When this time of year rolls around and finals are looming, we can at least smile for teacher evaluations.
It’s the one time when we’re supposed to be able to really explain how we feel about the classes we’re taking and the people who run them. But, honestly, after all this time, we’re beginning to wonder if our opinion really matters to anyone at all.
Yes, there are the standard evaluations and the bubble-in responses we give. Yes, there’s even a section on the back where we can explain exactly why picked those numbers. And, yes, there are sites like ratemyprofessors.com where we can trust that people are somewhat more honest when one can feel even more anonymous typing up a rant instead of writing it down in that handwriting the professor could possibly recognize. We’re given plenty of chances to say how we feel, and with the Assessment of Instructors search on ufl.edu and ratemyprofessors.com, we can warn others.
But, aside from the students, no one seems to care what the students really think. What exactly do evaluations do for the teachers and administrators who say they take them seriously? What difference does it make to anyone except the students? Teachers with the worst evals and awful ratings on Rate My Professors are still teaching classes next fall, and great teachers who are praised continuously still don’t seem to get noticed.
We’ve always felt like evals give us the chance to tell the truth, but is anyone really listening?
