2.9
Quality3.8
Difficulty43%
Would Retake103
Reviews43%
Would Retake
103
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
29
4
13
3
15
2
21
1
25
What Students Say
“This professor is horrible”
ANT101 - 1.0 rating“Must take notes, and read chapters”
SOC101 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
92%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.29 avg changeRatings by Course
ANTHRSUMM
5.0
(1)ANTHR101
5.0
(1)ANTH120
5.0
(1)SOC101GO3
5.0
(1)ANTH400
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ANTHR001
5.0
ANTH400
5.0
ANTHRSUMM
4.0
ANT001
4.0
ANT101
3.9
Reviews (103)
Very good teacher...and very interesting. You never get bored in her class. Read the textbook and do the practice quizzes and you'll do fine. She's very willing to help if you have any questions.
very cool
Very interesting woman, and always kept the class fun! If you read the text then the tests are a piece of cake. She's always willing to help if you need it, and she always offers extra-credit.
No Comments
Basically, just read the text & take notes on whatever she points out from it in lecture. Be prepared though...her essay questions are tough! You need to know details and don't worry about saying too much in the essay; it's better to have too much detail than to get docked because you left something out. Very interesting class and I learned a lot!
I would go into a long explanation but fem-nazi moron about sums it up. She needs to hear Bob dylans "just like a woman" and drop her front. Her bleeding heart stories make me want to puke. On the first day she sums it up bysaying my "ethnicity is poor white trash". Wait until she gets into her surgeon stories.
A very poor teacher, cares more about her opinions and cramming it down your throat than she cares about teaching the subject. Her opinions are the only ones that matter, watch out for her tests, she bases them on her opinions and not the text.
The last user was correct. The right answers on the test are not always based on text. Whole goal of class is how things are perceived differently between people. Some questions on test are open to interpretation, so it is hard to know what she thinking. Just get to use to her style though & the class will help you perceive the world better.
she seemed very uncaring about the students. i enjoyed the class until i was failing so bad i had to withdrawl,but hey i had a lot going on. glad i didnt have difficulties in my other classes.
I found this class to be more thought provoking than any other humanities class thus far. The instructor challenged me to rethink most of the preconceptions which I held regarding world culture and especially U.S. culture. This is not a class for the lazy or the closed minded. My suggestion is sign up and enjoy, I did
She is a very hard teacher and gives less sympathy for anyone. I can't understand her teaching method because she makes it hard for someone to get an A in her class. Her multiple choice questions are not what you want to see. She will call herself "white trash" but don't fall for her jokes because their not funny.
just started in her class.. hope it goes well
very interesting teacher. has lots of different views on the world that can make someone think. She either makes you mad with her thoughts, or intrigues you to think harder. Her tests aren't easy if you don't read. If you read they are a piece of cake. she always offers 5 extra credits, and daily points for showing up.
Chidester is all right; she's a little weird though. I really don't have a problem with her, but i don't really like her either
Sociology is the easiest class I have taken thus far. That says something about nine years of college education. Miss Chidester is a bit long winded and very self-referential. This really bothered some people, but I didn't mind. If you've ever read a a newspaper and thought about it critically, you can get an A in sociology.
Teaching anthropology in SC...one can immagine how that goes! she will make you mad, frustrated, if you are close-minded and "ethnocentric". She will make you think out of the box and appreciatte the diversity of the world, if you value knowledge at all.A GREAT teacher,I look forward to her class every day. Interesting sense of humour too.
What can I say? Well she is useless, thats about it.
She is not a good teacher sah has her favorites andshe grades striicter than an English teacher. The last exam was the trickest.
This woman is an awesome teacher! She is engaging and interesting, as is the material. Her lectures are like an interesting conversation. Read the chapters (chapter intro's too) and you'll do fine. Chapter tests aren't too hard, but the final is a bit tough.
Mrs. Chidester is a good teacher she is strict so listen to her rules the first time around. Her tests are multiple choice, but they are very tough. We only had one A the whole semester. I think she may take a little pride in that. Listen up in class participate and do the extra credit even if you think you don?t need it. You'll need it no easy A.
Ms. Chidester obviously loves what she does. She is an incredible professor, and Tech is lucky to have her. I would recommend her to anyone.
Her class is crazy. The first week of class we talked about her entire life story. Then she wondered how we got a week behind... One day she forgot her lecture notes and she just started mumbling about random things. She was never prepared. She lost many of my class mates tests.
I did not like this class AT ALL. She rambled constantly... wanted to talk more about herself than the class. She is also very liberal and doesn't mind pushing her beliefs on you. I felt like it was misleading and it made me very uncomfortable. I think she's nice and means well, but it's very uncalled for!
She is a good teacher and explains the subject very well. I had her for Sociology 101 and would def recommend her as a Sociology instructor to take.
I took her class in the Spring. She is a great teacher, you have to study, but if you do you can do well. She speaks her mind and encourages you to do so also.
This is one amazing lady. I'm taking her class now and she is the reason I switched my major to Sociology. She makes you think and her stories and opinions make you question everything. Be careful what you say, she will put you in line though. Love this class and the instructor.
She was a decent teacher. She did give a lot of work ontop of other required assignments. if you get a chance to go extra credit i suggest you do so. her tests are hard and cover most of her lectures and book material. she got behind and our class had to suffer for it. Good luck...
I did not like this class at all. She doesn't teach using the material and vocab and spent a lot of time using personal experiences as examples when she should have been helping the students. She is openly liberal, which was fine by me, but she uses the 'Question of the Day' for her own agenda to make sure people are on time. HORRIBLE TEACHER!
If she could be anymore disrespectful to her students the janitors at greenville tech would have to come to her class to clean up puke. If you have the misfortune of taking please leave your prior views and spine at home, she will tell you how to think. If you want a professor to make fun of I recommend her.
She cares absolutly none what so ever to her students succeding in her class. She teacher what she wants and her opinions rather than the book. She disrespects her students and every chance she gets she puts your beliefs down and drills her own views on the class. One good thing was she gives every oppurtunitly to everything to say what they want.
Ms. Chidester is an awesome professor. She teaches like a real college professor which is refreshing because most at GTC don't. Her class isn't easy but she is always available to help her students. She finds interesting ways to relate the subject matter to real life. She isn't afraid to voice her opinion and makes no apologies for that.
Ms. Chidister is amazing! She challenges us and her tests are a bit tough, but I think that's expected of a college class. This class in super interesting and our whole class really likes her.
I think this is a very opinionated teacher. As an older student I found her world views to be somewhat skewed and didn't appreciate that she was directing the younger students down the path she felt was correct rather than being more objective. The class material was somewhat interesting, but I don't think it had much to do with the presentation.
I agree 100% with the last poster. I am a yonger student & I found that the things taught in her class seemed like pure opinion. She also made things very uncomfortable with my beliefs because the woman bashed every religion in the book. Horrible teacher. If you spoke up against what she said she would cut you off and try to make you feel stupid.
I have gone directly to Ms. Chidester to speak with her about certain questions I had about the topics she addressed in class. Ms. Chidester was very abrasive towards me when she learned that we did not share the same political beliefs, and even told me not to come to class anymore because of my political beliefs.
Bad teacher!
She is so rude and god forbid that you believe in something that she doesn't. Her tests are to hard and cover nothing that she goes over in class. Do not take this class with her.
This was the one of the most frustrating and unfair classes I have ever taken. We got far behind due to her rambling on and on about nonsence and wasting everyone's time. I ended up having to teach myself the last 4 chapters. I make all A's but thanks to her unfair and biased class that was put to a stop. Do Not Take This Class!
Interesting class .. Glad I took it with her.
It seemed like her own religion was anthropology itself- that she stands outside of the study of people and the need to believe in something higher and how that shapes our lives. She was, however, interesting and challenging. Lay personal beliefs aside, and see her class as an academic challenge to think for yourself and you can't go wrong.
I've known some students who don't enjoy her class, typically male. She may be more female focused I'll say that however, I thoroughly enjoyed her class. She is highly intelligent, riveting, and one heck of a prof. took her for soc and anthro. Didn't even need the soc just wanted another class with her.
My favorite professor! You have to be intelligent to take this class, and sometimes I disagreed with her, but overall it's been one of the best and most helpful courses I've ever taken.
She is interesting but does not use time efficiently. She has the "Soc professor" complex which comes across as thinking everything she says is of high importance whether or not it really relates to the class. She makes up stuff when someone asks a question for which she does not have an answer. Personally I like her. Professionally I don't.
A great teacher. She is obviously very passionate about anthropology, which is always the best characteristic for a teacher to have. I really enjoyed taking her class, and she is very interesting and personable.
She is funny and interesting, but sometimes hard to follow. She has a tendency to stray off topic, which can be entertaining, but when it comes time to test material you don't really know what to study. She seems nice enough though and always willing to help outside of class if needed. Overall not great, but not bad either.
Ms. Chidester means well I'm sure, but she is a lousy prof. Claims her tests are "tricky" by adding a "none/all of the above" option on 80% of all mult. choice questions. P.o.E.? Out the window. Know your juju and you'll ace it, though. We're approx. 2 weeks behind @ the halfway point. Take this class and expect little to no mental stimulation.
I beleive she is a good teacher. S can get off subject at times but it is mostly funny when she does. Tests are rather difficult though.
An amazing teacher, full of insight and knowledge, but very challenging. Tests are difficult, but she is very engaging, so if you work with her well, you can succeed. She is also readily available to talk, if you just need someone to listen, making her a very nice person overall.
Although she is a very interesting nice teacher you will never be prepared for her test. She obviously overloads herself with classes and then falls behind. She tells you one thing and does another. Rips your writing assignments a part. For an elective class, just not worth it. (This was my 18th class at Greenville Tech)
She is not a very straight forward teacher. Spends a lot of time talking off topic and gets behind. Does not use Blackboard or email effectively to communicate with class. I missed a class and studied for the test only to find out on the test day that she had moved the test. I read the reviews and still took her class. Avoid if you value your GPA!
I took this class thinking i could make an easy A. She gets very off topic & changes around the syllabus mid year. Showing up to class was pointless because al we did was gossip and hear pointless irrelevant stories. When you try to communicate with her, she gives general not helpful answers and just directs you back to the not reader friendly book
Super class, easy to get interested in. Not much homework was given. Ms. Chidester always makes sure everyone understands before moving on. Would recommend this class to anyone!
I didn't put much effort into the class and I wish I had. The Prof is very enthusiastic about her class and enjoys teaching.
I don't care what the negative comments say. Ms. Chidester is an amazing, inspirational teacher. She's so enthusiastic about her teaching and has so much faith in her students. I'm looking forward to an awesome semester with her. :)
I like her as a person. She is very opinionated. But we were always off topic and the topics on the test were never went over in the class.
She is a very intelligent women. She is honest and Straight forward. She teaches in a way that challenges her students to think. Lectures are laid back. She teaches directly from the text book and encourages students to join in discussion of topics. She gives many extra credit opportunities. I really enjoyed her class.
Unless you are a left wing-feminist, do not take this class. She is very opinionated and loves to talk about herself. She says she will keep politics out of class but every class she says, "I'm getting political." If you answer something she doesn't like, she will "prove" you wrong with her own opinion. Take a different SOC class. She's crazy.
I took two classes from Dianne when she taught at another school years ago but I still think about her classes. She was a fabulous teacher! I was not liberal or feminist and didn't agree with everything she said but she treated me and everyone else with the utmost respect. She has remained one of my favorite teachers, even after all these years.
She got off topic so many times. I did not enjoy her class at all. It was very difficult and she wasn't clear with the material. The tests were extremely difficult as were the writing assignments we had to do.
I feel like you must have an interest in Anthropology to really do well in the class, but if you read the book and pay attention, you can learn most of what is on the tests. Her tests beat me every time - you have to have the concept behind the material down pat or you'll guess for the entirety of the tests. Easy to approach and enthusiastic!
Ms. Chidester is a great professor. She's very informative and inspirational. She is doing a great job as a teacher if you don't go to class and not do your reading. It is you to blame not her.
She is my favorite professor. Her classes are thought provoking and outside of the norm. Her tests are tough, but if you do the work you should be fine. She is always there to help guide you, should you not understand something.
Ms. Chidester is a nice person, but without a doubt she is one of the worst college professors I have ever had. Her tests are 95% irrelevant from the material covered in class, and extremely hard for a soc class. She grades papers extremely harsh and takes off points if she doesn't agree with you. Please don't take her! You will be saving your gpa!
Prof. Chidester is a great lady and fun to talk to but I will never take another of her classes. The lectures are interesting, but her tests are infamous for being extremely difficult. The questions are worded very confusing and nobody in my class did well on them. You can make up your grade in the homework and extra credit though.
Prof. Chidester has a good grasp on psychology but her personality can be distracting (she is VERY opinionated). I found it a little difficult to focus at times if her views started to upset me, but the actual class isn't too hard as long as you do the required work and study a little extra. The tests can be confusing so KNOW THE MATERIAL.
Test are nothing compared to what we do in class. She is very clear during class but when it comes to test it seems as she never went over any of it in ckass. If you are able to self teach yourself than this class is great for you. Interesting class we get off topic every time, but not good for my GPA
Chidester is a great teacher and I loved her entertaining lectures. She teaches from the book, so you can follow along and take notes. If you want to pass the tests, make sure you take notes and use them to refer directly to the text. She's very accessible outside class. I've sat for over an hour with her on several occasions discussing the course.
Chidester isn't EASY, but she isn't HARD either. If you're unwilling to listen to other cultures and get out of your own head, then this instructor isn't for you. This is the second course I've taken from Chidester and I've enjoyed both anthropology classes. I'm even considering taking sociology from her.
You might have to read the textbook a little. There is a question at the beginning of class so you should show up for that. Lots of writing format papers to write. Lots of extra credit (DO IT!!!!!!!)
I struggled with every assignment in this class. I never knew what the right answers to give her were. The tests were very hard, even b's were rare. Her writing assignments were difficult never got an A. This is my only class I've never gotten an A in. GPA killer. She also will never remember your name.
Miss Chidester is a very good lecturer and she makes the class entertaining. Currently I have a C in the class because the tests are SO hard. When speaking to other sociology classes, they have it easy. Light reading, easy quizzes, etc. For a general ed class this is a lot harder than it needs to be. If you're a non-soc student - find another prof
Your really have to try hard in this class and she is such a hard grader!!!!!
NEVER would recommend. Stay clear from her. She grades based on her opinion, not by the book, or by a fair grading scale. She is extremely opinionated and will not listen to anything that contradicts it. Tests are rough. DON'T TAKE!
Professor Chidester is one of my favorite teachers at Greenville Tech, and it's important to take notes in her class as well as read through the book. She gives several extra credit opportunities because there are only a few writing assignments as well as tests. She is hilarious and always does her best to make the lecture interesting.
lectures seemed like they never ended. tests were hard with no guidance for studying. lots of homework. question of the day. hard class. not a fan of the instructor. would never take again.
Professor Chidester is the best professor I've ever had. Her lectures are entertaining if you're into this kind of stuff. If you're just there to get the grade and get through, you may not enjoy the lectures. It's good to review the material everyday for the question of the day. Doesn't give any study guides. I ended up having to read the chapters.
She cares about grammar and spelling so be aware of that when turning in homework. It may end up hurting your grade. At times I felt that she was very opinionated but I had to remind myself that she is just trying to make you understand things from a "sociological" stand point. Tip: study the textbook and use the connect online! Trust me.
She is a very opinionated person. Not many other viewpoints were acknowledged in class discussions. There was no guidance for studying for tests and there were tons of reading assignments and worksheets to fill out. Extra credit was offered but it is pretty much mandatory due to the intensity this "basic" class. Definitely would not take her again.
You would never think of this as an entry level course. The tests were insane and very different from the frame work of lectures. It was hard knowing how to study for the tests since they were almost entirely applied word problems where two to three options could have very well fit the case. I did not vibe well with the class. Would not do it over.
Participate in class! I had an 88 in the class, and she bumped it up to a 90 because I was an active learner and spoke up to answer and ask questions. She gives hard tests, but reading the book helps.
Very opinioned Prof. Tests are very difficult, no review or study guides. Must take notes, and read chapters. Classes seem very long, nonenjoyable.
Excuse my need to vent. This professor is horrible. She never covered any of the material needed for the test. Instead of understanding how other people were write, she wants people to think like her and write like her. I wish I had more characters I could use, because she would be having a long day. But trust me Im not finished.
She gives extra credit. You will teach yourself. She gives long lectures, sometimes goes on her little rants. Buy the textbook and go over the material yourself. You will do better on the test like I did. I failed the first test but passed the 2nd one because I study the material on my own.
Her class can be tough because of the way she teaches it. The best way to pass is to learn the material in the book on your own, and come to her class for further verification on the terminology, and examples of the terminology. Be sure to have good grammar and spelling when it comes to homework. Her lectures can be interesting.
I enjoyed her lectures until I took her tests. The lectures are vague on the information and sort all over the place. She briefly covers material so youll need to go over it on your own. Theres not much for her to grade and then she grades tough. Extra credit is always available but then its difficult to find the articles for it.
Amazing Prof. She may be opinionated, but we are all adults here and should be able to get over it. Class participation is a big deal! She bumped my C to a B because I participated. She will teach you optimism. Take good notes and buy the book. Don't miss class or be late. Watch YouTube videos to prepare for tests. Always e-mail her with questions.
I liked this course until half way through month two. All of a sudden the teaching paradigm took a plummet. There was no preparation for the tests even with thoroughly studying notes and browsing through the chapters. This was way to intense for a 101 course. I am an A student and this is the first class I have ever received a C.
Buy the book. It will be your best friend. Be prepared to read the entire thing in order to have a better understanding of the material. I did this and still felt uneasy while testing. It's hard to determine what answer she is looking for. Confusing and complicated is an understatement.
Her professional abilities are lacking. Professionalism is nonexistent here. She lacked the ability to clearly articulate the material in time for the tests. This is a struggle course.
Worst professor I've ever had!
Mrs. Chidester is a terrible instructor! She rants about her personal beliefs and experiences during lectures. She does not follow the textbook material. She often spends much of each class period googling topics that are not related to the learning material. It is not easy to reach her because she does not utilize technology. ie, text, email.
If I could go back in time, I would have taken a different professor. There is so much I have to say about how horrible my experience has been in this class; there is not enough room to write about all of it.
she's overall a good teacher. Tests are from the book and lectures. Needs to attend every class. thicc.
Very inspirational! Learned a lot!
Took Professor Chidester for two classes (SOC101/ANT101) and thoroughly enjoyed them both! Don't expect an easy grade because you are most definitely going to work. But.... take it from a slightly older military world explorer; you will learn a great many things from this well travelled educator!!!
I loved professor Chidester! Don't take notes during lecture just listen, she's very into participation. The notes are useless for the test, every question is from the text book its MOSTLY definitions, but some are check your understanding. All grades are weighed the same so if you do bad on a homework it can really hurt you. Very firm liberal.
I'm normally a solid student that pulls in A's. I had a hard time in this class. Lectures were horribly long and the tests were even worse. I wish I would have driven to another campus for a different instructor. This course was required for my degree and truly was a waste of time.
Prof Chidester is INCREDIBLY passionate about ANT and teaching, so I ADORE her as a person and an anthrop. The HW assignments were not bad at all, but she ended up having to cram a ton it at the end of the semester. You CANNOT miss a lot of class because she doesn't take notes or use slides (it can be VERY boring). The tests are really hard, too.
I've never disliked someone so much (I would say hate but I want to go to heaven). This professor is never on topic, she always talking about irrelevant as information that has nothing to do with the topic. You can get the book, but she aint gone use the information in it. its like she pulls it out her as crack and makes it up. tip: don't do it.
Very knowledgeable and passionate in her field. Her lectures are unorganized, she just types things on a word document. The test are NOT definitional, you needed to know the topics inside and out. I would suggest reading the chapters in the book, and making flashcards. At times she can get overly passionate about a subject but that makes it fun
Prof. Chidester is overall pretty good. The grading is really harsh and the class is pretty participation oriented, but the discussions we had in class were great and you can tell she's unbelievably passionate about the material.
Prof Chidester is very knowledgeable about the subjects she teaches. Make sure to talk in class. Tests are iffy and a lot of the content won't come straight from the notes. I really enjoyed her class and I hope to take more in the future. She gives a lot of extra credit, too. Take advantage of that.
Prof. Chidester makes her own tests and they are so confusing and difficult. I failed every test and I am an A/B student. The notes we took in class had nothing to do with the tests. She gives extra credit options but she grades writing assignments so harshly there is no point. The feedback she gives on writing assignments are not very kind.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
92%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.29 avg changeRatings by Course
ANTHRSUMM
5.0
(1)ANTHR101
5.0
(1)ANTH120
5.0
(1)SOC101GO3
5.0
(1)ANTH400
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
ANTHR001
5.0
ANTH400
5.0
ANTHRSUMM
4.0
ANT001
4.0
ANT101
3.9