Here are audience comments from student questionaires, administered by the University of Manchester. In places they are a little embarrassing, but I have resisted the temptation to edit them. These could just be hand-picked choices, so to support my claim that they are representative I will say that during the 13 years I was at the university, I consistently came top, or near top, of the student questionaire scores administered by the department - in a department of some 50 academic staff. We clutch at these little items of solace in the face of eternity, do we not?
"Probably the best presented course thus far.''
"Extremely well presented. Mr. West seems to put a lot of effort into making his course interesting and different from the others.''
"Get some more lecturers who make their subject as interesting as this one.''
"I've enjoyed this course very much.''
"How can you fault Adrian West's lecturing? He's a natural. If he doesn't enjoy lecturing he does a rather good job of making us believe he does. Quality teaching institutions are build on the likes of him.''
"What can I say, Dr. West is brilliant.''
"Excellent. Adrian West's informal approach made the subject matter easy to grasp. Good co-ordination with recommended text. Nice sense of humour! Dead Good, especially the philosophy. If only all lecturers were so well balanced.''
"Lots of fun. Seriously, it's my favourite module. Adrian West is a brilliant lecturer. He smiles loads, he's funny and he explains things well. He makes things fun when the material is dull.''
"Superlative.''
"The most interesting course this semester.''
"Don't change a thing.''
"Very nice fluid style of presentation.''
"Excellent - a potentially incredibly tedious course is made interesting by a lively presentation.''
"Adrian is a fantastic lecturer and is probably the best we have had all semester. He turned what could have been a nightmarishly difficult and mind numbing topic into something that was really interesting. He mixed anecdotes with his descriptions and his metaphors were brilliant at explaining and enabling us to remember things. Thanks to Adrian!!''
"A course which can actually make me get out of bed to attend \& the only course I've been to all the lectures.''
"I find Adrian West's style very good and easy to follow - good stuff!''
"Fun. Really interesting and makes me think (a rare occurrence).''
"Very good! very imaginative. also a lot of humour!''
"A pleasant, informal style of lecturing sustained attention spans.''
"Adrian West is a fantastic lecturer.''
"Excellent - the quotes used and the light humour made the course very enjoyable. You'll have problems improving this course.''
"Pretty damn good. The perfect course.''
"Very well presented, excellent lecturing style. Very much enjoyed.''
"One of the best courses. Get more zen monks to teach courses.''
"A high standard has been retained throughout this module making it interesting and challenging. Well done Mr West.!!''
"Great. It was really well structured and built on past lectures brilliantly. Adrian West is an absolutely brilliant lecturer, witty and interesting whilst constantly relevant.''
From research skills workshops given at the University of Liverpool, which focus on research, teamworking, presentation and thinking skills.
"I would like to specifically acknowledge Dr Adrian he did a remarkable job and I extremely enjoyed his presentations.''
"The 'thinking about thinking' sessions was really interesting.''
"'Thinking about thinking' really changed my view on life as well as my PhD. Very beneficial.''
"'Adrian was a fantastic, engaging tutor.''
From tutoring on the uk grad schools. These focus on careers, and transferable skills. Feedback here is from the participant feedback sheets, which have a section for comments about the tutor.
"Hi is an inspirational, exceptional person, the kind of person you meet only once or twice in your life, who provides a real pivotal experience and shows you an entirely more fulfilling way to live."
"Very caring and wise, with a strong dedication to our group. I felt he truly cared about us all."
"Very intelligent person, open minded and very supportive. He has given me the impression of being really content with his life"
"Very supportive. I was with Adrian West and I am really glad that he was our tutor since he is very experienced."
"My tutor was FANTASTIC. Open minded, dedicated, warm."
"Amazing - he was an inspiration to us all."
"He is Amazing, considerate, open minded, great, caring."
"He has a gift for setting a comfortable and safe atmosphere for everyone."
"Calming, encouraging, thoughtfull - made the experience of the course more enjoyable. An excellent listener who accepted our ideas."
"Very helpful; explaining everything clearly, a sense of humour - enjoyable class! Thanks a lot Adrian"
"Very helpful, professional and Great!"
"Open, professional, helpful."
"Inspiring and Excellent."
"Superb."
"Fantastic."
"Thought provoking!"
"Mint."
(on a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator workshop session...) "MBTI - it's really interesting and your approach to presenting was enlightening."
"Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and very good at his job."
"Very helpful, very upbeat and kept interest. Was a joy to work with over the 3 days. Very good."
"Excellent - Enthusiastic and Inspirational."
"many thanks for the workshop held last week - it was really amazing, useful and memorable."