2.3
Quality4.5
Difficulty33%
Would Retake142
Reviews33%
Would Retake
142
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
20
4
17
3
21
2
33
1
51
What Students Say
“Although I had to withdraw from his course overall DR”
ENGLISH111 - 3.0 rating“Vavra is the cockiest man I've ever met in my life”
ENL121 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
90%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.57 avg changeRatings by Course
ENL211
5.0
(1)ENL59
5.0
(1)ENL12
5.0
(1)ENGLISH101
4.0
(1)ENG001
3.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
NA
5.0
LSD169
5.0
ENG111COMP
5.0
ENGL
5.0
ENGLISH101
5.0
Reviews (142)
do NOT take this professor
You need to know your **** before you walk in the room.
he is a complete ****, take him if you want a C or D
his sanity is long since gone, he knows his stuff but you never will.
He Sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!
Horrible teachers, expects all to be English Lit Majors
he is terrible
the worst teacher i hav ever had
Prepare to feel dumb
You will get your papers back smelling like tobaco and coffee stains on them.
One of the hardest profs i've had, and I he loves coffee
One of the best teachers I've had-above this school's level, although very hard.
Good prof, go to him for help he is willing to give it, hardprof though
I hated his class. You Have to take everything from the computer for his clas c
hes the devil.
He is so smart! Too smart for the level he is working with.He will help, just ask!
Prepare to work hard, but he's willing to help if you let him.
needs to be teacher are more advanced class, if u plan on taking his class make sure u got a good english past , because if u don't you won't have a chance in his class, hes also to lazy to make copys of his papersso he makes u waste tons of ink printing.
He's very smart, i didn't like the class when i was in it but when done, it wasn't too bad. Do the work and you will be good. Make sure you dumbies know what nouns, verbs, and prepositions are, unlike the rest of my class. I didn't know people were so dum
He is very intimidating. A very good prof though. If you talk to him at the beginning of the sem. It makes things easier. Best Advice: Communicate with him.
I didn't like the way he put people down to make him look smart or better than people, but he knows his stuff about english.
extremely helpful if you ask!!!
Good teacher, but runs the class more like a philosophy class.
No Comments
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I HATE THIS BUM! Very helpful my ass! He acts like you don't have any other homework but in his class. He can go smoke his pipe and kiss my ass!
In ways, an interesting philosophy class. Goes over how to do the papers - just take notes and follow the grading sheets. He's a fantastic teacher, if you listen close to what he's trying to say. Students don't like him cuz he makes them THINK! - JMB
Hasthis tendency to make you feel unintelligent and uncomfortable in his classroom.He gives this whole speach about how he taught at an Ivy League school and he expects the same out of Penn College as he other school. Please remove head from ass Vavara!
OH WoW! This class is horrible. We don't get any books. We gotta write and if you don't do what he says he will give you a horrible grade and if you fix it he will still give you the same grade. He makes you feel dumb.He could be a little nicer.
He is the worst teacher I have ever had and will never take him ever again and I tell everyone I know not to take him.
Grades harshly! Expects you to print everything from the internet so he doesnt have to make copies! If you're not a favorite, you're not gonna pass!
HARD ASS
Do not like his style of teaching.
He makes you look like a dumbass in class and in his office. I dont like his teaching style because he expects you to look at his dunbass website for all the assingments and will not tell you in class when things are due.
I dropped his class becuause he is such a hard teacher. I had not a clue what he was talking about and the whole web site home work thing is dumb. If you have him drop it, there are so many other better english teachers.
Very big bast. Steer clear!
Dr. Vavra isnt as bad as what some people think. He just has very high standards. If you need help go to his office.
I have no clue what the others are talking about, Dr. Vavra is one of the most dedicated professors at PCT. Yes his classes are hard and yes he grades harshly but he does take into consideration your amount of effort. Go to his office you want the help!
Answers your question with a question. Speaks in riddles. DONT TAKE HIM.
Dr. Vavra is a great teacher. If you follow directions and take notes you will do fine. DO the homework & grading sheets it helps your grade. ASK questions, he is more than willing to help. If your having trouble talk to him. His class makes you think.
Guy is a complete jerk. Answers your question with a question. Everything is on his goddamn website. You have to print out thousands of papers. You have to do syntax everyday which is worthless.
No Comments
Teacher is very tough, those syntax lessons every day suck. Only 5 major papers, but grades harshly. If 70's and 60's are acceptable that is what you will get, extremely hard to get 80's and 90's. Alot of work to do that does not relate to the class. Does often speak in riddles. Very difficult class
if i wanted to do eveything off the internet i would of taking the course from home and stayed in bed.I feel i wasted money and did not learn anything except how to be confused. He puts things on the net and makes you search its all game to him..
This guy is the biggest waste of air. I got nothing from this class. If you have him on your schedule get rid of him. All the work on the internet was dumb and useless. I hate this guy. And the person saying that he is such a good teather is ED himself F*ck that A**hole! LOve Cupcake
Class disscussions are rarely interesting, and if you work extremely hard you may be able to understand his demands and write better papers. Otherwise his class is a complete waste of time and lots of paper. He is very unhelpful and you pretty much have to figure out everything for yourself.
This dude should stop teaching...
the people that fail Dr.Vavra's class are idiots who don't want to take the time to do the work. College will get a lot harder and Dr. Vavra prepares you for it.
Terrible teacher. A lot of homework, stupid quizzes every class. I had an A in the class until the final. That was the worst final I ever had. No clues with finding the quotes etc. Would not recommend this professor to anyone.
i didn't like the class at all and those syntax assignments were crazy. you did the same thing every single lesson pretty much and were just stupid. I didn't learn much and had a hard time staying awake in the class. and now this semester after i am done with the class he changes the syntax now.
I learned more about the coffee he drinks while teaching his class, also leaving the classroom halfway through class to smoke his pipe was very helpful for all of us! IT GAVE US TIME TO WAKE UP!! NEVER TAKE THIS GUY!!!
This professor is one (of the hardest English teachers) (at Penn Tech).| His syntax assignments are a waste (of time).| He continues to discredit high school teachers (on their ability) to get you ready (for college),| yet he does not get you ready (for the next level) (of English).|
Very helpfull but makes you do his computer program and it sucks.......if you need help he is always willing to help.....if you want a small challange take his class if you want to have an easy one find someone else..
Dr. Vavra thinks he is teaching at Cornell University. He forgets that this is Penn College. I probably printed 2,000 pages of homework that I didn't even understand and he doesn't help with. His major papers suck and you never get a break with any of his homework. HE SUCKS! Dont take him!!!
This guy is suited toward writing manuals for vibrators.
Don't take any class this man teaches!
No Comments
He is not very clear on assignments and isn't easy. JUST ASK QUESTIONS! The more questions you ask during class, the easier it will be. Before you know it you'll be counting how many cups of coffee he drinks during class. Pretty boring.
he knows what he is talking about.....in his own mind and that is where it ends.....do not get on his bad side or you are done for...write about what he wants and not your own opinion and you will be fine...god for bid if you know something more then he does.....he thinks he knows everything and he is always right....very boring and dry class
You get grading sheets for all your papers. he will prof them and help with what your missing. Syntax is only confusing if you don't fallow the directions starting with the first one. If you skip assignments forget it. Ask questions if you don't understand and you will be fine. Its a little challenging but you'll learn something.
Vavra is a hard professor. One thing I was negitive about was the whole getting the work off the internet in those word documents he makes. I MUCH RATHER buy an English Book! Especially when our computer isn't the same as what PCT uses...
Uses word documents he types and puts on the internet, instead of having students buy eng. books. What happened to Save the trees and ink? it's a waste. I much rather buy a book. He's tough and comes off the wrong way. Smile some!!!
he was highly inefficant as a teacher and he sucked
You ****ing suck you ****ing ****.
No Comments
horrible prof. He is more worried about preaching his political beliefs then teaching the class.
No Comments
Overall the class was rediculous and unuseful because the way he graded papers and quizzes caused plenty of people to fail
He was a very difficult prof but I very much enjoyed his class.
eww gotta love how he spills coffee on his hands and then rubs it in like its water
If your lazy you will hate this professor. If you want to learn and look at things differently or write a great paper, take him
He is prolly the worst teacher in penn tech. he can kiss my ass. I got an A but he still has a dick up the ass.
bad teacher but interesting view on things. just do your work and fill out the grading sheets. if you dont do your work you wont do well in his class.
Brutal. I got an A in this class, but to get that A it took as much effort as all of my other classes combined. Definately take another teacher.
Very interesting class, a lot of work, reading, writing but if you want to learn a lot about life, politics, religion then this is the class to take
No Comments
he is the biggest dick in the world...never take him..his prompts for essays are ridiculous and pointless..he contradicts himself to no end....this class is a waste of my time because I have yet to learn anything!!!
No Comments
Really hard class. If you pay attention and do all the work then you should be fine but its a lot of material that Dr. Vavra expects you to learn. I spent the same amount of time on his class alone as i did on all my other classes combined. If your taking this course simply because you have to and dont care for it then his class isn't for you.
If you are looking for a grammar class, tons of material, and work every night that has nothing to do with comp. Well, I still wouldn't take this class.
i would rate Mr. Vavra as the worst teacher in Penn College. i would strongly recomend NOT taking him for ENL 111. his class is very very hard, and to in depth. you get punished in the form of massive HW for making a grammer error. he gave everone in my whole class a D- on the first HW because we "all didnt follow directions" DONT TAKE HIM!
If you don't know how to write a paper based on a rubric, then yeah, you will fail. But as long as you have somewhat common sense you should pass with at least a C. I missed a lot of homework and still have close to a B in the class because the Major Papers are worth enough. Don't listen to the morons who said he was hard, they should be in SPED.
unless youve aced english every year i suggest not taking him
This guy is flat out- out of his mind! He relates all of his stories to the three little pigs, and uses a teaching system that is based on punishment. If you go to his office for help, he doesn't actually give you any advice that pertains to the work. He is always grumpy and VERY biased on everything!
Not good
Dr. Vavra's class was not hard at all. If your simply not going to attend class or do your homework thats your fault your goin to fail not his. He lays every single piece of imformation out for you step by step how he wants it done and gives you grading sheets. Also, he is available in his office and is more than willing to help.
Don't take him if you can help it.
No Comments
This class should be fairly easy, but Dr. Vavra makes it very hard and complex. He does explain things well, but he doesnt help you very well. He expects you to learn something really quick..doesnt give you enough time to really understand things. Massive amounts of grammer homework and major papers.
He makes the students feel uneducated, like if we were monkeys. He expects you to know the work, that he didnt teach you. If you don't have a computer to email your work (mandatory) he fails you.
He treats your english class like your going to college for english...hes way way picky about homework being done EXACTLY right...the second day EVERYONE in the class got a D for an assignment becasue "no one followed directions" He also once said he wants you to spend 3 hours out of class for every one hour in class...i dropped him after 3 days
First class I've failed all my life !! All of his assignments are either about sexual intercourse or why we shouldn't believe in God! Trust me, don't take him !!
This man is a horrible teacher. He makes everyone feels stupid. If you ask a question he doesn't answer it, just makes you feel dumb. Don't take him.
This is not a class you want to take if you do not understand grammar throughly or do not know how to write a paper. He is very picky and wants everything perfect. I am learning a lot in his class but it is a lot of work and I don't recommend taking it unless you are planning on becoming an English major. Otherwise this class is not for you.
do not take this teacher, unless you are going to be a english major. there are alot of better english teachers then this tool.
Don't take this guy! Trust me. Read the other reviews! Very odd man and teaches inappropriate material. I've had a very bad experience with this man. College is supposed to be hard, but no matter how many hours you put in or how great of a writer you are, he expects perfection! I worked so hard just to fail! And chances are you will too!
If you want to learn insightful life lessons and valuable grammar lessons, which will raise your grade in every class, take him. Use about 3 hours preparation for every class. Take papers seriously. He gives guidelines on how to get an A. If you fail, it is your own fault for being lazy and expecting a grade without earning it. I will take again.
This dude is nuts...DO NOT schedule him unless you like crying every night knowing that no matter how hard you try your still going to fail.
Take him at your own risk. He's not an impossible teacher, but he sure isn't easy. Nothing you do is good enough for him. You have to do 5 papers In ENL 111. Would I take him again: Yes. But, You really have to be good at English to do well in this class.
he's worst than a man trying to suck a ball through a garden hose!!!
An uniquely helpful class for writing. Not an impossibly hard course as long as you play by his rules. In no way is the class set up to give you an easy A or B but it is set up to give you a passing grade. He arbitrarily teaches his own interpretations of stories and gives you little room to derive your own. He will repeatedly say "MORE THAN THAT"
I had Vavra for 2 semesters, ENL111 and ENL121. Very similar. 121 was reading intensive. He will probably give you more work than your other classes combined. Class discussions are beast. Papers are easy after you figure out how he wants them. He does have daily homework quizzes. Visit him during office hours, he's very helpful there.
Dr. Vavra was one of my favorite professors. You leave the class feeling like you've learned a lot. He is very helpful. Definitely go to his office hours.
A lot of people seem to have a problem with Vavra simply because he expects his students to have an IQ higher than their shoe size. He's a brilliant man who offers excellent insight into literature, as well as encouraging his students to do the same. The students that complain about him are the same students that have yet to master basic grammar.
He's a very good teacher, just a little picky when it comes to writing and grammar. Just follow directions, ask questions and do and turn in all work assigned and you should do fine. He is very helpful so don't be afraid to ask...
As long as you do your work and put in effort, great class and great professor. Teaches without overwhelming you.
It doesn't matter if you put in all the effort in the world and do every homework perfectly. The class is bs. He is an intelligent guy but he is not helpful at all. And he is extremely demanding and strict with his homework's. Don't take him, he's very biased.
Vavra is extremely hard, expects a lot, and isn't very helpful. Tends to be intimidating. Also has many major papers due and expects you to know the material like you're the professor. Doesn't do a great job at teaching it however. Take him if your course load is light and you want to be an english major.
GREAT TEACHER!!! as long as you pay attention in class and do the home work the class is relitively easy, it still requires work though. throught the course i could actually watch my writing abilities getting better. dont be afraid to ask questions in the class, the advice he gives out is incredibly helpful. stick with it and it'll pay off.
He isn't very good at explaining the material he gives to you. He expects you to know everything like you're the one teaching class. He has a tendency to put down people in the class and make us feel like jerks. Definitely would not recommend him.
Vavra expects that, at a college level, you know how to construct an essay. That said, some people may find him intimidating if you aren't a strong writer. He gives you plenty of time to complete the assignments & is very reasonable if you have a conflict of any sort. He gives lots of revision time & feedback before the final paper is due.
I do not recommend him. He liked to make an ass out of my class and expects you to know things that you've never done before. He's very intelligent but I would recommend to NEVER take him.
Absolutely horrible.
Dr. Vavra is an interesting character. Extremely knowledgeable but a difficult grader. Make sure to participate and pay attention.
Dr. Vavra is a brilliant writer, and a knowledgable individual. He is fair, and I recommend visiting him during his office hours and ask him to look over your literary work prior to handing it in. You most certainly can receive an A in his class. Show up, ask questions, participate, do the readings (daily quizzes), and don't procrastinate!!
Dr. Vavra is a very hard teacher to press. You have to work hard in his class. HAVE TO! He will help you if you go to him. He has helped me on several occations and I have done well in his class because of his help. His class is def. my hardest, but I learned a lot. My issue with Vavra is his tendency to talk down to the class. Its very demeaning.
Actually not to bad, IF you already know how to write. It didn't matter if I turned in quality work or not, everything was an 80. I wrote a really good essay, and got an 80. I got lazy and wrote a bad one... and got an 80! Go figure...
An excellent professor, tireless task-master, and in the end, my friend.
This teacher if you are not an english major i would recommend you not take him! He is very strict with his writing assignments gives you a quiz every class period and has 4 major paapers that are worth 75 percent of your grade.
He spoonfeeds you the information required to get an A. In highschool I never got more then a C on a paper but in his class I got all A's. You can use your notes of quizzes, so do your homework and take notes. To pass the class ask questions and always take notes.
Dr. Vavra does not know when to stop talking about politics. Trying to take notes in class is nearly impossible when he goes on tangents lasting sometimes twenty minutes. I haven't received a single A on any of my work, and I took AP English in high school. Definitely would not recommend for first year English.
I personally do not recommend Dr. Vavra's class. He's a tough grader and hard to understand. It's impossible to take notes and pay attention. He also always gets off track and rants about random things and repeats himself constantly when saying "your grades are partially determined before birth" I failed his class, I don't recommend him.
TERRIBLE TEACHER DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS
I used to get good grades in English till his class. He is very hard to understand, Grades very hard. He takes 10 points off for one thing wrong. Now i'm barely passing his class. You have to write 5 papers which are hard and confusing. Expects you to know everything prior to class. ALOT OF HOMEWORK!!!!
I absolutely do not recommend this class! Horrible teaching! Expects you to know everything and not much help. He always says how bad high school teachers are. I wish I would have dropped that class when I could. I would have been much better off if I have. If you take him.. Good luck!
Although I had to withdraw from his course overall DR.VAVRA honestly is a wonderful instructor,he does expect you to have learned the basics about composition but if you would just follow directions, ask questions, and see him during office hours,while putting in good effort and hard work, you will be able to pass his course.
Prepare yourself to spend an absurd amount of time on the homework and papers he assigns. Lectures feel like forever he stands there and talks for the duration of the class.
Grades major papers VERY hard. Even though he is very specific, it is difficult to get all the points.
Vavra is the cockiest man I've ever met in my life. He wasn't even an English major in college, he was a Russian major. He constantly talks about himself and doesn't respect other people's opinions. Also, you better do the work and do it exactly how he wants it done or you will fail.
Make sure to ask questions, because if you do not, he will give you a quiz on the material at the beginning of class. Writing major papers is not difficult, long as you follow the grading sheets. His class is hard work and is time consuming, but his class is not impossible to get an A in.
Would never take him again. most likely dropping the class. Does not explain anything and his website it confusing. He should use plato not the dumb website he created.
Dr. Vavra is the worst English teacher I've ever had. He expects you to know how to do his assignments without any prior instruction. His website is confusing and he grades things way to hard. He takes off large amounts of points just for small mistakes and his grading is extremely inconsistent. I do not recommend taking his class at all.
A great teacher. Always willing to help if you ask for it. He has rubrics for each essay he assigns which clearly state what he will be looking for and grading in the paper.
Ask questions!! If you ask the right questions you'll have everything you need for quizzes. Read over the rubrics for papers. He gives tons of details and breaks everything down on the grading sheet so ask if you're meeting the criteria or not!! If you put in the effort, there are a ton of available points and you will do fine.
This class was straight out confusing, with its handwritten online textbook, embedded links, and conflicting instructions, forget about PLATO he doesn't use it. This class made my 4 unit Anatomy&Physiology class seem like a breeze. Beware if your taking any class but this one, it consumes every waking minute.
Please do not take this class, he's confusing, grades harshly, and he's very difficult to understand. His website that he created is out of date and hard to navigate, but he uses it anyway. He should be teaching a class at a higher level for English majors, not this.
Follow rubrics for the Major Papers exactly as they are written and you should do well on them. Course work takes up a lot of your time. This was harder than my major classes.
He has little man syndrome and if you don't dress well for class he will not give you good grades, bring lip stick to class and be ready to kiss his ass. He will tell you to do something and then change his mind get ready to get a D or lower.
This is a freshman English class and it feels like English major specific course. He talks into his coffee cup making it very hard to understand him. if you take his class or think about taking his class, ask yourself how well you can teach yourself because he is no help at all. smells like cigs. He wears his pants to his nips
Very difficult, you have to actually work, but I learned a lot from him. Take him if you actually want knowlege for your money. Very clear on grading. Make sure you ask questions and keep a very close look on his online website. I wish he taught another course I needed, would take him in a heartbeat. Btw, I am horrible at writing
Vavra is a very monotonous guy. That said, he begins class with intentionally bad jokes to lighten the mood. He asks vague questions and gets annoyed if people don't know the answers. He grades hard, but the papers are very easy/short, and he is very understanding and forgiving about missed work. Speak up or be ready to repeat yourself five times.
Do not take his class! This should not be a general education class by any means. Homework is ALOT and takes 2-3 hour. He grades incredibly hard, even if you follow his rubrics. Defiantly took away from my major classes. He is not helpful, he expects you to know everything. If you aren't religious, you don't stand a chance in this class.
One of the blandest teachers I have ever taken. He is a nice guy and cares about the material and it's overall message, but he is very bad at conveying what he wants in a written assignment. He rambles quite a bit and it is hard for him to stay on topic. Ultimately what did it in for me was his grading; almost as if he doesn't even read the papers.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
86%
Textbook Required
90%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.57 avg changeRatings by Course
ENL211
5.0
(1)ENL59
5.0
(1)ENL12
5.0
(1)ENGLISH101
4.0
(1)ENG001
3.5
(2)Difficulty by Course
NA
5.0
LSD169
5.0
ENG111COMP
5.0
ENGL
5.0
ENGLISH101
5.0