I so much want to communicate my love of the study of human communication to my community college students. I just read comments about me on rate your professor, and they are bleak. I have a smile that s completely phony and "you can see right through." I don't give good directions for assignments -- but if you follow the directions, you will get an A. Students say I grade too easy, and worst of all, "I didn't learn anything in this class."

I know this is a completely ridiculous web site. The same disgruntled student can log on under different names and leave multiple vents. Teachers are even rated for being "hot" -- and one professor's husband left a hot chili pepper for her because he thinks she cute. My chair -- who "shouldn't be allowed to teach" told me not to bother reading the stuff. But I had really hoped that my ratings came up after last semester and took a peek. Bad, bad idea.

I have been a teacher for 15 years, and I pour myself heart and soul, into it. But I still don't know how to communicate any passion to my students.

It has been said that we often study what we feel we are deficient in, so that surely must be true of me.

I hope some of our young people here read this. Perhaps you will have some ideas about how I can spark things up.