Friday, November 18, 2005
the real measure of a teacher
This week, Slate has been running a series of articles about higher education, all worth checking out. One of today's articles was about RateMyProfessor, the oh so informative site for teacher evaluations. I'm very upset that I'm not listed on the site at all. Am I so banal, so easily dismissed that no one wants to dedicate a few minutes to rating me? The article asserts that the folks who get rated are typically those who are either excessively loved or hated. That would mean that I am right in the middle, which sounds just about right. I am a middle sort of person. I'm a tall girl, but not excessively tall (not tall enough, for instance, to join the Tall Club of Salt Lake). I am a good runner, but not a fast runner (in nearly every race I've run, I rate almost exactly in the middle). So, I am used to being average and unremarkable, but still it's an insult to not be on RateMyProfessor. And where's my chili pepper? (the site's marker of "hotness") Really, who cares about the teaching? When I was at Knox, I was hot. I was hip. Freshman boys tried to pick up on me before they knew who I was. The college's alternative magazine published an interview all about me. They asked me to be their advisor. And now? Not one rating. Where have I gone wrong?
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3 comments:
I think I have one or two legitimate entries on the site, but I also added a couple of my own. You see the great flaw in RateYourProfessor is that professors can post ratings of themselves. I posted a couple as a joke, and as a way to, if only minimally, sabotage the web site.
The best part is the hot pepper icon that you can add to your rating, indicating that you think your professor is "hot." Of course, I added the pepper.
I was playing with the idea of doing a series of prose poems in the form of student evaluations on rateyourprofessor, but I soon abandoned the idea (after about two minutes, I think).
The last time I checked, I didn't have anything on the site, either, so don't feel bad.
I'm going to the site right now to rate Lis and to put a pepper by her name. And a smiley face. Happy thanksgiving!
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