Resume v Ratings

When Sammy sent me the links to his professional life, I was completely focused on playing bridge at the regional tournament in Richmond.  I responded to his email a week later but wrote that I hadn't had a chance to look at the links.  Looking back, I'm sure he was probably disappointed by my lack of eagerness.

But, eventually, I did and OMG I was completely blown away!  I practically used up all my ink printing out his curriculum vitae...24 pages!  Who has a 24 page resume?  When I was hiring, I wouldn't read more than one page.  But, I guess if you're a professor, you have to show how significant you are in that world.

Sammy's Highlights:

• Over a dozen professional positions, including being a visiting professor in Japan, Germany and at Harvard University
• Multiple committee and conference coordinator positions
• Editorial duties for five professional journals
• Invited reviewer for 15 professional journals
• Too many research grants to even count
• Elected a Fellow by the American Psychological Association
• Supervised 14 doctoral students
• Wrote 10 books (I found them on Amazon)
• Published over 100 journal articles
• Gave over 100 presentations on his research

Nothing is not impressive.  I don't think I'll be sharing my curriculum vitae with him anytime soon!  But, I have to tell you in his most recent email, he included more personal information...the names of his daughters.  Oh, now, we're making progress!  

I see he thinks his professional life is way more interesting than his personal life and I think my personal life is way more interesting than my professional life.  Opposites attract, right?

While I'm on the computer, I decide to do a google search on him and find most of what I've already seen but then find a website that rates him as a professor.....Very smart guy, but can he teach?

His Overall rating is 3.6 out of 5.  The two areas he's rated in are Helpfulness and Clarity.  They don't include the Easiness rating in the Overall score.  That was his highest rating--4.5.  The comments range FROM "he knows his stuff," "really nice guy" "typical 'nerdy' psych teacher who really tries to have a sense of humor," "very willing to help" TO "attending his lectures made me want to rip my hair out," "he spends the first 20 minutes setting up his computer, another 20 minutes per slide, and ends up babbling about useless information," "if you enjoy listening to someone ramble, take him."

TMI!!!  I should've just stuck to the impressive curriculum vitae.  I was a teacher and if my students thought I was boring and easy, I would've been DEVASTATED!!!  

Good teaching is an art form.  Ya got it or you don't.  A Ph.D means nothing.