My Students – They Just Want to Hear How Good They Are!

Imitation is considered the best form of flattery.

There is now a well-known web portal called RateMyProfessors.com. In keeping with that notion, Mark Pesce has suggested it is likely we will soon see yet another similar entity, RateMyLecture.com.

Brandford Marsalis
So it is no surprise to learn of yet another site, this one called RateYourStudents. It is there we found this rather provocative video from the brilliant jazz musician, Brandford Marsalis.

I must say, it is truly difficult to hear any teacher proclaim that students today are completely full of sh_ _ .

But it does beg some further thought. One can only speculate as to the caliber of students the musician works with but it seems to be highly unlikely that the man is dealing with the “average” student.

Those students who manage to get the opportunity to work with this man have to represent some of the best and brightest America has to offer. They also have to be individuals who have distinguished themselves from the crowd when it comes to the field of music.

Yet, Marsalis insists that these students are immensely flawed. Most importantly, according to the teacher/musician, they demonstrate an unwillingness to truly work at their craft.

A Societal Issue
Marsalis lays the issue upon our society.

“We live in a country that seems to be in this massive state of delusion, where the idea of what you are is more important than you actually being that. And it actually works just as long as everybody’s winking at the same time. Then, if one person stops winking, you just beat the crap out of that person, and they either starting winking or go somewhere else.”

Of course the strong words of Marsalis beg the question – if this is what he is seeing as a teacher, just imagine what the average college professor must be facing in his or her classroom.

To say nothing of what the public school teachers must be experiencing.