Jeff,

Think about what difficult situations you may face, and think about how 
you can handle them. For a realistic sense of what you'll encounter, try 
to observe a class or talk to someone who has done it. don't ask people 
if they think you can do it: ask them what situations come up and how 
they're handled.

I have two jobs where this comes up. On the one hand, I'm a part-time 
lecturer. I work off and on at my local state university and at a 
community college. Both populations are largely blue-collar, 
first-generation college students, so I get late-comers, cheaters, and 
the occasional drunk or stoner. On the other hand, I'm a community 
interpreter. For eight years, I worked for county social services, so I 
regularly worked in jail, psychiatric lock-down units, and the homes of 
people who very obviously did not want social workers and other 
officials on their property. My colleagues at both jobs vary in age and 
physical fitness. A flabby person with a heart-condition isn't going to 
be any better or worse at dealing with a cranky drunk than I am, 
especially since dealing with cranky people is more about engaging 
calmly with them and knowing when it's best to stop engaging. You'll 
rarely have to wrestle anyone down, and as an aide, you'll probably 
rarely be alone with a student.

My experience is that the concept of liability is often used to 
discourage us or to bolster people's ignorance about us. When questions 
about classroom safety or personal safety come up, I find the best 
approach is to answer thoughtfully, which shows that I am prepared, and 
to point out that my approach is the same or close to what anyone else 
would do.

As an aside, the most infuriating experience I've had with liability was 
with an oral surgeon. I went for an evaluation. She kept insisting my 
driver come into the eval with me. When I refused, she got upset but she 
started the eval. She kept repeating and over-simplifying her 
explanations, talking really loud and slow. Then halfway through the 
eval, she stopped and said she needed to contact her malpractice 
insurance to see if she could operate without using a translator. I 
asked what language she thought I spoke, since we both appeared to be 
speaking unaccented California English. She went on and on about 
liability and said she'd continue when she heard back from them. 
Needless to say, she called me back, but I didn't return.

Just my two cents.

Ciao


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