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[Margot73]

with her head cut off to address INDIVIDUAL student complaints while missing the big picture.

I do understand that it is a business and the students are the customers. My director, though, is so petrified of losing one single student that she makes decisions which are stupid for the class as a whole.

If ONE student with a propensity for whining complains that the teacher is going too fast, the director should be careful to avoid the knee jerk response of telling the teacher to go slower. What if it's only one or two students who think the pace is too fast? What about the other 12 or so who think the speed is fine? I think the students are given too much power in some cases. I would be thrilled if the director would do an experiment and call the complainer's bluff. When they threaten to withdraw, tell them nicely to go ahead.

When I was in university (which I paid a huge amount of money for too) I can't even imgine having told a teacher how to run a class. Of course I had some professors I liked better than others, but in my head was the general understanding that I needed to adapt to different teaching styles rather than expect every professor to change the class according to my whims.

sory for the long rant. Having a bad week.

[globalnomad2]

Margot, it sounds like you're in an EAP program in the Middle East. Or...in a K-12 classroom in the US?

[Margot73]

You were right about the US part, but it's adult education, though sometimes they do resemble K students.

[Justin Trullinger]

Have you heard it said that the sqeaky wheel gets the grease?

I know it's not great, but it takes a really talented administrator to balance what one student is saying against what 12 others aren't saying...

Not easy. Necessary, but not easy...


Best,
Justin