UVM SGA Suggests Evaluation Boycott

Since it seems like this is a pertinent topic at UVM, I figured that I would throw my opinion in regarding the boycott of course evaluations. Sorry that it does not relate to sports. Honestly, I do not quite see the success that it seemed like the Student Government Association anticipated. Of course, with 769 votes in on Facebook (which is not a very large portion of the University of Vermont and possibly not very representative), there are more people who are not participating than those who are. That definitely will not make much of a difference for the administration. Do I think that they should be published? I do believe that it would be nice to see evaluations of a class. However, I think that a boycott is the wrong way to do it. As I have noticed on the Facebook event, it seems as if the SGA position is to boycott everything on the evaluation except for the comment section where students are free to answer in their own words. I guess my main problem is professors don't only read the comments. I would find it very weird if the professor did not look at the rest of the evaluation if he or she took the time to look at the evaluations at all. Perhaps some professors don't even look at or care about the evaluations. Giving us access to the evaluations will not change that. The evaluations will not change anything if the professors don't look at them. I do believe that most professors if not all do look at the course evaluations however. Therefore, I think that they are becoming a target to an issue that the SGA has with administration rather than with the professors directly. Most professors do not have a say over whether or not the evaluations are released. If I were a professor, I know any information that I could gather from my students, even those how much do you agree with this statement questions, would be coveted. And just one more sidenote I noticed on many comments, if ratemyprofessors.com is to polarized, go online and do something about it. Write your own reviews and make it a better site. Don't complain that other people have ruined it, make it better.
Photo by zappowbang on Flickr

Tryouts

How do I choose?

Standing on the sidelines, Coach Rick Williams was caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. He had nailed down nine spots on his select travel basketball team, but that one remaining spot was giving him more trouble than the previous nine combined. On one hand, he could take Luke, a kid who was clearly not at the level of all of the other players on that team but in terms of basketball IQ and potential "player-coach" material, he was unmatched. Rick could totally see him turning into a big-time coach someday; he just knew what to say to fire up his teammates and explain what had to be done. However, as a basketball player, he could not translate all that knowledge into on court performance.

On the other side, he could take Jake. As much as Luke knew the right thing to say, Jake knew what to say to turn off his teammates. His high school coach had told Rick that the one day that Jake missed practice all year was the most relaxing and positive practice of the year. If this team was about personality, there was no way he would have a place on it. However, basketball involves talent, and boy did Jake ever have that. At a very lean six foot five and 36 inch vertical, physical talent alone could get Jake on to anything he had ever tried out for. He had never played football before his freshman year of high school, but when he walked onto the field to try out, he made varsity.

So, how do you choose? Does it really matter how "coachable" a kid is? Maybe he just needs the right type of coach. Rick wanted to think that he was the right type of coach for everyone, but he knew that wasn't true. Now the choice was his; how could he ever decide?
Photo by DRB62

Most Valuable Class

This goes out to all of the doubters who say that sports a detrimental to a student because they occupy time that could be spent studying. According to a new study, girls who play high school team sports are 20% more likely to graduate and are 20% more likely to continue on to college. Why might this be so? One huge reason is that being a member of the team implies that each individual team member is able to and does put forth their best effort to help the team win. Girls in this study, although I would assume that the statistics are similar for guys, probably felt some obligation to not let down the team by failing classes. This commitment to the team would therefore help avoid the low grades that often lead to dropping out. Also, sports teach responsibility, and as a college student myself, I know that the people who are responsible are the ones who do well in college. The only difference is in college, you are only responsible for yourself whereas a high school athlete would be responsible to his or her team. However, because of the accountability that comes from being a part of a team, there is the added "pressure" to not let other people down. When this accountability is taken away through the individual college education, the residue of this habit will still be present except for now, in theory, the individual will realize that he or she should not let him or herself down just like he or she would not let the team down. Also, girls who play high school sports are half as likely to become pregnant as teenagers which also connects to the fact that they realize they need to take care of themselves for the sake of the team as a whole.

So, if anybody tells you that athletics interfere with academic pursuits, send them to me. While at the time sports might seem like a distraction in the already busy lives of many young people, always remember that they are teaching different, yet equally as valuable, skills that will benefit the children for the rest of their lives.