University Diaries has an intriguing article up about Joel Wingard, an English professor at Moravian. He is one of “these people”:
In my classes, I try to establish and maintain a student-centered classroom, a place where students’ learning takes precedence over teacher’s teaching. By ’students’ learning’ I mean their guided self-discovery; by ‘teacher’s teaching’ I mean lecturing, testing, conferring judgment and other forms of authoritarian practice. My philosophy holds that self-motivated, self-directed learning is best, is ‘liberal learning’ in its best sense of liberating; that in the largest sense the most valuable “lesson” students may learn from literary study is not content but method, not information but process.
Yet, he has dismal reviews on ratemyprofessor.com (1-5 scale):
Average Easiness: 2.7
Average Helpfulness: 1.1
Average Clarity: 1.0
Hottness Total: 0
Overall Quality: 1.1This guy needs serious help.
I never though that other classes have noticed his tongue thing, but it makes sense. He goes off on these insane rants that have nothing to do with what we’re talking about. And he sends out emails with words like “prolly” and “yall.” It’s pretty bad.
I hate this man. He’s a large portion of the reason that I left Moravian. They ought to fire him - he’s just simply the worst professor I have ever had the misfortune of working with.
Wingard was the worst professor I had at Moravian. He neglected aspects of journalism that were not part of his interests, i.e. sports.
Negative attitude towards some of his students and just an all-around jerk.Worst. Teaching style. Ever. STOP STICKING YOUR TONGUE OUT, DUDE, AND GIVE US SOME REAL ASSIGNMENTS.
It’s too bad this is the writing advisor, because he ruins the experience for so many kids.
Now this is interesting. As you know if you’ve read any of my education articles, I’m the furthest thing from touchy-feely there is. I never accept late assignments. I never make exceptions for students. I treat every student exactly the same way in all circumstances. I maintain a professional distance and don’t try to be my students’ friend, but I treat my students respectfully, and as adults. I’m willing to bet (though I don’t know), just because Wingard is an English prof, that my grade curve is lower than his.
Given that, you’d think I’d get lower evaluations on ratemyprofessor.com, wouldn’t you? Well, guess again:
Average Easiness: 3.2
Average Helpfulness: 4.1
Average Clarity: 4.4
Hottness Total: 0 [Thank god for that!]
Overall Quality: 4.2I’m graduating this year and XXXX is the best teacher I’ve had at the university. He’s amazing, and as bad as X is, that’s saying a lot. He’s the best. TAKE HIS CLASS!
Had him for both, and this is the guy you want for these classes. He knows his stuff, he wants his students to succeed, and he’s a really great teacher. GET THIS GUY!
Awesome guy.
Explains things clear, lots of energy, helps you out, shows you the easy way
Great teacher. Sometimes not the clearest, but just ask questions. Ask him about computer security, he loves it.
Energenic! Knows his information.
XXXX is great!
The conventional wisdom among university faculty (well, those who get lousy student evaluations) is that the only way to get good evaluations is to suck up to your students, hand out As like candy, run a “student-centered” classroom, and make an idiot out of yourself trying to act hip–like this Wingard fool. Yet, here I am, in at least dress pants, a sportcoat, and a shirt and tie, if not a suit, repeatedly saying “no” to students who want to reschedule exams or turn in projects late, giving not a single point of participation or any other subjective criterion–and I get significantly higher reviews than he does.
Why do you suppose that is? Could it be that students aren’t as stupid as faculty think, and don’t fall for any of that “student-centered classroom” nonsense? Could it be that they laugh at his pathetic attempts to be hip and cool? And could it be that university faculty who maintain that popular myth about student evaluations (above) get bad evaluations because they’re bad teachers?
And here’s another difference between us. I never take politics into the classroom. Never. But this idiot, well, he’s an English professor, so of course he does, and apparently, makes an ass of himself:
‘A Moravian College professor issued two campuswide apologies for an e-mail he wrote the day after the Virginia Tech killings that said he was going to “go out and buy a gun” and “some ammo” to “prevent more Blacksburgs, more Columbines.”
“Why, if I see anyone looking threatening, Asian, wearing black — I’m going to shoot that sucker first and ask questions later,” English professor Joel Wingard wrote in an e-mail exchange Tuesday that was circulated on the college computer network. “I’m going to drop into my shooter’s stance, one knee on the ground, gun hand supported by the other hand braced by the other knee, and do what has to be done.”
What an idiot. No wonder his students hate him.
John the Marine says:
Not only does this guy sound like a lousy teacher and overall fool, but I bet he couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a shot gun. Just reading the last part about the email he wrote after the VT tragedy makes me sick.
April 27, 2007, 4:39 pmJetgirl says:
Telling that he’s apparantly a journalism teacher with students begging for “real assignments.” Yikes. Consider what it takes to get a college student to ask for homework.
April 27, 2007, 6:14 pmSusanS says:
Long, long ago when I was a college student I really appreciated the teachers that actually taught me something. I didn’t care what they were like as long as I learned something. This guy sounds like a nightmare.
Maybe you need to spice up your ties or something to get that hotness rating up.
April 27, 2007, 6:16 pmskh.pcola says:
It sounds like he’s simply too lazy to teach. O’course, English is mostly a subjective subject, so feckless idiots like ol’ Joel get to posture and preen as if they actually had something important to impart to his class attendees.
April 27, 2007, 6:18 pmPeggy U says:
My daughter is a college junior this year. She discovered ratemyprof.com last year, and she said that she thinks it is overall quite honest and accurate.
No, students aren’t as stupid as some condescending professors believe. Students are consumers who are spending money for a service. Many of them have to contribute their own dollars, or are looking to use information from the classes they take to get into grad school. They expect to get something for their money and their time! And a professor who wants to be buddies with his students is just creepy …
April 28, 2007, 12:56 amMike says:
This “teacher” is obviously a victim (probably very willingly) of the “children have all of the knowledge in the world and all we need do is give them the freedom to discover it themselves instead of repressing their god-like free spirits with old-style teaching, which only stifles creativity” philosophy.
I’ve always enjoyed my forays into the Asian martial arts, such as Kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) and Iaido (Japanese sword drawing). The teachers teach today as teachers taught centuries ago, because they focus exclusively on what works and because they know that for human beings to learn and progress, they need practice over time and not only that, but absolutely correct practice over time.
Folks who believe in the kind of educational philosophy apparently espoused by this fellow (and I’m being kind in giving him the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming he’s just lazy) do a great deal of harm and no good. Learning (and teaching) is always hard work. If it’s not, something other than learning is going on.
April 28, 2007, 8:38 pm