# College Education & Rating Your Professors: Were you awake in your English class? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 17, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776 "2006-03-17T17:01:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/1 "2006-03-17T17:01:53Z")
I’m using a popular professor-rating website to figure out who (and what class) I’m going to take next semester. The vast majority of people who attend my college and care enough to rate their professors appear to be middle school students in disguise, who vividly imagined being in a college English class while on an acid trip during their game of hookey. Exhibit A: > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > this guy gets a bad rap. . .the only reason y ppl fail his class is cause they dont TRY hard enough. quizzes are super simple and always have a pattern, and u get so many chances to rewrite ur papers before ur final grade its not funny. . **the only down fall is that he dont like the verbs “is” and “are” in papers, but hey, nobody is perfect.** Are you shitting me? Whose fault do you think this conflict is? “Nobody is perfect”? Go buy a fucking dictionary and advance past English 098, asshat. (I’m not even kidding. The dude took a class that’s _lower_ than first-semester English.) Exhibit B: > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > **Unfair about stupid stuff like writing in all caps.** Tests were for the most part easy, extra credit was difficult at times. Overall good class, and he’s cool even if he is unfair. You have _got_ to be fucking playing me. No fucking way. You tried to turn in a paper in all caps and you blamed the teacher for your bad grade? No fucking way. This must be a dream. Somebody pinch me. Exhibit C: > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > Take his class if your an English major. There are no words. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/2 "2006-03-17T17:15:32Z")
Irregardless, 4 all intensive purpose i H8 teechers like that. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/3 "2006-03-17T17:20:01Z")
What gets me is those students who blame professors for their own illiteracy, yet _I’m_ the overachieving asshole when I put in a modicum of effort and get a good grade. Robin ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/4 "2006-03-17T17:20:31Z")
Is it possible that the “all caps” thing had to do with handwriting? My handwriting is basiclly all caps–“big” caps where a capital letter is called for and “little” caps otherwise. It’s the only way I can make it legible. If I had a professor object to that on in-class tests–when it is perfectly legible–I would be irritated. But in any typed coorospondence? Unthinkable. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/5 "2006-03-17T17:24:49Z")
Nobody else mentioned in-class essays, and I assumed the student was talking about typed essays. I guess there’s no way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/6 "2006-03-17T17:25:52Z")
BTW, that student took a mythology class; while the class is in the English department, I can see where they could go a semester without an essay test. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/7 "2006-03-17T17:48:08Z")
Here’s another pet peeve: When you put in the code for the class you took, use our school’s four-letter code (Engl 122). Yes, I know it’s tough to spend more than three minutes looking at a class schedule and figure out that that’s what we call it here, but it would be really nice if I didn’t have to do two searches–one with Engl and one with Eng–for each class. > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > Being My First Literature Class, It Was Pretty Difficult, But About Halfway Through I Really Started To Understand How To “Read” Literature. Sweet Lady Who Realizes It’s A College Course & Knows Her Stuff. Really Liked The Test Format & Enjoyed Class, Would Take Again, Xtra Credit Offered. Hey, That’s Great! Say, What Is It About Your Shift Key That Makes It So Attractive To You? Is It Chrome-Plated? I Hope You’ve Got A Lot Of Fucking Chrome Polish Because It’s Going To Get Pretty Dirty What With Your Nasty Fucking Flesh On It All The Time. And Hey, Did You Notice That We’re Not In The Fifties Anymore, And That A Young Professional With A Doctorate Degree Has More Important Qualites Than Being A “Sweet Lady”? > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > Loved the Doc!! > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > I am very unimpressed and unhappy with this professor. Thanks for your input! That’s really fucking helpful, assholes. > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > Holder is an actual English teacher. She will grade u base on her english skills. She will grade u base on _her_ english skills, or she will grade u base on _ur_ english skills? > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > The class did not really stick out as being fun. She was alright. Not very much reading is definite plus though, and the class had a simplistic style. Hey, asshat, I’ve got a great idea for something you can do that’s fun, simplistic and doesn’t involve much reading at all: flipping burgers! Go slam a 40 so I can take your seat and _learn_ something. > [@Anonymous Student](#): > > DO NOT TAKE-IT WILL THE ABSOLUTE WORST DECISION OF YOUR LIFE!!! Actually, I think the worst decision of your life “will” enrolling in college instead of working construction. Hey, I’m getting hungry. Make me a Big Mac, simpleton. Other Dopers, hit up [Rate My Professors](http://www.ratemyprofessors.com), check out your alma mater and tell us some of your favorites! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/8 "2006-03-17T18:18:36Z")
Hee hee hee! I’m sitting here giggling at these people. That’s pretty bad, and it makes me feel better about my school. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/9 "2006-03-17T18:28:36Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > Other Dopers, hit up [Rate My Professors](http://www.ratemyprofessors.com), check out your alma mater and tell us some of your favorites! I looked up my graduate advisor. He’s rated as “hot”. :eek: I thought he was ugly, in addition to being a terrible advisor. I think the people who rated him as “hot” were clearly dreaming, on something, or both when they saw him. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/10 "2006-03-17T18:36:44Z")
I just found out that one of my favorite voice and orchestra professors passed away by reading the site:(. He conducted our school orchestra, and performed an amazing baritone solo in **Carmina Burana** one fall. I’m kind of surprised no one let me know about this. Well, that sucks. I’m not sure I want to continue reading about any of the others. E. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/11 "2006-03-17T19:02:04Z")
I couldn’t resist looking up my least favorite professor. I found this quote– "He is evil and pompous. But some people really love him. I can’t see it. " Sums up my own thoughts quite nicely. ---
**Author:** ![sunfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@sunfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunfish)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/12 "2006-03-17T20:09:29Z")
None of my old profs appear anywhere in the list, alas. It would have been fun to see what people wrote about them. Just out of curiosity w/r/t the literacy level of students at my current institution, I clicked on a Russian language professor’s review. The comment: “Sergey is dreamy. I want to sail around the world with him in a very small boat. And after only a semester of Russian, I can read Anna Karamazov in the original!” Bwha ha ha ha! _:: off to check out Sergey’s faculty home page ::_ ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/13 "2006-03-17T20:28:53Z")
From my husband’s rating: > [@](#): > > I had him last quarter, but the more I see him the more attracted to him I am… it’s weird… he has an aura of just being this really cool attractive nice guy :dubious: Go do your homework, child, and stop crushin’ on my man! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/14 "2006-03-17T20:30:49Z")
I actually brought this site into my class for several semesters. Part of the class I taught was about evaluating sources, and I used it as a case study, alongside blog entries, NYT & school paper articles, [www.dhmo.org](http://www.dhmo.org), etc. One of the lessons we got from the exercise is to be aware of an arguement that actually reveals something other than what the author intended, an example of which the OP provides. Despite the flaws, though – such as the tendency for students to rate based on how hard a teacher is – I think it does have some utility. Very broadly speaking, most of the comments left about me were fair. Of course the best ones were the three or four that said basically “this guy is nice, and fair, but really hard. He’ll make you work your ass off just to get a B. Don’t take him if you aren’t ready to study really, really hard.” I \*know \* those ones are accurate, because I wrote them. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/15 "2006-03-17T21:05:00Z")
I was the moderator from my school for almost 3 years, which means I had to review and approve every review posted for anything libelous or inappropriate (something like 4000 reviews during that time) and I only had to delete 10-15 reviews during those 3 years. I also was a senior moderator which means I moderated for schools that didn’t have one and good lord, the things people posted about their professors. It boggles the mind. I deleted over 100 reviews from one school in a week once. My best story though was from a review from my school. The review made mention of the fact that the professor played with her hair a lot and that it was distracting. Ok, nothing too bad about that. So I let it through. About a week later, I get a message posted to the site, supposedly from the professor in question, threatening to bring a libel complaint against the site and whatnot. The best part was that this professor was in the pre-law department(which was my major) and should have known that there was nothing remotely libelous about the comment. I was absolutely furious and I sent the professor a nasty letter detailing the site’s policy regarding libel and I added a little snarky personal touch about how the professor, having a law degree, should have known what the definition for libel is and perhaps she should have refreshed her knowledge on that subject. I sent the email from a gmail account that I had for dealing with Ratemyprofessor stuff and I signed it as my undergrad’s RMP moderator, leaving my name out of it, on purpose. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that Gmail put my real name in the email header. So the next day, I get a letter from the professor addressed to my real name and saying that she would consider contacting the site’s owner about the situation. I got so paranoid that I would up deleting the professor from the database completely. Fortunately, she left the school after the semester was out and I never had her as professor. I can imagine that wouldn’t have gone well. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/16 "2006-03-17T21:15:19Z")
None of my old professors appear to be teaching any more, but out of curiosity I looked up an old college classmate who’s teaching at a large state university. Looks like he done good: > [@](#): > > His Cicero/Sallust course is both the most interesting and the most brutally dificult class I have ever taken. Dr. X himself is fascinating, good-humored and helpful; I admire him more than any teacher I’ve had before or since. He could make a Latinist out of anyone. Aww! He didn’t have a critical comment in his entire listing. It’s nice to see that someone who used to be a good guy apparently still is. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/17 "2006-03-17T21:22:53Z")
Dr. X? Does he have an orbital death ray? Or a secret volcano fortress? Does he at least have henchmen? ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/18 "2006-03-17T21:26:24Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Dr. X? Does he have an orbital death ray? Or a secret volcano fortress? Does he at least have henchmen? My bet is on a wheelchair and a powerful mind. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/19 "2006-03-17T22:00:43Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > What gets me is those students who blame professors for their own illiteracy, yet _I’m_ the overachieving asshole when I put in a modicum of effort and get a good grade. > > Robin I remember being called an “overachiever” by someone in the back of the class when they saw the work I turned in during midterms. I just directed my best fuck you smile to the back of the class room. Some people seem shocked to find that other students at college are there to put in some effort and learn something. I don’t trust those teacher rating websites. I’ve heard to many students complain about instructors who take points off for late papers or require proper citation of sources. It’s ridiculous. Marc ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776/20 "2006-03-17T22:08:18Z")
They also have a [EMAIL=http://www.ratemyteachers.com/]Rate My Teachers website for the 18 and under set. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-education-rating-your-professors-were-you-awake-in-your-english-class/348776.md?page=2)