Higher Education Observer

Thanks to Mary Ellen Weimer: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/negative-comments-on-course-evaluations/?utm_campaign=Faculty%20Focus&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=63086910&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9eqAIMgsPSbV2xQYbcWvxFvTHE0xSp4QuirOVyUw_ScKrJSgKvMtz9dsiFuWNdK_2uB10q5dO7fB3VwX8lLjOLZn6Ymw&_hsmi=63086910 There's another possibility:  sometimes students don't follow the directions and understand what they are actually doing. A "1" might really be meant as a "5."

I'm glad to read this.  I hope other institutions get on board with this.  Student evaluation of teaching is valuable, but not an indication of how well the students learn and the amount of effort, theory, and best practices instructors utilize.   https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/05/22/most-institutions-say-they-value-teaching-how-they-assess-it-tells-different-story?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=92984764da-DNU&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-92984764da-198482621&mc_cid=92984764da&mc_eid=ab27a3f05f

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/05/07/when-one-scholar%E2%80%99s-lame-joke-another%E2%80%99s-offensive-comment?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=ed94522879-DNU20180111&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-ed94522879-198482621&mc_cid=ed94522879&mc_eid=ab27a3f05f What this also shows is the cultural nature of humor.  It seems that some of this stems from the offended party not knowing the cultural history behind the joke, which has nothing to do with objectifying women.

This post is going to be a little different from my usual ones, but it allows me to talk about my right brain endeavors. Because I have master's degrees in a social science (communication) and a humanities field (English), I have taught a wider variety of courses than usual.  Literature, humanities, remedial reading and English professional writing, public speaking, creative writing, interpersonal communication--and so on.  One course I taught for several years was Introduction to Humanities, a course I loved to teach but never really felt as if I got a handle on.  (My dissertation was in a social science, qualitative.) One reason for this is that the class is too expansive:  history of cultures, philosophy, literature, visual arts, music, architecture, all in one semester.  Consequently, the course offers few opportunities to really explore an era.  Secondly, although the books present the "eras" as if they were neat, there is no such thing. I am reminded of a Haga