[originaltext]M: Hi Susan, how are you doing?W: I’m fine, how are you?M: I’m

M: Hi Susan, how are you doing?
W: I’m fine, how are you?
M: I’m okay, but things haven’t been going very well with my composition class and I can’t figure out why.
W: Really? What seems to be the problem?
M: Well I’m not exactly sure, but it just seems that my students aren’t enjoying my classes.
W: Hmm, are you holding office hours to see what their specific problems are?
M: Yes, but no one comes to ask me questions.
W: Well you might try reminding them again to come and see you. Tell them that if they’re getting low grades for their papers, they can find out how to improve if they come to talk to you.
M: That’s a good idea. I should do that.
W: I’ve had similar problems with some of my classes. They just don’t seem to be interested because the texts we’re reading don’t speak to them, or they’re just bored.
M: So what did you do to handle the problem?
W: Well there are a couple of things that I found really useful. One is giving them midterm student evaluations. This way they have a place to express their concerns anonymously.
M: That’s a great idea. But what if you get nasty comments back from them?
W: It’s difficult to deal with harsh criticism, especially if you are new to teaching and feel self-conscious about how you are doing. But in the long run it’s good to find out what they really think of you.
M: Ok, but what if they aren’t really telling the truth? Or, what if they say a bunch of mean things just because they’re angry for getting low grades?
W: That’s a good point. But the evaluations usually seem to be helpful. And those angry, negative comments are perfectly understandable, after all.
M: Right, but those mean comments might have negative effect on you if the head of your department sees them and thinks you’re doing a bad job teaching.
W: Yes, although we are lucky because oar department has a very good support system for teachers. We get reviewed by our supervisors to make sure we’re doing well.