(for undergraduate students) they said: you transfer the information from theory to practice. (for graduate students) most of time said that: you deal with us as colleagues not students.

I think it is important for teachers or professor to deal with students as human, not just listeners. At the same time try to find the applicable sides of the information even if its theoritical one.

What a nice question. Dear @Nelson, you'll probably not believe but during lectures my students, in the first rows of the audience, are sitting with closed eyes. Maybe I'm boring or they had students parties nights before or maybe this is relax ? Then some of them come, later to my office to apologize. Perhaps I should use Haydn technique ? I'll try to remind myself any sentence tomorrow. I suppose, my students like me.

Nelson, these are some of the memorable statements said about me by my students, and they really touched my heart:

You are like a father to us, we love you sir!

Thank you sir for believing in us, we love you!

You have never lost faith in us sir, thank you!

You are a perfect professor to us!

Thank you sir for being so patient to us!

And so many more....Ed

Dear Beata,

Don´t feel so bad: whenever my wife attends my public lectures, she sits in the front row with eyes closed and breathes heavily. I try to convince myself that she is not asleep.

My students usually say that I am different person in the laboratory. I am quite friendly in theory classes but, in the lab, the scenario changes.

P.S.- This is because of an accident during my post grad. One of my school friend who was doing her post grad in another university accidently inhaled some toxic chemical which lead to painful death after 60 hours of struggle in ICU. I don't want to be repeated with any of my student.

Dear Nelson, fortunately there is lot of good technology supplies present while teaching process. I hope, maybe they record my lecture ?

Speaking of particular sentence, I do not have in mind, but my students are much open to share with me via e-mail, their serious personal life challenges, problems in relation to mental health (depressions, psychiatric treatments) serious marriage or family problems. I think they have confidence in me. They do not try to cheat on me too.

Dear colleagues,

Your answers are varied and excellent, and I will forthwith respond to them.

Here, though, I reproduce the response of another colleague, who wishes to remain anonymous, but whose views are of great pedagogical value, in my opinion:

"Greetings Nelson,

"That's a hard one to answer, because any positive statement might come across as bragging and unverifiable, and any negative statement ... well ....

"Anyway, let me tell you one anecdote (which for the above reasons I would not post publicly) - When I was teaching final year students at M. University, I had my teaching slot between 9 and 11 on Monday mornings, and there were no further courses on the Monday. So I had to make it really a tough course for students to bother ! Which I did. The lone course repeater in the class commented at the end of the first cless: we have done more in your first class than over the whole course last year... Which i took as a great compliment.

"Beyond that, there was of course the old tug of war between readying great courses and giving time over to research pursuits ...."

In my case, students are very much impressed and appreciated about completing the syllabus, far ahead the semester ends, with plenty of time to do the revision and to clear their doubts.

The following is from an old anonymous feedback report:

Positive Feedback Received

 Clear explanations

 Good tutorials

 Friendly approach of lecturers

 Useful notes

Negative Feedback

 Request for more notes /handouts

 Request for more practicals and real examples as class is too theoretical/conceptual

 Request for handouts to be given before class

 Make class more lively and more interactive

I would have liked to tell my teachers that I have forgotten most of the content they taught me but some of the fundamentals are crystal clear 25 years afterwards and most of all i admire them all the more today for their critical mind, their dedication and their passion for their field of study. And most of all, they need to remember that even if they consider teaching as the least interesting part of their work , that is a non-negligible contribution to the world that they are leaving (besides their beloved research).

I forgot to add another important thing - I have some students who became my teachers afterwards - i am grateful to them for being even more patient with me than i was with them - and i feel proud of myself for every bit i learn from them.

All I can say is... wow! Who would have thought that students display such insight? In Bassam´s case, you had a student genial at coining aphorisms (although the aphorism quoted by Kamal is more universal). In Ravi´s case, you actually enjoyed the privilege of being taught by your own pupils, as Anna said she was in "Anna and the King of Siam." Ravi, your teachers would be gratified by your gratitude towards them. Larisa, your negative reaction is universal and not a reflection on you as a teacher. Your positive reaction is a true tribute to your pedagogical ability. Lijo, when I was teaching, we would never dare to finish our syllabi too early: our department chairmen would accuse us of not scheduling enough information to be taught! (I know, though, that our students would never accuse us of not giving them their money´s worth, just as yours would not). Darasingh, you have every reason to be strict in the lab, and I hope you make it clear to your students just why you are.

One student raised his hand in class and beckons me closer.. then whispers "your fly is open"

wow @ David!

That is memorable, David!

What luck you had, Alicia, in your choice of PhD advisor. Mine was hidebound, but yours was free of forejudgments! No wonder the finished product caused you so much satisfaction!

Larisa, that means your lessons are useful for all ages, even the unborn!

Congratulations @Larisa! :)

Great reading everyone's experiences.

I have always been a very strict teacher within reason... I make my students work until they get the work done right ..for that I also spend as much time as they need with them ...Many have found me too tough while I was teaching them but thanked me later when the skills put them ahead of others.. The best comment that really touched my heart was from an old student who I met in an alumni get-together... He told me that at the time he was my student on a few occasions he had got "A" from me... and he had preserved those sheets in the same scroll as his degree...

I think that was the greatest complement I received..

I consider it a sign of having done my work right when I become unnecessary to my students, and when they move ahead of me and can teach me something. It happens often enough.

These are things taught to me by my teachers... I has some great teachers... few bad ones too.. use those as examples of what not to do..

Best teacher is one who is an inspiration in all fields not only in the subject he/she taught but also as a role model of the things or principles he/she does/ follows. Most satisfying moment for a teacher is when their students excel them in their field and are yet humble and who look for your opinion but follow their own mind. They need not necessarily have the same opinion as the teacher, but be able to give reasons for their decisions. As Dr Mandana rightly said a student realizes why a teacher acted in that manner only when he/she is a teacher later. I am blessed with both Great teachers and students as well...

@Nelson, just last Friday, 3 days ago, the last batch of students (11 of them) came back to visit me. One of the Chai Woon asked, if I'm still doing my research on musical mnemonics. So I said, I have 2 papers on processes related to Expression of Biological Information already written up...and I'm working on 1 more topic.

Dear Miranda,

When students come back to visit you after classes are done, you can be sure that their admiration is sincere. Congratulations.

How many others of those participating in this chain have had students come back after the end of your classes with them?

Nelson, In my limited experience, there were some, not every one and not every day...

I have started my career as a teacher, because I didn't get an interesting research position immediately after my studies. Soon after, I became a fan of that profession only because I realized the value, love and respect from students, colleagues and society. That was an amazing experience.

Thanks Nelson, Lijo et al., the important thing is that I was able to make a difference in their academic life. They send emails and messages after exams, and when they got into varsity. We're all on FB, but my college blocked FB and many other sites, so it's not easy for us to communicate thro FB.

Lijo and Miranda, I would have love to have had you both as teachers, even though I probably could not have mastered desalinization of water and musical mnemonics. That's why I decided to study philosophy instead.

I have the good fortune of being in contact with many of my ex students, who regularly ask for my opinion and suggestions. of the 522 people who like and follow my professional page on FB , most are my ex students . I am honored that quite a few are also my teachers.

@Nelson, actually you would do just fine in Biology or Physics, if you put your mind to it. Girls seem to do a lot better than boys, but the boys who are good are right at the top, although they are not many in number. But that discussion is on Martin's thread 'The advent of smart girls'. May I suggest you follow it, folks?

https://www.researchgate.net/post/The_advent_of_smart_girls-Fiction_or_Reality?cp=re65_x_p2&ch=reg&loginT=uhLJXaY-E9J5ZanZvZoyAbQAZgEHyAdnFobu5M6ra5I%2A&pli=1#view=53434079d5a3f237388b458b

Here is the opinion of Josué Sánchez, a very poignant and deeply felt answer;

Now that we are out of classes, I can at least give an opinion.

The lazy students: These students will cause as much problem as they can against me. They for some reason do not want to do the work for the course and will find a way to blame for their failures in the course. Usually they do not come to class, do not turn in homework, and do not care to learn. Somebody sent them to my class or it was a requirement. These are my problem students who usually will to go to my superiors to report my inability to teach them anything, the irrational amount of work I demand, my weak techniques in teaching, my loud voice, or simply that they do not like me. These are the ones who will contest their grade, complain to the administration for anything, and will do whatever they can to undermine my class. I have been summoned to the office of the Vice president of Students affairs on a complaint by these students who eventually become my enemies because I did not pass them.

The mediocre students: These students do not care if I teach well or not, they just want to pass and let me know all they want is a D to pass. Since they do not care to learn, because that was not their objective, in most cases they do not study and eventually end up with an F. They do not complain directly, but are my constant visitors to my office on the last two weeks of the semester to remind me about the D they need to have.

Those who enjoyed it: There are those who did not know I was good or bad until later in their lives and eventually contact me to tell me their opinion. Something I said, or subject we covered somehow triggered in them a profound effect. I just read an article of a college electronic magazine where one of my former students praised my teaching, but mostly something I said totally irrelevant at the time, but completely applicable now that he was in college. Others kept sending me emails to know how I was doing many to ask me for handouts on the subjunctive or other grammatical concept. These students are memorable because the concepts we studied were practical and eventually help them drastically.

Here is a contribution from María Eugenia Mayer: another forthright opinion! For some reason my questions are disappearing from my invitations to share. Says María Eugenia:

I have my doubts about the validity of our students' comments under the current (academic) circumstances in the USA, when most of the teaching is done by part-time instructors; I would like to see a correlation between the start of student evaluations as a system, on the one hand, and the (proven objectively) improvement of teaching quality, as per results. I tend to think that the best teachers are still young, eager, publishing not frantically but with reasonable spacing (a few years), with a general knowledge of the field and some degree of "updatedness", discerning, qualified updatedness, and not just an awareness of the latest trends in scholarship or teaching methodology or high tech stuff. A teacher that can lecture in depth, answer complicated questions occasionally, and allow for some student-centered activities, some.