Martha Ackelsberg - Smith College, Northampton, MA

Professor: Martha Ackelsberg

Department: Political Science

College: Smith College, Northampton, MA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: SWG150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Ackelsberg is helpful, kind, knowledgable, but very dry. She is a fair grader, very understanding, and has shared some fun anecdotes in her SWG 150 class, but her lectures and instruction are very, very dry. Great to talk to one on one, very kind.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• 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:

A very sweet woman teaching a fairly uninteresting class. Nice to talk to, helpful, but I wouldn't suggest this be your first gov class because it might deter you from the department.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• 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:

She loves when quiet students speak up in class, and she is always eager to hear comments and questions. I handed a few papers in late, and she accepted them without a grade deduction. I like her.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• 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:

Appearances can be deceiving. This particular Professor appears as helpful but I've received little to no aid throughout the semester. Due to my schedule it was difficult to meet with her but when I did, I was offered little clarification. The process of emailing her consisted of waiting a few days for a simple response.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: GOV204
• 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:

She was great! Could always go to her office for help.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: WST150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

also had her for gov 100. this was 10 years ago, but she was the most boring prof i ever had at smith. my friends & i used to take turns going to her lectures so we wouldnt fall asleep. she is a nice lady and probably a great scholar, but there are far better profs @ smith

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

She's bubbly and fun and excited about the material and wants her students to be too. The only issue is the material she has to teach is not interesting but she tries really hard. She's adorable and sweet.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: GOV01
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I have taken two classes with Professor Ackelsberg. Lecture can be a bit boring, but the information is interesting. She is a pretty straight forward grader and allows rewrites on papers.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

She was kinda boring basically you could go to the lecture or you could read the books.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: WST150
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

she is super nice. unfortunately has a monotonous voice that you just dont want to listen to for more than 10 munites.i found myself watching the clock in desperation even though i loved the subject matter.shes enthusiastic and very much a feminist, which i love, but boring. shes alos super smart and knows her stuff

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

dont take this unless you want to be bored to death! best nap class.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I blame the fact that the lectures in Gov 100 are really dry more on the subject material than the speaker. That said, it could have been made more engaging. But Gov 100 is a slog class anyway - you gotta do it if you wanna be a Gov major. I would try another class with her, though... she might be better in a more interesting setting.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: GOV101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Eh, she's very unmotivated speaker and has a horribly monotone voice but she's sweet. Her powerpoints are cute but not very helpful. You don't actually have to go to Gov 101 lectures to still get an A.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: GOVERNMENT100
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

No Comments

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: WEALTHPOVERTY
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I also had her for Gov 101. Thought she was very informative, but sometimes she let idiots run away with class discussion.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: GOV101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Not the most stimulating/dynamic speaker, but overall very nice, informative, and sweet! I learned a lot and would take another class with her easily.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

kind of dry when it came to the material, but had some insights worth considering. a nice enough person overall.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: GOV267
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

She's a pretty tough grader, but a nice enough woman.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

this woman makes me want to stab my eyes out.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GOV100
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

It wasn't my favorite class, I'm not gonna lie. The material was dry and she really didn't help my relatively low level of interest in early political thinkers.