Thursday, October 12, 2006

Angry Professor? Do you agree with his actions?

Proverbs 14:17: A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a man of evil devices is hated.

Ephesians 4:31: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be out away from you, along with all malice.

From the New American Standard Bible (1984)

Yes, a man of evil devices was perhaps hated in this clip;).

This clip is available in many places on the net. I did not see anything posted to definitively show that the incident was theatrics, so perhaps it was actually non-fictional. For the sake of discussion, assuming the event was non-fictional, I disagree with how the professor acted, as it was very unprofessional and he lacked composure. As well he should have to pay for a new phone if needed and, in my view the professor should be criticized by the head of the academic institution.

I can see the humourous and satirical side of this clip as it could represent a backlash against our technological culture where many people spend so much time on the phone, internet, video games and in front of the TV that face to face human dialogue is often neglected. I realize that it can be irritating trying to have a discussion with someone who keeps yakking away on their phone. However, even if the professor and academic institution had warned students to have cell phones turned off while in class previously the professor simply could have stood in front of the student on the phone and asked him to turn the phone off in a loud and firm voice.

I admit that I have a healthy, but controlled temper, but once my PhD is completed and by God's will I become a professor, I will definitely not want my anger demonstrated in an uncontrolled violent manner. We are all angry at times and think this should be respectfully shared with God, but I think that it is dangerous to unleash it on others in public as it creates relationship difficulties and other potential problems. Comments?

10 comments:

  1. A section from:

    http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-12-14-cellphone-family-stress_x.htm

    It's a question on many people's minds these days. A study in the December issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family finds that cellphones and pagers interfere with family life by bringing job worries and problems home. Interviews with working couples — many with children — revealed that cellphone use tends to decrease family satisfaction and increase distress. "People felt they couldn't turn them off," says Noelle Chesley, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who conducted the study. "I couldn't find evidence of benefits."

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  2. It is interesting that the person (prof?? or TA???) does not really lose it but rather just nonchalantly walks over to the offender nicely takes the phone and throws it to the floor while continuing his talk. There does not seem to be undo anger just a very quick action and continuation of his work.

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  3. Thanks for the very good comment. I am not sure if he was angry either, that is why I put the question mark after angry professor in the title. My concern would be the possible perception of anger from the professor, as well as anger from people who may be in this type of authority position. I would want to avoid anger or a perception of it myself if I was to speak in public, but I can see that this could be difficult to control in certain situations.

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  4. My thought would be the threat of a power move by the prof would be perceived as a misuse of authority. That is more the issue to me than anger.

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  5. Thanks again for the fine point. I agree that the misuse of power and authority is an issue in this case as well, and that did cross my mind previously.

    Another friend of mine told me in person that he would view the incident in part, as a case of destruction of private property. He would have asked that the professor be dismissed, or at least that the phone be replaced. So yet another interesting way of looking at this situation.

    Cheers

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  6. In reply to the last anonymous. I think he lost his temper, and was not thinking about the consequences at the time. A man in his position should have stepped back and not done something instantly. It was an impulsive act.

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  7. Having seen this video clip has brought me to few conclusions. We as viewers can only guess to as why this teacher chose to commit this action. Perhaps ringing cell phones in this class have become a constant interuption and the teacher is very frusterated and lets his temper get the best of him, or perhaps this individual student has had a history of forgetting to turn off his phone thus continually disrupting the class and the teacher of a good learning environment. Everything is speculation and guessing because we do not have the whole story. My analysis may be incomplete but I have tried to be flexible throughout my comment.
    -DMF

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  8. What I'm wondering is, who took this video, and how did he happen to record this incident? It almost appears to have been staged to make a point. Issues of property aside, the point is well taken.
    I once sold these little gems for a living and was frequently hated, reviled, insulted and accosted. Someone once blamed me for the death of a loved one.
    Change is often resented, rapid change even more so, and few things have changed our culture as rapidly as the cell phone. Our once sacred venues, such as the classroom, have been invaded by cool ringtones, and the irreverent humor they bring has masked a serious issue, which is chaos so commonplace it is increasingly hard to remember the dignity we've lost.
    Hopefully, what technology giveth, technology taketh away. Increased adoption of tracking and positional awareness in phones may someday allow this professor and others to establish safe zones that turn the ringers off for us when we forget.
    Regarding the student's phone (if the clip was real), the prof should be suspended for destroying it.

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  9. Thanks,

    I agree that the professor should face punishment. The cell phone is today both a useful tool and an annoyance. Cell phone use is likely a partial cause of many car accidents as well, of course.

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