Thank god he is not one of those dreadful powerpoint multiple choice professors. He is full of personality - hilarious and bold in his statements. He's warm & cares deeply about his students. He allows students to create their own essay topics (something you care about) and isn't a tighta** about dates &stupid details. Understand, not memorize.
His lectures were extremely entertaining. The readings are more important test wise, but the lectures, ID wise are and even if they weren't useful, his lectures aren't worth missing!
Spickard is interesting as a person, with pretty intense opinions, but he is terrible as a teacher A) Lectures arent helpful at all especially when it comes to the broad essay questions for the tests- he doesnt write anything down nor does he give any guides to the tests B) worksheets & busywork insult your intelligence
If you take his class, just read the 6-7 books he assigned you. You will regret going to lecture every time. Because he has no written notes, or study guides for tests. Only talks craps in class.
****kard's lectures and TAs are great. The workload is excessive. ****kard should keep in mind that it's not a 12 unit class. You can get away with sparknote-ing the books assigned, but read the main texts. Go to lecture!
By far one of the best teachers on campus. Learned a lot and kept the lectures fun. Am taking a class outside of major just to have him again.
Liked the class. Yes, very opinionated! READINGS: interesting, the hardest part, do 90% of it. Be able to connect concepts/ideas, thats what he tests on. A lot has to do with the TA, so have a good one. It can be hard to follow his lectures, but he was interesting to listen to. Study for the tests, IDs are random (some from lecture, some not).
I loved his lecturing style and found him to have a great sense of humor. Pratitcal, useful information. But I agree- holds strong opinions that he isn't hesistant to share. If you can write and get a general idea of the material, you'll probably do well on his paper and tests. Lot's of reading!
His lectures are entertaining, and despite what some say, they are easy to follow if you are paying attention. often plays the devils advocate, so some say he has strong opinions, I say he gets people to think about their own thoughts and ideas. ALOT of reading, but he warns you on the first day, plus it says there are 9 books on the sylabis!
soooo much reading is required for this class. spickard's loud, highly opinionated, and he gets his views across-sometimes using crude humor-so if you're one to be easily offended, i dont recommend this class. but if you do take it, go with an open mind and dont let him get to you. oh, and he's a proclaimed gerbil on crack. =)
lectures are relatively unstructured, and it's extremely difficult to read whatever he writes on the board. midterm and paper aren't that hard but there are TONS of boring reading for this class. he's loud and almost offensive sometimes. not a terrible class but can be better.
He gives the worst lectures ever!! He is all over the place with his information while at the same time being extremly boring!!! Tests are pretty easy if you can teach yourself the information. Not good at all!
Spickard is great. I think it would be impossible to fall asleep in his class. He shouts and screams sometimes and even serenaded our class. His teaching method was very effective at linking the concepts togther. Advice: don't read all the material, just use spark notes.
Lectures weren't very structured and sometimes hard to follow...boring too...I felt like his intellect rubbed off as pomp......he's loud and abnoxious...apparently people like this??? Lots of irrelevant reading...tons of reading in general...overall I learned a lot,so i guess the class was ok
Not hott, whoever said that is sick and twisted! Awesome teacher, I guess that might turn some people on. Very entertaining, he kicked someone out of class today just to proove a point. Come from a long line of preachers and reflects his lineage in his lectures. Give history a unique twist.
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He was an awesome teacher. He sang for our class once. He cares enough to get to know students and talk to them outside of lectures.
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Makes me realize that there is more then a Black and White world.
Professor Spickard is by far one of the best professors on this campus. He assigns in-class written exams which are difficult to adapt to, yet his collaborative style and genuinely life-changing tips on speed-reading gave me by far the best learning and class experience I had in college. Cannot recommend him enough.
Prof Spickard is one of, if not the best, prof i've had at ucsb. You do have to do all the readings for this class and in depth, but he is such a caring guy. I've had my own personal experiences where he's reached out to make sure i'm okay and other classmates have experienced this. he does say some questionable things, but he loves to teach
Prof Spickard is one ofc
I've taken 2 classes with Paul- History 2C & 164IB and I had such a pleasant experience both times. He really cares about the material he teaches (especially 164). If you do the reading and go to class, its super manageable. I cannot recommend office hours enough. Getting to know Paul is one of the highlights of my UCSB experience!
I will give him credit for being extremely entertaining & thought provoking. His style of teaching is engaging. But I am sorry to say that Spickard is everything wrong with the public university system. He presents his feelings as fact and bends the truth. This class teaches you to feel victimized and oppressed rather than empowered and succeed.
