Trouble already

OK, I'm noodling around the office, like I usually do after my last class of the day. I can do this pretty much endlessly, finding things to copy, trying to get organized (hah!), trying to figure out which of the brazillian things I haven't done needs to be done most urgently. Blogging, of course, is not really on that list of priorities, but it's a hell of a lot more fun--and it gives me a chance to blow off some steam.

And I have some steam to blow off already, a moment with a student in 229 who is going to be hell on a stick until he starts to realize that in my classroom, he actually has to behave like a college student. This moment isn't even as bad as I've experienced in terms of being an uncomfortable confrontation--not by a long shot--but this early on, it does not bode well. Here's the story:

I started class with a dopey little ice-breaker thingy that I always do at the beginning of the semester. (I don't know if it does anything for them, but it gives me a huge leg up on remembering their names--at least until the semester is over, when I promptly forget all but a few of the names, though I remember faces.) As we were doing that, he kept talking to a buddy until I finally had to ask him to pipe down. (If we'd been doing real work, I'd have come down on him harder and sooner, but it was a game, so, oh well.) Then he kept talking when I started to explain their next task (that time I did shut him up). Blah, blah, other annoying stuff, but ultimately he was freaking out about the reading journal forms. I readily concede that they can be confusing at first, but the whole point of the exercise at that moment was to work with his classmates to figure them out. And yes, they require some work, but students who actually do them invariably say they were enormously helpful. He wouldn't even begin to read the damned thing; he just kept waving it around saying he didn't get it, asking if he really had to do all the work by Wednesday. (Um, yes, this is why I gave it to you last week, so you could get a head start on it.)

I finally got him to calm down a little and realize he was making it more difficult than it is--but even then he said it was too hard, too much work. I said something along the lines of "This is a college-level English course. We do college-level work." Of course, a few minutes later, I saw him texting under his desk (like we don't know what's going on when their hands suddenly are under the desk and their attention focused downward... at least we better know what's going on with those hands under the desk!) I read him the riot act about that, and reminded the class about the policy with some vehemence, particularly as I had already quite sternly told them about it. Then at the end of class he came up to me and said he needs this class to graduate this semester. (Subtext: I need to make it easy for him to pass.) I nicely said if he was worried, he should come to me for help as often as he needs it. He kept on walking out the room and said over his shoulder, "Or you could make the class easier." I said something back (why I bothered I don't know)--and then laughed about it with the students who were there for my help. I mean, really, there are too many like that to get my knickers in a twist about them.

But then (saga continues), a minute later, as I was still getting new students caught up on what they'd missed the first day, he was back:
Him: "Can I change to an easier class?"
Me: "You can go to the registrar to find out."
Him: "Isn't it too late for that?"
Me: "I think it is, but you can go to the registrar to find out. Or maybe you can take a summer class, or something in the Winterim session..."
Him: "Nah, I'll stick it out..." and then as he once again was leaving the room, mumble mumble, something I didn't catch until he suddenly said, much more clearly, "A fake one, not a real one, just a fake one. Don't call security on me!"--at which point I realized that the mumble mumble was something about he'd stick it out but would just have to bring his gun....

I was not worried. I figured it was a joke--granted, in seriously bad taste but not an actual threat. But in today's climate, and what we know about school shootings, I now wonder if I took that too lightly, even if he wasn't serious. I mentioned it to Paul, who got very adamant about it, saying, "That's it, he's out. HE'S OUT." And maybe if the student had said it loudly enough that I was sure what I heard, I would have had a different reaction--or maybe not, I don't know. It just didn't feel like he was scary or serious--just a serious asshole, doing standard "I don't want to work or think and there's something wrong with you that you think I should" schtick--so I still don't feel apprehensive about any threat of violence from this kid. But if he presents any kind of problem, even just in obstructive behavior, I will call security and ban him from class. I've never had to do that before, and I don't want to now, but I also will not have him in there poisoning the class for everyone--or threatening me, even in jest.

Gawd almighty.

But to leaven that--I do like to remind myself of the positives--a student from one of my T/th comp classes came to my (as yet unposted and therefore unofficial) office hour to go over the reading journal with me--even though it's not due until Thursday. He is sweetly earnest and already working very hard to do well. He keeps saying he really struggled to get into college so he just can't mess it up. I truly hope he can come through for himself, so I praised the behavior: I told him that I was impressed that he came for help and encouraged him to continue to do so. There you have it: one flaming asshole, one dedicated young man. It's just a crap-shoot what one will be dealing with from moment to moment. And it's early in the semester; I have yet to begin to see all the assholian behavior--and all the earnest hard work--that I'll see as we go on. I hope by December the good kids are still hanging in there and doing well and the detritus is long since swept away to annoy the shit out of someone else.

By the way, I have a prediction about the young man in 229. He'll probably disappear before the end of the semester, but if he sticks to the end, he'll sure as hell fail. In any event, I'll wager he won't pass, even if he needs it to graduate. Any takers on that bet?