An All Too Familiar TaleShe takes her teaching responsibilities seriously

students.An All Too Familiar TaleShe takes her teaching responsibilities seriously; she is committed to making a difference in her students' lives.So here we have an all too familiar classroom tale: The Righteously Screwed Student ("I paid my money, I came to class, I was entitled to a solid education, and you, Professor, didn't deliver. She prepares thoroughly for each class, working hard to draw out her students, engaging them, encouraging them, challenging them.

As a professor I may not want that partnership; like many providers, I may not welcome the intrusion of the customer into what I consider my business.* Where were your complaints during the course, when we still might have had the opportunity to deal with them?* Did you ask me to clarify points you didn't understand?* Did you speak up when you thought student conversations were dragging on too long?* Did you suggest topic areas that you expected to be covered andwhich were not?* And so on. She prepares her syllabus meticulously, with class-by-class activities and assignments, the most relevant and up to date readings, illustrative cases, experiential activities. 5's on a 5-point scale with notations written in the margins -- "best course so far," "appreciated your command of the material," and so forth. The thing about these evaluations is that for the most part they are positive, some very positive. There have been many great professors who have taught many great courses in which there have undoubtedly been many disgruntled students, yet no one would have thought it necessary, much less appropriate, to have the students evaluate the professors. Our choice is whether or not to create it as a partnership relationship. Provider is responsible, Customer not responsible.

Some days are better than others, but all in all she is feeling good about the work she is doing and about her vocation as a professor.Professor and student exist in a Provider/Customer relationship in which the professor has designated responsibility for providing an educational service and the student is the designated recipient of that service. And this is the response I get! Unfair!")The Independence Bias. But once we choose democracy in the classroom, then the game shifts and partnership becomes relevant. Our non-responsible student becomes The Righteously parallel twin screw barrel Customer ("You, Professor, were responsible; I was entitled; and you let me down.http://http://There is nothing more practical than solid human systems theory. But then there are the others, the 2's and 3's, along with the Idea -- "too shallow," "too many hours wasted in class discussion," "not enough substance from the professor," "I was expecting more.

What keeps her up at night and continues to trouble her during the day are those 2's and 3's, the negative Idea, the criticisms and complaints, and worst of all, the fact that she was blindsided since none of this came to the surface during the life of the course