Nightmare student

I had most of the problems and joys you are talking about. What marked me the most at UCD is that I had my first (and hopefully last) "nightmare student" my first quarter here. A real bully from the very first session with no social skills that constantly disturbed the class, left in the middle of tests to have a cigarette because he had "issues" and lied to me. His grades were very bad but he managed to move up in language classes with the minimum grade each time and the help of a private tutor. Though I got the support of my department, there was never enough to kick him out. What I keep from this experience:
- Do not take it personally, this kind of student does it to everybody, especially women.
- ALWAYS TELL YOU SUPERVISOR ABOUT THESE STUDENTS WHEN IT STARTS IN CASE YOU HAVE REAL PROBLEMS WITH THEM. Handle it yourself at first but mention it so that if something happens, your supervisor will be familiar with your situation.
- Get respect from your students on the very first day. Even be a little severe for a few days, it will save you a lot of trouble later.
- The other students in the class know exactly what is going on and they are most definitively on your side.
- Supervisors talked to my student and it helped a bit but there is not much they could do in the end so just endure it.
- It makes you sooooo appreciative of all your other classes and students for many years!
- You learn a lot about how to remain calm and professional because exploding would absolutely not help and get you in trouble, believe it or not.
- Patience will deflate conflicts more than any other trick. With some of these extreme students though, communication may be useless. They cannot take no for a answer unless they respect you and they don't.
- I now appreciate the quarter system because when you have a bad class ---and it happens and it has nothing to do with you--- it ends sooner!
- Accept to be powerless. It is rare but it happens. Don't loose sleep over it or let it impact your scholarly work. It did for me at first and then I realized that these students are not worth my time and effort. Hopefully it was the "one in a lifetime" because as I get older and more assertive, I trust that I won't let it happen again.