Criticism

Prompted by comments from my classmates in an msn chat yesterday night, I wrote a page of (negative) feedback for a lecturer and sent out the page to our class's mailing group. To my surprise, one of my classmate actually replied and said that it is "a bit cruel" and asks rhetorically if we are sure we want to hurt him. A few others came up to me in person and remarked the same thing too. Suddenly, I can't help feeling like a petty villian, though I know their comments are innocent.

Now, all of us know he sucks big time and most of us dislike him. So why the about-turn in attitude when I started the ball rolling in appraising him? Are my classmates concerned about his future? Or just too decent and don't want to drag someone down into mud? Or am I really too cruel? Well, none has said that my appraisal of his performance is false, so it must be an issue about political sensitivity then, or perhaps a fear of the possible repercussions. But why bother doing false feedbacks? And shouldn't teachers welcome honest criticism, since they are most often the one doing the criticizing?

His performance is so poor that I cannot stand by and let it pass without at least an honest feedback. To do nothing will be to compromise the principles that I live by as a teacher, and which I think all teachers should live by too. I see myself as having the duty of trying to raise the standards of teaching within my own sphere of influence, and I can do nothing much but this. One has to accept judgment for one's actions, especially if feedback is invited.

Heck, I have no doubt that my feedback will do nothing but amuse the people reading it anyway. But I will hang on to the possibility that this can wake him up to be a teacher with a more balanced perspective towards teaching.