James Smither - Grand Valley State University

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James Smither - Grand Valley State University

Professor: James Smither

Department: History

College: Grand Valley State University

Rating # 1

Overview:

Course: HIST101
Grade Received: B-
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Horrible prof, makes you feel stupid and assigns 5 papers over the course, which are all hard and basically impossible to get over a B grade on. On top of the papers you have long homework 3 days a week, which he also grades harshly. He doesnt care about his students, only the fact that his students know he is better than them.

Rating # 2

Overview:

Course: HIST101
Grade Received: Not sure yet
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 1.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Horrible Professor. Highly disrespectful, arrogant, and inconsiderate. Being that he is educated, which he won't let you forget, he thinks he can talk to people any way he chooses without any ramifications. The minute you have a question or something is unclear, he will use that as an opportunity to make you feel as inadequate as he possibly could.

Rating # 3

Overview:

Course: HST377
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is a very tough professor and he grades his essays harshly, but if you are really thorough with the homework you can get extra credit; I did enough of that to get an A. Also, in the final, you could use your notes and homework on the exam, which I did. Maybe it was because I did all my work, but I did miss a few classes and he took my HW anyway.

Rating # 4

Overview:

Course: HST102
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

To me, he seemed very pretentious and treated our class like we were stupid. Hes very well educated on history but can come across as rude and like he doesnt really care how you do in the class.

Rating # 5

Overview:

Course: HIST377
Grade Received: WD
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Complete Jerk. He knows his stuff but expects that you already do too. Analyzing ancient texts, 15 page papers, crazy homework. Offers extra credit but it wont help much. Took it as a history elective for a fun good grade. Ended up getting a W to save my gpa. So arrogant and rude. Just save yourself the time. Dont take him. Youve been warned!

Rating # 6

Overview:

Course: HST208
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: No
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

His class is very lecture heavy but he knows what he's talking about. His lectures are all from memory and he tends to go fast so taking notes can be difficult but notes definitely help with the papers you have to write. Had assignments due every class but they weren't that difficult as long as you did the readings he posts.

Rating # 7

Overview:

Course: HST377
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

His class is what college should be. Challenging, but he is very clear in how to succeed. He grades exactly how he says he will, and offers help in clarifying expectations for assignments. I learned a ton in this class. Even though homework appears to be a lot, he offers extra credit. If you can afford a harder class, absolutely take this one.

Rating # 8

Overview:

Course: HST364
Grade Received: A
Overall Rating: 5.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I graduated in 2016 and am currently a 2nd year Law school student. I took 3 classes with him, did my Thesis with him and interned for him. While his classes are the hardest I took at GVSU, they were also my favorite. His classes have prepared me for law school and are the main reason I've been deans list/honor roll 4 terms in a row in law school.

Rating # 9

Overview:

Course: HST204
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

To start off I took an SWS course with him. Okay, so there is A LOT of homework in his class, like prepare to do 4 hours of reading and homework for every class. He is very lecture heavy and he does not use a slideshow for his lectures, it is all from memory. I had a hard time staying awake in his class sometimes but it was a morning class at 9am.

Rating # 10

Overview:

Course: HST377
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Smither is extremely knowledgeable. The class is front-loaded so it becomes easier as it moves on. The homework seems extensive but its very interesting subject so its not bad. Due dates are relaxed and hes very approachable. He grades fairly and if you do your work you will be fine.

Rating # 11

Overview:

Course: HIST377
Grade Received: C-
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Professor Smither is a very, very well-educated and well-informed instructor. Now, for the bad news: his coursework is absolutely unreasonable and excessive. If I had to do it over again, I am sorry to say that I would absolutely make every effort to avoid this class. It became impossible to do his daily assignments, as well as his lengthy papers.

Rating # 12

Overview:

Course: HIST377
Grade Received: B+
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Super smart dude, knows exactly what he's talking about, and you can definitely tell he cares about what he teaches. Everyone here is saying he assigns too many reading assignments and homework, but honestly if you're not prepared for 4-6 hours of reading and answering questions per week at a 300 level class, then you should probably change majors.

Rating # 13

Overview:

Course: HST208
Grade Received: B
Overall Rating: 2.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: No
Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Worst history professor I have had. Took this class my senior year because the course number changed/got added to the minor. If I would have taken this class freshman year I would have changed my minor. He assigns a book a week for the first 1.5 months, and an abstract due for each book along with 2 comparison essays. Thinks everyone is stupid.

Rating # 14

Overview:

Course: HST364
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 4.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: Yes
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

LOTS of homework. Very lax with due dates. You can wait until the week before the exam to turn in all homework if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it. Set aside some time every week to do the homework, do an occasional extra credit assignment, re write your paper at least once, and you'll get an A. Put in the effort and you'll do great.

Rating # 15

Overview:

Course: HST203
Grade Received: B-
Overall Rating: 1.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Worst teacher I have ever had. He made me and other students in his class feel like we were all idiots. I would not recommend taking his class. Worst teacher ever.

Rating # 16

Overview:

Course: HIST377
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 1.5
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Do not ever take a class with this professor. I enjoy history very much so, as well as writing papers based of historical documents, but this professor has literally ruined everything for me. His homework assignments are ridiculously lengthy and you will NEVER get full credit. The subject is interesting, but not worth taking with this guy.

Rating # 17

Overview:

Course: HST364
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Everyone seems to have a problem with the amount of reading, but as history students, they should be used to it. Did about 2-3 hours of homework a week, and 3 papers for the semester and got an A. Not the easiest class ever, but you'll learn a lot.

Rating # 18

Overview:

Course: HST377
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Smither definitely knows his stuff, but the expectations he has are nearly unattainable. The material is interesting, but you have to come prepared to work incredibly hard. Be prepared to readcomprehend anywhere between 30-100 pages of incredibly small, dense text by the next class because that is what he expects. Most difficult prof I've had

Rating # 19

Overview:

Course: HST364
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 3.5
Course Difficulty: 3.0

For Credit: Yes
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Dr. Smither was a really good professor. Sometimes his lecturing was kind of boring,but I did learn a lot from him. You can tell he really knows his stuff. He is also very willing to help you outside of class or correspond with him via email. He also lets you re-write your papers if you are unsatisfied with your original grade.

Rating # 20

Overview:

Course: HST364
Grade Received: N/A
Overall Rating: 4.0
Course Difficulty: 5.0

For Credit: N/A
Textbook Used: Yes
Would Take Again: N/A
Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Good professor, very helpful and flexible! Even offers extra credit. However, if you are not willing to work your behind off you definitely do not want to take one of his classes. I had him for two classes this semester and the workload was unbelievable. definitely the toughest history professor I've ever had.

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