Student Comments

With [Student Evaluations] collected each semester, asking a professor to teach students difficult material rigorously is akin to asking a condemned teacher to buy her own coffin.
D. Larry Crumbley

What students have written about me in the past...

Here are what some of my former students have said about me. As always, my hope is to give potential students a chance to better understand what they're in for. If you're a potential student, maybe you'll see something that attracts you to one of my classes or maybe you'll see something that isn't compatible with your educational goals (if you're concerned about grades, you can actually find a summary of the grades I've given in the past here). I've noticed most students don't read my FAQ or any of the other things I've posted to help one do well in my classes. Nevertheless, if you're the type of student who maximizes your chances by learning about your instructors, I hope this helps!

I take all student comments seriously and I use them to gauge what's going on in my classroom; however, this doesn't mean that I understand them the way that the authors hope I will! For instance, students who write things like "too much writing for an X-level class," tell me I'm on the right track since I believe students aren't given enough opportunities to write in college as it is. This goes similarly for students who write things akin to "I had to spend too much time studying for this class." Again, this tells me I'm going in the right direction since students, as a whole, aren't studying as much as they ought, anyhow, and employers have noticed. I've noticed that when students complain about me making them write so much, they never, ever, mention the fifteen minute lecture I give them on how I worked in industry and how bad writing would prevent people from getting jobs, gaining more responsibilities and trust, or obtaining promotoins. I guess present pain isn't worth future gain in any way to these students <sigh>.

Even if I'm slammed, I don't mind typing it here since other teachers have had it worse.  Currently, the ratio of cheers to jeers I receive is around seven or eight to one, with about half of the jeers being half-truthish (or worse)  in nature (see below). ​
Honestly, most instructors have a difficult time placing a ton of weight on reviews. While I appreciate the idea of reviews in theory, in practice they're often driven more by emotion than objectivity. Since I am not specifically attempting to help students feel better in the immediate (I care more about their futures), it's akin to asking someone purchasing an automobile to rate their car based on their buying experience alone rather than on the long-term use of the car, itself. It's especially bad for instructors, like me, who don't necessarily conform to a norm that students have come to expect. Also, there might be some evidence that indicates a negative correlation between evaluation scores and learning outcomes.  Here are some of my thoughts on the matter for those who care to read.

In any case, these might help you, in some way, to determine whether I'm the right guy for you. Enjoy! (Note: If necessary, I've re-worded these a bit in order to disguise the institution or class for the sake of anonymity.)

Cheers!

  • Thanks-in-gifts I've received!
  • Thanks-in-cheesecake I've received!
  • Best history teacher ever. Learned a lot and had fun.
  • The first time I can say I learned history and not simply memorized it to pass a test.
  • It's nice to see someone so passionate about the subject they teach!
  • Very good instructor. Went into detail w/good info.
  • Really cared about what we learned and because we asked he even stopped by our evening group study session before the final! 
  • You are by far the best instructor I've had since attending [university]! To improve myself, I will be taking an English remedial course to improve my writing.
  • This class was extremely interesting and the instructor makes the content easy to learn and remember. The structure of the class is excellent!
  • Best wishes for your next class. This one was very challenging but equally rewarding! =)
  • I learned more from your course than I have in any other at [this university]. I often feel other classes are too easy and cheat me out of my hard-earned money. Thank you for making me actually earn a grade.
  • I found your history course to be the best I've ever taken.
  • Wanted to thank you for this class.  It was a interesting way to do history and I admit it kicked my butt a bit but I enjoyed it all the same.  Excellent instruction and very thought provoking.  Again thank you.
  • He has a very good knowledge of the subject matter and encourages students to ask questions. He often knows various goofy, amusing details of historical events and characters. Very funny, too.
  • I have to say the last [term] has been an experience and it was a pleasure to have you as an instructor again...I can say that I survived [a bunch of stressful stuff], only a single class falling to a B, and TWO classes with you as an instructor. Overall I see that as a very BIG accomplishment.
  • Openness and willingness to answer any question. I actually felt he was concerned about my grade and wanted everyone to be prepared for exams/papers.
  • I had never enjoyed a class until this class! The teacher...always makes it exciting to be in, even if it is a 3-hour long class.
  • He is strict enough to make us try our hardest, yet still makes the class interesting.
  • I saw the negative comments getting passed around in the discussion forums and all I have to say is "wow," some of your students really missed out on a golden opportunity to better themselves. Given how poorly these gripes were communicated, it looks like most of the complainers could have actually learned how to write from you--too bad for them! Thanks for challenging me and don't let those satisfied with their own mediocrity get you down! (I don't! One develops a pretty thick skin doing this :) )
  • I thoroughly enjoyed this class, and learned a great deal. The way the assignments and reading materials were done allowed for me to be prepared every class.
  • I really enjoyed this class and would definitely recommend it to a fellow student. Professor Arnold is extremely knowledgeable on the subject and is always happy to answer any questions that anyone has. It is a challenging course but the subject matter is very interesting.
  • I did not feel that I had to pander to any grander political or university agenda in order to get a good grade. Everything about the course design and structure was straightforward and allowed me to process my thoughts in a coherent intellectual way.
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Cheers Related to my Writing Instruction

  • Thank you for checking out my paper and giving me some good pointers. You are helping me to become a better writer. I think that I have good ideas, but I'm not that great at putting them into the right words. I am improving though and will try to continue building on what your teaching me. Thanks again!
  • Thank you for grading my horrible writing so carefully! I learned a lot!
  • So few of my professors have taken the time to grade my papers line-by-line. At first it made me scared to turn anything in, but then I realized I was getting better.
  • Professor Arnold's essay rubric was absolutely clear and demanded high standards for academic excellence that I honestly do not see from most professors at [University ranked in the top 100 of the world where "high standards for academic excellence" should be the norm, but apparently aren't, unfortunately]. The challenge was most definitely welcomed, and it helped that I had a lot of interest in the subject matter to begin with.
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Jeers!

  • Too much reading material per week. I will never take another course at this university if there's this much work involved. 
  • I think this class has far more writing than a [non-advanced writing] course should--not only is it very heavy on writing for a [X-level] class, that writing is worth a significant portion of the overall grade.
  • I think that this has been the absolute worst class and teacher I have ever taken at the [sic.] university...This is...a [X]-level class and has an intense amount of writing. I write [sic.] more in this class than any of my [advanced writing classes]. Overall, he was not a pleasant professor, he graded very strictly and [sic.] not like a normal [???] teacher, [sic.] and he was[,] at times[,] rude. (I've noticed that students often pull the "rude" card when professors don't treat them with kid gloves.)
  • "...didn't...assign a textbook so that we could look up answers" and "Didn't use textbook…WHY? (Textbooks are so 1920s--get over textbooks... Actually, all of my courses include a universal textbook that students can access here during non-class hours or with this device during class.)
  • "Completely ridiculous. He expectations are much too high for a [X-] level course." (In this class, 82% of the students earned a B or higher, so, even with my "much too high" expectations, students prevailed quite well.)
  • "His harshness in grading [is one of his principal weaknesses]."
  • "He basically serves no purpose in as one could find his answers without much effort." (Ah, well.. worthwhile to some, worthless to others. Such is life...)
  • (Online class) The workload for this class is a bit overwhelming. The research it takes to do the discussion question and the weekly report is a full load. I had to drop another class just to manage the workload for this class. Somewhere in this I am also supposed to find the time to do a final paper and study for a final exam. ([Note: the final in this class was fully open note and un-proctored.] I applaud this student [whomever you are] for making the necessary and proper adjustments to make sure that he or she could manage their courseload properly.)
  • Too much was expected of us. The amount of time I needed to study for his tests, just to scrape a B is unbelievable. This class has caused me so much stress this year. (I believe in my students' abilities to overcome their own disbelief in themselves in order to learn. It appears that happened in this case. Good job for sticking it out and earning a good grade.).​
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Just Plain Ol' Comments

  • "I wished we had gone more in depth with the fun little historical quirks of the period we were studying." (I wish I could go more into depth, too, actually. Maybe I can do a "quirks of history" class one of these days...)
  • Question was "What is this instructor's principal weakness?" Answer: "Good professor but he always complains about the cold [Midwestern state's] winters. Please tell him to dress in layers!"
  • Question was "What is this instructor's principal weakness?" Answer: "Not accustomed to [Midwestern state's] cold!" (It's true. There is little I hate more than cold and snow. I used to beg my mother to write me "he's sick, so he can't go outside and play" notes when I was in Kindergarten; it actually worked a few times!)

Ummm?

  • "He needs to install more activities." (Not quite sure what this means.)
  • "Interesting class, outrageous expectations." The student rated the course as "5 - Exceptionally good."
  • Student was asked about the amount of work given and wrote "way too much!," but then answered the question "How appropriate is the amount of work expected of you in this course" as "A - Excellent."
  • "He's a creeper because he told the class he's bad at remembering names yet somehow he remembered mine."

​Things That Were Meant to Be Complaints, But Are Blocked by Reality

These are comments I've seen that were written as complaints (I think), but simply don't match any realities in my courses.  I would sincerely appreciate it if students would at least be honest in their criticisms of me, but, unfortunately, it doesn't always happen.
  • "Four essays was far to [sic.] many for an [X-] level cource! [sic.]"

    In this course only one essay was required and others turned in counted as extra credit. Always be sure to read my directions carefully!
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Just Some Nice Comments From Fellow Academics

These are just some nice comments from fellow academics that I've found lying around the internet or in other places. I perhaps wasn't supposed to see these, but they warm my heart :)
  • I am especially impressed by [student's] dissertation "[title]."...Finding an American academic to conduct [student's] dissertation defense may have been difficult, bu the choice of Professor Bruce Makoto Arnold was truly inspired. I Googled his academic background and found it both unusual and apt. With university degrees in information technology, East Asian Studies, and U.S. History, Professor Arnold is an ideal young scholar to work with a [distance education student] who was largely dependent on the Internet for sources.

Online Ratings and Reviews

Here's a list of online ratings and rankings I've found.​
© COPYRIGHT 2017 Bruce Makoto Arnold