SPAN 2020

This course is like any other Spanish 2020 course. The assignments, tests, etc. are maintained by the department, so this will largely will be a review of the professor and the in-class experience.

There is no other way to start but by discussing the professor, Joseph Paola. I initially enjoyed his manner of teaching in comparison to my previous Spanish professor, as he explained things in English when he realized there was no way we were getting them in Spanish, and he seemed overall more down-to-Earth than other Spanish professors. His grammar explanations continued to be pretty good. However, it soon became clear that classes would be passed by doing book exercises and him awkwardly staring at us until we answered some open-ended question that no one wanted to answer. It was nice that he would let us go after he was done rather than creating more material for us to go over, however.

As the class was only about 18 students, we were able to discuss our thoughts about the class before class. The following is mostly based on the consensus feelings of the class.

His grading for subjectively-graded assignments (e.g. compositions, oral exam, etc.) was very strange. He seemed to grade on his own made-up curve, as he seemed to have a base grade in mind and gave everyone +/- a few points from that grade. Usually this base grade was in the 80's. Everyone I spoke to said he was the hardest-grading Spanish professor they had had.

The tension that grew in the classroom became very weird as the semester went along. He clearly didn't like certain students, and we all felt awkward from his silent stares. Later in the semester, it became known that he had an encounter with a student outside of class. We may never know what was truly said, but it was clear that he had problems with the class and it was clear that he wasn't professional enough to speak with the class about them. He has a student level of maturity rather than a professor level, and seems to enjoy making snarky comments when he can.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this professor to anyone if you can take it with someone else. The grading was harsh, the in-class experience was just too awkward, and having professor-student drama is absolutely ridiculous.

I don't think that the first comment about Prof. Paola is entirely fair. I was in this same class that this first person talks about and I found Prof. Paola to be a very good Spanish instructor. There were some very immature students in the course (students that are not of the caliber of UVa) that ANYONE would have had a difficult time dealing with them. That being said, I found Prof. Paola to be very professional and, if you are hard working and put forth a willingness to do the work and speak up in class, you can get a lot out of 2020. I highly recommend Prof. Paola.

I read the first comment, and the more I read I was amazed because the person writing was describing my in this class perfectly. I was also in the class of the two other commenters, and the first comment is entirely correct. I have never done so poorly in a spanish class and it was not for lack of trying. He was a tough grader, and had very high expectations. He was awkward in class, and clearly didn't like us (except for a spare few). I have a 3.5, so I wouldn't say I'm not a UVA caliber student, this guy was just generally an ass when it came to grading and conducting class on a daily basis. DO NOT TAKE. (seriously, he made me dread every Tuesday and Thursday)