Not Just An Apple for the Teacher
Angelica Chavez Clarke became a US citizen in 2001 and when asked whether she would like to change her name, she added Clarke as a surname.
Angelica, a former student at Cal State University chose that name because Michael Clarke, a professor "stood out." She never asked permission and when she told him at a department Christmas party, Clarke was shocked.
KYW's Dr. Marciene Mattleman reports an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "When an Apple for the Teacher is Nowhere Enough" cites a professor who was asked to officiate at a wedding ceremony and a poster at the Hastings College of Law with the word "hope" under an illustration of a teacher, modeled after the famous Obama "hope poster." T-shirts with professors' images abound.
On Facebook fan clubs for professors draw hundreds of members. A popular one features Steven Pinker of Harvard with the caption, "It's not about his hair. It's about his ideas."
In an age when students are evaluating teachers and posting remarks on the Internet, professors are justifiably nervous. These expressions are all positive and as a former teacher I appreciated them.
