The claim that he was not the best person to teach poorly qualified pupils may have been a fair one but it is certainly not the case that he was a poor lecturer. Stokes wrote in 1854 that he had:
Ang claim na siya ay hindi ang pinakamabuting tao upang turuan maganda kwalipikadong mga nag-aaral ay maaaring isang makatarungan isa ngunit ito ay tiyak na hindi ang mga kaso na siya ay isang mahinang lektor. Stokes wrote sa 1,854 na niya: