We’re In a Warehouse

There was some interesting conversation about student evaluations over at Scatterplot a bit ago. One thought I’d add to the conversation — in some cases (I’ve had this experience) what is so upsetting about negative student evaluations (especially public ones, or public sites like Ratemyprofessor), is that they are right. Or at least touch on something true about your teaching style. So I wonder sometimes if the uproar over Ratemyprofessor has anything to do with this — methinks the professor is protesting too much?

New Soc Prof also posted some thoughts on evaluations recently, and chimed in on Ratemyprof with some discussion about the desired/repudiated “chili pepper,” used to designate “hotness” and functioning as the occassional thrown-bone to suggest at least you have your good looks to fall back on. But I’d have to agree with New Soc Prof, who proposes that chili peppers measure not so much hotness per se, but hot for/in the context, i.e. hot for a frumpy/nerdy/old person. Some friends in college had a handy phrase for reminding one another when they were forgetting to think about context: “We’re in a warehouse.” The phrase originated from a trip to one of those gigantic discount “grocery” stores, like Sam’s Club or Costco. While on a shopping trip there, these friends found a cellophane-wrapped cardboard tray loaded with thirty-six “assorted morning muffins.” Eagerly eyeing the tray, they agreed, “These muffins look delicious,” and added the muffin melange to their cart. Later, at home, faced with the prospect of days (weeks?) of disgusting, spongey, morning muffins (months, if their appetites lasted as long as the muffins would), they regretted the impulse buy of bulk baked goods. And therein they realized their mistake: Whereas their first thought was “These muffins look delicious,” it should have been, “We’re in a warehouse; these muffins look delicious.” And so goes the false pride in a chili pepper. Sometimes it’s hard to reckon with the fact that you might just be the least gross muffin in the mix.