1.7
Quality4.4
Difficulty6%
Would Retake96
Reviews6%
Would Retake
96
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
6
4
4
3
8
2
27
1
51
What Students Say
“WORST teacher I have ever had”
MAT121 - 1.0 rating“I never had a Calculus background”
MAT121 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
96%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.36 avg changeRatings by Course
CALC
3.0
(1)MAT120
2.2
(18)121
2.0
(1)MAT121
2.0
(48)MAT150
1.5
(10)Difficulty by Course
111
5.0
121
5.0
MATH111
5.0
MATH150
5.0
MATMAT
5.0
Reviews (96)
Can barely speak english, very very very unhelpful
what the heck.. how do you pronounce this name
by far, one of the worst teachers I have ever had. She was rude, unhelpful, and had a minimum grasp on the english language
No Comments
I know she's hard to understand but overall, she didn't bother me too much. I do have to say that my wife is not a native English speaker so I am kind of used to listening to accented English.
You would think with the huge tuition we pay that ISU could get professors who speak even a little english?? I guess not...There is no way to describe how horrible this teacher was. I could not understand a word she said, you could not pay me to t
This was the hardest class I took in College and it was my only D. Get ready to teach yourself.
The Women is out of line! She is unclear, and poor english, and can not explain any concepts! She uses every minute of the class to talk, and puts examples up on the bored w/ only a minute left in class, making it impossible for students to understand the concepts! She is the worst teacher ever!!
Wow she was really hard. I mean I could understand her for most of the time I had her, but the stuff she taught was just in random order, out of line and I just didn't understand what she was doing. She jumped around from topic to topic all of the time, and it was really annoying to follow her..
Very demanding, wouldn't recommend
DO NOT TAKE. She claims to have been teaching in USA for years but you can not understand a word she says. She will count you absent if you are 1 seat away from your assigned seat (in a class of like 20!). Teach yourself because a math concept means nothing in broken english.
It's pretty bad when I tested into calculus but took this class as an EASIER option. Somehow I barely got a C in 120, but I easily pulled a B in 145. She was a terrible teacher and this has been my only C in my college career thus far.
can't understand a single word this woman says. doesn't make a bit of sense. i got an A in precalculus in high school, A in finite, A in college algebra, yet i got a C in this class. i hated this woman. with a passion.
Vijithakumara is not as difficult as her last name is to pronounce. she makes sense of most everything in the class but sometimes goes a little fast to understand. all in all she is a good professor and definitely knows what she is talking about!
She is good at math and thinks all students should be too. She gets mad if you don't know something and calls on people randomly to answer questions which is embarassing at times. I tried really hard and got a D. Easily the worst teacher ive ever had. If you are taking Math 121 take Dennis Miller. Not "The Vij", as I like to call her
she sucks... wouldnt even consider questions about how she grades her quizzes... then u cant even understand a single word she says unless u strain ur ears
No Comments
I've taken Calculus before, but shes very difficult. She's VERY specific on grading and marks off points for no equal signs/stupid stuff. I studied and knew it but got bad grades b/c of the grading system. Then i got mono for 2 weeks and had to drop the class b/c she wouldnt help me catch up and straight out told me that I wont pass now.
At first I hated this class. She has an accent, and I was ready to drop it, but in the end, she is actually pretty good. She cares about your grade. She gives a lot of extra credit, and prepares you well for the final. I never did the homework and got a B. Show up to class. Only problem is getting used to her accent. I would Recomend.
No Comments
By far the worst teacher I have ever had. She would be really great as a foreign language teacher, though. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for people coming here and trying to start a better life, just not when I'm paying up the ass to go to class to be baffled as to what they're saying. Incredibly rude. Do yourself a favor and don't take her class.
she was a terrible teacher! She didn't teach at all, she basically gave you the formulas with no explanation and expected you to understand what to do. You better know what you are doing if she calls you up to the board or she will humilate u in front of the class. I switched teachers after a few weeks and the class is simple in comparison!
Very easy class.. not as bad as everyone is saying. i accidentally missed a test because i thought it was the next day and she helped me out since i had A's on all other tests. it is not that hard to understand her. she is very funny and her accent is so cute!! i would recommend her as long as u dont mind paying attention to catch what she is sayin
Was very difficult to understand. Hard class. Might not be too hard with another teacher. The teacher was very confusing and I could never understand what she was trying to teach. She did give extra credit points for not missing more than 5 classes.
Worste teacher ever...plain and simple
She knows what she is talking about, has been teaching for 17 years or so, but is extremely difficult to understand because of her accent. Tests are hard, no homework, gives plenty of extra credit for attendance and participation, got a C. I never did homework, she hands out plenty of worksheets so BUYING THE BOOK IS NOT NECESSARY!!!
By far the worst teacher I've ever had. It took her half way through the semester to realize that this class was not for majors and that it was suppose to be an introductory class but that didn't change the material or the way she taught. I got the highest grade with a B. I took AP stats in high school and did great she doesn't teach the matterial
This is by far the worst teacher at Illinois State. I have found the Math teachers here to be very helpful. The first day of class this lady basically told us we would fail. She has no interest in helping you and actually yelled at students for asking questions, stating that we didn't have time for them. This is not teaching. She needs to be fired!
DO NOT take any classes with this woman. This is (by far) the worst teacher I have ever had. I got an A in 113 and this class was impossible.
I dropped this class after 3 days. i could not understand a word she said or her teaching methods. drop this class!!
Simply the worst teacher ever... If ISU had more teachers like Viji I would not go to this university anymore. She will make your life a miserable hell, but hey if you like not understanding anything she says,spending 50hrs/week in tutoring, 10 wk shts a class just to get a C- then Viji is perfect for you!!!
Unless it is absolutely necessary for you to take this class, DON'T DO IT! There is only 1 section, no outside tutoring available, and she honestly yells at you for asking questions. She throws paper at you all day long, doesn't explain the material, and is almost impossible to understand. She is ridiculous and should not be allowed to teach.
More: Despite her 'extensive' statistics teaching career, this woman is HORRIBLE at actually, well, teaching. I went to see her once or twice a week all semester and barely got a B. Granted I'm bad at math but this woman does not know how to help students. I took it for my Psych Minor/Gened req and honestly wish I had taken PsychStats instead.
She berated the WHOLE class many times(if it was the whole class,then maybe the problem is not US?)and claimed that her "10 minute" quizzes shouldn't have taken the entire class period.Her tests are unbelievably long.Don't ask her ?'s or she'll accuse you of not doing the homework.I HAD a 4.0 going into it-not anymore.GoodLuck!
WORST teacher I have ever had in my entire life. I am on the dean's list, 3 prestigous honors societies, and my GPA was a 3.8 last semester and I am still sturggling in this devil woman's class. She yells at you if you ask a question and gets very defensive and is a flat our HORRIBLE teacher.
TERRIBLE TEACHER
Basically if you do not go to class everyday you won't get higher than a C. Tests require lots of studying and take more than the whole class period, you are notified about quizzes only a day ahead of time and only given as many minutes to take it for how much points its worth (aka 10 pt quiz u get 10 min, AWFUL), and labs IN CLASS take forever!
Teacher is terrible. Not helpful at all. When I didn't understand a concept &asked she yelled COME ON at me.Class isn't IMPOSSIBLE though. I went to class everyday and as of right now have an A. Requires a lot of studying for tests. Don't necessarily need the book, you get 1000 handouts instead. I never did the homework unless is was for a grade.
She is hard to understand but knows what she is talking about. If you take her class be prepared to work hard and put a lot of hours in. I never took calc before and put the time in and got an A and thought the final was easy, while friends from other mat 121 classes thought the class was easy but failed the final worth 1/4 your grade.
Never take this class if this is your teacher. She is hard to understand, and you will have the hardest possible problems on all of the test. Have to study hard just to get a C
ridiculous. i simply do not understand why this university allows people like this to teach a course here for decades. i couldn't even understand her when she was going over the syllabus, let alone calculus.
This is a teacher that you hate during the course, but when it's over you realize that she taught you well. Watch out for students in your class that blame their inability to do calculus on her. Attitude is 90% of what decides your grade, and failing to complete assignments or not going to class will do more to bring you down than she ever could.
The worst teacher I've ever had. English is awful due to thick Indian accent.Each class began with her ranting how we don't we weren't taking the class seriously enough followed by thirty five minutes of fast paced writing on the board with barely stopping to ever explain what any of it meant. Tests were awful and she takes off for everything.
DON'T TAKE Expects you to do everything by hand which is dumb other teachers let you use your calculator instead of impossible formulas. honestly take with someone else you'll save yourself heartache, unless of course you like spending four days a week furious and livid at someone who can barely speak english Is an insult to teaching.
Worst teacher ever! Avoid her if you can. She doesn't explain anything at all. She expects you to already know the information. If you ask her a question about something you don't understand, she insults you and just says its so simple and easy. Gives out so many handouts but doesn't really explain them.
MADE MY LIFE LIVING HELL.teachers who have this strong of an accent should not be hired.couldn't understand anything she said. never used the book. made you feel like an idiot if you didn't understood something. just piled on TONS of information without enough explanation.was always unprepared for class.made my sophomore year horrible.
whatever you do, try to NOT get her...yeah, i understood most of the material, but that's because i read my textbook and am a math minor. she is probably one of the worst teachers i have had and out of a class of 25, all but 7 dropped. she has been one of the worst teachers i have ever had, and i know she won't change.
She is by far the worst teacher I have ever had at ISU. Very hard to understand and she expects you to remember everything from MAT 113 without a refresher. I somehow ended up with a C in the class probably because of the big project due at the end of the semester because I failed all of the tests.
she is defiantly the worst professor i have ever had. i enjoy math and usually understand it but she made it horrible. whenever i would go in for help she never would fully explain her self. the class always corrects her because she is always making mistakes. she has yelled at several students for even asking questions. DO NOT TAKE MAT 121 WITH HER
TERRIBLE!!! Do not take this class if she is your teacher! I am normally an A student in math, with her I will be lucky to get a C
Of all my teachers so far, she has definitely been the worst. Her accent is too think to understand and she jumps around from topic to topic way to much. The only reason I did well in this class is because I was familiar with the material beforehand. If you take this class, use the book! You will certainly not learn anything from her.
Hard to understand; book useless.. *BUT*.. she does try really hard not to lower her standards just because newer classes are less intelligent... She hands out a TON of print outs.. and IF YOU DO THEM YOU WILL GET A GOOD GRADE (I got an A - it can be done!) luckily for me I had an hour and a half break between classes so I did them then
Hardest teacher I have ever had. I understand math, but her teaching style is so hard to follow that it will hurt your grade.
She's pretty difficult, and you will contemplate pulling your hair out, but its not impossible. I worked my ass off and ended up with an A.
Horribly thick accent and expects you to know everything. I wish the university would take these comments into consideration!
I took this class thinking that regardless of people's comments I would just work my butt off and pass. I was SO wrong. If math is not your strong subject you will be lost in this class. You cannot understand half of what she says so you have to literally teach it all to yourself! Wait for another teacher to open, trust me it's so worth it.
Do not take this teacher. You will end up teaching yourself everything because during class you'll get lost. She's a tough grader and often hard to understand because of her accent. Outside of class she seems kind, but in class she has a mean attitude.
Do not take this teacher! I love math and she has made it not fun in any way. Trust the comments people put on here, she is extremely hard to understand and does not work with students at all to help them understand the material. Wait if you have to in order to take another professor for this course.
She is impossible to understand, and her grading is strange. This class was not fun at all. If you do have her, good luck.
I don't know how she's been teaching for so long, &still refers to the calculator as 'the machine'. Really hard to understand her accent in general and impossible to learn new things from her. I took an Honors section and she gave us a lot of worksheets and typed out note but anything new I had to learn from clasmates. Took attendence everyday.
Even though she's tough I learned a lot through her class. I hated her at 1st because she gave so much homework and she grades really hard. But when it came time for the final exam I was prepared and I think I aced it. She goes through material fast but she is willing to help you if you come in to her office. Don't recommend her if you dislike math
Do not take! You will not be able to understand her. Gives you 5 worksheets a day! AVOID!
She grades extremely hard, does not give partial credit. She's difficult to understand and she moves too quickly through the material. Unless you really know what you're doing in a math class, try your best not get her. I'm an Honors student and have always gotten decent grades, this class dropped my GPA down significantly.
This class was honestly the most hard class I've taken so far, and I ended up dropping,worksheets everyday, could barely keep up with her,class was extremely difficult,ended up taking it over the summer. Avoid if possible
This teacher is horrible. I can only understand every 3rd word that comes out of her mouth. She knows her stuff but cannot transfer her knowledge to her students in the least bit. If you take her you will be sorry. I retook the same class with a different teacher and got a B.
She is hard to understand sometimes, AND she gets off topic way too easily!!!! She starts talking about irrelevant info and then tries to rush through the lesson because she talked for too long. Her teaching style is strange and I don't recommend her. BUT if you go to class and apply yourself you could make it through the class with a decent grade.
HOLY HARD. Teacher gives you long tests to take in under an hour.Most of the class is still working when she says the period is over. Tests are usually on Fridays. Then the day after the tests she rants about how we are terrible test takers and need to be faster. She says that each student should study 3 hours a night for her class, no joke.
Her accent is a bit heavy, but you'll get used to it after a few weeks. It shouldn't be too difficult to get at least a B-; visit her during office hours if you need help. She's very helpful one on one, so take advantage of that. The only reason you might get a bad grade is if you're 1. Too lazy to try and 2. Don't show up (Attendance is crucial).
If you actually put in the effort needed for this class you will be fine. No matter who you take it is going to be a hard class. This professor is sort of hard to understand but she is very helpful and will give you everything you need to pass the class. Definitely take her for 121 and you will pass.
No matter what this class will be difficult. Accent is a bit heavy but I still passed with a 79%. She will give you the final review packet in the beginning and tell you what problems to do for a prep for each exam, this is beyond helpful. As long as you do these questions, you will pass the exam. Not as bad as a teacher as everyone is saying.
Took her first day, couldn't understand a single thing she said with her accent... 10 people dropped her the first day.
She was a very hard teacher but as long as you put in the work she will provide you with the resources to do well. Probably the hardest class I've taken, but I still did well.
People do not like her because they cannot understand her accent but you get used to it. She gives extra credit for going to class and homework. She was extremely helpful when I went to her office hours. If you put in the work she will 100% help you understand calc. She has been teaching for along time and you can tell she has a lot of knowledge.
Was tempted to drop after the first day, because her accent was so thick. Stayed in the class just to get it over with. Mainly just a review from high school, with a couple new concepts. Numerous times were she would get lost in an example or get the wrong answer, so students would have to help her. Always talked about how much experience she had.
WORST teacher I have ever had. Rants for about the first ten minutes of class and rushes through the section because she spent so much time talking about her person life/ career. Her accent is very thick but you will understand it midway the semester. Really not sure how she's been employed for this long. Be prepared to teach yourself.
It is difficult for me to express my dislike for this teacher within the character count. Strongly recommend not taking her, but Calc doesn't give you much of a choice because they don't show the teacher.
Always there to help me after class with the online homework and any other questions. She basically gives you the test in your hands with all the worksheets. you just gotta study them but its not really not that bad
Wonderful professor! If you want a chance at an A in calc121, TAKE THIS TEACHER. The worksheets are the tests. The tests are the final. She's more than willing to help you anytime any day everyday. Seriously. You get used to the accent too. She does rush some, but no big deal. Take good notes.
Would strongly recommend that you sign up with a different teacher. I had to drop after the first week because I was having a hard time understanding and was not getting constructive feedback and help that I needed. Directed me to get help from other people instead of her. We're paying a lot for school so I want to actually learn and comprehend!
Extremely hard to understand. Expects you to know what your doing when she doesn't explain the work in class. Goes on irrelevant rants for the first 10-15 minutes of class then has to rush through notes and many times doesn't get through it all.
Seriously the worst, half the class drops and half who remain fail. Take anyone else. Very rude and not approachable.
Worst professor ever! Dont even think about taking her avoid at all costs. Rude, thick accent and unapproachable, gave exam day after super bowl and told students "you dont get to watch you have to study"
This class was a very hard class. I barely got an A in it. Many people dropped this class and I wanted to at first but decided to stick with it. I took calculus in high school so I had some background behind it. You have to show all work for everything. If you miss so much as a period she will mark off points. The final saved my grade.
Expects you to know everything after first try and if you don't too bad because you need to go to office hours. Already behind because she takes up like 15 minutes at the start to discuss how she's been teaching for like 30+ years at Bradley and then came here. If math isn't something you're good in I recommend a different professor.
Worst teacher ever.
I never had a Calculus background. I went into the class preparing for it to be hard, preparing to work every day, and even was signed up for tutoring before class even started. When I got to class, none of that mattered. She is a poor teacher, doesn't manager her time well, she's disrespectful, and isn't approachable. Take anyone else. Trust this.
Easy to talk to outside of class, but not so much in class. She expects you to know the material and do every single worksheet and problem and will rant to the class if they dont. Class size dropped by at least half within the first month. Definitely visit during office hours because she doesnt explain things very well in class. Drop if you can!
As a senior I can definetly say this teacher was by FAR the worst I ever had. Doesn't explain material, rushes and is rude. Disappointed that she still works at this university, the students deserve better.
One good thing about this professor: she gives a ton of worksheets before tests and tells you want to expect. Other than that the class is extremely hard. The tests are like 7 pages long with show work and she takes points off for the littlest things. TAKE THIS CLASS AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE
This is by far the worst teacher i have ever had the misfortune of having. She complains every class about not having enough time during class to cover all of the material instead of teaching for the first 10-15 minutes. Attendance is mandatory and grades are not posted online. Hardest test grader I have ever seen. Take a different teacher.
Gives so many worksheets and very rude to her students. You never really know for sure what she is going to grade even though she claims certain colored worksheets are for bonus points. Extremely tough grader so try and get those bonus points when you can. I would HIGHLY recommend taking this class at a community college.
Her class is hard if you don't go and don't put in effort. If you pay attention and put in effort she notices and is willing to help you. Sweet lady hard subject to teach show up be on time and everything will be fine. Love Tilaka Long Time.
I just felt like she doesnt really get how to teach. Some days shes good, some shes SO bad. Takes forever to get grades back and for majority of the semester I didnt even know my course grade because she just didnt have it calculated. I did tutoring for this course too and that helped. I just wouldnt recommend.
In all my years of being in school this is without a doubt the worst teacher Ive had. Taking her was my only option I had, so I did. DO EVERYTHING IN YOUR POWER TO AVOID THIS TEACHER. I am okay at math but I spend around 10 hrs a week in the library and at the tutor and still did not pass. she is not willing to help her students. DO NOT TAKE HER!!!
DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS WITH HER!! She does not teach, she spends the first 15 minutes of class talking about how she worked at Bradley and that her sons are engineers. Thats if you can even understand her! She gives you a crazy amount of homework and makes you pay for the online book. I retook this with a different professor and now have an A.
Yo, this lady actually sucks. Like, the absolute worst professor you could ever imagine and multiply that by 200. Cant believe she has the power to hold students futures in her hands. Why is she still "teaching".
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
96%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Improving
+0.36 avg changeRatings by Course
CALC
3.0
(1)MAT120
2.2
(18)121
2.0
(1)MAT121
2.0
(48)MAT150
1.5
(10)Difficulty by Course
111
5.0
121
5.0
MATH111
5.0
MATH150
5.0
MATMAT
5.0