1.9
Quality4.5
Difficulty30%
Would Retake87
Reviews30%
Would Retake
87
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
8
4
6
3
7
2
22
1
44
What Students Say
“I'm not a bad math student”
MAT152 - 3.0 rating“This guy is terrible, Your pretty much on your own to learn”
MAT152C - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
70%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.01 avg changeRatings by Course
CALCA
5.0
(1)DIFFEQ
4.5
(2)MAT130
4.0
(1)COS107
3.0
(1)MAT145
3.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
152
5.0
105D
5.0
CALC
5.0
COS107
5.0
CALCA
5.0
Reviews (87)
This is a hard subject to begin with, but be prepared to take is at least a second time. He is unapproachable and teaches to his level, not necessarily the level of his students. He is unapproachable and intimidating. Beware of this guy!
ug. he's fast. make sure you know the material because the tests require very much application of the material: in other words, your homework examles are taken further on the tests.
prof. irish is fair. if you do the work and study, and let him know when you are having problems, and when you don't understand something, he'll pass you. i hate math, but it felt doable in this class.
Yikes. Moves far too fast & doesn't explain things clearly. Teaches the material differently than the text does.
Very unhelpful, does not like questions, teahces fast, likes group work. do not take this class from him
this guy is really hard. Even if you pass in every homework and go to every class and take every test to the best of your ability, he'll still fail you. I don't recommend taking him.
The material is difficult but he makes it even harder to grasp. Not open to questions...repeatedly says..look in the book or I all ready went over that. Well SORRY I didn't get it the first time around as you went through a chapter in twenty minutes.
TERRIBLE. Do NOT take this guy. Just read all the other comments.
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This is a hard class, but his teaching style made it a little harder. I heard that he was ok with help, but i never went. he kinda scares me.
Not very clear, kind of unhelpful. Actual quote to class "I can't explain this to you...you just have to have it in your math suitcase". Huh? Thank god the textbook was good.
What a freaking nightmare. Now I know what hell is like but I didn't know that the devil taught at USM. :)
Contrary to everyone else, I think Irish is very clear about what he expects of students. If everyone did their homework *ehem*, they wouldn't see any surprises on exams. Plus the quizzes are WAY easier than the homework. An approachable guy.
Unhelpful and can't teach. what is he doing teaching??!! 20 out of 30 failed this class. I retook calculus with someone else and got an A!! Someone should stand up and take notice. Fire this man. The worst teacher I have ever had.
He's very unconcerned with how students are doing, and seems to favor students that already understand the material. He doesn't like to help those that are struggling or even seem to care if people obviously aren't learning from him.
This is a difficult subject he doesn’t make it any easier. The instructor is very demanding. The take home tests are back breaking.
Had him 3-4 years ago; great prof, high expectations. Very articulate, explains material well. Learned a lot from his class.
Unforgiving
Irish is great, very clear. You need to have done well in Math in general up to this class. He wont waste class helping you remeber how to factor or basic mathematical properties. I did fine and loved his teaching style.
I don't know if he really knows his subject...he should probably be teaching higher mathematics classes as he cannot connect very well to those who don't already have a good solid handle on the subject. Don't take him if you struggle with math. Should be retired.
um...every moment in his class made me wish I was dead.
sent me to a tutor instead of helping me during his office hours. very monotoned and i think i saw him make a facial expression twice all semester. needs to retire.
he is the worst teacher i have ever had, on our first test 2 people scored above 90, a few around 80 and the rest were in the 40-50 range, what does that tell you?!?! he doesn't explain anything at all. he should be teaching upper level classes not this one!
He reminds me of Ben Stein on Ferris Buellers Day Off
Do not take this class if you if math is not your thing. This guy is mr. rogers w/o the friendliness and ben stein put into a blender. Even with putting in hours of work a week, i took a test and it might as well have been in chinese. He made the concepts much harder then needed to be.
Quizzes every class were fine, but the exams had material that was way harder than the quizzes or homework. I just had bad luck with taking this math course at USM. I had Paras and this guy. My advice is to talk with your advisor and take this at SMCC. It's not right if I need tutoring if I do my HW
Do not take this class if you struggle with math whatsoever..has no time for students that ask questions and tends to relate to lifetime experiences wayyy too much...lets just say there were six people left to take the final and during the final two got up and left!! Great teaching!
Sometimes during class I dreamed of taking my pencil and jabbing out my eyes just to make things a little more interesting. Worste class ever. Stay as far away from this guy as possible.
my class started at 40 people and finished with 8 and of that 8 probably only 1 passed. he tried to get you to drop. he is the worst teacher i have ever had.
do not take, very very boring!!!
I'm really bad at math and I actually understand a lot of what he says. i've never done so well in math before, I've gotten 100s on everything.
Very hard to learn from this guy.
Really hard to understand the way he teaches, i find myself learning more from the book.
After 5 years in college, I have never come across as WORSE of a professor as Irish. DO NOT take him if you are not good in math... if you already have.. Im so sorry but I feel your pain!
he is very condescending. quizes and tests are much more difficult than the textbook. his voice is extremely monotone and he gets annoyed when people have questions
He assigns lots of work and means business. You earn every grade in his class, there are no handouts. Be prepared to work a lot, and learn a lot. While lectures are kind of drab, he is very meticulous, shows you how to use technology, and has students present projects. I liked this class a lot.
do not like this professor at all. very hard to learn from. i have other friends help me rather than ask him questions.
Professor Irish's class is not easy, but I found him to be patient and knowledgeable, and always has office hours available for one-on-one explanation if you get lost. I really do not understand student's difficulty with him.
worse professor/teacher ive ever had. can't stay awake in class an tests/quizzes are much harder than text. if you have this man switch!
No Comments
a good teacher if you want to learn upper level mathematics, otherwise completely ineffective.
I think thet Irish is the worst math teacher that Ive ever had in my life. He does not teach on a level that students can learn easily, almost as if hes too smart to be teaching the class. I HIGHLY Suggest dropping this course if you have him, or switch to another teacher. Quizzes are tough, and dont usually relate to things discussed in class.
hes not a bad teacher its just no one teaches like him anymore. the class is only hard to some students because they do not do the homework. keep up with your homework and get help if you get him. his class is a bit more challenging so if you dont like math find somebody else
Irish is a very boring guy. Everyday he comes in with his brown shirt tucked into his tan pants (if youre lucky he may wear a brown sweater instead.) He teaches simple concepts with hard to understand methods, and when he askes the class a question, you better hope the smart kid in the class answers, cause he will hunt down random people to ask.
easily the worst teacher ive ever had..immpossible to comprehend his lessons....classes are irrelevant to tests and quizes...annoying to listen to...class/teacher the worst..yuuup..BALLLLLLINNNNNNN
An awful teacher. Didn't understand math wish I dropped it. By far the WORST class i've ever taken
Horrible!!!
This class seemed pretty easy to me. Its a bunch of common knowledge math. I never opened the book for a homework assignment. Just do good on 5 out of the 9 quizzes and get a passing grade on the tests and youre set.
don't expect to pass unless your good at teching yourself everything..............
I disagree with the other people, however I took a different class than the others. (Calc A) I thought he was interesting and friendly. He always tried to give real life examples too, which is much appriciated in a math class.
boring teaching style...everyone in my class was bored to death, hated the class, and found him hard to understand.
Very clear, understandable, and caring professor. He will answer any question you have, and if you guys claim that you don't understand him, then you won't understand any math teacher at USM. He is one of the best! If you don't like to work and think about an easy grade, then simply don't take the class, don't blame professor for your laziness.
Im in the middle of the class right now and hate it. i did extremely well in algebra in high school but he makes it incredibly hard. DO NOT HAVE MATH WITH THIS TEACHER!
This professor is too smart for his own good, and should realize that all of his students don't have a doctorate in math like he does. The material covered on quizzes is far more difficult than problems you'll face in the book. Prepare for the worst.
This dude's monotone uninteresting way of teaching is unbearable. Not to mention he is a crazy hard grader, I'm talking NO extra credit. In class one day he talked down to a few students because of some questions they asked, it was unprofessional how impatient he was with them; he also claims there is no such thing as a stupid question. Avoid him!
He's at TERRIBLE teacher. I am certainly not a lazy student, and no matter what I do I can't get a good grade in his class. DO NOT TAKE A CLASS WITH JOEL IRISH! He is by FAR the worst teacher I've ever had. His quizzes and tests are not like anything on the homework or what he "discusses" in class. TERRIBLE.
Prof. Irish is really nice. If you havent learned the material beforehand then you might have a hard time understanding it. He is very smart and helpful. The quiz questions come right out of the homework assignments, so although doing the homework is not mandatory, if you want to do well on the quiz, I would suggest doing it. GREAT TEACHER!
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Dr. Irish is a very intelligent mathematician, and expects his students to be as well. He knows everything there is to know about mathematics, but has a hard time making it understandable for his students.
smart guy. knows his stuff. text and quiz are a pain. throws a lot of stuff at you in a short amount of time. EXTREMELY boring. the guy put me to sleep half the time. would not recomend him.
This is the ugliest and bad person I have ever seen
Joel Irish is probably the worst teacher i have ever had. He thinks math is the coolest thing since sliced bread. If you want to fail, take this class. You have no hope in passing this class unless your a math nerd who has no life.. He does not care about his students. Everyone fails the class, what a GREAT teacher... NOT
70% fail rate... Just drop out of college than take joel irish
I stayed in his class because I thought I had a chance. Thats the dumbest thing I've ever done. There were 33 people at the start of the semester, and at the end I think there were 12 people in class. Only two people have a chance of passing. I even went to a tudor at least once a week. He should not be teaching!!!!
I'm not a bad math student.I got an F in his class and a B+ in Maurice Chabot's class.Huh, wonder who's the common denominator? Do the math ppl, DON'T TAKE HIM!!
Wow, what everyone said is spot on. I am not bad in math but I got a D in his class. Everyone in my class dropped out of it half way through? Why do we pay money for teachers who suck and try to fail students?
He is out of his mind, expects everyone to be a genius in math. Quizzes are unreal hard and once a week, problems are a lot harder then problems he teaches. A lot of people fail his class. If your not good in math don't waste your time or money, You will not pass.
I LOVED my math class with Irish. If you do the work and even know a tiny bit about math, you'll probably love it too. He explains well and grades very fairly. Only the top 10 quiz grades are kept and you have one every week. If I could take another class with him I definitely would!
This guy is terrible, Your pretty much on your own to learn. Be ready for allot of your own time for understanding the material, because he is no help. Also to add to it his voice is so mono-tone it puts you to sleep after 20 or so minuets. So if you decide on this endeavour, GOOD LUCK . . .
Take CalcA instead if you can, he completely misses the point in this non-math major math class... he teaches it as if he's dealing with math majors... you can understand every principle of the course and how to use them and fail the course... i will say that if i were a math major he would probably be one of my favorite personalities...
Though I've just started the class, I really like him so far. It's a tough class and it's very work intensive but if you work hard and do the homework you should be all set. He grades fairly and will gladly help you if you need it.
This guys knows nothing about teaching. He teaches you steps 5-10, and completely skips out on steps 1-4. He expects everyone to be good at algebra, and doesn't explain why you do things a certain way or why they apply. To make it even better he even teaches you stuff about calc 2 and 3 when your in calc 1. He is usless and a waste of money/time!
Terrible teacher. too smart for his own good. the class has shrunk to nothing. passed out the first test and about 5 people packed up and left. we got the tests back the next day, and the class after, less than half showed up. majority failed, and even the few who figured they'd stick it out is on the edge of failing. don't put yourself through it.
He does not explain himself very well. It takes him about ten minutes or longer to get to the point. I have another class the same length where way more material is covered. I would not recommend him in at all. In fact, if you're required to take calculus I would highly suggest taking it at another school.
Worst class I have ever taken. I got a D in the class, the first D of my life, including tests or papers, and I'm a senior in college. I had a 99 on the homework and nothing higher than a 45 on the tests, hmm.. wonder what the problem is there. Retook at SMCC and got an A-, but have to retake again here to graduate, definitely not taking him.
AWFUL. If you already know the material you may have a chance. If you expect him to actually teach you anything at all, you're already screwed. He gives weekly exams, so he is just a glorified proctor who DOES NOT give partial credit and is very nit picky about small details, like a missing negative sign- he will fail you! Literally the worst.
Terrible, I've never had a professor that I couldn't understand and keep up with but he makes no sense when he talks. He goes far to fast and just endlessly talks but explains nothing.
I completed the assignment without differential equations and he refused to read it. He does not have respect for the intellectual merit of your work. He will dog you on sign errors. You don't need Diff Eq. to get a PhD in math: its a trap.
Only a few people in class are able to keep up with this professor. The rest of us will have to retake the class. He relies on MyMathLab for his weekly quizzes, which only shows you got a question wrong and not why. So don't expect any good feedback. He also acts like every person has mastered all material preceding his class.
Terrible. Moves through the book at a breakneck pace, without teaching the material in lectures. Weekly quizzes take hours, exams are absurdly hard. If problems are introduced in class he shows step 1 and 2, says we've seen this before, skips to 11 and 12, saying we can figure out how to finish. If you can teach yourself quickly, you might be okay.
This class is geared more towards engineers than math majors. For this class, you might as well plan time for teaching yourself with youtube videos. The course material isn't hard but the way that Irish teaches it is not helpful.
The course is taught at 8am. The role of the course is to dirsupt the brain by sleep deprivation and stress while it is still developing. This is Joel's role in the university system.
He landed a hit order on my career by giving me 0 points for a precalculus growth-and-decay solution.
The toughest Professor I had ever taken.I have never had to drop a class until I took this course. He knows math well, but he does not teach well. He had no office hours to help students who needed more help. Extremely hard grader. Will give you a wrong answer for (-/+) mistakes. No partial credit. If you complete this course, you deserve an A.
Hasn't read mathematics for 20 or more years. Therefore, he doesn't have the right to teach DIfferential Equations.
Professor Irish does not take the time to get to know his students or help them. Out of two exams, almost everyone failed both exams, but he only gave us an opportunity to improve our grades on one of the exams. Be warned, hes not very clear on his grading policy. It will be in your best interest to complete all quizzes. And get a tutor too!
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
70%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
C-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
-0.01 avg changeRatings by Course
CALCA
5.0
(1)DIFFEQ
4.5
(2)MAT130
4.0
(1)COS107
3.0
(1)MAT145
3.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
152
5.0
105D
5.0
CALC
5.0
COS107
5.0
CALCA
5.0