I like getting teaching evaluations at the end of the term. That they are generally quite positive is surely one reason; but they are also informative, and have helped me improve my teaching over time. My favorite student comment from this past term:

“I was concerned about taking your class after viewing your web site because you are so hostile to Christians and conservatives there. I was very glad that you keep that out of the class and think you are one of the best professors at UT Law.”

This was the only student (out of about 100 who completed evaluations this past term) to remark on the blog. And while I’m puzzled by the reference to hostility towards Christians (I am hostile to impositions of majority religions on minorities, not to Christians), I’m glad that a student coming in as a skeptic came out with a ringing endorsement. Unlike the Young Conservatives of Texas, I actually believe that the political views of the professor should not intrude in the classroom. In any serious subject, with intellectual content, there is no reason for politics to play any role.