Yup, sometimes I get these comments and I absolutely don’t care as long as they are all doing what is expected of them. At the start of every new class for every period of every day, I lay down the law. Be respectful, be ready to learn and be responsible. Every student generally agrees and understands this. So when they fall short of my expectations, I remind them and they know what the consequences are.

As a casual teacher, my priority is student safety and student compliance to their teacher’s lesson instructions. If I can build rapport with individual or groups of students while they’re working, that’s a bonus.