James Kern - Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

Professor: James Kern

Department: Science

College: Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: UPHYS3
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Alright guy. Don't get on his bad side, ever. Definitely a strict grader and refuses to regrade. Decent teacher although he does go through examples extremely fast. Definitely prepares students well for the exams but in doing so students will need to do significantly more work than other students in other sections. All in all, a very "meh" prof.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHYS321
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Nice man, just not a very good professor. He speeds through examples too fast. If you want to learn you are going to have to seek help.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHYS313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you want to learn and you respect Kern, he will show you respect and be very helpful. If you think he should give you a grade rather than earning one yourself, he won't lift a finger to help you. A very reasonable professor who is fair with his grading. Sure, the class is hard, but it's hard material. Be ready to work. Don't talk during class!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHYS313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

VERY smart. Very opinionated. Very dominate. Stopped class about once a week for people talking, laughing etc. Harassed students about not knowing things. Badgered one student and listed 10 reasons the kid shouldn't be in class (cause someone beside him was talking). Told the class he almost wrecked his car and he "knows we all wish he died".

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHYS313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He's not bad. He does get offended easily at people talking in class, but he's helpful during office hours, tells you exactly what's on each test, and his lectures are useful.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHYS313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Kern is the worst professor I've yet had at RIT. His method of teaching is simple: Speed through examples at the speed of light and yell at you if you ask a question. He yells at everyone all the time, completely unprovoked. Incredibly rude and terrible teacher. AVOID!!!!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHYSI03
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Very mean teacher. Will refuse to teach class if only a few are talking, and won't think twice about throwing an entire table of people out of class. Avoid this teacher. Other than that, he is very knowledgeable in physics, hints at questions on the test, even though the test average is usually a 50.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ASTRO1017
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Yo man the guy below is right. Ask him about his opinion on Pluto being a planet or not during class to get these extra points. I was in his class that quarter. BTW the professor is terrible at teaching.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ASTRO1017
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He was a horrible professor. Although I did get extra credit on a test because I asked him his opinion on Pluto being a planet or not. Supposedly Pluto is his favorite planet. Ask him his opinion during class to gain this extra credit, you'll need it.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHYSI313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Kern is the worst professor I have ever had. I did well in physics 2 and 3, but this class was awful. He is a though grader, gives no partial credit, and gives more focus to notation than the actual answer. I would not recommend him at all.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHYS313
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Not too good of a professor. His lectures don't usually help you too much, as he speeds through them way too fast. His grading was fair. Overall, I think this professor needs to shorten his lectures and allow students to struggle on problems associated with a particular topic.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: UPHYS311
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Pretty good, anyone who thinks his tests are too hard is crazy, fairly good teacher overall, covers the material well.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHYS1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very good at physics, but expects you to already know everything that he "covers". Do not take if you like teachers who actually teach, dont expect a good grade unless you already know physics. Otherwise, fair.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHYS1017
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

good teacher, likes physics

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHYSI3
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Kern is a very smart man, and makes sure that you know it. He finds the material so easy that he expects his students to know more than they do. The course is challenging with Prof. Kern. Students will teach themselves and each other quite a bit. Prof. Kern is certainly not the star teacher of the physics dept.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHYS3
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

This professor is BAD. He ridicules you if you dont understand the material. Exams are rediculously hard. Unless you know physics inside and out, you wont do well. Doesnt teach anything in the text but expects you to know everything cold. He once kicked a student out of class for not knowing an idea that was never really mentioned. Avoid Kern

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHY311
• 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:

wow, this guy sucks the big one. Mean, and just generally unpleasent. No help out of class and a real bore actually in one!

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: UNIV1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Very Unclear, end up teaching yourself all the material. Webassign and Tests astronomically harder than in class activities.

Rating # 19

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

Super nice and very easy to follow if you pay attention. Have yet to take two more exams, but so far his class hasn't been difficult.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHYS1
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

really bad... on par for rit's physics department.