Here is a comment from my teaching evaluations for a medium-sized, mid-level course for majors in Science:
Well, that's.. special. Except that I wasn't trying for a "kind and sweet" kind of impression. OK, maybe "kind" -- I do try to be kind. But "kind and sweet"? No.
I don't mean to be ungrateful, but.. ick.
Sure, the alternative is worse: mean and bitter. But I have fangs and claws! I hiss when annoyed!
Last year I wrote about my surprise when a student hugged me after a final exam, to thank me for helping her (a lot) during the term. I worried that I was getting too "mom-like" and less professorial -- not in the stereotypical sense of being remote and detached, but in the awesome way of being authoritative and respected.
Can someone be "kind and sweet" and authoritative and respected?
The student who thinks I am "kind and sweet" wrote no other comments. Perhaps soon we professors will all have Facebook pages for our courses and, for our teaching evaluations, students can "Like" us (or not).
she is so kind and sweet :)
Well, that's.. special. Except that I wasn't trying for a "kind and sweet" kind of impression. OK, maybe "kind" -- I do try to be kind. But "kind and sweet"? No.
I don't mean to be ungrateful, but.. ick.
Sure, the alternative is worse: mean and bitter. But I have fangs and claws! I hiss when annoyed!
Last year I wrote about my surprise when a student hugged me after a final exam, to thank me for helping her (a lot) during the term. I worried that I was getting too "mom-like" and less professorial -- not in the stereotypical sense of being remote and detached, but in the awesome way of being authoritative and respected.
Can someone be "kind and sweet" and authoritative and respected?
The student who thinks I am "kind and sweet" wrote no other comments. Perhaps soon we professors will all have Facebook pages for our courses and, for our teaching evaluations, students can "Like" us (or not).