I try to keep up with the sociology-related blogs, even though far too many of them are gratingly self-indulgent enclaves. Having thereby come across Shamus Khan’s post describing an anonymous student complaint, I feel compelled to constructively dissent from the majority of responses. I won’t claim vast amounts of teaching skill or experience – just a different perspective from years standing up in front of different students.

This note is tame. It’s very, very tame. If adolescent dismissals of the discipline, and you generally, are the worst student criticisms you ever receive, then count yourself fortunate (or unfortunate, depending) to have lived such a sheltered career.

Support from well-wishers is fine, but it can quickly degenerate into unproductive enabling and groupthink. This is a mundane, trivial teaching event. The more you let it, or your colleagues’ overreactions, occupy your thoughts, the more the note’s author wins.

Turn it over to the chair? You know your chair. If half-hearted student gripes fall closer to “problems the chair considers important enough to take on”, or “opportunities to bond and build morale with new colleagues”, and not “everyday troubles a faculty member worthy of tenure ought to be able to handle without supervision”, then by all means.

Turn it over to campus security? Oy. Does your campus have a teaching resources center for faculty? The staff there would likely have experience with student correspondence, from whiny to threatening, and would likely know the campus policies and guidelines regarding referrals to the police. They might also be a good source of support and some dispassionate advice.

Finally, just because the group hug dynamic going on here profoundly unsettles me… what about the student’s underlying point? This student walked away from your class with the impression that sociology is a useless discipline that studies trivial matters. Mistaken? Absolutely. Considering your teaching style and choices of illustrative examples, though, is this a mistake that half-attentive students in your class could understandably make? Is this perhaps indicative that some students, especially those who don’t even remotely share your research interests, could benefit from applications of more relevance to what they prioritize?

Even the most vicious, biting student comment can sometimes have a kernel of insight, and we’re here to try to reach the angry ones, too. Some of your colleagues, in their fervor, seem to be losing sight of that this week.