# College professor

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-professor/46403>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [December 19, 2000, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-professor/46403 "2000-12-19T19:55:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Eissclam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2acd7d/32.png) [@Eissclam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eissclam)\
**Post date:** [December 21, 2000, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-professor/46403/21 "2000-12-21T13:27:56Z")

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D. Suzanne:

Thanks for your cogent reply. I hope that I didn’t give you the impression that I thought course evaluations were a valid measure of my (or any professor’s) teaching skills. Like you, I understand that these evaluations are poorly constructed tools that the administration uses to make life-changing decisions regarding faculty hiring and tenure. I do not agree with but accept this fact.

I also agree with you regading “edutainment”. Many of my students don’t seem to understand that they are not paying for a grade, they are paying for an opportunity to learn.

BTW: I was a grad student too, once. It actually wasn’t that bad of an experience. I learned a great deal from my work as a TA as well as my work in the lab. As far as I am concerned, the upside of the Ph.D. far outweigh the downside of TA/grad school. Hang in there!

Manda Jo also has it right. If you really want to learn, get ye to a small, liberal arts college with a good academic reputation. There you will find deeply committed teachers who are experts in their academic area. You want to go to a prestigious research university? Wait until you are a graduate student or a post-doc.

Eissclam.

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