Author News
Rate Your Writers’ Teaching Ability
Well my semester has just begun, which means I’m getting emails from students trying to add my class. Many of these students and others probably check out RateMyProfessors as they try to make decisions regarding in what section they’ll enroll.
We all know how RateMyProfessors works: students anonymously rate their university instructors on a five point scale, and then type up a few sentences of comments, which can often be unintentionally hilarious. Also, anonymous raters assign chili peppers to their instructors to denote ‘hotness,’ so there’s that weird physical evaluation too.
What we might not know is that some of the very authors we’ve read, such as Evenson, Lutz, and so on, appear on RateMyProfessors, having taught at one point or another in their ‘literary career.’ I’ve gathered a handful here (as many as I could think to look for) and inserted some smarmy comments; if you know of others to link to, do so in the thread and I’ll try to add them to the post.
(Is it ‘okay’ to post these? Am I breaking some code of conduct here? I have no idea. Apologies in advance.)
What I do know is I love to gossip.
Read and click through the excerpts/list after the break.
Taking a class from Brian Evenson sounds really good to me, and this student agreed until he/she didn’t receive the proper amount of ‘guidance,’ whatever that means.
=( poo indeed:
ugh. sounded good. but not. fun class, but no structure. Papers were supposed to be as response, but no guidance, then poor grades =( poo.
Lily Hoang gets a ‘pretty good’ rating from this student at Saint Mary’s College:
She is very sweet and young so she relates to us a lot. The material is pretty good. But we did have to read books I read in high school. Her papers are pretty easy and helps you work things. and a lot of in class w/s to help with grammar. and she does peer reviews. pretty good class.
Jonathan Baumbach ought to ask for better comments next time. Isn’t there some movie out based on his parenting? ZING!
good prof
Kim Chinquee’s got three pages of comments from her time at Central Michigan University. One student calls hers ‘a horrible, miserable, depressing class.’ Dude, did you even speak once to Kim during class? We’re talking about the same Kim Chinquee, right?
Here’s a much better one:
Kim is awesome! I love this class. It’s fun and I learn a lot from her and the other students. Anyone that takes writing seriously will love it, too.
I love the ratings/comments threads that turn all self-aware: you know, when one student ‘piggy backs’ on something someone else said previously. In Joe Wenderoth’s case (warning: ten pages), some students skipped the ‘piggy backing’ and went immediately to the insults.
Unless you are a weak-minded sloth, you will think about his lectures and appreciate his comments for months after the class ends. The strong should take him.
And the others should just drop out and get a job at Wendy’s?
I was surprised at how little Michael ‘Mikey’ Martone had on his RateMyProfessors page. I wouldn’t doubt it if someone told me he’d written this one himself.
Mikey is the MAN!! Not only is he funny and insightful, he has a sincere love of the written word and a commitment to his students. He sees the indefinite possibilities of each student. He’s an amazing teacher and a wonderful person.
Indefinitely!
I would kill to take a freshman composition class with Gary Lutz, but I’m not someone who minds all those pesky newspapers:
Reads way too many newspapers for my taste. He grades pretty hard and you have a midterm and final in his class. I recommend you try another eng professor if possible. Oh yeah, he eats at Burger King in southwest gbg like every day…How’s he so skinny
Some of my favorite kinds of ratings are the ones that touch on seemingly irrelevant personal details, like the above reference to Burger King. Here’s a positive comment for Lutz that mixes praise of his class with that of his hands(?):
His hands are the most expressive thing about him and I find both his short story collection and personality completely intriguing. He makes his class a joy to attend. He’s the smartest man on this campus; you’ll be surprised by what you learn. Take it!
Nothing but cheers from the students of UC-Santa Cruz for K. Silem Mohammad; he can both manage a ‘100+ lecture hall’ and advise someone during a ‘personal crisis.’ Good work, Kasey! I really liked your sonnet mashups, by the way.
He made Milton interesting, and that is not an easy task. Plus when I had a personal crisis he was incredibly understanding. Great teacher.
I am appalled by Robert Coover’s lack of ratings. Appalled.
C.D. Wright gets a shoutout in a Forrest Gander rating. To whom does that ‘He’ in the second sentence refer? Hey, this is Gander’s RateMyProfessor page; Wright, get your own.
Best Brown memories were thanks to Forrest and CD Wright. He defined my Brown experience and helped to make me who i am today. I forever wish to know him. A true poet. The truest soul I know.
My favorite comment David Foster Wallace received from his time at Pomona is a simple one:
The man is one of the greatest authors of his generation. He has a freaking genius grant. Of course the class is good.
I have suspicions concerning Ander Monson’s thirteen pages of beard-related comments: somewhere some crazy Grand Valley State University graduate is shopping around an experimental novel about ‘Ander Monson’ written using the RateMyProfessors website format. That’s the only thing I can think of to explain the high number of ‘cute’ entries here. That, or Ander Monson has created a zombie army.
During class, Monson will reward correct answers and unique ideas and attendance by allowing students to pet his mini-Ander, AKA Ander Monson Jr., AKA Little Big Man, who is not as much a “real person” as a miniature wooden replica of the real Ander Monson in a lawn-gnome suit.
And for your pleasure: the ratings of Mike Young, Justin Taylor, and myself.
One of Justin’s students confesses:
I didn’t try at ALL in his class, I wrote my papers on trains and cars and still managed to get a B+. I never paid attention in class nor participated in class discussions. The key is to keep emailing him with questions, he is VERY helpful and CARES about your grade.
Someone from Mike’s class says:
One of the most original people I have ever met. He truly is a gifted teacher in his own approach. His feedback on your writing maybe seem some what bizarre at times, but his encouragement and enthusiasm pushes your writing to new skins.
And finally, here’s one from one of my students at George Mason University:
he is ok. for the class, you just have to put little effort however, he is strange. needs to be more organize. you have to involve in disscussion otherwise you will see your grade suffering b/c of that. i hate it!!!!!!!!!1
Future publisher: can that be my book blurb?
Tags: RateMyProfessors
Ryan, this is a good post. My favorite rating is the one that says I dress cool, am cute, and like good music–all of which, of course, is true. But I’m actually glad you picked the one you did, because it’s a comment that’s stuck with me for months (I saw it right after it got posted, back in May) and I’ve been looking for a context in which to talk about it.
What’s interesting to me is how the student assumes his/her good grade is the direct result of my deficiency as an instructor/grader, rather than the result of his/her own writing skills. 101 is a required class for all freshmen at Rutgers; for every kid who coasts by and gets a B+ there are five who kill themselves all semester to get a C–and at least one of those five winds up failing. I just think it’s fascinating how the student views his/her successful navigation of the course and/or gaming of the college system not as a personal triumph of their own, but as a failing of mine. I wish I knew which student wrote this. (I guess I could go back and count who emailed me the most, and then cross-reference that with the gradebook…but nah.) I wouldn’t be mad at him/her at all, but I would want to give them a serious talk about self-esteem.
Ryan, this is a good post. My favorite rating is the one that says I dress cool, am cute, and like good music–all of which, of course, is true. But I’m actually glad you picked the one you did, because it’s a comment that’s stuck with me for months (I saw it right after it got posted, back in May) and I’ve been looking for a context in which to talk about it.
What’s interesting to me is how the student assumes his/her good grade is the direct result of my deficiency as an instructor/grader, rather than the result of his/her own writing skills. 101 is a required class for all freshmen at Rutgers; for every kid who coasts by and gets a B+ there are five who kill themselves all semester to get a C–and at least one of those five winds up failing. I just think it’s fascinating how the student views his/her successful navigation of the course and/or gaming of the college system not as a personal triumph of their own, but as a failing of mine. I wish I knew which student wrote this. (I guess I could go back and count who emailed me the most, and then cross-reference that with the gradebook…but nah.) I wouldn’t be mad at him/her at all, but I would want to give them a serious talk about self-esteem.
I would have never thought to look up other writers on RateMyProfessors. Excellent post. On that site, my name is spelled wrong so few students can ever find me and I am referred to as a battle axe by a student who missed three weeks of class, then told me it was because he suffers from insomnia (really? REALLY?), then proceeded to ignore the plan we came up with together to get him back on track. Things didn’t end well for him but I’m pretty charmed that I’m a battle axe.
I would have never thought to look up other writers on RateMyProfessors. Excellent post. On that site, my name is spelled wrong so few students can ever find me and I am referred to as a battle axe by a student who missed three weeks of class, then told me it was because he suffers from insomnia (really? REALLY?), then proceeded to ignore the plan we came up with together to get him back on track. Things didn’t end well for him but I’m pretty charmed that I’m a battle axe.
Great post. I’m going to go search people now.
Great post. I’m going to go search people now.
my brother was (is?) on here and i believe had a 0.0 for looks
my brother was (is?) on here and i believe had a 0.0 for looks
i’m not on there, so i feel i haven’t “made it” as a teaching professional.
i’m not on there, so i feel i haven’t “made it” as a teaching professional.
i used to be then disappeared. now i feel irrelevant
i used to be then disappeared. now i feel irrelevant
I have one rating. I am apparently very laid back!
I have one rating. I am apparently very laid back!
During the 2008 Presidential campaign, I became curious as to how Bill Ayers’s RateMy was holding up. I was baffled to find that it hadn’t been overrun by Rush Limbaugh listeners or the like. I thought for sure there’d be 100 pages of comments, links, etc.
During the 2008 Presidential campaign, I became curious as to how Bill Ayers’s RateMy was holding up. I was baffled to find that it hadn’t been overrun by Rush Limbaugh listeners or the like. I thought for sure there’d be 100 pages of comments, links, etc.
hah! It’s great to hear people talk frankly about this stuff. Usually I’ve felt that a teacher was truly bad if I feel like I haven’t learned anything or produced anything of worth during my time with them – that’s pretty rare. Certainly unpredictable grading is frustrating, but it often seems like something tacked on to the process anyway, from either viewpoint.
hah! It’s great to hear people talk frankly about this stuff. Usually I’ve felt that a teacher was truly bad if I feel like I haven’t learned anything or produced anything of worth during my time with them – that’s pretty rare. Certainly unpredictable grading is frustrating, but it often seems like something tacked on to the process anyway, from either viewpoint.
When that whole hubbub was going on, I had just finished reading his book and I remember feeling really frustrated about the whole thing.
I mean, I knew the media and the public image of someone was extremely malleable to the will of unscrupulous features, but I’d never seen it come down so heavily on someone in that way, without them being a currently running politician or a “relevant” movie star.
When that whole hubbub was going on, I had just finished reading his book and I remember feeling really frustrated about the whole thing.
I mean, I knew the media and the public image of someone was extremely malleable to the will of unscrupulous features, but I’d never seen it come down so heavily on someone in that way, without them being a currently running politician or a “relevant” movie star.
Shock!
Shock!
i want to take mike young’s class
i want to take mike young’s class
Here’s a couple of good ones for Bill Knott:
“Toughest class I ever took, I think. He tends to makes people cry or walk out of the room in the middle of class. You love him or hate him, and sometimes it changes depending on the day of the week. But in the end, you learn a LOT of really smart crap.”
“I think the guy’s a charlatan. He rewrites your poems for you and then loves your “revisions”. Oh, and don’t bother taking his workshop if you’re a guy.”
Here’s a couple of good ones for Bill Knott:
“Toughest class I ever took, I think. He tends to makes people cry or walk out of the room in the middle of class. You love him or hate him, and sometimes it changes depending on the day of the week. But in the end, you learn a LOT of really smart crap.”
“I think the guy’s a charlatan. He rewrites your poems for you and then loves your “revisions”. Oh, and don’t bother taking his workshop if you’re a guy.”
Took Mike’s class. He had us do “reviews” of online lit sites as a report and stood on the desk like he wanted to be Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society. Also he often left ebay auctions up on his computer. I remember a pair of boat shoes. He got me reading online regularly. Much thanks.
Took Mike’s class. He had us do “reviews” of online lit sites as a report and stood on the desk like he wanted to be Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society. Also he often left ebay auctions up on his computer. I remember a pair of boat shoes. He got me reading online regularly. Much thanks.
Sadly, my rateyourprofessor page at Ohio State has my name mispelled as something like Higgws, and my page from U Nebraska has strangely disappeared. Here’s to hoping for my future FSU page.
Anyway, good post, Ryan. Happy semester!
Sadly, my rateyourprofessor page at Ohio State has my name mispelled as something like Higgws, and my page from U Nebraska has strangely disappeared. Here’s to hoping for my future FSU page.
Anyway, good post, Ryan. Happy semester!
brilliant.
yeah, the monson beard petting has a whiff of crystal gavel-ishness.
brilliant.
yeah, the monson beard petting has a whiff of crystal gavel-ishness.
i looked for yours and couldnt find it.
i looked for yours colin but also couldnt find it.
i looked for yours and couldnt find it.
i looked for yours colin but also couldnt find it.
never won the boat shoes =(
never won the boat shoes =(
hey, i liked this post. i’ve looked up friends and people i went to school with but i never thought to look up writers i knew or read. good stuff
hey, i liked this post. i’ve looked up friends and people i went to school with but i never thought to look up writers i knew or read. good stuff
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hi. can i ask? are one of you is a good writer or good in journalism? can i have your email ? because someday i want to be like you who ever you are. i wish someone could reply. anyway im Sharifa Catinza 15 years old from philippines. this is my email address kishacatinza@yahoo.com.thank you: )
hi. can i ask? are one of you is a good writer or good in journalism? can i have your email ? because someday i want to be like you who ever you are. i wish someone could reply. anyway im Sharifa Catinza 15 years old from philippines. this is my email address kishacatinza@yahoo.com.thank you: )