Some of the snarky comments on the student evaluations from last semester really pissed me off. A number of the students have me in the continuation course this semester. A piece of advice to them: don't piss off the professor that you're likely to have in the continuation course if you know what's good for you, especially in a department as small as ours.
On the positive side, the negative comments reminded me of how little my efforts are appreciated, and are a good incentive to give less, especially when giving less will open up more time for my scholarship, musical activities, outside reading, and spiritual practices.
I guess (according to the students) my "job" is to give them undeserved good grades because that's what they're used to. Well, sorry to let them down, but I'm not their kindergarten teacher. I actually found an article last night about a study that concluded that excessive praise harms students' ability to learn properly: duh, although I thought that believing so merely made me a curmudgeon. Now I can claim the status of being "scientific" as well, haha.
So, here goes another semester closer to death.
Om Kreem Kalyai Namaha,
ak
