As a professor, every day you experience a TMI moment. Or four. Students tell us things they haven't yet told their friends or parents.
Like it or not, you're going to be the recipient of a lot more information and emotion than you probably want. Some situations don't require much of a response. For example, when students inform me that they have a bladder infection, I really don't need to add much to the conversation.
But what about if a student confides that she is pregnant? Or getting an abortion? Or has been assaulted?
What do you do if a student loses a parent? If a student has a manic episode in lab? If a student has a psychotic break in your classroom? If a student is suicidal?
What if a student comes to class belligerently drunk? Or is disruptive to other students in class? Or is verbally abusive towards you during a lecture?
I've experienced the majority of these in my relatively short teaching career. While you can't prepare for every possible teaching or student scenario, a certain amount of preparation and anticipation can go a long way. Training in proper ways to deal with these situations can go a long way. Just knowing what office or department to call helps, too.
I've had a lot of training in crisis management. I have participated in numerous training sessions on how to handle some of the situations I've mentioned above. At my current institution, very little training if offered on how to deal with problem or troubled students.
I'm wondering if this is true across the board. Have you received training in how to deal with students who approach you will some of the above issues? Or do you think profs don't deal with these issues? Or that we have to?
