A Three-Part Ritual to Reframe, Recover, and Reclaim Your Story After Harmful Course Evaluations
You already know student evaluations don’t tell the full story.
Even so, they can leave a sting.
And for Black faculty and women of color, the pain of mean-spirited comments that reflect racist tropes or gendered racism cuts even deeper.
Photo by Eduard Delputte on Unsplash
I used to spiral after reading course evaluations. I’d replay mean-spirited comments in my head for weeks—especially the ones laced with racism or gendered assumptions. I questioned everything, including whether I was even cut out for this work.
But with time—and, frankly, the help of a great therapist and community—I began developing a ritual that changed everything: an end-of-semester reflection practice. This wasn’t just a journaling prompt—it became a ritual for reclaiming my narrative from students who never saw me to begin with. This ritual helped me extract what mattered, release what wasn’t mine, and document growth I could barely see in the moment.
I’ve written about my practice before (you can check out one post here). This paid post expands on the specific process I teach in my workshop, “Four Steps For Protecting Your Peace While Also Learning From Student Evaluations.” The workshop is an experience—one that holds intentional space for faculty who are exhausted by, or furious at, the fact that we’re still subjected to a process we know is deeply biased.
While we as individuals can’t change institutional policies unilaterally, I focus on reclaiming the power that we do have in my own journey and when leading workshops.
So, if you’ve ever:
Received racialized or gendered feedback.
Taught content about power, identity, or politics.
Or felt anxious just opening your course evaluations.
…this is for you.
I see you.
I wrote this because I want you to remember you’re not alone. So much of what’s in those mean comments speaks to who they are and not you.
Yet, I know from experience that it still hurts.
This reflection practice emerged from that space and was refined through years of supporting friends who unfairly faced criticism in student evaluations while on the tenure track.
While student evaluations might not hold much weight at your institution, the reflection ritual I describe here remains valuable because these mean and snarky comments can still affect you.
I know some people choose not to read student evaluations at all, but that seems just as unfortunate to me as internalizing mean-spirited feedback. That’s because not reading your evaluation means you miss out on the wonderful things students say about you. You also don’t receive constructive feedback that can help you grow.
That’s giving those little fuckers a lot of power.
Giving in to bullies didn’t sit right with me on my journey, which is why I have spent so much time thinking and writing about this.
I hope you find this helpful too.
The 3-Part Reflection Ritual
I begin this ritual—what I call my 3G Framework—after grades are submitted, but before I shift to summer prep or research. I take the plunge and open my evaluations, then follow these three steps: