Timeline for As a TA, how to react if I come across a Facebook group in which students insult me?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
58 events
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| Jun 30, 2018 at 0:09 | answer | added | paul garrett | timeline score: 1 | |
| Jun 29, 2018 at 22:41 | answer | added | Daniel | timeline score: 0 | |
| Jun 29, 2018 at 6:58 | history | edited | The Hiary |
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| Jul 27, 2016 at 19:54 | comment | added | Alexey B. | Join that group with a fake profile and post some insults and embarrassing facts about yourself. | |
| Jul 27, 2016 at 7:25 | answer | added | Ashutosh Rana | timeline score: 1 | |
| Nov 22, 2015 at 3:30 | history | edited | aparente001 |
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| Oct 20, 2015 at 5:15 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | Insults about teaching: (3) Listen very carefully, view this as a great opportunity for receiving "impartial" feedback. Are they valid, are there grains of truth, is that why the insults are hurtful? Are all the comments negative, is there no one "defending you"? If so, then you need to look at your teaching skills in a new light. There are courses which can help one tremendously in improving communicative skills, and transmitting knowledge onto others. Even buying the odd self-help book could work wonders. | |
| Oct 20, 2015 at 5:13 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | First time I ever wanted to post an answer, but I can't :( , so it's going to have to be a longish comment. (Sorry.) In essence: the insults concerning your appearance you can do one of two things (1.) shrug them off, how you look is your own affair, you are a TA not a movie star or a model. (2) take on board the criticisms, and start doing something. Weight issues? Start exercising more, this will help you make you feel better, and look better too. Buy some top gear, look the part of a professional etc. Great self-esteem booster, that's if you need it. You may not, in which case see (1). | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 11:07 | comment | added | Greenstone Walker | Oops, there was supposed to be another sentence on that comment. Sorry about that. I think that the actions you would take in a physical setting should (somewhat) match the actions you take in a virtual setting. If, in the bar, you'd go to their table and ask for clarification, then consider doing that on Facebook - post a comment asking for clarification. If, in the bar, you'd ignore it, then consider doing that on Facebook. | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 10:49 | comment | added | optimal control | @GreenstoneWalker It is not at all a problem for me that students talk behind me. It is even not a problem if I hear them insulting behind me. The problem is that it is accessible to everybody. This idea bothers me. Also, I try to be objectif whatever the situation is, for implementing justice among students. That's one of the reasons why I asked the quesiton in order to take advices. | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 10:39 | comment | added | Greenstone Walker | What would you do if this wasn't Facebook, but something like a bar or restaurant? For example, you are in a booth at a bar and you overhear your students insult you in the next booth? | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 22:27 | comment | added | optimal control | @alephzero they can say whatever they want in their causal conversations, I really don't care (if it is not constructive criticisms) but as it is an open facebook group, It bothers me that other people could reach these messages. | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 22:12 | comment | added | alephzero | This is too puerile to make an issue of it, but one way to calm it down is let them know you know about it - and the smart ones will figure out that if you know, every other person on the university staff might know, and they can't do anything to stop that fact. On the next batch of homework or whatever, just add a comment like. "If you wish to give me any anonymous feedback regarding this course, you can leave a message at [the facebook-group-name they are using]". | |
| Oct 17, 2015 at 15:03 | answer | added | gfjhjgfhj | timeline score: 2 | |
| Oct 16, 2015 at 23:56 | comment | added | Jan Murphy | I agree with the suggestion by @gerrit -- have someone ask the admin to set the group privacy settings to Closed, so that only students can see comments in their NewsFeed, and not the public or all their friends-of-friends. | |
| Oct 16, 2015 at 22:53 | answer | added | Floris | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 16, 2015 at 10:25 | answer | added | Neil G | timeline score: 4 | |
| Oct 16, 2015 at 10:03 | answer | added | user38309 | timeline score: 1 | |
| Oct 15, 2015 at 17:06 | comment | added | optimal control | @BenMillwood I am open to all kinds of critics. I have any problem with this. It is always good to have critics in order to make things better but not insults. Anyway, I appreciate all the helpful and plausible advices here. | |
| Oct 15, 2015 at 16:53 | comment | added | Ben Millwood | Wow, these are some harsh comments... people are saying awful things about you behind your back and academia.SE's response is, to exaggerate only a little, "well, have you considered that they might be right about you being an ugly loser?". It wouldn't hurt to express a little solidarity – it can be really frustrating and unfair that you have to put up with stuff like this from people who you are trying to help. | |
| Oct 15, 2015 at 10:47 | comment | added | gerrit | Teach them to set their group settings to private if they want to insult you. | |
| Oct 15, 2015 at 2:11 | answer | added | aparente001 | timeline score: 6 | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 22:45 | comment | added | optimal control | @Chipperyman no it was an open group. | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 21:42 | answer | added | einpoklum | timeline score: 5 | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 19:21 | comment | added | Jon | Was this in a private group or a group you weren't intended to be in (you saw it while leaning over someone's shoulder, etc)? | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 18:50 | comment | added | blankip | @optimalcontrol - I think we need to see everything with context. I know when I use SOB it is more in the good natured way. I might say a friend is one tough SOB. That isn't an insult. Again you need to post some detailed examples for people to give you a correct answer. I answered but it was more of a general answer and really had nothing to do with you personally. I could probably give a better answer more specific to you if you had details. | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 18:16 | comment | added | Sayan | If you are been attacked on a personal level as you said, and it is no longer a mere criticism on your teaching then immediately escalate it to your professor. If your professor pays no heed to it, then consult your department to learn about their harassment policy and issue a formal complaint to the faculty who is in charge of TA allocation or directly to dept. chair. It is definitely possible to criticize someone without causing emotional duress, if that is the culture among students of that particular class, then they need to be educated on basic code of conduct. | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 14:55 | comment | added | Ant | Is it some kind of news that students like to make fun of TA and professors? If it wasn't for facebook those same thing will still be said, but you would never know about it. I have said "yeah that professor is a son of a b.." many times. Most of the time I did not really believe it, it was just to have fun with friends. To bond, even: one must have a common enemy! :D So take what you can to improve the course and do as countless generations of professors have done before you: ignore it completely as it never happened. | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 13:10 | answer | added | yota | timeline score: 3 | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 11:04 | comment | added | michael_timofeev | I ran into this several years back. It hurt me personally and career-wise. But, I looked at what the comments were and used the opportunity to learn. If the comments were BS, I asked myself "why would someone write that and what can I do to make sure they don't write that again?" It helped me to grow. I would have preferred a gentler approach. | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 9:21 | comment | added | optimal control | @blankip If you wish, I can say publicly the words translated in English. It will not be a appropriate to say publicly these words. For example, you don't have the right to say somebody "son of a b..." no ? | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 1:43 | comment | added | blankip | How can this question have upvotes when we have no idea what was said to the OP? We have no idea if the insults were even insults or simply things the OP didn't want to hear. Please add more information. | |
| Oct 14, 2015 at 1:36 | answer | added | blankip | timeline score: 42 | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 23:54 | comment | added | alexw | What course are you TAing for? Maybe there is a humorous way to incorporate their, uhh, "comments" into your lesson plan. That will keep them attentive in class AND let them know that you know about the Facebook page. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 22:58 | comment | added | SnakeDoc | All the people suggesting you bring it up in class -- to the OP - be prepared for the online criticisms to continue and grow harsher after such an act. You cannot stop it, there are no laws being broken. Someone is speaking ill of you, first look to see if anything you do has caused the reaction, and maybe make personal adjustments. Otherwise, just shrug it off and move on. | |
| S Oct 13, 2015 at 21:33 | history | suggested | Nemo | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 13, 2015 at 21:22 | review | Suggested edits | |||
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| Oct 13, 2015 at 19:57 | comment | added | Dmitry Rubanovich | Your critics are your best advisors. Especially if they criticize you in a public forum where they have something to lose by being discovered. When I was first learning to drive I was overly cautious. This irritated a lot of drivers (I was learning in Brooklyn). I used the drivers who honked as guide that what I was doing was unacceptable. I am more experienced now, so when people honk at me, I generally dismiss it as an indication that they don't take into account all of the factors on the road. Well, as a TA, you are just beginning to learn how to teach. And they are honking at you. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 19:12 | answer | added | syntonicC | timeline score: 13 | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 19:11 | comment | added | mgarciaisaia | By talking about it in class, you'll just give them even more arguments against you. You become a somehow public person when you become a TA - those are things you'll have to live and deal with. The only useful thing you could do about that group is try to get if there's any real issue they're talking about and you should address - ie, some fault you're making and you think you should correct. It's the same with all critics - take them as an opportunity to improve. If you will take it personal with whoever is insulting you, just avoid reading that group and that's it. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 19:07 | comment | added | zoplonix | Embrace it. Bring it up and laugh about how funny you thought it was in hindsight and agree with them. The point of what they are doing is to elicit a negative response and any negative response you give only helps them and hinders you immensely. Move on after. If they see how it's fun for you it will no longer be fun for them. Maybe do an update each session with all the funny stuff in it until it stops | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 19:06 | answer | added | Peter Bloem | timeline score: 78 | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 19:04 | history | protected | ff524 | ||
| Oct 13, 2015 at 18:58 | answer | added | user38662 | timeline score: 19 | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 18:44 | answer | added | Alex Measday | timeline score: 51 | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 18:30 | comment | added | GEdgar | Are you from a country where, if you receive an insult, you must retaliate and get even? I believe most European countries are no longer in that category. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 18:25 | answer | added | Sam | timeline score: 3 | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 18:10 | comment | added | user38662 | @Mike: From the description the OP gives it is doubtful they would be embarrassed. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 17:45 | comment | added | Mike Bell | It might be nice to project the page on a screen in the next class and read the comments aloud. Then ask someone to raise his hand if he's the one that wrote the comment. That would surely embarrass the people responsible, and from now on if they have complaints, maybe they will say something to you directly instead of mocking you on FB. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 17:37 | comment | added | user40830 | have you even considered that the criticisms may be objectively valid and need to be addressed? Just because you may be offended does not mean they might not be valid things to address. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 17:35 | history | tweeted | twitter.com/StackAcademia/status/653987399614234625 | ||
| Oct 13, 2015 at 16:21 | answer | added | user141592 | timeline score: 37 | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 16:06 | comment | added | Alexandros | First of all, insulting criticism can still be useful. If something said in this group (even in an insulting way) needs to be improved on your side, fix it. We learn more from people criticizing us, than for people praising us. Second, you are a TA and they are students. Even if you were perfect, some students will still hate your guts. So, do not take it that too personally. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 15:56 | comment | added | user41207 | Reflect the case to your supervisor... He would be able to handle the case with asserting the right way of the criticizing for the students... | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 15:53 | history | edited | ff524 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
edited tags; edited title
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| Oct 13, 2015 at 15:51 | comment | added | Massimo Ortolano | Not the same thing, but somehow related: Anonymous Student Feedback: Moving forward from abusive comments | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 15:47 | comment | added | PatW | If you think it is appropriate and if you can bring this up calmly, it looks like a good opportunity to remind your students that, even though on the Internet, they are responsible for what they say. But, IMHO, this incident should not interfere with how you grade them. | |
| Oct 13, 2015 at 15:37 | history | asked | optimal control | CC BY-SA 3.0 |