Stuttering student in class - what do you do?

[CrAz3D]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/nyregion/professor-of-philip-garber-nj-stutterer-defends-actions.html?_r=1&src=recg

Interesting problem.  I don't know what all actually happened, but it doesn't matter.  I want to discuss what the proper course of action might be.

If the kid's stutter is pretty bad, and if he has lengthy and frequent question, I think it'd fine that the instructor request the student send an email.  She can then mention the questions/answers in the next class (along with emailing the student).  I also think that after-class questioning is good (office hours say what?).

Last year we had a kid that talked ENDLESSLY if you didn't stop him.  Eventually, profs started interrupting his irrelevant (but not stutter-y_ diatribes with a swift "Mr. Batman, your opinion doesn't matter; the law matters.  We're moving on."  (yeah...he legally changed his name to batman).

What would you do?

[Sidoh]

If I were in the class, I'd much prefer that he gets his questions answered afterwards. If they're questions and not an attempt to show off to his peers and teachers how much he knows, this shouldn't matter to him.

I suppose what the professor did can be viewed as mean, but I don't think it'd be mean to tell a handicapped student that they can't be on the track team. It's a practical matter; it's not like it's personal or anything.

In fact, I'd prefer that a professor shut up any student that likes to talk a lot during a lecture-format class. Fuck that noise.

[deadly7]

If I were in the class, I'd much prefer that he gets his questions answered afterwards. If they're questions and not an attempt to show off to his peers and teachers how much he knows, this shouldn't matter to him.

I suppose what the professor did can be viewed as mean, but I don't think it'd be mean to tell a handicapped student that they can't be on the track team. It's a practical matter; it's not like it's personal or anything.

In fact, I'd prefer that a professor shut up any student that likes to talk a lot during a lecture-format class. Fuck that noise.

+100
I have one like that in EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY CLASSES this semester. I want to bring a knife and cut their tongues. Your "profound" questions in statistics prove you're a dumbass and don't understand even basic set theory, shut the fuck up.

And his parents did him a huge disservice if he was really stuttering and homeschooled. If he's ever going to get over it, it would be by talking to people. Not by ... being separated from them and coddled.

[CrAz3D]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfLHojgVYtk

video the kid made.

yeah...sorry, kid, but trying to get through class with you trying answer/ask questions would be painful.  I'm sure other kids only enjoy his speaking because it eats up the clock.

I agree that it'd be WAY better for him to email questions prior to class


re video.
At one point the kid says be proud of this.  I might've lost the context, but is he saying be proud of the stutter?  I sorta think someone with a stutter (or any impediment) should do everything one could to overcome the problem.

[Sidoh]

This video would be 0:12 long if he didn't stutter. Trolololololol

Seriously, though, I'll agree. I don't think it's reasonable to be proud of something that hinders your performance by almost any meaningful metric. I wouldn't necessarily say one should be ashamed of such a thing, but being proud of it is just deceiving yourself.

[iago]

Like being gay? Trolololol indeed! :)

Seriously though, I'm okay with people in my classes asking a lot of questions if they're *good* questions. Especially when i'm teaching - I love it when we can get into a (relevant) discussion with the class rather than just focusing on material. I get so much more out of a class when I take part in a discussion.

There's a limit, of course. And they have to be *good* questions.

[CrAz3D]

But what about a student that cant form the question in a manner that is easy (possible?) to follow?  Maybe the kid has a decent Q underlying the 12 minutes of rambling, but do you put with with 12 minutes of rambling everyday to get to the question that could've been asked in 15 seconds?  I'd hope not as it'd waste everyone's time (again, everyday kinda thing...once in a while would be fine I spose.  there just needs to be a balance)

[Sidoh]

But what about a student that cant form the question in a manner that is easy (possible?) to follow?  Maybe the kid has a decent Q underlying the 12 minutes of rambling, but do you put with with 12 minutes of rambling everyday to get to the question that could've been asked in 15 seconds?  I'd hope not as it'd waste everyone's time (again, everyday kinda thing...once in a while would be fine I spose.  there just needs to be a balance)

In an ideal situation, the kid would realize he's disrupting everyone else and just ask his questions after class. The class doesn't sound like it's really meant to be a discussion, so the only questions that should get asked should be clerical. It may be to the class' benefit to hear the question, but it's probably not worth the disruption it causes if it's so frequent.

The professor really screwed up though, and she probably realizes that. She probably should've gone to administration with her problem so that she had reinforcement or somewhere to shift the blame. The way she handled it seems to have damaged her reputation and possibly her career. If she'd had gone to the dean or something like that and said "I have a kid in my class with a really severe stutter. He's very smart, but likes to ask disrupting questions in my class. I'd tell any student with this behavior to knock it off, but I feel like he might get the wrong idea if I tell him this. How should I approach the problem?"

Administration might tell her to just deal with it, but then that's probably what she's going to have to do.

[CrAz3D]

And I think that's bullshit.  If everyone defers, then all issues end up at the Supreme Court (rights violations and crap).

Admin asks board of regents -> BOR asks AG's office -> suit filed for injunction either way -> outcome appealed for years -> etc.

[Sidoh]

And I think that's bullshit.  If everyone defers, then all issues end up at the Supreme Court (rights violations and crap).

Admin asks board of regents -> BOR asks AG's office -> suit filed for injunction either way -> outcome appealed for years -> etc.

Fair enough... that's a good point. I'd much rather not be held responsible for this bullshit, though. I'd still talk to the administrator if I were in the professor's position.

[iago]

I haven't read the story, but from what I hear in the comments here, it sounds like the student's being a dick. :)

[Sidoh]

I haven't read the story, but from what I hear in the comments here, it sounds like the student's being a dick. :)

Pretty much. He's probably being overly sensitive.

It doesn't seem like the professor approached it in the best way possible either, though. I don't think she said anything outrageous, but sometimes you have to walk on eggshells to not get into trouble. It's not how it should be, but it's the way it is.

[CrAz3D]

she took the kid aside and expressed her concerns and gave him an alternate way of asking questions...that seems pretty rational, logical, thought-out, and sensitive to me.

if she told the kid to "shu-shu-shu-shu(t up) ... be quiet" (porky pig?) during class, then I'd agree that she handled it improperly.

[dark_drake]

This comic reminds me of what's going on. If my smf skills suck, the comic is here.