2.2
Quality3.9
Difficulty28%
Would Retake116
Reviews28%
Would Retake
116
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
14
4
17
3
12
2
16
1
57
What Students Say
“Better have photographic memory if you take him”
MAT16 - 2.0 rating“Bad explainer and intimidates the students to not ask questions”
MA15 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
89%
Textbook Required
60%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.21 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH1064
5.0
(1)MISHN1
5.0
(1)ALGEB3
5.0
(1)R3
5.0
(1)M9
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CP11
5.0
MATH01
5.0
MATH014
5.0
M1
5.0
MATHD03D
5.0
Reviews (116)
Do not take him, he's the worst teacher ever, just find someone else, trust me. I'm an A student.
Put it this way... I received straight A's in 4 other classes and an F from Balsim this semester. He "teaches" strictly out of books and 1/2 the time, the class is explaining the material to him. The worst professor I have EVER encountered in my 20 years of existance! DROP!
(ADDING TO BELOW) When we asked questions about the curriculum Balsim replied with “Are you kidding me?” or “How do you not know this?” No we’re not kidding you & maybe we'd would know the material if you actually knew how to teach it. Balsim could not pass a test in QBasic if he, himself, wrote it.
I've always been so good at math but this teacher jsu simply doesn't know how to teacher. I had to go home a teach the matieral to myself. Thats the only reason i got a B+. He just is seriously the worst teacher ever!!
whatever you do dont take this guy he sucks, and quite frankly if you came in knowing what you are doing you will leave unsure of your entire name he is unprepared and does not know the material himself , find somebody else anybody else trust me you'll thank me later. ;)
he is the worst teacher on the planet!!He teaches a lesson the last 10 minutes of class and expects you to understand. He doesnt explain ANYTHING!! The examples he goes over in class are simple but and easy but the examples on the test are cery complex. TRUST ME dont take his class!! hes the WORST!
horrible my worst teacher so far in kingsborough
horrible teacher doesnt know how to teach the worst teacher so far in kingsborough not enlighten about tthe subject or how to teach needs help or no be a professor at al
Disgusting, Disgusting, Disgusting. Wow havent seen a horrible prof. in my life. Why the hell did they hire this ****. Listen ppl dont take his class at all. HE IS THE WORST PROF OF ALL TIMES. He cant teach for ****. Do Not Take. You are practically stupid if you read his ratings and still take his class. I am warning you ppl. Its a staright F.
listen, this teacher is so funny. although he gives very easy examples during class time then give more challenge ones on the exams. still he is willing to go with you step by step till you say " yes i got it"
very horrible he doe not know the computer. he reads out of the book. if u want an F take this class.I am saving you money and time spent.take another proffessor.
He can't teach he does'nt know a thing about math , he just throws work on the board and expect us to learn it by ourselves
he just does not know how to teach.he reads out of the book to teach the class.I dont know how he got hired.He tells the class how do you not know this stuff.dont take him you will be wasting your time and money.if any bodt take him deserves to fail.
he is bad. he does not know how to teach. if you care about yourself don't take him.
Like the others said, run when u still can. he is the worst math teacher ever. he gives quizzes when he notices that half of the class dont know the subject
Doesn't know how to teach , his classes are soo bearing . His jokes r stupid even thou he think he is funny . everything he is trying to explain is soo confusing ... Don’t take him. it's a waste of time ... Anyway u will drop this class ...
The Worst Teacher Possible!
Well his math 9 class was dumb easy I got an A and I am horrible at math...however I knew most of the material from HighSchool...math 14 I failed but I deserved it...he isnt a great teacher but if youd study ud get an A
he stink, he does not now how to teach.if you people take this guy as your teacher you all deserve to fail because he does not know the material him self.
what an idiot!
funny Tries 2 b nice guy but often says insensitive things, like "what kind of a question is that?" not enough patience that students in remedial class need. will come over 2 help u if ask but doesn't explain well enough. Good hearted but needs 2 be told straight , NICELY by s/o brave, 2 b more patient & sensitive. Preferably don't pick this prof
he is the worse prof ever in my whole life. he will not listen to what you said. always make other people feel stupid. the only time he will be nice to you is the when the teacher evaluation comes up.
He may come off kinda mean and boring in the beginning but he's actually a nice person and a good teacher once u get to know him better.Just do your homework and review and u will do good in his class.
I like this professor. His class is easy. IF you listen to him in the class, do the homework on time, you will get an A. He is funny, but he knows his subject good. I would recommend him as your teacher!
He is good proffesor. He check attendence and homework every day that gives you exrta points to your grade. Take him, if you want to know Algebra before taking higher MATH. His class was very helpful for me.
Great professor, and highly recommended. He checks attentance and homework EVERY DAY. He gives kind of a lot of hw and a lot of quizzes. The amount of hw problems given really helps in understanding the materials and problems. He gives a bunch of problems and examples in class. He's available for discussion, if you need him.
HE ISN'T THAT GREAT OF A PROFESSOR. THE CLASS ISN'T STRUCTURE AT ALL. HE JUST DOES EXAMPLES AND DOESN'T EXPLAIN ANYTHING. AND HE MAKES YOU FEEL STUPID IF YOU AS QUESTIONS.
hes rele not the worst teacher he's nice when he wants to be & to whom he wants to be nice too. I really think he just dont like people who speak in and uneducated way like "yo", "ight" he getz very offended do not call him "balsim" he will snappp make sure u call him prof. balsim cuz i had sum1 in my class say "here u go balsim" & he got tiggghht
This professor should not be teaching, he should work in the department behind a desk. His people skills are horrible. He puts students down and says "you don't know this and what kind of a question is that". I hated that class. DO NOT TAKE HIM!!!
This prof. balsim needs to retire. Number one is not people friendly like people are so nervous to approach him. Number two he can't teach math even with a PhD in it. HE needs to change is profession as an educator. The class structure is disorganize to no coherence in the topic discuss. He trys to explain the concept and find himself confusing him
Number one is not people friendly like people are so nervous to approach him. Number two he can't teach math even with a PhD in it. HE needs to change is profession as an educator. The class structure is disorganize to no coherence in the topic discuss. He trys to explain the concept and find himself confusing himself and the student.
very rude,doesn't know how to teach,unfair grader,doesn't care about students,doesn't help students who need help at all, I would advise anyone he has him to transfer out immediately
Great Professor
he comes off as a jerk initially but if you stick around you'll see that he turns into a nice guy. hes difficult and he won't take any of your crap but if you pay attention to him hes pretty easy.. he hates being asked questions tho
Great teacher though he goes really fast! He is glad to answer quetions. And really got me back in to likeing math.
well... in the beginning he seemed to be a really tough instractor but then i realized he had a special technique to make us study the material. He gives homework everyday and chack it everyday! And if you want to get an A like i did so just do the homework! and he will love you.
Horrible professor. Instead of explaining and helping with problems, he screams "what don't you understand?! It's so easy!" Speeds through with answers when going over problems. Not recommended to take.
Rabbi Balsim is a gem. He is a true scholar and a wonderful human being. It seems that some students do not know that he is an expert, but is trying to help them.
He's a really good professor. He gives Homework everyday which is very helpful. If your rude or if your not very clear to him, he can sometimes be sarcastic. If your having problems in class, you should always ask questions. He made me understand math clearly.
He sucks at being friendly, you must do well on the exams in-order to pass his class. Gives hw every night which isn't bad but annoying. With him it's either you understand what hes teaching or that's it he wont help you!
This prof is ineffective at what he does; furthermore he is an A$$HOLE. When a student tries to ask him a question his response is usually "what's the matter with you?!" and there was an instance of which he proceeded to call a student stubborn when the student asked about a different solution to a problem.Do your self a favor DROP HIS CLASS NOW!!!
He is not a bad teacher, his class is really easy to understand. He may give homework every night but it's not hard and only takes a few minutes to complete.
he's horrible at teaching,he doesn't gives us enough time to finish his exams, its hard to fully understand what's going on in the classroom
Easy class, his exams are harder then the final. His review sheet was the final pretty much. He drops the lowest test. Give time to do your homework if you don't get something look on youtube or purplemath and you should be fine. Don't come to class not knowing how to do the topic from the previous class.
he's suck, he not even know what hes teaching, he always got the wrong answer.All he said is “Do you understand” or “are you follow me” bad prof.
He is ok as a teacher. He checks the home work everyday and put grades to his own paper, so u don't see it. If u know the stuff already u will the test, if u don't u may not. Good luck!
I took this professor in spring 2012. he is not as bad as student explain he is :) he gives homework and checks almost daily. there are three class tests, he drops lowest grade. you get what you deserve in final grade :)
I should've heeded other students warnings. This is the worst professor I have taken at KBCC. Avoid him at all costs! I had a 3.8 GPA until I took this guys class. My GPA has dropped dramatically. He is horrible at explaining concepts, rushes through problems, and makes students reluctant to ask for help during and after class. DROP HIS CLASS!!!
I found him extremely easy, and very explanatory,however you have to know the basic concepts to take this clss. You can walk in and out of clss if you get bored he dsn't say anythng.I got an A+ without a problem. The only problem was, he gives extra credit questns but don't credit you more than a 100, so if you are good at math avoid him LOL :D
Rushes through material makes you afraid to ask questions acts a little rude. If you plan on learning something taking him is a bad idea.
one of the worst professor in kbcc he explains very very fast and when you ask him a question he makes it more complicated. AVOID THIS PROFESSOR
don't take his class if you can. I spend gigantic effort in his class and getting b was no easy matter. I study for every single quiz. His tests are horribly hard and long and you will do bad at them.
He is not as bad as what people say, trust me! He's yeah sacarstic sometimes but you would find him funny that way. Lol. He's a good professor and I can understand clearly what he teaches, and he gives homework everyday and quizes every week. This really is a good way cuz math is all about practicing and understanding.
He is Okay, although I got A in his class. He drops the lowest test, or quiz grade. His lectures are not very tough, but you have to be very proficient on basic math skills. He sometimes would be impatient if you ask questions such as obvious and math beginner). Tests are long, but if you do homework-piece of cake in 1 hour. heLooksLikeAMathNerd.
worst professor ever
never ever ever again. Worst .WORST professor ever
WORST professor I've experienced at KBCC. He rushes through the material and everything is a short cut for him in this class. I was unlucky enough to have him twice (MathR3 and 900). He's very rude and expects you to understand what he teaches, but doesn't explain properly. He's against extra credit and you must attend class, be on time.
Don't waste your time. Not clear rushes everything, bad attitude
I must warn anyone who takes this class. Don't take him. Withdraw. Please do yourself that favor. He's horrible, arrogant, and unhelpful. He expects you to know everything, then whats the point of taking his class? He rushes through new material, makes you reluctant to ask questions. I cant say there's a single positive thing about him. All Cons.
Great professor!
This professor doesn't care if you pass or fail he is just there to do a job and get through the material. He doesn't give a chance to learn the material.
Not a good professor at all. Does not work with his students, does not care if youre failing, wont even talk to you about your grades. He puts stuff on the final we never even learned. His rating here is 2 0 for good reason, its not a fluke. Avoid if you dont want to kill your gpa.
Plain and simple. Do not take him. Everyone is saying negative things about him because they are true! His tests are incredibly hard. In class he will give you relatively easy problems, but when its time for a test he will surprise you with problems from mars! I dreaded that class.
OMG!!!! his lecture was horrible, 13 of the questions in the final he never teach in the class. I spent 3 hours each day review my note, do my best but only got B
He is terrible! AVOID HIM ! He is rude and disrespectful. He loves to fail people.
I took his class in 2014 spring. He is clear, but not really knows how to schedule the teaching. So the material sometime goes so fast, also because of the religion holidays he has, he absents for few classes. When he does the row reduction, he likes to erase and just change the number in the matrices, it is hard to take notes. 3 exams plus final,
Always had a bad attitude in class and didn't see eye to eye with students. The lack of patience he has when a student is confused is disgusting, he would only explain the problem once and if you don't understand then too bad. Adding on to this, the problems on tests he gives out are more difficult than the topics he covers in class.
Bad explainer and intimidates the students to not ask questions
He's very strict and teaches with LOTS of practice. In other words he basically teaches something then makes you practice everything learnt thoughout the whole time. If you don't know like 12 times 2 he gives you the "seriously you dont know that" face which may look intimidating but overall hes cool. Just study hard and do your homework. Thts it.
I think he is very poor as professor. First of all , from my course from 25 to 14 people went to the final ( I don't know how many people even pass it). Second, he is poor in knowledge, every time when he started a new material his lecture became with examples. I don't have an idea why he still teaching calculus courses . Never take him !
Professor Balsim is a strict professor. If you ask him stupid questions he does get a annoyed (as would anybody). If have taken MAT14, this class shouldn't be that difficult. Clear grading criteria.
I took him for Calculus and can honestly say I will never take a class with him again. I learned more from the book and online resources than him. It is true that he is very short with people. Especially when someone asks a question on something he considers easy and that's something he has to either work on or consider a career change.
HORRIBLE PROFESSOR. He doesnt know how to teach, but he wants students to understand fully about what he teaches. Get it? do you understand what I actually mean? its like a dog teaching about calculus to us in dog language and he wants us to understand how integration and differentiation works. YEAH HES THAT BAD
He cannot teach.... his test are hard.... you ask him questions he gets upset
Terrible at explaining simple concepts in a way that is understandable. Tests are unnecessarily difficult. I did extremely well on the final, as it wasnt made by him, but every test Ive taken from him was a horror show.
Jumps around the syllabus, doesnt explain things well nor depict them on the board. Better have photographic memory if you take him. Also has a habit of bringing in things from later subjects that wont be tested on. Also is heavily unorganized and unprepared. Most likely doesnt care about educating students, but more concerned on grant work.
As you can tell, he is a terrible professor, his class test are extremely hard, his second test I studied really hard, but ended up failing. Don't get me wrong he knows he stuff, but doesn't know how to teach his student, he is all over the place. But you might like his class if you are an extreme quick learner and if not when you see him run away.
Always give questions on tests that he never taught.
Balsim is a really good professor unless you have trouble learning fast then I would not take him because he does expect his students to come in with basic mathematic skills. He seems willing to ecplain anything you don't understand sodont feel discouraged to ask and funy at times.
THE WORST PROFESSOR EVER!!! DO NOT TAKE HIM!!! NEVER!!!
Terrible teacher. he does not care about the students. It is very clear that he is there for the money. ovoid him otherwise you may fail this class for sure.
Love him..!
Professor Balsim is unusual professor, and when I first came to his class I did no really like him, but after a while I realized that he is really good professor He give the same material at the tests that we covered at class. To pass the class with a good grade you have to have desire to study and be focus during the lectures.
He is a very bad professor if you don't know the topic you will fail because he doesn't help you at all then gets angry when you ask him questions thinking in his mind these are things you MUST KNOW already so he just gives you questions most of the time on in class thinking it should be only review
No MCQ'S question in his tests. Only finals paper has MCQ'S question. Tough grader.
Hes a very tough grader and does not go in detail when explaining the material. If you are not a fast learner especially in math do not take his class! I cant stress that enough. His tests are not multiple choice only the final exam. He sometimes catches an attitude if you ask a question and he doesnt understand it
He gives a lot of homework but we never have to hand in. He goes through the questions in class though. The exams are pretty much the same as the quizzes he gave, just some different numbers. If you attend the class and pay attention you should pass. He's cool (:
A very strict and rude professor. He simply does not teach anything in regards to math. I had to learn everything by myself. Gives a quiz or test every other week. His syllabus is one huge lie. He will give you an attitude or even insult you if you ask him a question. He erases notes right after writing them. Plus, he comes late every single day!
Dont do it. This prof made me hate math even more than I thought I could. Had the worse experience in his class. He does not know how to teach. Do not take this Professor. I wish I read the reviews about him before taking the class :(
Hes a good teacher, you just have to pay attention in class and study or at least know what youre doing.
He teaches well
he is a not bad professor you just need to focus and work alone and you will pass the class but as a advice don't take him
He's an average teacher. He make sure everyone understand everything and he's a fast teacher. So if you're a slow learner, I kindly don't recommend him. For our class, our quiz and exams were all multiple choices. Pay attention in class because you can easily get lost. There is a textbook not big but I never used it so it not recommended to buy.
Omg words cannot explain how horrible this professor was. I had to go to my tutor instead of going to class. Half the class literally dropped him, wish i was one of them. He teaches tutor style, meaning one on one, if he asks who understands and one person says the do. Good luck with trying to get him to go back and explain it.
This teacher is the worst professor i ever had, He made me hate math even more and he is very rude!
Math is not my subject, honestly, hate math. And I somehow passed so, yay. He was an okay professor, just the math he was teaching was so confusing and hard that I never want to think about the class again. But his teaching was actually pretty good, given the subject, though you have to clarify if you need to go over something because he just goes.
Never miss a single class, do the homework and SPEAK up if you dont understand something, he always asks 1000 times each class "Is that clear?" if it is not then speak up and he will always go over the material and always does full reviews for exams. He gives LOTS of extra credit I got 100 on all 9 or 10 of his exams and quizzes.
He like to rush people
Ok not the worst professor ive had but he confused the hell out of me. He does not explain things well at all. I found myself having to go on youtube to learn more about what he was teaching. A plus is that he doesnt care about hw.
Professor Balsim rushes through lectures and gets an attitude if you take too long to answer. He also makes mistakes constantly while teachings. But before you can fully learn the material, he rushes to give tests which are the only thing that really matters . But he does answer emails in a timely manner and provides extra credit worth two points.
Very textbook, loads of homework. No student/teacher feedback or empathy. you will find yourself teaching yourself material.
Im taking professor balsim math 700 and so far it’s been one of the worst classes that I ever been in.And being online doesn’t make it better while taking this class.When people asks questions about the work he gets mad and if you don’t say anything when he asks a question he would yell.He also got mad one time and asked us if we was blind.
Professor Igor is a very sarcastic man, gives homework every day and tests every other week. Do every homework and you'll be fine
The worst professor i've ever had. He leaves a class as soon as it finish without even asking a question. When you try to ask anything he starts to raise his voice and show his attitude. He has a huge Ego and weird attitude jus for a mention. Just try to take any other professor if you have a choice. That was the worst experience for me.
The worst professor I've ever had. He leaves a class as soon as it finishes without even asking a question. When you try to ask anything he starts to raise his voice and show his attitude. He has a huge Ego and weird attitude just for a mention. Just try to take any other professor if you have a choice. That was the worst experience for me.
He is a bit high strung, and sarcastic. However, he's an amazing teacher. The only math Professor I've had that made me understand math, and his frustration seemed to me like it was due to him wanting us to actually get it. I failed math like 4 times in college, this is the first professor where I'm passing with a pretty high average.
Not a good professor. Was condescending and sarcastic. Behavior is not appropriate. Kept rushing through the material, and did not care if the students learned or not. Don't recommend him. People dropped out. I don't blame them. I don't even know how I got an A+
He will make sure everyone is on track. Very easy concept. As long as you follow everything you are good
Professor Igor is a good professor. Please don't let his sarcasm and shortness at times, offend you to the point that you dismiss what he is trying to teach you, because he is a good professor who just wants you to learn. I, not good at math at all and he has teaching methods helped me so much that I passed the class.
He is an aggressive person who speaks badly to all his students. Every time the students have a question and asks, he tells him to shut up and him not interrupt his class. He also leaves a lot of homework and quizzes on days when us is very busy and he has no compassion for the student don't take this teacher him is so bad and aggressive person.
this professor was rude and mean to his students, doesn't go over classwork or homework, and you have to pay almost $100 for mylab to do your hw
This professor is okay. Nothing special. He knows his stuff and knows what he is teaching you. The only thing I don't like about him is that he told us that we have to pay $80 for mylab for our hw and quizzes. When I went to pay, the price rose to almost $100. He could have told us straight up that it was $100 for mylab. But overall, he is good.
Professor Balsim can be intense, but if you stay engaged and utilize resources like unstuck AI, you can succeed. The class is challenging, but worthwhile for those willing to put in the effort.
I was never good at math but professor Balsim makes understanding the concepts very simple. I'm surprised by how easy it actually is and I believe it's because he teaches it so well. Would recommend this course! Amazing professor :)
When it came to doing tests and quizzes he always gave me a lower grade than the one I got. He's truly biased.
He is inconsiderate and rude; he makes unnecessary comments at us, and he gave us a test every single week. Rushes through material and basically makes us learn ourselves. He accused us of cheating, so he made us show work for every single test question even if we got it right and if not, we get a zero for the question. He is not a good professor
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
89%
Textbook Required
60%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.21 avg changeRatings by Course
MATH1064
5.0
(1)MISHN1
5.0
(1)ALGEB3
5.0
(1)R3
5.0
(1)M9
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
CP11
5.0
MATH01
5.0
MATH014
5.0
M1
5.0
MATHD03D
5.0