Joan Gearns - Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, MI

Professor: Joan Gearns

Department: English

College: Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, MI

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: EN240
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Gearns is passionate about writing and is good at helping students where they need improvement without making students feel as though their writing is lacking strength. She's also hilarious; her humor is dry, so be ready for that. As long as you realize it's all humor and don't take her lack of zealous expression seriously, she's a fun prof.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I strongly believe she is in the wrong profession and should visit a shrink.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you're reading this it's too late.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I am in English 101, but she consistently values subjective definitions and writing over literal and dictionary definitions. It feels much more like a creative writing class, which she would be a wonderful instructor for. Though, as a student in tech, literal and logical language is also of value in modern jobs.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Not a good professor. Grade based on opinion. Doesn't answer emails. Makes you feel stupid for asking questions. She is funny sometimes but most of the time she is rude. If you miss a class because of medical reasons she doesn't try to work with you on it.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Not a good professor, she does not have clear grading criteria. She grades based on opinion, not fact on your papers. She's a difficult professor to please, don't recommend taking her class or any class she'll ever teach

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If English is not your strong suit, I do not recommend that you take this class with Joan Gearns. She is a tough grader and is very specific on how she wants things done. However, when this class is over, you can easily say that your knowledge doubled in the subject area. For a class such as English 101, I feel like her rigor is too high.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Nothing is clear at all. I agree with everything everyone is saying about this class. The people around me seem to be struggling too. Little things will bring down your grade.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Professor Gearns is very rude and not very clear for her assignments and papers. She lectures all hour about things that are non related to your paper that we are supposed to be focused on. She has no clear grading rubrics. Most classmates I compared with did not receive a grade better then a C on every paper. If you have her, drop the class asap.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She didnt have a clear grading rubric which made it difficult to write each paper. She wasnt clear about what she was looking for in each paper. When she graded she would just write "how" "explain more" all over the paper. She wasnt clear why points were taken off. She lost one of my assignments and said I never turned it in so I got a 0 for it.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENG101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She's not good at conveying messages. She's very bland and boring because of her tone of voice. She is helpful sometimes. Her grading is so hard for being a level 101. I recommend switching teachers immediately if you've enrolled with her.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She is a tough grader. You need to have almost a perfect paper in order to get a good grade. If you struggle with english or are a freshman I do not recommend taking her class.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: EN240
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I love Joan. At first, I thought I would not. She seems like a really serious/tough prof, but she really isn't. She knows a TON about English/grammar and will really mark up your paper, but those corrections will not reflect your grade if you fulfilled the assignment requirements. You'll pick up on her dry sense of humor/see how much she cares you

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: EN102
• Grade Received: D
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

She is smart and diplomatic. However, it's her way or the highway. i wouldn't recommend her to freshman/new students or those who haven't been in school for a while. She failed me on one of my essays, simply for wrong punctuation. Multiple times. I went from a B to a D. very disappointing.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I found my experience with Professor Gearns very unpleasant. She is a very tough grader and it is her way or the highway. I missed the class before the final paper was due because of a doctors appt. and on the morning the final was due I got into a very serious car accident. I emailed her about my situation and she was not willing to work with me.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She is a very tough grader.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

SUPER tough grader. Doesn't matter about content. If your papers aren't perfectly punctuated, or in perfect grammatically correct order, she will not be kind to you. If you are a fresman in college BEWARE. It's way tougher than college English 12.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: EN101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Well, after looking at the previous reviews about Ms. Gearns, I agreed with all of it. She was very willing to help, and understanding for some papers, however, she was the hardest grader I had ever experienced for others. She was just inconsistent with her teaching style. If you take her class, be ready to put the work in for the entire semester.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: HEN101
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Gearns was an absolutely phenomenal teacher for English 101. She is a tough grader, but she will help show you where you are off track. She is always willing to take time to meet with you after class and improve your skills. I really don't enjoy English and I honestly looked forward to coming to this class.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: ENG101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She isn't a bad teacher but whatever you turn in is never good enough and it's super frustrating. I am a student who asks questions and emails for help and still get C, D's on papers every time. She also tends to talk to you like you're stupid when you ask a question.