Kick their asses out. Seriously. If you're going to have to be a bitch, you may as well be productive. Of course, I had bitchy day today, too. Only half the class showed to prepare for a major discussion tomorrow. That, plus only a few people bothered to answer a very important question on the discussion board -- perhaps because I asked in metaphor re Pericles (based on the Funeral Oration -- assigned reading), "would you buy a used car from this man?" Every answer was flip -- despite the fact that we talked about looking deeper into questions just last week. So I gave a quiz -- "did the Spartans love their children?" and told them they had 15 minutes -- and their answer could be an outline of how they would answer the question, given more time. They all gave me yes/no answers. They so need to move past the idea that there is a right answer, and into the idea that it's more important to consider how to argue a question.

I bet you're sexy when you're angry. *wink* :-D

I just happened upon your blog today and the same thing happened in my class today. I'm just a student and not the prof. but I gave the guys my own evil eye just for good measure. Maybe it is just something about Mondays that make people stupid.

dude... way to go. I keep meaning to ask what subject you teach.

Damn, I'm SURE I left you a comment on this already, and it vanished! Short summary: Go you! That's not being bitchy, it's being a good teacher - they need to shut up, and if other methods aren't working, public ridicule is a great thing. And other students are always very annoyed by that kind of behavior too. So again: Go you!

I've grown accustomed to cell phones occasionally ringing in my classes, but I actually had a student take a call in the middle of lecture last semester! She answered and started whispering to whoever was on the line. I stopped lecturing and just stared at her. She noticed after about ten seconds, said goodbye to her friend, and hung up. Unbelievable...

you go girl! take them down. honestly, these are the kind of stories that make me glad i'm staff. :)

Ce n'est pas facile: ça arrive aussi, de la même façon, en Europe. S'arrêter comme tu l'as fait me semble la bonne solution. Mais si ça ne marche pas, en Europe, nous passons à la solution ultime: l'étudiant quitte le cours. Si ça se passe à l'Université, le professeur peut lui interdire de revenir, même aux autres cours. Si ça se passe à l'école (jusqu'à 18 ans), alors, l'étudiant va trouver le proviseur et subit des punitions (mais pas corporelles !!!, on n'est pas en Angleterre).
C'est de plus en plus difficile de "tenir" une classe.

Isn't it amazing how after you've taken the time to remind them that it's not okay to talk during your class, that they find some remote spot in their brains capable of imagining that it would be okay to whisper?
These are the kinds of things that, no matter how many times I've been subjected to them, never cease to shock me.
(I found you via blogexplosion too, btw.)