Also known as "quick reveries"

Hello,

I want to take a moment and share some thoughts with you. First of all, thank you for the wealth of invaluable information you have imparted to me over the course of my stay at USF. Out of all the professors I have studied under, I feel as if your classes have best suited and prepared me for a life of English and Literature. I am able to note the specific change in understanding I received during British Lit: 1900-1945. It was here that understanding stories began to “click.” From that point forward my ability to draw information from texts has continually impressed me. I attribute this to the analysis skills that you share with your students.

Also, as the proctor for the evaluations, I inevitably noticed several of the comments written by students. One in particular discouraged me as I saw no basis for it. I won’t disclose the comment here but I will point out that (in my opinion) you have no need to feel dispirited at any negative comment a student might make. I say this because on my walk home I began wondering how I would be impacted by a student’s assessment of my performance as a teacher. Most assuredly I would take negative comments personally and become distraught and confused as to the reason.
As you and I momentarily discussed earlier in the semester, there seems to be an ever-growing number of “privileged students” that feel a certain right and position coming into a college classroom. They tend to disrespect professors while elevating their own opinions and expecting high grades reflective of the passive praise they received in High School where teachers feel the pressure of the “No Child Left Behind” policy. I couldn’t properly reflect the astonishing attitudes and complaints I witnessed in our classroom every Tuesday and Thursday while waiting for your arrival. The audacity of my peers to criticize the education system and the professors astounds me. I feel surrounded by students that are completely unaware of their out-of-control egos, the impact it is having on their lives and the impression they are making of themselves.
I share this with you in hopes that you will not allow negative evaluations to affect your disposition in any way. In my opinion, it is simply the disconcerted view of a privileged student with zero work ethic and a propensity for egotistical self-elevation. Harsh as that may be, it comes from a student who prior to his stay at USF played the role of the expectant student. My lax performance in both High School and Community College ill-prepared me for the demands of an English program at a major university. The first grade on a paper at USF was a C-. It was at this moment of staunch revelation that I made the decision to apply every ounce of my attention and focus on improving myself and becoming a respectable, deserving “student of English.” Having traversed the path of the privileged student I feel a certain understanding and ability to recognize and evaluate where they stand and the opinions they possess.

Alas, I feel that I have beaten my point beyond any sense of necessity. I simply feel inclined to express my gratitude and respect for your work as a professor and the high-level of confidence in English arisen in me as a result.

Thank you,
Jon