Throughout every semester of my college career, I have heard countless times "I'm going to shred him/her on his/her evaluation at the end of the semester." As much as coming to a professor's defense is not at all a "popular" thing to do as a student, I think that we need to start rethinking how we fill out professor evaluations at the end of the semester. It has gotten way out of hand.
It blows my mind when people come up to me after they filled out an evaluation and gloat about how "mean" they were in their evaluation. Why in the world would you be proud of bashing someone?
Last time I checked, none of us enjoy receiving criticism; we as humans do not want to be told that we are imperfect. And also, last time I checked, professors are human as well (many of you are probably thinking about counter arguments to this point, but just go with me). It is never fun to be told that you are doing something wrong or that you are inadequate. I have to fight immediately becoming defensive when someone even begins to utter something negative about me. Think about your grades or your job. If you receive a bad grade, or your boss pulls you aside to tell you that he/she is unhappy with your work, your first instinct is to go over to a fellow student or coworker and rant and complain about the professor or boss.
Professors receive criticism from hundreds of students at the end of every semester. If we are criticized one time, we freak out and don't get over it for weeks or even months. The professors have to read the criticism and come back in one-three month(s) to do it all over again. They don't have time to get mad or pout like a four year old on the playground.
Some professors are good. Some are not so good. Some should not even be in the positions that they are in. I am not discounting this in any way, shape, or form. It is important to be honest, but the same words with two different tones can mean two very different things.
If you are reading this, you know the difference between being constructive and destructive. I do not have to explain it to you. Learn to help build up and not tear down. It sounds so cliche, I know, but it is a lesson that we still have to learn because for some reason, we just can't seem to get it.
So college students, please be vigilant about the way in which you fill out your evaluations this semester. Be honest, but be constructive. Grow up and act mature. Criticize, but do it well.
