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It's a godsend when a student actually stands up and tries to defend a position with a logical argument. I think most professors would agree with me on that.
It's great when a student comes into your office and actually wants to discuss something intellectual, rather than ask what's going to be on the test and how you're going to grade it.
And it's absolutely wonderful to see somebody who has enough self confidence to speak out in class and try to defend a position. There's nothing like a few argumentative sparks flying to get people interested and excited in a subject.
If anything, I probably reward students for arguing with me. Once I argued with a student in my office for about an hour about creationism. She was older, in her 40s, a southern baptist with a great sense of humor who was concerned about my soul. I calmly gave her all the standard arguments, but she wouldn't budge. We even sort of insulted each other, laughing all the time. I told her she would be the first to know when I change my mind.
Always enjoyed seeing her on campus, she would say "I'm praying for you!" and we would both laugh.
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