# An interesting evaluation comment from a student... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 31, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423 "2010-03-31T03:57:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/21 "2010-03-31T14:43:00Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Yep, and in a lot of cases, reading evals is an exercise in seeing that there are plenty of people who believe themselves entitled to a good grade because they paid tuition, or believe that paying tuition starts a magic process where the material is transferred to them by osmosis, without needing to pay attention in class or read the book. I meant entitled, not empowered - thank you. (I thought when I hit post that it wasn’t quite the word I wanted. Clearly my English teacher wasn’t up to scratch.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/22 "2010-03-31T14:47:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I only wish I knew who wrote that so I could walk up to him That’s easy. Just use the phrase “ball bearings” in a lecture and then see who’s giggling like a four year old. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/23 "2010-03-31T14:51:28Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Students “evaluate” teachers now? > > Can’t they just sit down, shut the fuck up, absorb some LEARNING and stop being so damn _empowered_? So, you think teachers are perfect and cannot possibly benefit from hearing some feedback about their teaching style? I pity anyone who tries to teach you. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/24 "2010-03-31T14:51:48Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > You guys have to come to China, where BSing the teacher is elevated to a fine art. > > My anonymous evaluations are all along the line of “Sven is extremely beautiful and I love to spend time and be friends with our wonderful teacher.” It’s awesome. Why do they bother with the BSing? Do your students believe that the evaluations are not truly anonymous? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/25 "2010-03-31T14:52:49Z")
I thought student evaluations went back to the dark ages. The fact that they’re anonymous and not read until after grades are tabulated (I think?) does make them susceptible to this kind of thing, but at the same time the alternative isn’t good either. In high school math we had our teacher give them out (they weren’t regular, she just did it) and she sat right there and apparently was going to read them before grading. I think they were anon but a lot of us felt like we couldn’t be honest. Which is a shame because she was a really bad teacher who really could have benefited from an honest eval. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/26 "2010-03-31T14:54:14Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > So, you think teachers are perfect and cannot possibly benefit from hearing some feedback about their teaching style? I pity anyone who tries to teach you. No, I don’t think teachers are perfect, but I do know that they rank higher in the food chain than students, and students ought to shut up, listen and give them some respect. Equating them to a hand-drawn cock doesn’t cut it. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/27 "2010-03-31T15:11:10Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Why do they bother with the BSing? Do your students believe that the evaluations are not truly anonymous? I think it’s largely cultural. Chinese students are raised to treat their teachers with absolute respect and Chinese culture shies away from direct criticism anyway. People are used to making a bit of a show of how much they respect their teachers. Note that this doesn’t necessarily translate to “doing your homework” or “bothering to show up to class.” I’d also venture that the truly anonymous survey is not really a common thing around here, and most situations where students are asked to voice an opinion are tied back to them and do have repercussions. China is still a place where simply stating an opinion can get you into trouble, so people are not used to sharing their thoughts freely. In most situations with authority, you will want to be as deferential and flattering as you can. Makes me crazy, because I actually _do_ want to know what I can do to be a better teacher. A million papers telling me that I am “beautiful” does jack for me. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/28 "2010-03-31T15:12:39Z")
Maybe it has something to do with your gigantic pet rooster. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/29 "2010-03-31T15:26:45Z")
I went to the U. of Florida and had this horrible calculus professor, so on his evaluation I wrote, “Dr. X should be demoted to FSU” (i.e., Florida State U., Florida’s big rival and home to a circus school). Another time I answered all the questions in haiku form. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/30 "2010-03-31T15:29:51Z")
I hate filling out instructors’ evaluations. Just finished one course, and had to do the evaluation last week. I exercised some restraint limited myself to one smart-arsed response: Q: _What could the instructor have done to improve this course?_ A: _Interpretive dance_. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/31 "2010-03-31T15:46:55Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > When I was at school there was a trend to draw a cock on _each others’_ exercise books (if you found it, you had to add to it to make it look like an innocuous drawing of something else - kudos for the most creative de-cockification). Could it have been a ‘friend’ who did it? Did we go to school together? Wait, I don’t want to know. The best de-cockification was, of course, the anteater wearing glasses! ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/32 "2010-03-31T16:09:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Students “evaluate” teachers now? > > Can’t they just sit down, shut the fuck up, absorb some LEARNING and stop being so damn _empowered_? Were all of your teachers so perfect they never could have used some feedback? I’m a grad student, and a lot of the time, the professors seem grateful to have the feedback. We’re old enough to know what we want to learn, and we are happy there’s a way to suggest it if it’s not happening. I took this public management class last year. It was okay, but a lot of people felt that it was too theoretical and we would have liked more case studies. After the midterm evaluations, the professor made some changes to do just that. We all hated one book in particular, and I know that in the current iteration of the course, that book was dropped. I pay a shitload of money to go to my school. If my professor isn’t teaching effectively and I’m not getting anything out of it, fuck yeah, I’m going to complain. Sorry if you think it makes me _entitled_ for wanting a quality education. I used to be a teacher and you know what? Teaching is fucking hard. Teachers don’t have all of the answers, and teachers fuck up. A little feedback to make sure that your students are getting the most out of the course they can is a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/33 "2010-03-31T16:11:19Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > I went to the U. of Florida and had this horrible calculus professor, so on his evaluation I wrote, “Dr. X should be demoted to FSU” (i.e., Florida State U., Florida’s big rival and home to a circus school). Another time I answered all the questions in haiku form. > [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > I hate filling out instructors’ evaluations. > > Just finished one course, and had to do the evaluation last week. I exercised some restraint limited myself to one smart-arsed response: > > Q: _What could the instructor have done to improve this course?_ > A: _Interpretive dance_. Alas, it appears that students in my neck of the woods aren’t very clever. Here was my major mistake: Telling the students that evaluations are important and that they can affect tenure and promotion (in teaching schools, anyway). I think I almost asked for something like this. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/34 "2010-03-31T16:19:25Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Yeah, but they don’t compliment your huge cock, Sven. > > Actually, I’ve heard from my JET friends in Japan that Japanese schoolchildren are always trying to grab your penis, if you have one. Seriously. Or stick their fingers up your butt. OK, am I seriously the only one here who requires clarification on this point? Or was I whooshed? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/35 "2010-03-31T16:25:22Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > OK, am I seriously the only one here who requires clarification on this point? Or was I whooshed? [Defending your butt from Japanese children.](http://www.tofugu.com/2009/07/22/how-to-defend-your-butt-from-japanese-children-kancho-survival-guide/) It mentions the need to protect your crotch, boobs, and other parts, too. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/36 "2010-03-31T17:36:20Z")
Kids do that in Japan? And that’s okay? If any of them tried that with me, they’d have scars. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/37 "2010-03-31T17:45:34Z")
I suppose they want to know if your white man cock is, indeed, grand and majestic. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/38 "2010-03-31T18:30:36Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I suppose they want to know if your white man cock is, indeed, grand and majestic. [So small](http://leeinchina.com/images/uploads/chinpokomon.png). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/39 "2010-04-01T00:20:30Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > No, I don’t think teachers are perfect, but I do know that they rank higher in the food chain than students, and students ought to shut up, listen and give them some respect. > > Equating them to a hand-drawn cock doesn’t cut it. You actually think that life is a series of hierarchies, and that one should never question someone in authority? It’s quite simple: who but the students are the best to know how a teacher acts every day? So you need to get their input. You can’t expect them to give honest criticism unless you can guarantee that their grades will not be influenced. This means not letting the person giving the grades know who you are. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of people that are only nice to other people because they don’t want to get caught. So when you make them anonymous, they have no problem being dicks. That doesn’t mean you won’t get some specific suggestions that might make you better. It’s the same logic for why this place has ATMB. There has to be some system in place to make sure the “lower people on the totem pole” are not going to mistreated by their superiors. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423/40 "2010-04-01T00:59:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You actually think that life is a series of hierarchies, and that one should never question someone in authority? > > It’s quite simple: who but the students are the best to know how a teacher acts every day? So you need to get their input. You can’t expect them to give honest criticism unless you can guarantee that their grades will not be influenced. This means not letting the person giving the grades know who you are. > > Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of people that are only nice to other people because they don’t want to get caught. So when you make them anonymous, they have no problem being dicks. That doesn’t mean you won’t get some specific suggestions that might make you better. > > It’s the same logic for why this place has ATMB. There has to be some system in place to make sure the “lower people on the totem pole” are not going to mistreated by their superiors. As is the case oftentimes, the middle ground is what to shoot for. Sure, I don’t expect to be venerated by my students simply because I’m their teacher. But I’m also not a peer, their buddy, or someone to take their frustration out on. I am there to help them learn something about operations management so that they can enter the workforce–or grad school, as I did. That means that I expect to be called “[my first name]” or “Mr. [Lastname],” not “bro,” “dude,” “man,” “cuz,” “hey you,” or “yo.” I extend them the same courtesy by not calling them these things. At the same time, I don’t think less of someone simply because he/she is student. I don’t look at teaching as a necessary evil the way some academics do; I actually enjoy it, especially when students demonstrate that they know more than when they started. So I treat them with respect and as the adults they are. I don’t yell at them, or embarrass them, or make them feel inferior to me. I try to show them that their learning is important to me. Am I always successful in my part? No. But, if I do say so myself, I am far from a “huge cock.” I’ve had professors who are; I know I’m nothing like them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-interesting-evaluation-comment-from-a-student/534423.md?page=3)