1.6
Quality4.1
DifficultyN/A
Would Retake87
ReviewsN/A
Would Retake
87
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
4
4
4
3
7
2
22
1
50
What Students Say
“Use Dolciani for any problems”
MATH125 - 1.0 rating“Shahn is no where near as bad as previous comments say he is”
MTH125 - 4.0 ratingClass Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.17 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO
4.0
(1)MTH125
4.0
(1)BIO122
3.0
(3)BIOL102
3.0
(1)PCAL125
2.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIO102
5.0
BIOL
5.0
BIO
5.0
BIO1000
5.0
MATH152
5.0
Reviews (87)
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gives very hard exams, does not explain well
He does not spoon feed. You either know the stuff....or you fail
this professor is very unclear in his tests and he really try to screw you up. he does not help if you are unclear on something and he always recommend you to go search your questions on google. he does not know how to present the material.
A mean old grouch.
This guy has a heart of stone. He uses pp and takes the slides off before you can write anything and if you ask for it to be put back up he gets upset and will not. He confusing and disagreeable. Thank goodnees he's not teaching bio 100 anymore.
He's very boring and monotone..moves too fast in the lectures and when you ask him to slow down or to put the notes on blackboard he goes on and on about how it doesn't work for him..
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Dr. Shahn is one of the most patronizing persons I have come across. He is also mean-spirited and not interested in students' learning. He prides himself on never having taken a biology course in his life. His PhD is in physics. How the Bio department got stuck with him is anyone's guess, but the Physics Dept sure got the better end of that deal
I think he is a good person and does care if the students learn or not. When I approach him to ask questions, he was always happy to answer them. It's just that sometimes he makes things more complicated than they really are.
I really disliked his lecture style, but when the test came around I felt his multiple choice was pretty easy..his essay was a little vague, but managable. Lenient with partial credit too.
If you can avoid him, do so. Like with any lousy professor you can do great studying on your own. But his slides/lectures will have absolutely no impact on how well you do.
what a waste of space. out of 700+ students only 5 prob understand him the rest just sit there and count the min to the end of class. bad lecture style he only talks about the pics he shows on the projector and not about the stuff in the book. does not connect enything together so even if u knwo some facts they wont get u through the test essay
Horrible, horrible. His lectures are boring and he reminds me of the clear eyes guy. He would say not to copy his slides, but I bet if we were able to it'd be easier. He makes no sense and only makes the book seen more confusing. Couldn't understand him half the time. Moved to the balcony to hear better but neither worked or helped. Exam was.. HUH?
Ha, totally reminds me of the clear eye guy. Useless guy, cannot teach at all. Just a waste of time.
You might as well memorize the whole text book... it'll probably be more helpful than wasting your time coming to his lectures.
Terrible teacher, very boring class and your better off memorizing the book than sleeping at his lectures. I suggest to avoid Biology unless you are required to take it, for your general core requirements bio is not needed.
Teaches the material in an orderly fashion with good presentations. Not as hyper as the OTHER ONE but he gets through his stuff, which is what a professor should do.
I can't believe all the harsh comments about him. Although the class can be a bit boring, he was extremely helpful whenever I asked questions.
He is a bio teacher but somehow taught my pre-cal class. He did not teach anything all semester, you learn everything on your own. good luck-get a tutor!
him and his monotone voice. i didnt understand his Lectures at aLL. best to stay away.
This never-has-been would be great, if the Bio dept would just keep him away from teaching. The man spends half the class discussing his own teaching style and presentation. The other half is spent on historical background that isn't on the exam. Don't ask him any questions, he will just lecture you on study skills. I want a refund!
his microphone around his neck is a total turn on!!!! hes a cute old man..if thats ur thing..wink wink :-) hehe but he teaches straight from the text...verbatim... and he doesnt give notes.
This class is too involved for people who are taking it for a CORE requirement. He starts off the semester saying what he doesn't do (use humor, give notes) so right off the bat I knew I would hate the class. Seems he should be teaching upper level courses not the "intro" course.
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MONOTONE!!! Oh my god he is the most boring professor I've ever had! Not only is he boring like hell, he is very unclear and dares to get angry when no one understands him, and then takes it out on random students. I honestly think this man CANNOT teach mathematics (or biology) and this college should not allow professors unlimited retirement delay
The man means well, but what he means and does are two different things.The class was banked on his hair-brained fish bowl method which in a nutshell only has him paying attention to the front row, literally,questions from beyond the front row are ignored,I kid you not. Terrible reflection upon the Hunter College math department. Avoid at all costs
He is really boring...he lectures u on life more than wat he teaches u math....he stays explaning the theory of a problem for hours....his tests are ok....but he's method of teaching is horrible....extremely boring!
I really hate him. I wonder if he has always been so annoying or it's just cuz he's so old. He'd tell you for 30 minuts how stupid u are for not being able to solve a certain problem and then won't show u how. He talks and yales while u're writing your exams, and preaches u over the email after each exam even if u did everything fine.
LOL.wow ppl rate for math didn't see that this section is under Bio and not Math 125..well cuz this guy Shahn is orginally from the Bio dept.why is he teachin math..cuz there's not enough math teacher..but he just ruined students academic life cuz he can't teach for shiett..HATE HIM!! And I guess Hunter just don't care..got to imporve this system!
Can't teach at all!! all he do is talk werid things in class..and say how stupid students are for not getting the material.he can't teach bio either.he writes on blackboard.."I'm not a happy camper."
very unhelpful, violent and volatile. Will not allow you any time to copy the notes and will not provide you with notes either. Teaches history instead of biology. Bio depatrment: please get ride of this guy and minimize his contact with students.
beware!! he was da meanest prof ever!! very boring lecture and he taught off from da book... u can't learn in his class...he gave bad attitude! he will yell at u for 20 min if u go tu his office askin for help!
ok i feel bad for the guy and all the bad reviews. But wat can i say. His lectures were the worst ever. He clearly told you that you would prob. not take any notes cause he would refuse to return to the pp slides. Horrible teaching method. His tests are ok, but he will kill any interest u have in Bio altogether. BORING BORING BORING.
OH C'MON! I am taking his precal class and its not that bad!!! Yeah he does tend to get mad but its because people in the class really don't do the work! He will ask something so obvious and no one gets it...its funny actually. His tests are okay. He's actually a really smart guy and I love that he always relates concepts and puts'em in perspective
Even I usually dont have a problem with math, I dropped a class, because I couldn't just seat and listen his strange explanation for easy topic, also his tests are as strange as he is, more about theory than mathematical examples. You would not understand math with this professor and would not enjoy it at all!!!!!!!!!
The only i reason i hate Hunter is they dont have any good professor in Math. I had take No credit 2 times for this crappy professors. This professor is old and cant teach at all. Don not take this class...if you do you will regret it... The exams are hard.... not from the material he teaches!! Lectures are boring!! DO NOT TAKE!!
he is by far the worst math professor alive...he teaches straight from the text and makes things 10 times more complicated then they already are..his tests are ridiculously hard and they dont make any sense ..i suggest u dont take his class... the avg of the class was like a 50 thats all i can say...enjoy!
worst professor ever... his lectures are not only boring but he guy confuses you to the point where you dont know who you are anymore, he makes everything 10X harder than they are, if you can study on your own then there really is no point in coming to class....
He's a really, really educated man! I loved his precal class...yeah he gets annoyed sometimes, but its only because kids really don't study anything..it's quite funny actually. Anyway even after I finished his class with an A+ he is still so helpful. This man is a born scientist! Great professor!
I took the NC, that's the good part. I agree, he's not THAT bad. It's just that I am not good at math and he just didn't make it interesting enough for me want to learn harder... too bad but if you can, pick someone else (if you want to learn, of course)!
I wish I would have known about this website before I took the class. This man is the worst teacher I have ever had. His nose is buried in the textbook, his tests have nothing to do with what he taught in class, and he hates the students only acknowleding the few in the first row. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS UNLESS YOU WANT TO LOWER YOUR GPA!!!!!
i stopped going and took the NC. he's not THAT bad. people in my class didnt do much or ATTEND for that matter. math in general is terrible for some people and he doesnt make it any less terrible. =(
DO NOT TAKE!!! You wont understand anything even with homework pratice. He is so confusing.
Obviously he knows the subject, but the worst thing is that he expects you to automatically know it as well. When you ask him a question he seems annoyed and at times can be very rude. Although he does do problems in class, you can feel almost too intimidated to ask questions if your confused. Unless math is a second language to you > DO NOT TAKE!
I REPEAT WHAT OTHERS HAD SAID...STAY AWAY!!.This guy doesn't know how to teach, horrible teacher. I end it up doing the Credit/No credit.It's impossible to pass his class unless you are good at teaching yourself from the book.His test are difficult, and the tests don't have anything that he did in class.Don't take if you don't want your GPA to drop
I am thoroughly disappointed in Hunter, how this man was hired, I may never know, how he is still teaching is the better question. With such a high C/NC and failure rate youd figure Hunter would take notice. Rude to an extreme and employing a "I only answer questions from the front row" approach,this class was a waste of time and $.Unacceptable.
i hated his tests which i failed 3 out of four. i took pre cal in high school and got a 95 but he confused me on the subject instead of teaching something.he is not mean just not a good professor
THIS CLASS IS A NIGHTMARE, THE WORST I HAVE EVER TAKEN. I AM A PRETTY SMART PERSON AND THIS CLASS WAS BEYOND HORRID. FIRST OFF I DIDN'T LEARN ANYTHING AT ALL. HE DOESNT KNOW ANYTHING AT ALL, OR HE JUST HAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM PASSING ANY KNOWLEDGE ONTO ANYONE. HE'S BORING TO DEATH, I FAILED ALL THE EXAMS BASICALLY, I DONT KNOW HOW I GOT A C, DONT TAK
AVOID THIS DINOSAUR!!! Worst teacher i've had so far. Going to class is USELESS unless you have serious issues with the work. He inputs Anecdotes from when he was young (1930'S) To help explain material. Avoid if possible.
Avoid this professor, unless you're a mathematics GENIUS or if your just trying to waste time. He's not a HORRIBLE professor, he just doesn't teach. I find his tired jokes more helpful than the jumbled examples he tries to explain. He wants you to pass, but be prepared to teach yourself...literally, teach yourself, or get a tutor.
I had such trouble with this class. I wound up withdrawing. If you are great at Math or Teaching yourself, feel free to take his class. He's a nice old man but he drifts off and doesn't answer your questions or teach you the problems in the first place. My advice is to take another teacher.
He is a nice man, but the way he aproches the material most people including myself don't understand him and have a hard time trying to pass his exams and actually having an intrest in math. I suggest another professor if you actually like math. Also he bases all the grades on the exams and if you do well on the final well then you pass the class.
OMG! what a crazy mann! i passed the class but it was such a joke. if you're not so great at math THEN STAY AWAY FROM THIS POFESSOR. if you're a math genious, then you'll do fine. He is a little funny though, but doesnt make up for his total inability to teach math.
HORRIBLE!!! DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY FOR ANY MATH CLASS (I took him for pre calc) He makes a intermediate subject RIDICULOUSLY HARD,AWFUL!!! I want my money back! And time, F-
i had this pror last semester. because i am good at math and took some precal classes in HS i got a A+. but if u are not a math person he is not the one. he doesn't expalin well and gets mad easily. his test are kind of fine and curves if needed. ( which is needed always for his class). TRY TO GET SOME OTHER PROF. HE JUST CAN'T TEACH.
His method of teaching is assigning new hw for students to learn and figure out themselves.The following class he will answer questions about the homework. He would spend the entire time covering questions about the hw, unless no questions are asked. He would then randomly choose a topic from the chapter. He is a nice man but can't teach.
he is the worst math teacher! he makes an easy class horrible, his tests are even harder, out of over 80 people in my class, i got the 8th highest score on the 1st exam, which was a 59! do not take!
He knows the stuff but can't teach in a way students can get the material. At times he gets mad when u ask qts. goes over the examples in the book and tests are pretty hard. but adds lots of x-tra points like 20. if u r not gud at math, don't take.
He is not a good professor at all. how they let a bio professor teach pre-calc i have no clue.
Unless you can really do this stuff on your own, do not take him, horrible horrible teacher.
I had him last Fall, 2007. Horrible. Worst teacher ever. I was scared to ask him questions because every time someone did, he would yell at them in front of the entire class and make them feel stupid. One time I actually did raise my hand and he told me he didn't have time to answer my question. A few minutes later he goes into a stupid "talk" for
I did really well in this class, but almost *because* I stopped going and learned entirely from the book. He literally does not teach, class is structured "do the homework, then come in and ask questions about it" but as other people mentioned, he gets *mad* if you ask questions. He also goes on tangents that make the material more confusing.
OMG, I cannot believe this guy! I took Precal in high school but I somehow placed into it. I know everything but he makes it so much more confusing esp. when you ask a question. I feel so sorry if you're a virgin to precal and have this guy. I'm sure that I can teach the class better. Useless and horrible, also lame jokes!!
this is the type of teacher you would compose a petition against. for god sakes he didnt grade my 5th exam and because of that I fail
Trust me avoid this guy. He knows math but is incapable of teaching it. He is great in making you fall asleep. The only way you can pass his class is by learning the whole thing by yourself. If you can do that then you will be fine. But I would recommend the dude is like 60 and is reaching the time where he will just say stuff at random.
What does it take to get this guy out of hunter? As all the other horror stories here will attest to. AVOID
Attendance isn't mandatory. the guy is quite brilliant but the problem is he expects everyone to be the same. his lectures are useless unless you've taken the class before or are some kind of genius. however, if you do the homework on a regular basis then the test wont be so tough. He counted the final very heavily so study at least ONE WEEK.
horrible...just plain...horrible, if you don't get the material, you better know it some other way because he just can't teach. He avoids going into detail because "it wastes time" and "you can just check the textbook". He's just...bad -_-
This guy can't teach, don't ignore all the reviews. He has no patience and will basically prove to you how much more important the textbook is than his horrible lectures. Bring your textbook, some ear plugs, a pillow, and a bottle of holy water to class. Teach yourself, or find a tutor. AVOID.
WORST PROFESSOR EVER, DON'T TAKE FOR YOUR OWN SAKE.
THis man is the worst MAth teacher I have ever seen!!He never explains clearly and God forbid you ask a question..he'll yell at you in front of the class ..on the mic!! If you can do not take him...even with some of his old tests im finding it hard to pass! He is so frustrating! I hate this man!
All the rating's are 100% true, but if you're stuck in this class, this is what you do. Do not show up to class, waste of time, teach yourself out of the book, computer program is useless for exams. Use Dolciani for any problems. Before exams, do all the chapter reviews in the book. Questions come straight from the book. That's how I got an A
Prof. Shahn is no where near as bad as previous comments say he is. Just pay attention, study and do the online homework, and you'll be fine. He constantly offers office hours help and will answer any questions you have. I thought I was going to get a bad grade, yet got a good one. Really nice guy and very encouraging.
I feel sad for him, coz he lost his sister + everybody hates him now coz he s a bad professor.
I definitely had to drop this class.I have always understood math so easily but with this guy I was clueless.He skipped explanation as if the whole class knew what the details of the problems were.I really disliked when he erased the example problems he had just written, like if there wasn't two other boards where he could keep writing.Do not take!
Okay, I just got my grade for Pre Cal, and I received a B- for the semester. My suggestions: Drop it or prepare to work your butts off in this class. He's a good man, and he wants to help his students, but exams and ambiguous lectures are only the trailer for the horror movie. Sadly, I didnt put as much effort into this class than I shouldve
This class was... Anyway, I got my grade and I got a B-, so I'm not too upset. But getting there was so hard!!! The tests are okay as long as you READ YOUR TEXTBOOK, do your hw and visit the tutoring center because this dude is so... ughhh. The class is as boring as sin and he expects all of the students to come into the class knowing everything.
Unless you're super good at math and don't need a graphing calculator, don't take him. AVOID HIM! He will answer your questions with an attitude, the homework doesn't help much, the tests are harder than the homework though he claims its from the homework.
if you never want to show up to class take it. if you want someone who actually teaches dont take this class. just read the book and teach yourself. thats what i did and passed with a good grade. otherwise hes a Bio prof, not a mathematician. dont know why hunter has him teaching math. otherwise easy if you just read and teach yourself
TERRIBLE !!! tells you to ask questions then gets mad when you do... does not do lessons like a regular teacher... depends way too much on the textbook DO NOT TAKE HIM
This prof is a prime example of why tenure can be a be horrible idea at a school. His ratings are consistently low, but he has no incentive to improve his teaching. He is combative when you as khim questions and too arrogant to admit when he is wrong, even when you show him in writing proof that he is incorrect.
An example why tenure is a BAD, No incentive to improve his teaching, combative when asked questions, too arrogant to admit when wrong. Yells a lot, this class was only offered in Hunter by him, Teaching Assistant wrote comments on papers as well as he and these comments contradicted each other students had to revise papers based on these comments.
He doesn't teach his lessons properly, his tests aren't based off of homeworks or text, he yells at his students... He's as bad as they say. What my friend and I did to receive an A in this class was work really hard studying in the library, learning the material on our own. It's an annoying process, but hey, you don't want to lose G.P.A...
Everyone here is just stupid.. He is one of the best proffesors I have ever had and one of the best human being I met. People are just mean. Just take it and work hard like you supose to do. There is no magic detour. He's willing to help and yea he yells, only when people ask stupid non related and not specific questions. People,welcome to college
Class Info
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A+
Grade Distribution
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.17 avg changeRatings by Course
BIO
4.0
(1)MTH125
4.0
(1)BIO122
3.0
(3)BIOL102
3.0
(1)PCAL125
2.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
BIO102
5.0
BIOL
5.0
BIO
5.0
BIO1000
5.0
MATH152
5.0