Teaching as a popularity contest

Students these days think that their professors are stupid...that triggering that sensitive issue of "who is the better teacher" will help them get what they want. That's the problem with having many instructors teaching the same course. Even if you have a syllabus, required textbooks, and departmental exams, there will always be a tendency for teachers to approach the course in varied ways...not because of vanity, not because they're lazy (well, perhaps some are), not because they're power-trippers (again, some may be...)but simply because different teachers are comfortable with different teaching methods.

There is no absolute standard in teaching efficiently. The point is, you can be a despotic, terrifying mentor or an approachable, lenient Patch Adams kind of professor and you will still have no control over whether your students will become interested or simply dread the subject you are teaching. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of pleasing students so I could get an "Outstanding" from student evaluations. I could get that by showering all of them with high marks even if they didn't deserve it or even if I didn't teach the entire semester. But is that what matters?
A friend of mine said that he would rather get a "Needs Improvement" from student evaluations because he was strict and required many things in class than get an "Outstanding" for being lazy but unreasonably student-friendly. I now realized that being considered a nice teacher isn't so flattering at all. "Nice" may actually mean: easy to manipulate, gives high grades for inexplicable reasons, and okay to disrespect.

That doesn't mean that I'm going to go on an all-out Nazi type of rebellious teaching scheme...I will just start not to care about whether or not students like me. I'd focus on honing my mastery of whatever subject I'm teaching (because I hate it when I can't answer a question...I never ever pretend to know the answer), that I'm not easily swayed by partial grade hoggers (oooh, I am so turned off by students who are grade conscious....geez, in the real world, grades may probably give you a job earlier than your peers but it will not assure you of success and happiness), and that I stick to the schedule. Yes. I will focus on doing my job the best way I can.

Hey, if students dislike me...too bad...but if they start to like me even more then well and good. Yes, it's time to stop focusing on the superficial. Anyway, teaching isn't meant to make you a glamorous, high and mighty celebrity. Such an underrated occupation, pays badly as well. Just can't help loving it though. What can I say, I'm a masochist.