No Comments

Knows his subject matter really well, and keeps the class interested with his witty sense of humor

No Comments

Mr. Hess is an awesome teacher. truly passionate about earth sciences but you really have to go to class and study cuz his tests (multiple choice section) is tricky and worth most of the points.

He is well educated, and confident in his teaching. I had to drop the course because of the coursework, but in fairness he makes it very clear of his expectations of us on day 1 of class. Good sense of humor too.

Mr. Hess is awsome! He's got a charisma that won't quit. He's not easy, but because he loves what he teaches so much, he makes you interested in the material. I found this class quite interesting.

OMG! It seems I can talk "geography" after taking this class. Tons of good knowledge about weather, why SF is dry in the summer/wet in the winter! what creates warterfalls, kinds of rocks, and much more. Thank you Mr. Hess for your teaching, & c

Tests are sometimes quite hard. No homework, only four take home assignments. Speaks very clearly, knows what he is talking about. Sometimes quite boring. Very nice.

Highly Recommended.

Who knew economic geography could be fun? He made it quite interesting, and was very clear/easy to follow. didn't need the book for his class. great guy!

Clear and detailed on class requirements and assignments. I dropped the class about half way thru, but would still recommend him. You must stay up with the reading. Good sense of humor too.

i hate science but i loved this class! hess made geography totally understandable and even fun. i learned so much and it wasn't that hard at all!

Updates the textbook, so he knows it like the back of his hand. Adds interesting little tidbits throughout, very helpful, and nice, too.

Mr. Hess is an awesome teacher! he lectures everyday which can be boring but he spices it up with jokes here and there. the text is very helpfull b/cus Hess co-wrote it. the Lab was good too, harder than i though but enriching. he gives you study questions before every test, and if you answer them all you'll do very well on the test. great great!!!

Best teacher at CCSF, should be heading up some major university's Earth Science Department, super nice guy.

Mr. Hess is the best teacher I've had at CCSF thus far! It's clear that he loves what he's doing. He's incredibly organized and utilizes a ton of teaching styles to make sure everyone is getting it. Also provides excellent study guides for the tests. All this and he's an incredibly funny and approachable guy. A+

After finishing city college over six years ago, I still remember Hess. He is one of the best and most passionate teachers I have ever taken. He is clear in his lectures, helpful, and turns geography into a very exciting subject. I still remember his vacation pictures and our field trips and explanations about clouds and rocks all the time!

I just finished his class last Spring 05 semester.Got an A.He's a great teacher,very knowledgable and enthusiastic.Highly recommend.

Took him for Economic Geography. Perhaps one of the best professors at CCSF. Loves and respects students. Willing to talk to you at his office hours. He was a korean war veteran at some point and he's stories were very intriguing. If you try you are going to get good grades. Take him.

Great teacher. He is very passionate about this subject. Easy to pass as long as you show up and take notes which he clearly writes on the board. I had next to no interest in geography and now I want to be a meteorologist because of his interest in this subject. He makes science fun.

Probably the best teacher I have ever had. You WILL work in his class for an A, but he gives you so many opportunities to get it. Go to class, keep up on the reading, and 90% of the test is straight from the study questions. VERY passionate about his work. He will go the extra mile for a student who needs it, if the student really shows interest.

Hess is hands down one of the best. He is extremely enthusiastic about the material and very well organized. He is very funny while fully and clearly explaining everything. You will have to study hard if you want an A but you will walk away having learned a lot. Take this class even if you think you don't like Geography because afterwards you will.

as long as you copy the notes (not that much)... answer and study the study guide...then you can do well on the test... only 2 to 1 hw for the whole semester, and one article research paper (which is MAX 2pages)...he is very passionate on his teaching... material are well prepare so is easy to understand.

Mr. Hess is a class act. I had zero interest in Geography before taking his class. He is so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the subject and he passes that passion along to his students. He truly makes his students understand and care about the subject. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I took Hess' physical geography lab class, and really enjoyed it. It is quite a bit of work for a 1 credit class, but most of it is done in class, during the lab. We didn't use a textbook, but he gave us handouts each week. 2 quizzes, 2 exams, 2 field trips. He is very helpful, and makes himself available to answer questions. Geography is cool!

Physical geography. Passionate. Book and interactive media are keepers. Good reference book. I still use it in geography grad school. Very thorough. Take good notes and answer all questions on the study guide. Homework is useful. Lectures are very interesting. Course is challenging, but you can get a good grade if you work at it.

One of the best professors i've had. He is passionate, dedicated, and puts in 100%. The enthusiasm he brings to each lecture is enough to make you want to be a geography major! Earning an A is challenging but possible, and you will learn so much in the process! He's great!

Man amongst boys.

Great teacher. He's passionate about Geography and clearly tries to get his students excited as well. He gives study questions to help prepare students for the exams. I learned a ton in his class. Friendly and approachable. Class was fairly easy.

Awesome teacher... One of the best at City College. Very clear about all his materials, Doesn't really take attendance but if you miss a class your really missing out. I felt honored to be in the presence of someone so intelligent.

He is helpful and extremely passionate about the topics. The materials are not easy to understand, but as long as you do your part as a good student, you will be fine! I got an A and I 've learned a lot of new stuff that I had never thought I could hundle.

One of the best teacher ever!Super helpful and understanding!If you do what you are supposed to you'll do fine!Subjects he is teaching are hard,but very interesting!I fell in love with him, i wish he cold teach other classes too!Wonderful guy!Super intellegent!Take him, do your homework and you'll love it with him!!!

great! plan to take him next semester for economic geography.

Hess is an exceptional professor who has his students' best interests at heart. His lectures are super professional and he offers thorough, up-to-date, and extremely relevant lecture material; He utilizes every second of class. Be sure to show up on time every day, ask questions, and take thorough notes in order to succeed in his classes.

This is a very very difficult class but when Mr. Hess has excellent communication skills. He's great at his job. He really is very enthusiastic about the subject. He Loves it and it does rub off on you. I've never had an instructor that cared enough about their students to actually help them every step of the way. He's clear and super organized.

Excellent teacher. Very clear in his presentations. Very helpful, wants the students to succeed. Stay to the end of class as that is when he passes out the homework!

By far one of the best teachers I have ever seen. Knowledgeable, crystal clear, funny, interesting and above all passionate to no end about geog. He makes Geog fun, not an easy task. You will learn a lot, more than you thought you will. Highly recommended ? makes other teachers pale in comparison?

Great Teacher! Very organized and engaging! It is very possible to get an A. He hands out a study guide for each text, study it right away so you can really understand his lecture. This is the best course I've taken at City. If you want to, you truly will enjoy this course.

Hess is a fantastic instructor. I can't recommend his class enough. It is difficult, but he gives you a thorough study guide and if you use it, you will succeed.

You would think learning about Rocks, and waterfalls would be easy. but its NOT, this class is difficult. BUt Mr. Hess is a very good professor. If you dont pass one of the midterms, your able to redo it and get a low C. 3 Midterm,Final, and about 4 hw assignments. Oh,he also takes attendance at the begg of the semester, than stops.

Best professor ever! I took both GEO1&7, absolutely awesome. Nice and helpful, very organized, lecture with fun PPT, has all pasion with geo. However, the class is not easy, you need to work hard for 2/3 midterms & homework

excellent class.

BEST CLASS EVER. Hess is absolutely hilarious in a low-key way. His lectures were the reason I woke up in the morning. Fantastic class to start the day with. Initially I had NO interest in physical geography, but by the end of the semester I was pondering geographical careers. Not an "easy A" but SO worth the effort. Hess makes learning fun!

Great teacher. Hard class. Just study and you will do just fine.

Best Teacher I've ever had. Engaging, respectful, inspires you to look at the world in a new way. Makes it clear what's coming up, very helpful midterm exam study guides. I took his night course, and he was always energetic and positive. I want to take more of his classes.

Mr. Hess is very acknowledgeable instructor with great wisdom of geography! His cultural class went pretty intense, covering a lot of materials and updated case studies; he's very informative! His exams and essay assignments were quite challenging, yet if you commit and do well, the class is worthwhile and not super hard! Go to class every day!

Excellent and very knowledgeable professor! The exams are a bit difficult if you don't absolutely , clearly understand the material. However, if you do understand, the exams are super easy. Nice person,cares less about your attendance and is a phenomenal teacher!

Even if you don't have any interest in geography, you would greatly enjoy the class. He has a lot of recommendations for vacation spots and books. Exams are hard so study. Also, he has a quiz at the beginning of class for most weeks so don't be late! The entire Bay Area uses the textbook he co-wrote. Advice: buy the study guide book. Take him !

AMAZING PROF! I've never been interested in geography and took this class just to fulfill my science requirement, but ended up loving the class and have actually learned A LOT! TOTALLY RECOMMEND HIM!

Best. Class. Ever. This is a great class, and if you don't like it, there is something wrong with YOU! This might very well be the best class I have ever taken at CCSF. Excellent organization!! Enthusiasm! Very helpful. He knows his subject from all angles and gets you interested and engaged. Highly recommended.

Mr. Hess is really passionate about geography and his enthusiasm is contagious. He says the word 'why' like 'hooowiii" and its pretty funny. He often takes his glasses on and off his face when thinking. You can just really tell hes hella into it. Which is pretty cool. One time I saw him on bart. And he was wearing cool sun glasses.

Very enthusiastic and good sense of humor. Extremely organized, so you know exactly where you stand in the class. It is easy A if you read and his weekly quizzes keep you honest. Seriously if you read the chapters answer the question on the study sheets and you don't get an A, there is something wrong with you.

Take notes, pay attention, and enjoy. He is one rare teacher at ccsf that actually knows how to teach. very entertaining and extremely interesting and he wear's STUNNA SHADES WHUUT! ;p

Mr. Hess might just be the best teacher on the planet. The man is awesome! He takes what could easily be a very boring and dull class and turns it into a something that you cant help but enjoy. You actually learn quite a bit in his class, but it doesn't seem all that hard because he makes it so interesting.

Mr. Hess is the best teacher at CCSF! I took geog 1 and 4 with him & loved both. I never thought I had an interest in Geography until I took his classes, now I would probably change my major if it wasn't my last semester. His lectures are entertaining and interesting and he gives people who don't do well on the tests a chance to redo them.

Great teacher, great class! I am now minoring in Geography specifically because of Hess & his class.

very nice and helpful, but this course is very confusing, test are hard.

Darrel is the BEST teacher at CCSF. He is passionate about the subject, organized, understanding and very helpful. His explanations are clear and he teaches with eccentricity. He gives you a study guide for each exam and if you complete and understand the study guide, you will ace the test.

He's a very nice teacher, willing to help you learn. The class was not easy but not that hard either. If you love to know about the study of the industry's location, take this class!

He's an awesome guy. Very heplful, clear and passionate about geography. He really wants you to understand the class and thus makes a lot of efforts to make the class interesting. But he's hard! He is really good for science major students. Not recommended for those who want to take him for GE.

Very good class, great foundations for later geo/political studies. He gives very comprehensive study guides for the exams at the beginning of class and after each exam so you'll know exactly what's there. Seems knowledgeable and intelligent but also humble. The lectures were engaging and interesting.

Great Professor, he loves Geography and in tern is very enthusiastic about teaching it. He does a great job of making things easy to understand and if you are wrong about an answer he does not belittle you. He has these really simple demonstrations that help quite a bit.

he gives you the questions for each test, the answers are in the book. You can pass with more than a little effort. not strict on attendance. easy going character!

He is by far one of the best professors at CCSF. He is not easy, although very clear, interesting, knows his material, structured, easy to follow, there are no surprises, he wants you to study and tells you what you need to know.

Darrel Hess co-authored the terrific geography textbook used in this class. He's extremely knowledgable, passionate about teaching, funny in a slightly nerdy way and an outstanding professor all the way around. You'll work hard and learn a ton in this class.

Great teacher. only 4-5 homework assignments the entire semester. 4 exams and they're not too hard . He lets you correct your answers on a test if you received a grade below a C.He's clear and very helpful.

Professor Hess was seriously one of the most inspirational teachers I've had in a while. His lectures are as fun as physical geography can get, and his slides are actually pretty cool to see. What caught me though, was how well he knows his material. Just seeing a professor with his passion holds my attention very easily.

Best lectures

A most articulate and skillful presenter of a deeply-grounded knowledge of geography. It helps that he doesn't just know it, he lives it - and has slides from a lifetime to show it. His mastery of the classroom and his presentation materials is a joy to experience. I'd take the class again just to enjoy his enthusiasm for the subject.

this guy is freaking awesome, knows his stuff. very fun and crazy easy if you have every watched discovery channel and have a brain! his lectures are thoughtful and he's funny will test everything he talked about in class... just show up listen , don't take to many notes, just listen to him and absorb

He really cares about students. He is passionate about Geography. The greatest professor at CCSF ever!

This professor is the best professor on campus. I went into his class uninterested in the topic and left anything more of his lectures.

Just an amazing educator!! Not easy but not terrifying, you will learn and appreciate what he teaches.

I cannot stress enough how amazing Hess is. He is honestly one of the best lecturers I have had. His geography 1 class inspired me to switch my major. He is so knowledgeable about his field and so receptive to his students. His lectures and home work are all pretty fun. No tricks or surprises, if you do the work your grade will reflect it.

It's a hard science class, so the reading matters. The lectures are clear and he's been doing this long enough that he knows where people get confused and targets his explanations to those areas. He's enthusiastic about geography and it comes through. I plan to take his Geography 7 class next semester, if there's room. VERY popular teacher.

Professor Hess is pretty amazing. You really need to study in order to do well, but he makes everything really clear and since he authored the book required it makes is easy to learn. Offers a lot of help to students that need it. There isn't much hw and makes his lectures really engaging

If Mr. Hess isn't the best professor in CCSF then he has to at least be in the top 5. A very clear lecturer who accepts nearly any question asked of him, I was actually excited to come to class every day. You know from the beginning when the tests will be and he gives you a study guide for the next test before he even covers the material.

Prof. Hess' lectures are so engaging and well-organized that all you'll need to do is take good notes and study them to do well in this class. The material can be a bit abstract, but Prof. Hess makes it all clear. No textbook, so make sure you go to class. Exams are all definitions and short answers - use the study questions he gives out!

Darrel Hess is a good Professor and nice person. The interactive approach he uses in class is meaningful. His talent, dedication, and professionalism are utmost. Quizzes, midterms and final exams are reasonable for anybody who followed his explanations throughout the semester. Finally, this class is very good for personal development.

A gem. Sometimes you just find those professors that really know what they are teaching and their class truly stick with in life. Darrel Hess is one of those.

I love Professor Hess! Truly a gem, absolutely brilliant, and an expert on this subject. My advice is study, study, and STUDY more. Tests are tough. 3 midterms, 200 point final, along with quizzes and homework. Also, don't be intimidated to ask for help. He answers emails and will always offer clarity on the subject anyway he can. Love him!!

One of the best professors Ive ever met. Hes passionate about geography, and is genuinely enthusiastic to teach you about the world! Its definitely a tough course though, the tests are a bit hard. But I felt excited and fascinated in his class, and definitely feel like I understand the world a lot better now.

Very clear from the beginning and sets the outline for lectures in the beginning of class. There are a total of 3 tests, 2 quizzes, and 2 papers. Professor Hess is giving you the silver spoon every day and its not difficult to follow him! He provides office hours and responds to emails accordingly. Fine teaching, you won't regret it.

Darrel Hess loves his subject, and it shows in his enthusiasm and knowledgeability. His lectures are fun & interesting (though be warned, he takes full advantage of the time allotted do not expect to get out of class early). His study guides are super helpful. Keep up with your reading it really aids in with the lectures.

Professor Hess takes a subject that could be really boring and makes it interesting. He has clear grading criteria, is super organized, and presents the material in a really easy to understand format. Keep up with the reading and it is easy to get a good grade. I didn't read as much as I should have or I could easily have gotten an A.

By far one of the best professors at ccsf i've ever had! He makes lectures so interesting, clear, & fun (I had him for geo1lab only)! He's very willing to help his students. lab participation + exercises are both mandatory cos it makes up your midterms & final exams. Prof Hess is very genuine, knowledgable, respected, and humble. I learned a lot :)

Very nice professor and doesn't skip a beat when it comes to class. Make sure you're at every class as each classes covers a lot of material. He is a very traditional teacher so that was a curve for me to jump over but overall he's and awesome professor.

great teacher

Prof. Hess is one of the best teachers at City. He loves his subject and has lots of experiences to draw lecture material on. Three exams and two essays, he provides rigorous study guides and lots of opportunities ask questions. TAKE HIS CLASSES

Professor Hess is wonderful and clearly loves what he is doing. I went into this class thinking meh it will be ok, but wow - it is thanks to him my interest for geography sparked up! His lectures were so interesting and he always found ways to help us understand and engage with the subject. He is also very organized and a clear and fair grader

I loved Professor Hess. I learned so much in his class and was excited to attend everyday. Just read the book and listen during class and you will get an A. 3 tests and a few small quizzes. He is very straight forward and his study guides have everything that will be on the test... NO TRICKS.

His assignments and instructions are super clear but if you have questions, he responds and answers them very quickly.

I took Darrel Hess in Fall 2019. Class has two midterms, one short paper, quizzes, and final. He provides a study guide that has all the questions to the midterm and final. Class is lecture heavy, though he provides pictures which makes it helpful.

Such a nice guy! He did a great job transitioning to canvas. His modules were very organized and easy to keep up with. He sends out sweet weekly emails and overall is just very helpful and understanding! Definitely recommend!!!

Online worked out great, but I really miss his lectures and labs in person. Classes are very organized and clear. He's very friendly, caring and passionate about geography and really sparked up my interest in the subject, even though I am not a science person. I ended up visiting some of the places we studied in California, like the Dana Plateau!

Professor Hess is very nice, and I learned a lot from his classes. His class is very organized, he always checks on if we need any help. I would love to take his classes again.