> Citation needed.
My class.
Quote from student: "Thanks for having the best class."
Reponse from me: "Best?! You're getting clobbered in my class."
Quote from student: "Yeah, I'm not doing that well, but the bullshitters who always manage to butter up the Professor and skate through are actually failing for the first time ever. Everybody knows where they stand in your class. And, they know that if they put in the work they get the grade and if they don't, well, they get hammered."
Response from me: "Thanks, I guess?"
I considered it a compliment only because my father who taught high school for almost 4 decades said: "You're teaching a class. The students have to think you know your material, and they have to think you are fair. Nothing more. If they like you and/or respect you, so be it ... but those are non-goals. Your goal is to teach them the material, not be their friend."