On 11/06/09, question wrote:
> Could you have said something to the student? tell them to knock it
> off; sometimes you need to be confrontational without being
> combative. Especially when their are witnesses to the situation. So
> that if the student starts complaining about your behavior to the
> parents and it gets back to you; I would hope you would have some
> reliable witnesses to back you up.

In "normal" situations where the student has at least some conscience
and sense of morals, this would work.

However, I am dealing with people who have lost both a sense of morals
and fear of punishment. The particular student has neither moral compass
nor fear of punishment. If I tell the student to knock it off, they get
more disrespectful and even laugh at you. This happened to me with an
extremely disrespectful girl who rally had no sense of respecting a
teacher. She has amassed a long string of referrals and punishments, but
nothing makes her change. The other day I saw her merrily cutting class
with her friends, and still mocking me even when she had been referred
to the office before.

The so-called witnesses will back up the student, never the teacher.

These are the results of extremely poor peer influence, teachers who are
not consistent with discipline and cuddle to the students "because they
are kids," and administration that prefers to look the other way or
punishes those teachers who make waves.

Take care.

Ze

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