does not justify verbal harassment of women faculty members. Student disagreement with professors is not the issue; how that disagreement is expressed is the concern.

FACULTY MEMBERS CAN . . .

•   develop a handout or discuss during the first class session what constitutes appropriate behavior toward other students and toward the faculty member. This may be particularly important in women's studies courses. The development of such materials is best done by the institution, the school or the department, but can also be done by individual teachers.

•   recognize that when disrespectful, disruptive or sexist behavior occurs, they must deal with the behavior as soon as possible, if not immediately. Postponing a response may convey weakness and reinforce the perception that you are a suitable target. If you are reluctant to reprimand the student/s publicly, tell the student/s in front of the class that you would like to see the student/s after class. This conveys the message that you are not going to tolerate the behavior.

•   recognize that not responding to such behavior is often viewed as condoning the behavior and/or as being powerless to deal with it. Such perceptions often increase the likelihood that the behavior will recur and escalate. Sometimes, particularly at the beginning of the semester, students will test the professor's limits, in essence asking the professor to set the limits.

•   tell students when their behavior is unacceptable. In some instances that will end the overt hostility, although the students may still exhibit negative body language. Remember that not all students are going to like you or accept your teaching, but you have a right to expect all students to treat you with respect.

•   confront the students who openly frown in response to something you have said by saying something like, "I note you are frowning. Can you tell me why?" or "I notice some skepticism. Let's talk about what you are thinking. You could also say, "Tell me why you believe that," or "It's hard for many people to talk about these issues."

•   keep talking and continue making your point when students interrupt. Challenge students who interrupt each other or you.

Humor is a good way to handle some issues. Responding lightly is sometimes effective, especially when good teaching techniques fail. If unfairly attacked, as when a student accuses you of politicizing the class by discussing women's issues or whatever, you can say, with a smile, "Of course, and it will probably get worse." Or you might say, "Ah! You found me out, I'm a feminist."

These responses are particularly useful if there is a sense that the behavior is not amenable to logic and is emotionally based. Similarly, when a student repeats sexist or disruptive behavior, such as continually interrupting, you can say, again with a smile, "Ah! I just knew you were going to interrupt at this point. I predicted it to myself about five minutes ago."

Such strategies, along with humor, may work because the comments are unexpected and break the cycle of behavior anticipated by the perpetrator. In other words, the student's behavior did not achieve the desired effect. However, like other strategies involving humor, it could backfire because the student may feel trivialized.

Remember that some men (and some women) enjoy controversy as a way of relating to others intellectually. Their behavior may not be related to you personally.

Keep in mind that some aggressive, intimidating behavior is emotionally based. You might respond to such behavior with, "I'm not here to convince you, but to get you to think," or "You really don't like what I'm saying and that's okay."

One way to deflect aggressive questions is to deflect them to the class, rather than trying to restate a position. If a student says something like "That's not true," or "I don't believe that at all," you can say, "Well, what do the rest of you think?"

Should a student be increasingly aggressive and disruptive during a class, consider the following:

•   Tell the disruptive student(s) to make an appointment to see you.

•   Give the student a public warning that his or her behavior is disruptive, and if it continues you will ask the student to leave the room Be sure that your school's policy allows you to do this.

•   Ask the student if he or she would like to drop the course, without penalty (if your institution allows it), pointing out that the student seems unhappy with the course. This is best done privately.

•   Warn the student that he or she may be dropped from the course (again, only if your institution's policy allows it). This also is best done in a private conversation.

Know your institution's procedure, if it has one, for dropping a student from a course. Use it if necessary to deal with an unruly or disruptive student after other approaches have been tried unsuccessfully. You might want to write memos of your conversations with such students, describing their behavior.

Respond when students tell sexual jokes, make sexual innuendoes or sexist remarks. These behaviors are often made with the aim of intimidating female faculty members or students, and impressing other males. Not responding may discourage female students from speaking about women's issues, or from speaking at all, and encourage other male students to attempt intimidating behaviors. You can indicate your disapproval in several ways:

•   You can decide not to respond overtly, but rather to just frown at the person.

•   You can indicate your displeasure, stating that you found the comment or joke offensive. Or you can say in a shocked tone, "I beg your pardon!"

•   You can smile and say, "I don't believe you just said what you did" then go on without further comment.

•   You can pretend to take the comments literally or you can pretend not to understand and ask the person to repeat the comment once or twice; then you can ask for an explanation. Being asked for an explanation of a sexist remark either embarrasses the offender or surprises him because he does not get the expect response.

•   Don't feel you have to handle every instance of offensive behavior verbally. It is all right to ignore some behavior some of the time (although ignoring it can be misinterpreted as an inability to deal with the behavior). If you do not want to deal with a student verbally, you can indicate your disapproval by frowning, eye-rolling, or sighing. Recognize, however, that at some point you will probably have to deal with the student more directly.

•   If a student continually criticizes you inappropriately, such as by saying, "You are politicizing the class," recognize that no amount of logic is going to change that person's mind. It is often more effective to acknowledge the person's feelings, such as, "It is really hard for men to understand when that happens." You might also handle it in the offhanded manner suggested earlier, as in, "Ah! It will probably get worse."


*  *  *  *  *



This article was originally printed in About Women on Campus (Spring 1998), the former newsletter of the National Association for Women in Education.

Additional recommendations are described in the report, Women Faculty at Work in the Classroom, or, Why It Still Hurts to be a Women in Labor, which discusses how male and female students often create a chilly climate for women faculty. The report contains about 65 recommendations.

Bernice R. Sandler, Senior Scholar in Residence at the Women's Research and Education Institute, consults extensively with institutions and others about women's equity, including sexual harassment, discrimination, and the chilly climate. She has given over 2000 presentations, written many articles, and serves as an expert witness in discrimination cases. Sandler can be contacted at:

Bernice R. Sandler
Senior Scholar, Women's Research and Education Institute
1350 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 850, Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202 833 3331   Fax: 202 785 5605
E-mail: sandler@bernicesandler.com
Website: bernicesandler.com