Lazy Larrys are those students who you have evidence that they are capable of the work through your pre-assessment, but simply are too lazy to study or turn in their homework. The first and perhaps greatest weapon is to remember to have a behavior contract signed by all students on the first day. It is important that you keep a copy so you can remind the student of this contract later if the need arises. However, let’s say you have a student that simply is not turning in homework or participating much in class and does poorly on tests. I strongly suggest you do the following. Email the student ahead of time asking to speak with you after your next class ends. Let the student know you will dismiss the class a little early so the student will not have the excuse of needing to be somewhere else. When you get the student alone, always first ask if everything is okay. You never know. Maybe something bad is happening in their life. Here is an actual conversation that happened between myself and a student. I have summarized:
Me: First of all, may I ask if you are okay?
Student: Why do you ask?
Me: Well, I have just noticed that your work in the class has been quite disappointing. I know how smart you are, and your contract you signed stated you intended to make an “A.” Your work so far is a “D,” at best. So again, is everything alright?
Student: I have had some problems at home. Working a great deal and my family is having problems.
Me: I am sorry to hear that. I went through the same thing when I was in college. I know how hard it can be. Do you feel you have taken on too much? Do you think you need to drop the class?
Student: No, I do not wish to drop the class. I need to finish.
Me: I am proud of you. I admire that you want to finish. Let’s talk about how we can get your grades up. What do you think needs to happen for you to do the work I know you are capable of?
Student: I don’t know. I am just so busy.
Me: Yes. Being busy can be a burden. We discussed time management techniques in the class. Would any of those strategies work?
Student: I don’t know.
Me: Clearly, you believe you can do good work or else you would have not stated you would make an “A” on the first day of class. I think we make time for what matters to us. I think if you were just to spend one more hour a week on your coursework, you would do much better. Let’s look at your schedule.
(We spent ten minutes going over a schedule)
Student: Okay. I see where I can spend at least one more hour on your course.
Me: Great. You have got a good plan there. I think your plan will work.
Please notice during the conversation that I told the student it was her plan. I asked her what she felt we should do. When she was lost, I gave guidance on looking at a schedule. I complimented her and told her she could do it. I did not get into a long conversation about her problems but did show empathy. Finally, and this is very important, I held this meeting in the classroom with the door open. I informed my boss that the meeting was taking place. The Journal of Legal Education (2016) reports that over 22% of female students reported being sexually harassed by a faculty member. Some of you may be thinking that you would never do such a thing. However, the reasons for this include to avoid even the mere appearance of any inappropriate behavior. False accusations of sexual harassment are extremely rare according to the journal Violence Against Women (2010). In their analysis covering ten years of cases, false accusations were only at 5.9%. However, I always recommend caution and professionalism. Furthermore, you also want to protect yourself. In a 2012 study, 91% of faculty members both male and female reported at least one incident of sexual harassment or bullying from a student. I will discuss the violence of students later in this chapter. For now, when it comes to you having meetings with students, I recommend the following:
- Email your department chair that a meeting will take place
- Have it in the classroom, if possible, with the door open
- Record the meeting if you can
- Take notes on the meeting
- If you are at all suspicious or concerned about the student misunderstanding or their emotional stability, ask a colleague to be present.