Tina,
It seems to me that you are dealing with the situation quite well. You have responded appropriately. At this point, if I were you, I would simply not respond to her email questions about your beliefs. If you feel compelled to respond, I would simply say that those are very personal questions that are out of bounds. If she persists, I would only make appointments with her if she has a specific topic to discuss and make it clear that that topic will be what your conversation is out. I have had exactly this type of student before. My student would insist on appointments to talk about the class. I greeted him at the door and said something to the effect that I was pleased we were going to be discussing....whatever the topic was. The minute he strayed off topic, I simply told him that if he had no more questions about the class, I looked forward to seeing him in class. I walked him to the door. Stick to your position. Good luck! Maxine Atkinson -----Original Message----- From: "Tina Deshotels" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'<Teaching Sociology'" <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 09:58:21 -0500 Subject: TEACHSOC: Advice on how to deal with religious student(s) I'm hoping the list will help me deal with a problem I having with a student. I have a student who is very bright and caring but has been trying to convert me to Christianity. This has been going on (subtly) for about a year but has recently escalated. In hindsight I see I should have set boundaries much earlier. However, this was my first year here and I didn't want to get a 'bad' reputation. When she would discuss religion with me (in class, in office hours) I would tell her how sociologists study religion and keep it academic. This is not working. She will start a discussion academically and somehow it ends up about my beliefs. Yesterday I responded to one of her emails by saying that this was not a topic for discussion, it was beyond the student teacher relationship etc. I specifically told her to respect the boundaries I was setting. Within 15 minutes she emailed me back asking more questions about my beliefs. It seems to me that this student believes that it is her 'calling' to convert me. Has anyone ever had to deal with this? Do you have any suggestions? How could I avoid future issues like this? (remember I'm in NE Alabama). I appreciate any advice! Tina Deshotels, PhD Assistant Professor of Sociology Department of Sociology 326 Brewer Hall Jacksonville State University Jacksonville Alabama Office Phone: 256-782-5350 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Maxine P. Atkinson, Ph.D. Director, N.C. State's First Year Inquiry Seminar Program Division of Undergraduate Academic Programs, and Associate Professor of Sociology North Carolina State University email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 919 515 9001 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Teaching Sociology" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/teachsoc -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
