I took his class in spring 08, and hated every minute of it there was no text book, just print outs, and you had to write an essay for almost every class.

Hes a cool professor in person but useless when its test time. he doesnt even provide a study guide and expects u to remember all the material hes taught the entire semester. grades very hard, DONT TAKE HIM unless u are willing to dedicate 24 hours a day to studying western civilization, not worth it!!!!!!!!!!

worst teacher at valencia i wish i never took him. he seems like a nice and understanding prof. in person, but when it comes to grades hes ruthless. he grades extremely hard. dont take this course unless you are willing to fail. seriously, hes the worst teacher at this school. your lucky if you even get a D

Dr. Smith should not be teaching this class. His grading makes no sense and he only grades on writing and grammar, NOT HISTORY! He has no passion for History or his class and is very rude in his grading. I came into this class excited and loving History, as I still love History, I am very disappointed with Dr. Smith and his class. Not recommended.

This teacher is unreasonable, strict and unrelenting. If your work is not perfect (grammar, spacing, etc), expect a 0 on your assignments. Do not take this professor. A complete waste of my time.

I didn't learn any AMH, more of the AMH in sociology, like letters written to others but never facts like the Boston Tea Party, etc. I have just personally found this class to have been a complete WASTE OF TIME and money, not once were we told to use the course textbook, he's either an adjunct or a very new professor... two thumbs down.

Do not take this professor! Just like an English class, you have to read Shakespeare written papers and come up with an analysis on that paper. He does not tell you what you did wrong on the papers, you must figure it out yourself.

Very difficult course. I took it online and it requires a ton of reading every assignment. The grading is really harsh and he grades you on your writing versus your understanding of the subject which doesn't make sense.

I regret taking his class very much. He gives very bad and unclear feedback. He grades your writing with things like "unsatisfactory" or "good" without saying how to do better. I am a straight A student and this was my first B even though I tried very hard. It was basically a writing class.

His classes are great, very interesting and well organized. He makes classes fun. With that being said, he is an incredibly tough grader. Gives very unclear and harsh feedback. I'm a good writer, got A's in all my writing intensive courses. With him? Nope. Barely getting a C. No extra credit, no redo's, homework for every single class. Avoid him

I took his online class, and he has a great set up with sources and assignments. 1 discussion and 2 replies every 5 assignments and 2 paragraphs a week. But when it comes to grading, he gives horrible feedback "satisfactory overall, fairly good, somewhat poor, and poor overall." He is also hard to reach.

"Vague, not responding to the topic."

Worst professor I have ever taken. I am a student with a 4.0 Gpa, I study regularly, and I am a good essay writer, however, when it came to this class I and many others apparently had no idea how to write an essay. This is more of a composition class rather than a history class. I highly recommend you take another professor.

Professor seems more concerned with pushing his political agenda than providing a quality learning experience. My best friend and I took the class together and are 4.0 GPA students, but we received a B from this professor. If you don't write about oppression you will not pass this class.

His feedback on assignments is terrible he says things like needs improvement or good. I had to figure out on my own how to pass his class I recovered from a D to a B.

STAY AWAY!!! I am a 4.5 GPA student & I ended up with a C. Hardest class I've ever taken. The material was okay, but he grades so harshly there is no way to do well. Harsh HW assignments every class day. Class started with 30 people, the semester ended with 12. This was not a history class, it was Intro To Socialism due to his extreme leftist views

He is absolutely the worst professor I have taken at Valencia so far. His lectures are so pointless because your grade is dependent on daily paragraphs that are based off of heavy reading passages provided online. He does not give much feedback as to how you can improve your writings. I recommend you find a better professor at a different campus.

Mark Smith is a terrible professor. You literally have to read several pages of gibberish and are expected to write a perfect paragraph. If you don't, he will destroy your grade. Stay away, highly recommended you find another professor.

Taking this class online. It takes several hours to do the work, which wouldn't be so bad if assignments weren't graded so harshly. There doesn't seem to be a way to get a high grade in this class. The feedback he gives tends to be vague. I found this class extremely frustrating and advise that you find a different teacher.

75% of your grade is based on paragraphs with solely a guideline and not a rubric. Classes consist of PowerPoint lectures based on pictures of the teaching material. Time consuming paragraphs are critiqued in a manner that portrays a "must be this way" form of grading. Missing two paragraphs could result in a withdrawal worthy situation. Poor exp.

Run and never look back... He is terrible!!

This professor writes his own word doc text book and only gives you a letter grade every 5 due dates. So you don't know where you fall till it's to late. You could follow the syllabus and he put will still mark you poorly. His feedback is less 10 words, this man may know history but he is not meant to be teaching.

Very bland explanations as to what you are doing incorrectly. Sets you up for failure.

By far the worst class I've taken in my life. I spend hours trying to write the perfect 250-350 word paragraph, and no matter how hard I try, it's always "too vague" or "satisfactory". Very difficult to pass even if you're a good writer. He gives very little feedback, so it's hard to understand where you need extra work.

Dr. Smith is the most unprofessional professor I have ever had. He does not grade clearly, and his feedback on your paragraphs are vague. Stay far away from this class.

This is the worst class that I have/will ever take. He does not stick to his grading criteria and is very vague when he grades assignments. He makes you read these long sections of the textbook and all that I focused on was finishing assignments instead of learning about U.S. history. Do not take his class under any circumstances.

DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS! It will ruin your life. I took a whole semester and learned NOTHING. He is by far the worst professor I have EVER had.

The class focuses on all the bad things that have happened in history and people being oppressed. His feedback is very vague and harsh. His textbook if you can even call it that is mainly just speeches or writings from historical people. Be prepared to do a lot of reading and writing and to be graded harshly with nothing to back that grade.

do not choose this professor , he does not doing history . he is horrible . i had to withdraw from this class because i could not take his scraps anymore . 20 assignment to write with 250 to 300 words . he never satisfied with your homework .you have only 10 minutes to take quiz including an essay .

Very tough grader, never satisfied with the work you do. Withdrew because every week, there are 2 assignment with a minimum of 300 words, but every time he graded mine, I got zero points. Constantly says "You missed the point" but answered the question that he asked. Very frustrated throughout the entire class. Never lectures on anything of value.

Not a good History class. No textbook, no rubric. Professor supplied articles were the only allowed sources. All assignments based on minority POV, and are either thesis' or characterizing content. His emphasis is on writing and minorities. Feedback is minimal and he does not seemed very concerned with helping students or US History.

He is a terrible professor and makes me super stressed. His grading criteria are super unfair and have constantly a lot of paragraphs to write. If English is not your best subject, then I recommend NOT to take his class. Overall his lectures are somewhat interesting but the work for that night is nothing like what you learn in class.

Stay away tough grader and gives very vague feedback. Just barely passed this class with a 70.

I found it may have been easier taking his class in person but for an online course on top of others, I would not recommend. Rather than grading the overall paper on the material, he focuses a lot on the thesis. If you get the thesis wrong but about write what he is requesting, you WILL get a D.

Had a 40% in the class up until the last few weeks it raised slightly. Still holding my breath in this class to pass, assignments are impossible. This class has more work than any class I've ever taken, but good lecturers and funny guy. Horrible feedback and lengthy readings due every class.

This class was supposed to be history however I felt like an advanced English class. The only thing you do is write thesis statements and papers. Does not have clear grading criteria but all the work must be up to his standards. Also does not care about your grades or feelings. Horrible professor.

On everything that keeps this world together never take this professor. By far the most troublesome class, he doesn't care about the individual but rather the standards of the thesis so if you do them incorrectly good luck passing. Had to email 3 times till he told me what was wrong. Take any other professor you have a higher chance passing.

This teacher grades super hard, and ALL the assignments are based on long articles that are very boring. He grades his assignments super hard, basically to the point where if you dont have the same thesis as him, you arent gonna get a good grade. This course requires a lot of time, patience, and frustration.

It seems that his grading has become much more firm and uptight. This class is hard for multiple reasons, but the most prominent being how he grades the work. He does not give personalized feedback and when he does it is vague and doesn't allow me to improve the quality of future assignments. Has high expectations. Gives C's and D's if not perfect.

THE WORST! No tests/textbook is what drew me into this class but I then I realized that made no sense and neither does this teacher. Lectures are just watching him go through a slide show that doesn't even make sense. 2 paragraph writing assignments a week that you either get a 0 or a 100 no in-between. I got a 0 once bcuz I spelled ONE word wrong!

So far one of the worst professors Ive ever had. I took this class online and although the work load isnt bad, he is an EXTREMELY tough grader. Constantly says, thesis is too vague which doesnt help me improve in any shape or form. If you are not good at writing, dont take this class.

Assignments are 2 short papers each week based on stories you read/class content, and one final essay. Thesis is nearly impossible to get, based on his objective opinion on what "you should have figured out." feedback on papers is vague, not helpful, and is sarcastic a demeaning manner. Avoid at all costs! The dean is the only one that can help!

Feedback isnt much at all , homework are essays which barely make sense and a tough grader . Lectures honestly just consist of what he wanted you to do for homework so its hard to take notes. If you ask for help hell just say its best to withdrawal and i couldnt withdraw Im on financial aid. Wouldnt take him again .

This professor is an extremely touch grader, almost impossible to pass this class. Will give you a D just because your thesis is weak. Which is ridiculous. Avoid this professor at all costs

Took this class with hopes to have a fun online class and learn about our countries history but it was mostly focused on one feminist final exam prompt that every single assignment is based off. Doesn't email back when asking for help and when he does after multiple emails, short responses. AVOID THIS PROFESSOR AND SAVE YOURSELF THE TIME AND MONEY!

Practically he grades off a perfect thesis statement. He gives you a "textbook" where you read 3 or more articles that are based on the assignments and discussions for the week. It is a sad class and he recently said my writing skills are bad and should consider proofreading which led me here to warn others. Might have to retake a different class.

This professor is the hardest grader Ive had so far. He focuses too much on the thesis and often will give a C or lower if it is not perfect to him. His feedback is very vague and does not help make improvements in the assignments at all. The readings are long but tolerable. class lectures include a long PowerPoint and do not help at all either.

As a student with a high GPA, I was surprised to find myself with a D in a class so silly and extraneous. The professor offers very few points and takes them seemingly on a whim. For example, some assignments only have 2 points meaning you'll get a 50 % for even one mistake. This class DOES NOT FUNCTION, BEWARE

Oh. Dear. God. After taking this class I will not look up my professors again! I can tell you that I learned absolutely nothing in this class except how to continuously ask or help. I had to email my professor for every essay just to get an A- on those essays. On my other assignments, I would get a 0 and he wouldn't say why. All in all worst class!

Honestly this is the worst class I have ever taken, this professor is the HARDEST grader I had so far. He has HIGH expectations for assignments so if you don't know how to write I wouldn't recommend this professor. He is very vague and bland with feedback if the assignment doesn't follow his standards prepare to get D's and F's.

I always took RMP reviews with a grain of salt bcuz I took some bad-rated professors that were good. After taking Smith I will NEVER DO THAT AGAIN! This is the worst class ever, he gives no feedback and only cares on your thesis and writing, all you'll be doing is emailing him for help and he'll say zero. SAVE YOUR SANITY AND MONEY!!

Took his online class during the summer and he is the worst prof i ever had. He barely grades by his rubric. You read really long and boring essays and then do a small writing assignment which seems easy but he always says you need to be more specific or look for the bigger picture. He gives the worst feedback, he is so vague that it kills me.

This professor is bar none the worst one Ive had to date. unreasonable grading and awful comments that provide little to no feedback on why you are continuously bombing assignments. You will feel helpless while taking this course and your only way of passing this class is to email him 5-6 times a day for revisions just to get a B.

I am saddened to say that I learned pretty much nothing about our country's history. Professor assigned readings that only focused on the struggles of African Americans and women. I would love to have learned more about the WWII, the Great Depression, Cold War, Vietnam, etc. but did not.

He doesnt even know what he wants himself. Sources don't relate to each other at all--- BOGUS.

I took this class thinking it would be American history but it's just a composition class. There is no studying of actual history, and no textbook- it's all just repetitive writing assignments and he does not teach you anything, literally. He will give you a C without telling you, even if you followed his criteria exactly. Disappointed...

He was pretty bad overall. He would give you just the "rubric", but then fail you because 1) you didn't e-mail him for nearly EVERY assignment to get his historian opinion 2) Didn't meet the expectations that he didn't state. Gives just 1 assignment per week, and its A LOT of reading. Don't take this class unless you are ready to work REALLY hard

Dont bother taking this class, if youre not good at writing.

Rubric is unclear. Feedback is useless. Rude and uncaring of his students. Delivers the course as though he doesn't care about the subject. He grades on criteria that is not included in the assignment. I do not recommend this person as a professor. It is obvious he does not like students.

He's available only until 11am (ridiculous). It's required to contact him 5 days before the assignment's due for help (also ridiculous). His "help" on assignments is vague and COMPLETELY unhelpful. I got C's on my well-composed work JUST BECAUSE with no explanation. If you don't read his mind, it's a C- for that 2-hour assignment. DON'T take this!

Just as what you expected from others. Every Assignment and Context Summary will be graded a C- if you dont contact him. Even if you follow his rubric and follow it to the teeth and understand the topic, hell still give you a C- with no feedback to why hes giving you that grade. I dont recommend this professor, even if youre Interested.

The absolute worst! Unreasonable grading and awful comments that provide little to no feedback. You will definitely feel very discouraged while taking this course and he does not care at all. He requires graduate level English writing for this introductory History course. He is snobby and not encouraging at all.

Don't take this guy he has to be the worse professor in the college! He based the entire class on talking to him so you can't use other resources only him. Whenever you ask something like "is this a good thesis" he will just respond with "too vague" and he won't even explain why. You can still take the class just not this professor trust me please.

Yeah don't take this guy he has to be the worse professor in the college! He based the entire class on talking to him so you can't use other resources only him. Whenever you ask something like "is this a good thesis" he will just respond with "too vague" and he won't even explain why. You can still take the class just not this professor

He is by far the worst prof I have ever had. He makes it mandatory to talk to him about assignments (and you have to start the conversation a WEEK in advance), but the only feedback he gives is "too vague" or "be more specific." Absolutely awful, you would learn more from a botched wikipedia page than him.

This professor is terrible. He gives out long sources to read just so you can write a paragraph on it, and his grading scale is entirely based on how he feels at the time, you'll never be able to figure out what he actually wants from you. His feedback is terrible and vague. And to top it all off you won't even learn anything new. DONT TAKE HIM.

DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR! In all my school career I have never had a teacher more dreadful than him. He does not grade fairly, he'll give you a D for a "weak" thesis statement, and won't even help you to fix it if you ask. His feedback was short and no help at all, it just made me more confused. Save your money, time and suffering. Horrible prof.

PLEASE DO NOT GET THIS GUY AT ALL! He is a very strict grader, he will literally give you the worse grade if details are off. He will give you a big paragraph to read and makes you write a paragraph with specific details that if you are a bit off, goodbye a good grade. Not friendly, doesn't give feedback besides "see page 6" on the comments. Bad

PLEASE DON'T take this class. He doesn't teach. Want to learn history? This isn't the class. He asks for something complex and insightful but your assignments are to be vague and lack detail otherwise you lose points. 3 mandatory assignments each week, only 1 affects your grade. Only reading, no other forms of learning. Feedback is unhelpful.

I should have looked at this site before I picked him as a professor. I have never had a worse experience. You get two assignments a week, one being a discussion the other being an outline or paragraph. Even if you follow his guidelines youll still get a C or D. Make sure you can read his mind or youll fail.

This professor does not teach the class, and all of the assignments for the class are writing assignments that require you to read his mind to get a halfway decent grade. He provides zero feedback on what you could do differently or what he expects. I feel that I haven't learned anything since there is no textbook. DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR.

I took this class thinking I would be fine considering it was an online history class. BUT NO every assignment is on a confusing word document. If he doesn't approve the 'email dialogue' your most likely guaranteed a bad grade. His 'feedback' is the worse I have seen. He is very specific on assignments and very rude I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PROF!!!!

Only reason I didn't give an F is because he accepts emails to review your work (which I didn't do), but even those who did take him up on that would not get an A. He'd show the highest, medium, and lowest scores per assignment and highest anyone got was an 88. If your format isn't to his liking then C, regardless of how well you write the subject.

The first class that I EVER had to drop. The class makes no sense, you basically reading novels and writing professor-level summaries. He has a God complex. When you ask him for help, he will make you feel inferior for even questioning him. Every email he sent me made me feel like I was the stupidest person ever. DON'T TAKE THIS COURSE WITH HIM

Horrible professor, If you don't follow his vague rules for the assignments he will require you to redo the entire assignment without telling you what you did wrong or fail the assignment, he requires you to submit assignments 3 days in advance only for him to "review" it and if you don't the highest grade you can get is a C. AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

DO NOT TAKE. this man was a waste of my money. I know I am a good student and even with the unclear directions and trying my very hardest i could never get anything higher than a C on any assignments like 0 mercy. you can see the averages on assignments that other students got and often an F was the average and redemption is defnot an option either

Only take this class if you want to learn about all the failures of America and you took highly advanced writing classes. All you do is write about oppression. On top of that, you have to make a "thesis" statement every week and have it reviewed by him. Feedback is fine.

The professor is cold and cryptic. You only get a A for doing "Above and beyond" (no one knows what it is). The best you can usually get is a B if you complete all the criteria. Honestly, if I meet all the said requirements I expect to be paid 100% of my pay, not 80%? I we go above and beyond we should have extra credits which there are not.

Okay I will make this as clear as possible for someone wanting to go with this professor. Nothing wrong with the class but the professor. Here is what it feels like to take his class: Professor Smith: What is 2 +2? Me: 4 Professor Smith: Wrong. Me: Could you explain? Professor Smith: Too vague and not specific enough. Don't do it, at all.

Worst professor I have ever had. No matter how much effort you put into the class, he is never going to give you a perfect grade. He has given me 1.9/2 on most discussion assignments and NO valid reason. It does not make any sense at all. He drops your grade for minimum mistakes that were not even addressed on the rubric. Don't waste your time.

very bad professor, no clear for what he need to be done. Obsessive with Afro American and LGBTQ community.

Worst professor I've ever had! Terrible class with poor direction, awful feedback, harsh grading and extremely limited teacher involvement. Professor Smith clearly has no interest in teaching his students and the student feedback clearly demonstrates this. When 95% of your students wouldn't take you again you have failed as a teacher!

Do NOT take this professor! You'll Never receive a perfect score due to nit picking at every single thing. very confusing and LONG syllabus. Weekly "paragraph" assignments will end up being your final exam all in one. I do not recommend taking him for anything not even a joke.

I have hated how there is no modules organization at all (modules don't even exist) All of the coursework is slammed in a page to read and submit separately and each “assignment” is like a mini essay paragraph *7total* that in the end as a final exam you gotta do a SUMMARY for each assignment.I hope this profesor reads these ratings and do better.

No sense of reality when it comes to work/life balance.

Way too harsh, and asks inconsistent things from his students. Its eggshells between him wanting us to be a robot and wanting "genuine reactions." Very, very harsh. Takes it way too seriously.

The professor has a drive with all the class work and can be very specific about what he wants you to do and don't have much freedom to express how you analyzed the sources given. I can be a little rude sometimes.