Christopher Spaide, a PhD student in English, received high praises from students and faculty in multiple courses.
Professor Steph Burt writes, “Chris Spaide may be the best TF I’ve ever had…and he’s one of the best teachers I have ever seen, of any rank or station…….He’s eminently approachable, and he’s generous with his time as well as his energy….He’s a role model and he does it all with sprezzatura, with a smile, in a way that makes the naïve and the sophisticate want to read poetry as he does, want to join in.”
Professor Peter Sacks comments, “Chris Spaide is among the two or three very best in more than three decades…. His students not only admired his brilliant teaching, but they also felt an immediate and enduring affection and profound gratitude for his humane generosity.”
Professor Hillary Chute from English 190 echoes these praises. “I sat in on Chris’s section twice during the term and observed with approbation how Chris put students at their ease, to bring out their best thinking and allow them to feel comfortable trying out their ideas…. Chris is the most student-centered, hands-on teaching fellow with whom I have worked since I began teaching undergraduates in 2000.”
Course evaluations also speak to both his ability to convey material and his commitment to his students. A student from English 50 wrote, “Chris is the best TF to walk this planet.” Another shared, “Chris was the best TF that I ever had…. He was ALWAYS accessible and friendly via e-mail, and always made time to meet with students when they couldn’t make his office hours.”
A student in “Poetry, Exile, and Displacement” wrote, “Best TF I’ve had, bar none. Also harsh as hell in grading, which I really respected and appreciated. Overall the most personable, funny, intelligent, and inspiring grad student I’ve had the chance to meet.”
Chris also served as an instructor for a junior tutorial, and the words of these students were equally effusive. One wrote, “Chris is an expert about what he teaches, he responds to your work with precise, strong-worded, honest, helpful feedback, he is so organized in how he approaches teaching/discussion/class material. What makes Chris the cream of the crop, completely on another level from other TFs: he loves—and is great at—storytelling, he is contagious in his appreciation for the world, language, art, and education, and he will be your support, role model, and friend as much as he will be your teacher.”
Chris, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is pleased to present you with the Derek C. Bok Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching of Undergraduates. Congratulations!
