Saturday, September 5, 2009

BLOG FORECAST: BRIEF HIATUS FOLLOWED BY PROLONGED PERIODS OF NERDERY, ABI HUYNH AND WITHERED HAND


A new school year is upon me and nerding is limited to history/psychology again for a bit. Still, last week I happened upon a fantastically simple design for teacher evaluation forms by Abi Huynh (for the NY Times) that gets to the core of how students really feel about their teachers/professors in plain, sometimes pictured terms. I can't help but wonder how I'd measure up. As he says:

I was asked to do an illustration in NYT Magazine's college issue, the article was about the effect of faculty / instructor evaluations at Universities and Colleges in the US. I decided on a slightly subtle approach through an exaggerated take on the standardized test / survey. Whenever I was asked to evaluate my instructor, the specific categories (questions) the survey contained were pretty difficult to answer and it came down to the basic notion that some students that really liked the teacher ... and some who really hated them. The tests strive to have an objective aura, and that is reflected in a systemic idea and measure of 'good teaching', with this illustration I wanted to show the subjective nature behind the evaluation surveys.


In the meantime, go check out Withered Hand, a Scottish songster who keeps it real. Here's a taste, a gem called "Hard On"(mp3)