David Smith - Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI

Professor: David Smith

Department: Theology

College: Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He is a good professor, with every lecture you can tell religion is his passion. But there are days where it can be uninteresting. Just do the reading, turn in your work and you will pass. He also gives out extra credit, but that won't matter if you don't show up because you can only miss so many days before it affect your grade. Would recommend.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: REL101WI
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Honestly, David Smith is a good professor. He is clear and concise, and even though he can drag on, he really cares about what he is teaching. People who say his assignments are hard to understand probably never showed up to class. 4 essays, 2-3 pages. Read the books and learn the vocab and you'll be fine. Quizzes and exams are straight forward.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

He's a good teacher but be prepared to DO THE READINGS. You can normally avoid anything done in "Words of Wisdom" but make sure you're reading "God is Not One". Take notes in class and listen to him talk. He does allow extra credit but the 3 exams are 55% of your grade. He also does lots of quizzes but tells you about them - STUDY THE VOCAB!!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: REL101WI
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

I didn't complete all the readings and still did well in the class. Just make sure you skim the readings to find support for your hw. There are 4 assignments that are 2-3 pages long, but they're not very difficult to complete. His quizzes aren't hard, but they ask a couple questions about the readings, so understand the gist of the topics + vocab

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took REL 101WI as an "easy" WI to take because I was actually interested in the topic of Religion, however, Dr. Smith made the lectures so boring. He also assigned 4, 3-4 page papers a semester, 6 quizzes, a bunch of discussion boards, and attendance is mandatory. Along with this, he isn't the easiest grader, and exams have essay questions.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: REL101
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Worst professor I have ever had! I thought this would be an easy A class but NO. Definitely not and INTRO to religions class. He expects you to go in depth about all of the religions and gives little information on what he expects from you. The "vocab" quizzes are not on the vocal: 5 T/F and 5 about the lengthy readings he assigns. DO NOT TAKE

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: REL101WI
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Boring. Lacks creativity and his essay prompts are hard to understand. Study guides do not follow the exam completely. He grades extremely heavy on the essays, especially the ones on exams.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: REL101WI
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This was a very informative class that I feel like I was able to learn a lot from! There is a lot of reading but the quizzes are easy if you read, and the exams are easier if you follow the study guide. Connect the readings to your papers and it's not that hard to get an A.. just have to put in the work.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: REL130WI
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Nice guy and easy course to take for a WI with short 2-3 page papers. Quizzes and exams aren't difficult, almost everything is in the notes so you don't really need the books. Lecture is alright, sometimes kind of dry and you watch a lot of videos. Some days have short writing assignments or group work. Short oral assignments about current events

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: REL130WI
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I would never recommend this class to anyone. Yes, you can tell the professor that he's a big history buff but is extremely vague with his in-class notes. His exams do not follow along with the study guide and if you don't go into complete and heavy detail on his essay questions he will grade you low. He is not afraid to shut u down if you're wrong.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: REL130WI
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I am normally an A student and I try very hard to do well on my homework essays but I never receive an A and his grading rubric is literally 3 lines to grade three categories of your paper and he puts an X on where you stand. Does not give percentages and does not give much useful feedback on your essays. This class was difficult to follow...

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: REL101WI
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He was an alright professor. Not necessarily my favorite. Overall REL 101 is a good class to take and is good one as a WI, but if you aren't ready to write at least 6 essays in the semester, then don't take it.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: REL130WI
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Smith is a hard grader, but a good professor. He makes himself accessible and appreciates class participation. If you talk to him during his office hours, he will give you good feedback and you will most likely do better. Great professor, overall.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: REL336
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

The only people who aren't fans of Dr. Smith are those who don't understand that the study of religion is scholarly, not a reinforcement of their religion. He is an amazing professor, I have taken many classes with him and if I could take him every semester I would. If you open your mind he will teach you so much.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: REL130
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

I really enjoyed David. His lectures can be kind of dry, but he shows a lot of video and it's not a labor-intensive course (if you don't read, which I didn't). He lays out what will be on quizzes and tests, and facilitates good discussion on what he's talking about. I'd take the class again in a heartbeat.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: REL130
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

This class was a waste of time and money. We spent more time talking about the flying spaghetti monster than anything else. Class was easy but would not take again.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: REL313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Smith has drastically altered the format of his REL313 class (2014). These other comments proved to be useless as REL313 was not interactive, not intellectually beneficial, nor was he a sufficient teacher. attended Christian schools my whole life and this class proved to a deprivation. You deserve a better teacher. Expecting a B-

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: REL313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Smith is amazing. If you are attentive to his lectures, participate in class discussion and are open minded, you will not only succeed, you will have an opportunity to get an entirely new perspective on Christianity and life. I would take this class every semester if I could. Smith is passionate about the subject and cares about his students.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: REL313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

My biggest regret in college is taking this class. He puts you to sleep because nothing is interactive and the quizzes are impossible to study for. I'm an Honors student and failed every quiz. He grades exams VERY opinionated. Do not recommend.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: REL130
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This class was rather easy. There were only six quizzes and three exams and he dropped the lowest quiz score. The class itself is pretty boring, but you watch many movies, which makes it better. The reading assignments are not necessary to pass the class, but I would recommend buying the books to help review before the exams.