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Dear Readers:

These are the student comments offered up today on The Michigan Daily website. They constitute rebuttals to my carefully thought out responses to their initial criticisms. Additionally, for your amusement, I’ve included my counterpoint to these winging whiners from North Winetka. That’s right, their theme song is “Big Noise From Winetka.” As those of you who know me know, I always have to have the last word.

Peace - Randy

Wolfe

posted 4/02/08 @ 9:34 PM EST

Don't put away your #2 pencil just yet, Prof. Randy. You got so caught up in your ad hominem tantrum, you failed to address the third suggestion. But because you tried so gosh darn h-a-r-d the first time 'round, wipe the flecks of spittle of your chin & try again...
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Randy Tessier

posted 4/03/08 @ 7:21 AM EST

Dear Wolfie: "Wipe the spittle of my chin," indeed. That's low, Wolfe. I guess you didn't know I've been paralyzed from the neck down since the diving accident I had when I was a lad. "Ad hominen," that's good, you took Comp.125. I have a brilliant syllabus, and I follow it to a tee. Regarding your third suggestion, in those rare cases when the athletes don't adhere to my strict academic requirements (you see how early I'm up, ever scrutinizing my pedagogical methods), I have them line up in a circle, after which I take their crayons.

Peace - Dr. Randy

Art

posted 4/02/08 @ 10:43 PM EST

Wow Professor! Your students don't stand a chance!
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Randall Tessier

posted 4/03/08 @ 7:57 AM EST

Dear Art: Self improvement is not based on "chance." A good teacher instills intellectual rigor by fostering an atmosphere of collaborative learning. Yes, I teach students, but it is incumbent on them to also enlighten me with their independence of mind, experiential knowledge, and intuitive wisdom. Unlike the sciences, in humanities classes, the quicksand of subjective judgment always threatens to undermine objective assessment; but as children of postmodernity, we know that objectivity is an illusion (see Heisenberg's principle). We can't leap out of the watchtower from which we perceive the world and see the big picture (see Richard Rorty). So, I think it's best to accept this sometimes bitter truth, and still strive for an objectivity that's impossible to achieve. It may be, as you say, "that my students don't stand a chance," but since the majority of students I've taught, gifted or otherwise, are no fools, you'll have to ask them.

Best - Randy Tessier