1.8
Quality4.1
Difficulty100%
Would Retake89
Reviews100%
Would Retake
89
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
7
4
4
3
8
2
18
1
52
What Students Say
“Bad teaching skills, does not clearly explain things”
WESTERNCIV - 2.0 rating“drop him hes not good”
CIV - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
50%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.66 avg changeRatings by Course
HISTORYOFWWII
5.0
(1)HISTORY
3.7
(6)WECIV100
3.0
(1)HIST135
2.5
(2)HIST137
2.1
(8)Difficulty by Course
137
5.0
CIV
5.0
WWII
5.0
WESTCIV2
5.0
CIV1
5.0
Reviews (89)
Bad teaching skills, does not clearly explain things..
drop him hes not good!
bad teaching skills is not the word!
i never ever heard any1 say anything good about this guy. he's very hard. his test are pointless. its hard to study when you he never teaches. mark my word u wont get anything higher than a C in hiss class!
No Comments
1 of if not the worst professor at the valley.
No one gets over a C in this class, even the "smart" kid in our class sucked up for a whole semester got a C. You learn nothing relevant in his courses, only discrete facts he finds interesting.
horrible!
I worked my butt off for a C and i am a good student...hes horrible. he grades so much on participation and doesnt even know anyones name! hes so bad. i can say that i didnt learn anything from this class & im jealous of all those who took somone else
terrible professor
agree 100% of what was already said, the man cant teach
Not a good professor. He's extremely disorganized. Every day he'd give us a ten page packet to read and he'd never go over it. One good thing though, he truly loves his job, even though he's terrible at it.
not a good professor to say the least!
Terrible teacher but, completely oblivious. To get higher than a C - during tests write up a cheat sheet and sit in the back of the class. He's so oblivious he wont even notice. You'll cringe at his armpit stains!
When a teacher is so narrow minded to see others view as wrong, is a jerk. Thinks he knows it all when he doesnt know time of day. He may as well be going to PU teaching garbage disposal because his teaching stinks. Does not give A's and B's are rare.
No Comments
No Comments
No Comments
I am a history major and was so excited about this class and he ruined it for me!! We never even talked about the holocaust!! he hates women and all he did was say how bad the US Military is.I did not learn anything in this class and I am a straightA student.I would not reccomend anyone taking him!
Avoid him like the plague!!!!!
1 of the worst professors at hvcc. you learn nothing, doesnt know no 1's name,test are not to bad but grades very hard
No Comments
No Comments
i had laba for WWII and it was the worst history class that i have ever taken in my life....i love history and i found it impossible to enjoy his class bc he has no clue of how to actually teach his students. he grades very unfairly expecting his students to know everything when he knows nothing.
Horrible! Do yourself a favor and take someone else! ANYONE else!
No Comments
WORST PROFESSOR EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He was the worst teacher ever, granted it was my first experience of bad teachers. his favorite words are ahh and ummm. good luck if u get him.
No Comments
He should teach History of Um & Ah.
He is by far one of the worst teachers I have ever had. I tried to say more but the long list of things he did that ticked me off exceeded the 256 char. that I am limited to.
This dude is awesome
UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM & UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH all you hear!!! WORST TEACHER EVER!! Dont get him!!!!!
absolutely the worst most incoherent human being alive. if you have him run away fast.
I think he's imfamous for his "umm" and "uhhh" He even asked someone when he came here when he was actually born here! it was the funniest thing ever. He really DOES NO know how to teach.. i'm wondering HOW he got his PhD... AVOID HIM!
No Comments
The most unhuman person i have ever met. Good luck trying to get in one word with this guy because he loves the sound of his own voice. His teaching and people skills are horrible! And his constant umms and ahhs will make you go insane. I cant believe this guy has a phd but then again so does Hannibal Lecter. Avoid at all cost! Believe the ratings!
No Comments
Worst teacher good luck if ya get him. He has favorites. I know I was one. He is hard to unbderstand and stumbles over words -
Jumps from one topic to the next, doesnt prepare you for tests, and puts questions on tests that your not prepared for. Also feels the need to shoot students comments down, and add his extremely liberal viwes into the lecture
wORST TEACHER I HAVE EVER HAD
I had him for History of the Twentith Century and got an A...only because I worked my a** off studying for his tests, though he did provide terms ahead of time that would be on the test. However, I thought he was an awesome teacher, only because he seemed so passionate of what he was teaching (compared to that of a west civ class i guess), which m
No Comments
i really wanted to write about this guy and i actually forgot his name until i read everyone elses comments and saw "uhhh and ummm".. this guy is HORRIBLE.. first day of class i sat upfront, and never made the same mistake again, hes a spitter.. grades unfairly.. got a C in this class and it f*cked my GPA.. notes suck, unorganized, the list goes on
Professor laba is very HARD to follow. He says the same thing every class and he says "UH" alot. I think he is a well educated man he just doesn't knoe how to teach. O got a "A" in his class, because I studied VERY VERY MUCH.
You know what, your beter off just reading this first sentance and making your decision to not take his class. I aquired a C because i attended every single lecture. Like everyone else sais, he will go from one thing to the next and give the slightest bit of information. He expects you to already know most aspects of the specific war in the class.
All over the place in his teaching. He's been known to jump topics during class, oftentimes straying from the curriculum to rant about something recent, such as global warming(!). Harsh grader on tests and essays. However, gives list of terms and possible essay questions before exam to make studying easier. Decent, but rough and hard to follow.
Just don't take this class.
This guy is the worst teacher I've ever had in my entire life. This guy is totally incomprehensible, you can't even understand what he is saying half the time. He will spit on you if your in the front row, and isn't even self conscious. He goes on stuttering bouts for minutes on end, and never even sticks to a single topic. Avoid him like the devil
do no take this class, you won't pass
This guy stutters way too much and talks way too fast
if at all possible do not take. he is hard to understand does not have complete thoughts. talks about stuff unrelated to class. doesnt cover all the material. one of the worst professors i have had.
Not surpising that Laba would get awful reviews. Most HVCC students aren't actually interested in A) learning anything and/or B) Doing any kind of work. It is true that he can be a little hard to follow, but is also very enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and fair. If you want to talk on your cell phone and apply self tanner in class, DROP OUT STUPID.
He is VERY knowledgeable about history. He does stutter a little sometimes, but you can't hold a speech impediment against a person, he is still comprehensible. He is fair in his grading, however he is not going to just give A's out, you have to attend class, participate and do the work, just like every other college level class.
If you want to learn anything about history, take it with him!!!!
Very knowledgeable, very enthusiastic!!! I got an A in his class, and anybody else can do if you're willing to attend class, and do the work...A's don't just drop out of the sky ya know!!!
Hard to understand but was very knowledgeable. You have to work hard and his tests are completely ridiculous so you would have to go into his office hours a lot.
HORIBBLE TEACHEr do not take his class unless u want to be boredd
If you are an average grade student you can get a good grade in his class. don't listen to the other comments, most HVCC kids are idiots and for some reason expect college courses to be really easy. which his classes are easy compared to most if not all actually university classes. he gives a sheet with everything you need to know for the tests.
Over all class isn't too hard. Major problem is the stlye of teaching and the way Laba presents himself. Poor handwriting makes notes hard to take, and he does have a problem with studdering. Very smart man, hard to understand. Must be able to teach yourself at times.
He just talked about how "Gay" the spartans were. Only class i ever dropped. Took class again at a different school, A.
Dr. Laba was very knowledgeable but there was a huge set back......I couldnt understand a thing he talked about becuase he never would be clear on what it was he was talking about....I got a good grade in his class but it was a long semester!
Strange, Strange man. I would take this class with another professor.. Not very willing to help students, expects to much for a entry level history class.. Brilliant man... poor teaching.
If you like getting a poor grade for no reason, take this class.
Worst clas I've ever taken. He's hard to understand, jumps all Over and hardly finishes his sentences. I have always gotten A's and got nothing higher than a B. His tests are graded very harshly and although he does give you terms to study he expects way more info than is even in the book. Worst class don't take it.
WORST CLASS EVER! Laba is all over the place with his teaching, won't admit when he does something wrong even if the student points it out, and unless you're like absolutely perfect with your assignments, you'll be failing. DO NOT TAKE HIM!!! If you got stuck with him, register for a different professor! He's terrible! This guy needs to go.
Laba is an awesome guy regardless of what everyone says. If you go to him for help he'll help you. He's not a bad teacher. He knows a lot and he'll share his wisdom with you if you talk to him. The ones who dont ask questions or go to him for help are the ones who'll get a poor grade!
Dr. Laba is the single best teacher I've had at HVCC; these kids do not take learning seriously and clearly like to cry then the teacher doesn't hold their hand. I had him for Western Civ I and he has truly changed my life. Take this class if you'd like to experience real learning. Put down your cell phones, stop texting, and read.
Yes- Professor Laba does stutter and go off on tangents from time to time. However the only frustrating part about having to go to class is listening to lazy people who don't apply themselves moan about not having an A handed to them. For all his quirks, he's a very smart man. If you want someone to hold your hand all the time, don't go to college!
The man does not know how to be organized, we fell behind more and more each week aas we watch movies half the class insted of learned, easy class to take, hard claqss to pass, Due to his cancalation of our last test, we are forced to only have 1 test grade (i got an F on only that assignment) and he gave me an F on mid-term. 7 of 8 grades were 100
He's a brilliant man & opened up new things to think about in the subject. but he was also very opinionated about the subject & if you didn't write exactly what he wanted to he just gives u a C or D regardless of how much u refute your argument.
As a long time student of this area of history, I was astounded to find a professor in a community college that had that level of command of the material. A few of the more technical and tactical points of the subject certainly were lost in the weeds, but overall, if you take strong notes, go home and use search engines to deepen the understanding
Hard to follow at times but was an excellent teacher. If you want to know World War II and your willing to work take this class.
I'm not one to sit here and bad mouth a teacher, but honestly this guy was the absolute worst professor ive ever had. He had absolutely no direction or format to his class, no grading system, and never gave help in his office. he somehow found a way to make world war II boring because he did not cover a single battle.
Laba is disorganized, rude, unintelligible, puts things on his exams not on the study sheet, honestly I could go on all day. He spits, sit in the back. He criticizes the English aspects of your papers, but his own English skills are inferior. Show one of your papers to an English teacher after he tears it apart on you, see what they say. Avoid him.
This class was a absolute waste of time. He doesn't care about his students at all and honestly could care less if you fail or not. If there is one thing i could do it would be to go back and time and punch myself in the face for signing up for this waste of times class. Do not take this teacher.
Take this class if you want to learn about WWII from a different perspective from what you learned in grade school. This man does tend to studder and does all lecture. gives you review sheets before every test that are slightly helpful. Class is moderate difficulty but really interesting the man know his stuff
Had a great experience with Prof. Laba. He is an extremely intelligent man. Has trouble getting his points across, but he is not a bad teacher. Got a B+
dont take this class, he is an awful teacher, no organization, the book is a waste he does not teach from it at all, you will get a review sheet before the test and very little of it is actually discussed in class, he even says u have to google everything, STAY AWAY FROM HIS CLASSES!! I wish I looked at this b4 I took his class
I took about 4 pages of notes a class, and reading through them is as much a nightmare as listening to him was. He jumps all over the place, from the birth of man to modern day problems. Half of the stuff he tests you on your study sheet he has never talked about. I came in thinking this would be a great WWII class, but I was proven badly wrong.
Terrible teacher. His lectures are all over the place and hes very opinionated. The course handbook says that the class is focused of the American portion of WWII but all he talks about is Nazi Germany and the USSR. Avoid him and his classes
Terrible at giving lectures. Incredibly intelligent, but he can't express his thoughts well. Very nice guy, but he's fairly strict. Don't waste your money on the book, you will never need it. Cheat on all of his online test.
Laba once freaked out on the entire class because we didn't know whether or not in ancient times there were horses in china or australia. His teaching is all over the place. He's very intelligent, but has poor speaking skills and generally plays movies every class. he also grades ridiculously hard, and gets angry when you don't understand things
I am begging everyone, do not take his class! He is the worst teacher I have ever had. He does not teach well at all. He jumps from one subject to another and doesn't elaborate on anything. For the final review he told the class to look up the answers on Wikipedia because we didn't even learn it with him..
TERRIBLE TEacher lost our map tests and made us take it again. Jumps all over the place with his lectures. spent most of the lecture telling us his opinions and not real fact
Worst professor I've ever had. He's a very smart guy he just can't teach. He's very unorganized: loses tests, jumps around the book and lectures. DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASSES!
Extremely disorganized and does not teach anything in the class. Very smart, but he is a horrible teacher.
Laba is a truly intelligent person. It's true that he's disorganized, but few professors I've seen can match him for command of the material. If you actually study and know what you're talking about, you'll never have a problem with his tests or assignments. I found his lectures energetic and interesting, and he's a pretty likable guy too.
Brilliant person with colorful life experiences and his history stories come to life!
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
50%
Textbook Required
100%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.66 avg changeRatings by Course
HISTORYOFWWII
5.0
(1)HISTORY
3.7
(6)WECIV100
3.0
(1)HIST135
2.5
(2)HIST137
2.1
(8)Difficulty by Course
137
5.0
CIV
5.0
WWII
5.0
WESTCIV2
5.0
CIV1
5.0