Stanley Fish on Student Evaluations

Recently Stanley Fish has published two NY Times columns about the use of student evaluations spurred by some recent activity in Texas that will place a premium on student evaluations for the professional evaluations of faculty at Texas’ public colleges. (Deep in the Heart of Texas and Student Evaluations, Part Two) His basic stance is that student evaluations are not helpful for determining the efficacy of professors because one often doesn’t know what they’ve really learned from a course until years later, it will bend to the whims of students who are more concerned about entertainment and high grades (whether they’ve earned them or not) rather than true learning and critical thinking, it assumes students enter a course knowing what they should or are supposed to learn (in other words grants them expertise on a subject they are usually learning about for the first time), and confuses student happiness/satisfaction with learning and intellectual develpment. In other words, those pushing this development want to treat those sitting in college classes more like consumers than students or apprentices.

There has been some fervent back and forth in the comment sections (which spurred the second post by Fish), but my favorite is this one:

The two greatest teachers in history are Socrates and Jesus. What kind of teaching evaluations would they have gotten? In Texas, perhaps the example of Jesus would be the most salient. Of his twelve chosen pupils, one of them betrayed him. He taught better values than the surrounding community wanted to accept, and questioned the ruling authorities. And the overwhelming majority called for his execution.

Much the same thing happened to Socrates, whose unpopularity — he kept asking questions to make people less comfortable with the received verities of his day — led the citizens of Athens to vote for his death. As he himself put it, as Plato tells us, he was in the position of a doctor being prosecuted by a pastry cook in front of a jury of children.

The popular is not necessarily the good.

I tend to agree with Fish, but recognize there is some value to student evaluations. I’ve had several professors who consciously implement suggestions they have received in evaluations and they have made them more effective in communicating what they are teaching. However, students should not be responsible for tenure decisions or the personality of their teachers in the classroom. I tend to agree with one poster Fish highlights who said evaluations should focus on questions like “Did the professor hold office hours?” and “Were they punctual in turning in grades?” rather than on subjective judgments. For things like classroom demeanor and effective communication other faculty and/or administration should be the ones doing the evaluations, in my opinion.

So, what do you think?

What Are People Saying About the Claremont University Project?

Recently I posted a link to the press conference where Claremont School of Theology officially announced the launch of the Claremont University Project - a multi-faith/interreligious graduate school/seminar. As expected, there has been a wide array of responses to the idea of a Christian seminary transforming itself into an explicitly interreligious institution. Some welcome it as the future of theological education, some as evidence of the natural end of a “weak,” Liberal version of Christianity, and others are simply confused about why this is news or why seminaries are still allowed to grant graduate degrees. Bloggers, religious organizations and news outlets have all reported on the project. Here are what some people are saying:

News
Associated Press
Merinews – An Indian newsource documenting the approval of Hindu leaders
United Methodist Church
Inland Valley Daily Bulleting – The local newspaper in Claremont
LA Times
Jewish Journal

Commentary by President Jerry Campbell
Washington Post
President’s Pen 1
Indian Muslim Observer
President’s Pen 2

Commentary by Others
CST Professor Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook on the Huffington Post
CST grad Rob Rynders
CST student Ekaputra Tupamahu
Albert Mohler, President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Also, check out their

Still the Old Boys Club: Race, Gender, Churches of Christ, and the Academy

I am a life-long member of the churches of Christ and a current doctoral student in religion (Christian social ethics) hoping for a future as a professor and scholar. A couple of weekends ago I attended the Christian Scholars’ Conference at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. I think highly of the conference and think it is a jewel in the world of CofC higher education. The annual conference is, generally, focused on different issues regarding the intersection of faith and culture. This year focused on faith and the arts, next year focuses on religion and science, and two years ago (the last CSC I attended) the focus was on faith and politics. The conference draws scholars, ministers, students and laypersons from around the country. Often CofC sponsored events are rather exclusive, meaning only people affiliated with the CofC attend, but this conference is different. Every year there are plenary speakers from outside the tradition, but the event still has a profoundly CofC ethos. It is, in my opinion, a shining example of one way people can be ecumenical, show hospitality to “outsiders,” have a true willingness to learn from others and still be true to one’s own tradition and identity. I was happy to attend and plan to attend many more in the future.

However, it is also a reminder of much of what is wrong within the CofC world – especially its circles of higher education. Due to professional responsibilities I was only able to attend the last day of the conference. During that one morning/afternoon I was involved in two events. The first was a breakfast for CofC graduate students in theological/religious studies. The second was a panel presentation. As I looked around the room of future CofC theology, Bible, and ministry professors during the breafast I couldn’t help but notice that I was the only person who was not, um, white. And I’m only halfway there! (Perhaps there was another barely noticeable multi-racial person in the room, but I couldn’t tell.) Also, among the 30 or so attendees there was only, if I remember correctly, four women. The room was as white and male as any room in contemporary America can be. Clearly, something (some-bodies) was missing. (As an important sidenote, I attended the conference free of charge because of an initiative the CSC has of providing $500 for ethnic minorities/graduate students attending the conference to encouarage diversity and future scholars.)

In my second event, the panel discussion, there was only one person who was not white (not including myself) in the entire room. He was of Asian descent. Oh, and there were exactly zero women present in the room. Zero. So, let’s count the number of black persons present at events I attended: 0. Number of Hispanic persons: 0. Number of Asian persons: 1 1/2. Number of women: 4. The CofC still has a problem with the “old boys club” if you ask me.

Now, these, obviously, aren’t the only experiences people had. So, what experiences did others have? Well, I heard one story of a luncheon held in an esteemed scholar’s honor in which a joke was made about the lack of women present, though there was at least one present, with some inappropriate reference to strippers. I’ve also read about an incident where an offensive joke about multi-racial marriages was made (as the product of, and current partner in, one, I wish I was there to show some, ahem, “righteous indignation”). Finally, in the panel session I attended one of the presenters referred to a group of people, literally, as “A-rabs.” So, while displays of overt racism were far from the CSC, ingrained bigotry and prejudice were more than present. In many ways, the CofC is decades behind the rest of the nation as far as the presence, and influence, of minority scholars of theology/religion is concerned.

I’ve been affiliated with two Methodist seminaries in my life. At both places concerns about racial/gender justice and inclusivity were the norm. They are consciously addressing the legacy of racism and patriarchy in American Christianity. Unfortunately, the CofC lags far behind. Take a look at the theology/Bible/ministry faculty at OCU, Harding, Harding University Graduate School of Religion, Lipscomb University, ACU, and Pepperdine University. Notice any racial and/or gender patterns there? (Special shout-out to Pepperdine and ACU for actually having TWO ethnic minorities on their faculty and to Pepperdine for having the FIRST woman Bible prof ever at a CofC school.)

In multiple ways the world of CofC theological studies is very much still an old boys club. Justice has yet to reach our version of the ivory tower. I have hope that the future will be different, but if the breakfast I attended at the CSC is any indication that hope is very dim. And if the attitudes represented in off-hand comments are any indication, many of those currently holding academic positions are blind to, or don’t care about, the problem.

It makes me sad, and angry, that this is the case in the ecclesial fellowship I am a part of. This experience is a stark reminder of how much work I have to do, and far we have to go, in the CofC. As a Christian I understand it to be my duty to seek justice in any context I find myself in. As one who has chosen to place myself in the context of higher education, one form of that pursuit is to work to open the doors of our institutions of higher education, specifically those doors in theological/biblical/ministerial studies, to those who have not been able to teach and lead the future generations of CofC’ers for far too long – women and ethnic minorities.

Will you join me in that pursuit?

The Claremont University Project

My seminary alma mater is Claremont School of Theology (CST). CST has boldly embarked on a journey to becoming an interreligious graduate school that hopes to train Christian ministers and pastors, Jewish rabbis, Muslim imams, practitioners of all faiths, and nonbelievers in intelligently engaging the world and each other. They have been calling this dream The Claremont University Project. If successful, it will be the first truly “interreligious seminary.” CST believes that in our increasingly globalized, multireligious world this model is the most responsible way to train religious leaders. I find the project intriguing because of its vision to be a model of interreligious dialogue and cooperation that does not gloss over the serious differences between the faiths, but does not give up hope on the possibility of true cooperation in the pursuit of peace and justice. Pres. Campbell has called it an attempt to “religiously desegregate theological education.” Go read about the project here. And check out this press conference co-held today with CST, the Academy of Jewish Religion California, and The Islamic Center of Southern California and tell me what you think. Is this a positive step forward in interreligious dialogue that moves beyond stereotypes and “surface” conversations? Or is it a post-modern step that ignores the uniqueness of each tradition? Is it a faithful or unfaithful expression of its historically Christian convictions?

New Issue of Practical Matters: Ethnography and Theology

Practical Matters, the journal I will soon join the staff of, has just published their third issue focusing on ethnography and theology. It includes articles by Emory colleagues like John Senior and Lerone Martin (students), and Dianne Diakite and Don Seeman (professors). There are articles on ethnography and feminism, African Diasporic Religions, children and art, and Christian moral formation. This journal is an exercise in interdisciplinarity and multiple technologies in doing religious scholarship, and I highly recommend checking it out!

Academia.edu

If you haven’t heard about academia.edu – Go check it out!

Academia.edu is basically Facebook for academics. It’s a social networking site tailored to meet the needs of those in the strange world of academia. So, you have an “about me” section, but also a section to list research interests (and be linked with others who have the same interests), and to upload things like published papers and a CV. It’s a site that’s really growing. I first heard about it when basically all of my professors at Claremont School of Theology joined the site and encouraged me to join. It’s provided a space to connect with others who share my interests and see what new things they are working on. Also, they’ve recently added a new feature where you can “follow” academic journals and will be updated when they publish new editions – including the contents. I think that’s a pretty cool deal.

Oh, and when you create your own page it almost automatically comes up as one of the top sites on a Google search of your name. Very helpful for your public persona! (I’ve got a colleague on academia.edu who just got her first job, and while she was searching she got LOTS of hits on her academia.edu webpage. It can definitel be a helpful tool for networking and presenting your work to the public.)

Anyways, go check out my page and if you like it sign up!