Just loved this exchange:
THE ONLY PROB WITH HIS CLASS, IS THAT HE PREF TAKING ABOUT EVERY STUDENTS PROBLEMS/INSTEAD OF LEC…I MEAN HOW BORING TO HEAR OTHERS PROB…EVEN HAD A BORING JOURNAL! NO LEC ON HISTORY WHAT SO EVER!!! HE NEEDS TO GET OFF HIS HIGH HOURSE….
To which another student issued this fine reply:
To the person below. Maybe if you knew how to spell “Horse” correctly you would have gotten a better grade.
He gives thorough lectures and he makes the class really fun, but he does REALLY annoying things at times..
To which annoying things is this student referring??
I like this one. What a comment! I could just see you doing this:
He’s like Indiana Jones, he’s a dorky professor by day who gets as giddy as a school boy talking about history, but still hot enough, with tattoos and all, to picture him flying to Europe on a moment’s notice to fight evil. Awesome teacher, I got A’s.
What have you to complain about? She (I assume) is comparing you to the nearest thing you Yankees have to a truly Imperial hero! ;-)
Oh, and one more: “Hard to pin down what he really believes, which is frustrating”.
Brother, I feel your pain! ;-)
Trust me, I’d love to know what annoying things there are that I am doing… I am an inveterate pacer, and I overuse my hands. Still…
Hugo:
While student ratings are an important feedback mechanism in helping teachers become better at their craft, I’m wondering if the above comments (including your response) don’t reflect a trend away from the intended purpose of ratings. Yes, these “non-official” channels provide an alternative method for students to rant and for other students to do some “intelligence preparation of the (collegiate) battlefield,” but from the teacher’s perspective, do they merely contribute to a desire to be liked as opposed to being effective?
Of course it’s natural to want to be both. Are these sites worthy of so much time and attention?
Your response in the post - “To the person below. Maybe if you knew how to spell “Horse” correctly you would have gotten a better grade.” - seems to show a more personal response to the “evaluation” (I used that term loosely) than an objective one. I agree the sentence was a straight, slow fastball waiting to be belted out of the park; but nonetheless, if you are taking the time to respond, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to discuss that lectures are the purview of the teacher and may or may not relate to the assigned readings/work (which is a student responsibility)? Or that the discussions actually brought out relevant teaching points and perhaps the student needs to examine his/her own participation in the class?
Since part of the educational process is helping students reach a level of maturity and expertise to make judgments - in this case about course content or instructor style - I’m not sure why we would tout students’ ratings that are more measures of popularity rather than of ability.
Just a thought from having taught 4 years of college myself.
Please let me clarify, Steve — the “to the person below” comment was not mine! It was ANOTHER student. It’s tempting to want to respond to other’s ratings (and to rate one’s colleagues), but it’s not something I do.
To me, Rate my Professors represents a humorous insight into what students “really think”. It’s not an effective evaluation tool. Sometimes, it’s laugh-out-loud funny. And of course, human nature being what it is, we all like to know what others are saying about us behind our backs.
Still, I hear your point, Col. Steve; I don’t think I will reference RMP again from this blog. It does have the appearance of being self-serving, and I don’t like that.
On another note, Steve, when are you going to join us as a blogger? You’ve got so much to share — I’ll link you in a heartbeat!
Hugo-
My sincerest apology for misinterpreting your post and assuming the response was yours (although I did find it humorous).
I didn’t mean to imply your posts were self-serving, just that they raise interesting questions and observations - especially on evaluations that focus on physical attributes and the fact we seem to highlight those comments - on the tension between being liked, respected, and effective as a teacher.
I reminded by your last paragraph of Teddy Roosevelt’s comments on how easier it is to be the critic than the doer (or blogger in this case). I have two stern taskmasters, one who may be gone by Nov (or Jan), the other who hopefully will stick around much longer, as well as two little ones who (thanks for one of your previous posts) need some more Dad hugs. Nonetheless, I’ll take your encouragement under consideration and add it to my own Top 10 list!
Perhaps you might recall my journal entry on your pencil habit? ;)
Hugo was one of the best teachers I have ever had. Not only is he passionate about the subject matter he teaches, he also shows great interest in students personally. I can safely say he is one of the most intelligent, caring and compassionate individuals I have ever come across. I will continue to recommend students take at least one of his courses…
Hugo’s a good prof. I found another site we can recommend him at:
http://www.campushopper.com/professor/
Campushopper is a college site and Grade My Professors is one of their features. Give Hugo an A!!
I respect Hugo guys. I have been rating him good everywhere i find him. http://www.freestudentedu.com is another awesome professor rating website where I found him and gave him an A.
I love this! It seems like they don’t rate professors as much as they used to at RMP, but I know a lot of us still use it. I know that is how some of your students first ended up in your class.