Lalu Simcik - Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA

Professor: Lalu Simcik

Department: Mathematics

College: Cabrillo College, Aptos, CA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: MATH152
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lalu is officially the worst professor I've ever had at Cabrillo. He spent upwards of 40 minutes every class telling stories that were fully irrelevant to the topic at hand and that made barely any sense. He explains things in over complicated and confusing ways that barely help, and he rarely listens to any form of criticism. Downright horrid.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: 5B
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Hit-or-miss professor. On the plus side, he's relatively thorough in his lectures and tests are more about the actual concepts than the algebra. However, he comes off as extremely condescending (hostile?) and unhelpful when asking questions, especially general ones. Do NOT take for summer if you can't put in the (ungraded) HW time. You WON'T pass.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: MATH154
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Despite his corny jokes, I thought Lalu's class was easy to follow. As long as you try to keep up with the material, you'll be fine. He seemed like a real nice guy just trying to spread his love for math. Grading is only from the test grades, which was nice, because it leaves it entirely up to the student if they want to do well in the class.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: MATH154
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He is the embodiment of a "dad joke". He provides a free textbook and does not require HW so it is really up to you to practice. but it also doesn't make you stressed about turning in something could be review for you. Tests easy and very clearly explains what he expects you to do. One point off for saying rhetorical questions and waiting for ppl.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: 5A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr Lalu is, umm, an "unusual" individual. His lectures are, at best, tangential to the topic being covered. One or two of the examples he works in class are on point, but much of the time he rambles about unrelated topics. When questioned, he seems to get really defensive. I'm uncertain of his mental stability.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: 5A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lalu's lectures are really hit or miss, most of the class time is spent on random tangents about things that very loosely relate to the lesson. Leaving a lecture feeling like I got a grasp of the material was very rare, I ended teaching myself most of the material. On top of that he is super condescending when people have questions.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: MATH5A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lalu is really smart, but sometimes he just doesn't do enough examples on the board for you to really get a good grasp on some of the concepts. He doesn't provide study guides, but instead he gives a list of priority topics which have seemed to be very accurate so far in the first three exams. Overall, I thought that Lalu was a pretty good teacher.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: MATH5A
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lalu relates the subjects to real life examples, and I found that to be super helpful. He made math interesting, and was one of the reasons I decided to pursue it. He assigns homework but does not collect it, but I highly recommend doing the work (at least the parts you feel unsure about) anyway because, well, this is math class after all.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: MATH5A
• 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:

I agree with other people saying Lalu makes others feel dumb. Math is a tough subject for many people and no one should be made to feel stupid when they're trying to learn. I had to teach myself because his lectures were no help at all but attendance is mandatory. Huge waste of time if I'm teaching myself anyways!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: MATH5A
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

First few weeks are extremely hard with Lalu and make you want to drop out. After getting through them it gets easier as long as you take organized notes. Doesn't check homework. All tests are just the examples he puts on the board. He's huge on pop quizzes, they're basically given every class. His "final" is this worksheet you work on all year.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: 5A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This is the class that makes me want to drop out. He treats us like children and I couldnt tell you anything that were supposed to have learned. I think he likes feeling smart by making us all feel dumb. This is the most frustrating class Ive taken and Lalu is the worst teacher Ive had.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: MATH5A
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He seems to care about what he is teaching but his lectures seem to be hit or miss for some students. He is a frustratingly tough grader, requiring you to show work that you have been taught to leave out over the years. He is a tough grader, which is frustrating because he doesn't assign much work. Iff he works for you he is great, if not, drop.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: 5A
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I liked Lalu a lot as a teacher, and felt I learned a lot during lecture, but come test time it didn't matter. He wasn't lenient with grading, and I felt unprepared for 5b after his class. It's always frustrating when you like a teacher but feel let down by them education wise.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: 5A
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Great teacher! Math 5A is among the most challenging classes And yet lulu managed to explain it in a way that is very easy to understand. A Huge majority of your grade is compromised of Exams however this is a good thing since the exams are straight forward and VERY SIMILAR to the pop quizzes, in class examples, and the homework.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: MATH154
• Grade Received: D+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

This man can not teach.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: MATH152
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

One of the best teachers I've ever had. He sincerely cares if you pass or fail and does not hesitate to tell you if you're heading down to rock bottom. Four exams and a final, the first two don't require as much as the last two. The final requires a ton of studying. He cracks old jokes, but if you try to get them they're actually funny. 9/10

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: MATH154
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Lalu was the one math teacher I've had that really made the subject understandable. He is an honest grader and is clear of his expectations. He provided an online copy of our textbook so that's one less expense.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: MATH152
• Grade Received: C
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

He doesn't drop your lowest test score. Gives pop quizzes but, they're like 3 questions; if you do the homework you'll pass! Homework is not collected. Tests are somewhat hard but, again if you follow his test guide and do similar problems you'll pass. You know what to expect on tests! Right down everything he puts on the board.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: 85537
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He is not helpful at all. I asked him for help once and his response was "Well maybe you should take a slower class" and all I wanted was help on one problem. Only reason I passed the class was cause I went to the MLC at least 3 days a week for a few hours at a time.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: CABRILLO95648
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

His lectures were well thought out. He often takes the time to make sure students are understanding the lecture and paying attention by making them finish his sentences. He also takes the time to illuminate points in his lecture where the class should have an "aha" moment. However, he makes many mistakes with simple algebra during his lectures.