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I know other teachers who have done the same thing: teach your heart out to the teachable but be sure to please the unteachable, to keep your ratings high, like a politician trying to improve his poll results. The turning point for me was a student who came to my office because she didn't like any of the writing assignments. She wanted instead to write for 21 Jump Street. When I pointed out that the show had been off the air for several years, she claimed not to care. I realized then that the only thing to do was to encourage her, to tell her it was a fantastic idea. After that, we were cohorts against learning. I imagine she sang my praises on the evaluation.
Yes, she conned me. But we disagreed over the purpose of the class, and I could either back down (and praise her away) or challenge her intellectually and insist that she complete the assignments, as I try to do with most students. I believe in the struggle, and most students I have met do too. But I still can't help wincing when I read, "The instructor is mean." "Marcus is not committed to my work." "This class sucks." The business model has taught me that the customer is always right. But maybe a few more dissatisfied customers would mean a better learning experience.
Ben Marcus is an assistant professor at Columbia University and author of a book of fiction, The Age of Wire and String