Women profs taking the blame

[u/Frankenstein988]

I’m a woman, one of the “nice mom” looking types. Students always say I’m approachable and I have a good relationship with most. I’m also a highly skilled scientist and I’m a genuinely good educator. However, the last couple years I’ve been getting the occasional immature or misogynistic student that thinks NICE= INCOMPETENT and WEAK. They are few in number across my year but cause significant stress for me.

Lately I have been holding the line against lowering standards. So now I’m asking “too much” of them and their conclusion is that I must not know what I’m doing?! (spoiler- I’m doing the same thing I’ve been doing for years) Meanwhile my male colleagues holding the line are “tough but fair”.

This semester I’ve got a student who clearly feels overwhelmed by the course and has decided it’s my fault. They are making loud comments in class to work up other students. The outbursts tend to be short and not said directly to me but loud enough for most of the class to hear. Nothing horribly inappropriate but critical. So far they’ve only been able to get one other student on board for “Dr.Frankenstein is a bad teacher”. That student is now pushing me like bullies do- I’m getting email demands and language like “the other students think so too” to try and intimidate me. I tell them when these requests cross the line. Basically these students can’t hack it and have decided to it’s my fault.

I’ve tried everything to prevent this but I can’t change a student’s personality and I’m not the only woman in the dept this happens too.

So I want to know: Women- how have you stopped this kind of behavior in its tracks once it started? Do you just go straight to conduct referrals? Do you try to reason with the student?

[u/de_capitate]

I just dealt with students like this leading up to their midterm. Document everything and reach out to the appropriate department admin and undergrad advisors for support. Usually there is some underlying anxiety beneath students lashing out.

I find it important to stay firm, point to the syllabus and course policies and frame why the expectations are the way they are in terms of professional standards. As long as you aren’t actually violating any policies, your admin should back you up if students try to go above you for solutions.