but what about the poor students who hate to read?

My first exam is coming up in the class I am teaching about all the living things in the ocean. Lately I have been getting a ton of complaints about what I am doing wrong, generally masked by statements of how great of a teacher I am and how much they are learning. Granted I did open myself up for this by asking for feedback on why the quiz score average had decreased by 2 points last week. This is one example sent this afternoon (emphasis is mine):

Okay, in terms of how much material there is to cover in class; it's just fine, but you could do a bit more for everyone by slowing down. It's not that the material is confusing, or what you are saying is confusing, it's just that all you have to do is read what is already written down on your power point lecture, where as we are listening and copying down the slide of notes. I abbriviate and don't write every single word. But, I do see most people struggling to write down everything, and combined with the speed at which you are reading it off, it becomes this mix of "confusion" for most of the students.

the student goes on to suggest a new lecture strategy:
when you come to a new slide; instead of reading it right away, give a 30 to 45 second gap to allow us to get a head start on writing down the material, and then slowly ease into it. for each point after that give a 10 second head start. This way we can take down what's important, and then pay more attention to what your saying.

and then how reading should be assigned:
Now, as far as the reading goes, for the first 2 weeks I read everything, but as it didn't start showing up on the quizes I saw no need. There is a whole lot of reading, and you've got to figure that most people hate to read. So maybe there is just specific areas that you want us to learn, like stuff the will be on tests and quizes and the final, because that weeds out all the other useless material and it knocks the reading down to seem more attainable.

...and the quizzes, let's not forget how unfair quizzes are:
As far as the quizes go. The first 2 were easy, I think I got an 8 and a 9 (out of 10), the last one I got a 5. (Could that be from not reading? maybe, but I also didn't study).

But this student is learning more than ever and truly is sympathetic to my role:
I hope this helps you out with getting an understanding from a students perspective. I know it must be hard being a teacher though, so know that you really are doing a wonderful job. i've learned alot more than I'd ever known about Marine Biology. Good luck with the rest of the semester. see you in class.

With such helpful feedback I have decided to start giving them the 40 question multiple choice exams a few days before I test them, same version. Then I do not even have to cause confusion with my talking/power point lecture business! I can just give them all the questions, have them look up the answers and memorize each multiple choice so the exam is a breeze! I mean, we really should be thinking about those poor students who are going nearsighted from all that useless reading...not to mention my voice from all this meaningless chatter.

Yeah, I think I have a plan there.