08/19: Evaluations

I know that I haven't written in a while. With summer and kids, it has been hard. But I just received my spring 2006 evaluations and I'm so disgusted that I had to write.

Two classes. One loved me. The other hated me (and the class). On the surface, who cares what they think of me. Frankly, the class that hated me was the energy vampire class that just sucked the life out of me and made my life miserable for 14 weeks. Here were comments:

"This classes was so stupid. It felt like we were back in 3rd grade!" OK, granted...professional communication is not typically a favorite class but, to be truthful, they all needed it because they used poor grammar, couldn't write a ransom note if they had to (forget about a business memo), and had crummy attitudes.

"Instructor brought children to class two times. Very unprofessional for an professional communication class." This one ticked me off. How short-sighted. I suppose it would have been more professional to cancel the class? What message does that send from a professional communication perspective? I bet they wouldn't have complained over that one.

Do they think I enjoyed dragging the 8 year old to campus with me (who, btw, was very well behaved and quiet)? Do they think he enjoyed it? As for the second incident, it was the last class with presentations. Yes, it sucked dragging a 4 year old (who was basically good...for a 4 year old) but it was either cancel the class with no opportunity for a make-up session and that wouldn't be fair to the final presenters who went the week before since this group would have gotten off without doing the presentation. Nor was it fair to cancel class and all of their hard work (ha ha) was for naught.

I read the evaluations and cursed them with the hopes that they have sickly children and get canned from a job for having to take sick days then think back on this evaluation that they wrote...criticizing me for caring enough to torture my own children in order to follow through on my professional commitment. But that just shows how narrow-minded these spoiled little kids (not even adults) are!

I really hated teaching at that school. I bailed out on my contract to teach there this year. It was refreshing when I had to inform the department chair...the same woman who politely "reprimmanded" me for giving my stupents too much work because the stupents were complaining that I was hard (!! isn' that the point of college...? it if was easy, the degree would be worth nothing...oh wait, isn't that's what happening now with undergraduate degrees anyway?)

For the record, my new contract at a different school has been fabulous, rewarding, and completely different. The students are dedicated...ironically, mostly from Canada...and take it seriously. Of course, there are the few stupents tossed in there but, for the most part, I'm back where I belong and enjoying teaching again.