During my first year teaching at a community college, I had a retired professor taking my class for fun. I was a 27 year old woman teaching a biological science to a retired man who had very opinionated ideas, and I didn’t have much teaching experience. It was a complete nightmare.

I am knowledgeable in my field and worked in this field for years, but I was new at teaching. He critiqued everything I said and rolled his eyes at me 15 times a day. He hated my teaching methods. He told me he was shocked that I let students ask questions in class because he would never allow that in his classes. I had a creationist student in my class, but I let him ask questions and explained evolution. I didn’t want to alienate the student and tell him he’s just a bible-thumper. I don’t think you “win people over” that way. The student was overall a nice and respectful person. But this professor could not stand that I treated the student with respect.

This guy would frequently misinterpret statements I made, and he’d then get upset about something he though was inaccurate (that I didn’t actually say). He came to my office hours early and complained about me being “unprofessional” for being late. Students had a project they were working on, and he asked the class if anyone wanted to gain “real-world experience” by being in his group. No one wanted to join his group, and he was shocked.

Then, the last week of the quarter came around, and students were presenting their projects. In his presentation, he actually asked me to describe if I’d ever sexually assaulted before.

I’d recommend documenting any instances where this student is making you uncomfortable, and document your interaction and follow protocol. Perhaps even notify your chair about a potentially dissatisfied student. That way, if this student starts trying to complain, there’s evidence of how you are handling the situation. Protect yourself. You never know what a student could try to pull on you...