During the first week of class, I was immediately aware of some behavioral issues that honestly made me dread teaching every day. Students would talk over me, question my presence in the classroom, and roll their eyes when I assigned free-writes or homework. The initial behavioral problems got better after conferences, and I was able to make meaningful connections with almost all of my students. However, while many students lost their attitude problems in class, I had another situation emerge that has been negatively impacting the ecosystem of the class.

I’ve probably spoken about this student in past posts, and I’ve definitely mentioned her during “teacher talk” in 513. I have one particular student who is trying to be too close to me in a professional setting and continues to push boundaries in the classroom. In the beginning of the quarter, she would come to my office hours just to chat (which was fine at the time), but then she started trying to walk with me into class and began making me bracelets. Other students began to notice, which made me extremely uncomfortable. I spoke with her about it, and she stopped coming to my office hours to chat about life.

However, she started making other strange comments in the beginning of class and started asking me personal questions. I was concerned, especially when she stated, “oh when you get into a relationship, you should tell me how your dog reacts to the new person in her life”. The only way she could have known that I was single (because I definitely didn’t mention it in class), is if she found me on facebook and checked my relationship status. She would also make other comments on my work, ask about my family and other personal information that I don’t reveal to my students. I only mention these incidents because I have a feeling that other students assume I favor her above everyone else. If she’s asking so many personal questions, we must be close, right? The toxicity comes from her persistence in getting close to me, and creates a new hierarchy of power in the classroom that puts her above her fellow classmates