The Lecturer fires back
Try as we might, we can't quite comprehend how a seemingly esteemed University lecturer can allow himself to resort to playground name-calling to defend his position.
These are the comments Dr Vella left beneath our previous post:
After explaining to him that he was judging us on a post which we hadn't written - (and redirecting him to the post we wrote as a response to the many articles written by others) - and that no name-calling was necessary, he decided to apologise...
Now, while we appreciate the fact that he has actually apologised for calling us 'twerps' (we don't mind that bit - many had already done that), we think it is hardly appropriate for a lecturer to publicly call his student 'cretin' and 'intellectually-challenged'. Well done, very mature.
In fact, we would like to ask Ms Claire Bonello (and Tanja Cilia, as she seems to agree with the former), who in her patronising tone decided to hector the students and us, whether this would also qualify as rude; she seems to be very acquainted with what is and what is not.
Is e even allowed to speak like that to his students? The university said it's the lecturer's prerogative to ban laptops. So is this another prerogative?
ReplyDeleteIs he for real? And what's 'twerpish'? Can he at least speak proper English?
ReplyDeletetwerpish is an adjective. look it up
DeleteI think this man is very rude and that he shouldn't be speaking like this if he wants his students and his colleagues to respect him. He is really tarnishing his image.
ReplyDeleteNow that's what I call pompous. In reality he just doesn't realize he's making a fool of himself, because the only decent thing he could have done was to shut up and let it pass.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to forget that he was called 'excruciatingly boring' so it's logical that he gets pissed off aye.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't you get it? The student NEVER, EVER did say that it was the lecturer's fault. He only said that the lesson was boring. Come on, we're sure you could get it if you re-read it - and read his post, not what other bloggers wrote about it.
DeleteAt least he apologised. Calling people like that is definitely not appropriate for people of his calibre. And apart from that, it's quite ironic for a lecturer to ban the use of laptops in class, where he's the first one to make use of them. It reminds me of an exam I had once on University grounds, when an invigilator warns us that he'd take our mobile phones away if they rang during the exam, and his mobile phone rang thrice in one hour!
ReplyDeleteclearly this has gone way to far
ReplyDeletelol. People shouldn't interfere in other people's careers. This has been blown out of its proportions. I am a student of Dr.Vella and his lectures and power points are interesting, especially when revising them. Stop judging him, especially if you have never attended his lectures.
ReplyDeletePlease enlighten us as to when we have judged his lecturing skills. When? We're sure you can read and comprehend English (all right, not too sure). However, this reply is not a sarcastic one, really - we'd be seriously interested in knowing WHERE and HOW we have ever judged his skills.
DeleteWell, since we know that your answer will be "never", we must say that YES, we did judge his behaviour. But you see, that's a different matter altogether.
We are sure that his slides are very helpful and that he is an erudite lecturer. What we merely posted above (you'd know if you read it) is that his comments are totally inappropriate. Now you may justify what's clearly unjustifiable - but we call a spade a spade.
Not only is Dr. Vella tarnishing his personal image, but also that of the professional staff of the University of Malta. How disappointing.
ReplyDeleteDon't listen to these spoilt and snobbish twerps Dr Antoine Vella, you're a great man and keep it up!
ReplyDeleteWho the hell is saying that he's not? Can you actually understand and fully fathom English? They have commented on laptops being in the lecture room, not Dr Vella. I think that all this hoolaboo is being put forward by people like you. Before really commenting you should read.
DeleteWhat a twat you really are, Mark. You, out of all people, shouldn't be speaking such stupidities. You are one the real selfish twerps because you use others to get what you want and then when others in difficulty even if wrong you just push your finger where it hurts. just sod off come on.
DeleteAs a Matter of Fact, his colleague Andrew Farrugia, is asking for evidence that foul language was used with students.
ReplyDeleteHow very smart of you, Andrè Vella.
ReplyDeleteYour pathetic attempt to get to us is actually so naff that all it does is make us laugh.
Good day.
As a matter of fact (note lower case letters), Tirazona, Andy Farrugia -that's me- asked YOU about evidence of ME resorting to name-calling and foul-mouthing students (it is NOT correct to say "using foul language WITH students) since you addressed ME and not Dr Vella. You are hilarious, Tirazona; of that I have absolutely no doubt.
ReplyDeleteSomeone just drew my attention to this. It is actually not with Ms Claire Bonello or Dr Antoine Vella that I agree - it's with the principle of the thing. If you are with someone, you give them your full, undivided attention. As I said, if you find your lecturers annoying, and do not mind getting your stipend docked, just absent yourself from the session. You cannot eat your cake and have it. End of story.
ReplyDeleteDear Tanja,
DeleteYou don't seem to be very acquainted with the regulations. Your comment is indicative of that.
In fact, we suggest you read this (something who notified you about this should have also shared with you), so as to get a better understanding of what absenteeism really implies - and where we stand on this one.
My point is not absenteeism. Neither is it regulations or the breaking or not of them. It is politeness. If you don't give a person in whose company (or lecture) your attention, you are not being civil. So never allow yourself to be in a situation where you cannot be all eyes and ears, especially if it is your duty to be so. End of story.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Tanja, there's no other alternative. Rules say you must go to classes otherwise you cannot sit for your exams. So like or not, you've got to lump it. We've elaborated on this extensively here - http://www.teandrain.blogspot.com/2012/05/no-laptops-during-lectures-congregation.html, so we shan't do that again. End of story.
DeleteThis http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120523/blogs/mouths-over-manners.421013 shows some typical attitude problems.
DeleteIf you had wanted to read for your degree on-line, you could have done that. Yet you chose to physically attend lectures. So you have to take the rough with the smooth, and pay attention though you may not appreciate the methodology used by the lecturer(s). This is called respect, being mature, and politeness.
ReplyDeleteIt takes two to tango, Tanja. You cannot respect someone if you think that that someone is hardly respecting you. Enough said about this, though, really.
Deletehttp://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120523/blogs/mouths-over-manners.421013
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou rise above someone when you do not behave like him - even though he may be your superior in society. Your comment implies that you decided to play the tit for tat game, which alas, is not what I would have done. And before you ask what that would have been; I would have rested my chin on my palms and stared at him, making him uncomfortable enough - as I have been known to do to other people - to ask what the matter was. Then, I would have explained exactly why I did not appreciate his teaching style. That's it, really. But then, I am fifty-two years old.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, we can't but help asking: "you do know that we weren't the students writing about it, do you?" This is the blog on which the story was published - and before you start calling us "fucking wankers" like the lecturer in question did (we know you wouldn't, for at least you're into being polite), yes, we do believe that we had to publish it.
ReplyDeleteWe did already know you are somewhat older (thanks for specifying, though).
If you really want to know what you think - yes, we disagree with you, even though you're much older - we urge you to read our previous post.
You know I am older, and you know I never use foul language. Good; at least you learned how to do research, except with regard to the following issue. As a matter of fact, I never criticised you. I just wanted to get across the point that discourteousness is not something I suffer gladly, be it from my superiors, my equals or associates, or my subordinates, or when it happens to other people. And, just for the record, I sign my name to all I write, on any publication.
ReplyDeleteRe: " If you really want to know what you think " Spell-check does not double up as a proofreader. And this is my last comment on this blog, although not necessarily on this topic.
"Your comment implies that you decided to play the tit for tat game". Well, that's indicative of something different; yes, we do know you know that. We shan't, however, put too fine a point there, not least because another tantrum would highly likely follow.
DeleteIn any case, clearly, the "you" was meant to be a "we".