Faculty Evaluation

The following is the actual questions of our faculty evaluation and my projected responses in one class.

1) List one or two major strengths of your intructor:

Professor has the ability to say the most ludicrous and flat out idiotic things and maintain a straight face. Does that count as a strength?

2) List one or two areas that need improvement:

There are so many areas that need improvement it is hard to pick just two. This whole class was a disaster. The class is poorly planned and even more poorly executed. Her knowledge of the subject can be described as lacking at best. She often says things in class that are flat out wrong and frequently substitutes her own opinion for legal doctrine.

Further, over one third of our grade is NOT ANONYMOUSLY GRADED. This appears to be a tremendous violation of ethical standards at worst, and at best, gives the appearance of impropriety.

Please Comment on the Following:

-Textbook and Materials

This textbook is rubbish. A dreadful waste of trees. The authors should be ashamed. There is very little useful material and it is buried under layers of useless and unhelpful commentary. Why would a professor assign both a textbook and the Hornbook? If a textbook is so incomprehensible that it cannot be understood without the hornbook, why bother having the textbook? Just assign the hornbook instead.

-Reading assignments

The book is incomprehensible, as mentioned above. The reading often had very little to do with class discussion. The length was often ridiculous and one is forced to wonder if the Professor realizes that students have more than one class. Professor ROUTINELY sent out emails assigning extra material often doubling already unreasonably lengthy assignments. Often times this material turned out to be useless, and in no way related to an understanding of the subject. Professor often required students to engage material that had no other purpose than to proselyte students to the Professor's personal political agenda. It's not that there is anything wrong or disagreeable with her politics, it's that I object to political indoctrination at the expense of a subject that will be on the bar.

-Clarity of Lessons-

Absolutely unclear. Expectations of students were vague. Students were often asked questions and were left fumbling around trying to figure out what the professor wanted to hear. Students were never asked to give the facts of the case, and we never really learned any law. Usually, class took the form of a professor's lecture, mixed with a political rant, then students were asked their feelings or reaction to whatever was said.

-Class discussion-

Inexcusably bad. Students were allowed time to say idiotic things in no way related to the subject at hand. Students were often free to riff on political subjects, unless the Professor didn't agree with the political stance, in which case they were cut off so other students could express the opposite viewpoint. Professor often targeted students for comment when she knew they didn't agree in general with what she was saying. Every single time I went to this class I felt I had wasted my time and felt like I had been cheated out of a legal education.

-Instructor's Availability.

I would chop off my own right arm before I would go see this Professor for help. The readings were a waste and her class was a mess. Why would any one on one time be any better? Professor complained about no one going to see her for help, apparently not realizing that going to her office for help was as inviting a prospect as having Michael Jackson babysit your children.

-Professor's respect for individual differences including gender, race, and ideology.

Professor is a bigot who lets her own political views bleed into her class. She openly advocates certain viewpoints and then dares you to oppose her. I felt my personal beliefs were insulted in this class, and I felt targeted in class because I disagreed with the professor. I will never take a class from this professor again, and can't believe someone so incompetent and flat out bad could ever get a job as a professor. I know at least one student who dropped down to part time just to avoid having this class from this professor. Frankly, he made a good choice. She is awful, awful, awful. Giving her tenure could only be labeled as a HUGE mistake.