Mario Cesareo - Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

Professor: Mario Cesareo

Department: Hispanic Studies

College: Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: HISP387
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mario is hilarious and kind. We did a lot of small group conversations which is great for practicing your Spanish. He may have lost us sometimes in the lectures but he always says something that will blow your mind.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: HISP216
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I had Cesaro for two semesters and I didn't love his class. They were two intermediate classes but few students knew enough Spanish to have conversations. Cesaro didn't really motivate students to learn, and it was workbook heavy. He's a very nice guy but doesn't really try. it was easier than my beginner Spanish class freshman year in high school

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

I loved Professor Cesareo's class. He has such interesting ideas and topics to talk about. He also encouraged us to become more comfortable with speaking and reading and writing Spanish. I saw my Spanish improve so much over the semester! He is so accessible and loves music recommendations! I want to take this class again and again!

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Cesareo is a passionate professor who cares about his students. But, I did not improve much on my Spanish during my time in his class. We studied some interesting themes, but I often found that the class lectures largely diverged from our readings, and they were about lofty philosophical ideas that were hard to understand. Easy A though.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Mario's class seems scary at first, but HISP 206 is an easy A. His lectures are confusing and the class is unorganized, but he is sweet and extremely passionate. However, as others have stated, this class does little to improve your Spanish. This class can be as easy or as difficult as you make it. Most of the class is just talking in small groups.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

A really nice, interesting guy and pretty fair grader. Lectures are quite philosophical but I think that's awesome.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

A lot of the time it is very difficult to understand what Mario is saying because he talks about very complex ideas without the students having much time to learn it. This is made more difficult by the fact that he does this in Spanish. He does care about the students, but the structure of this class is not the best for improving your Spanish.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Passionate yet incomprehensible. He expected everyone to discuss profound, Freudian ideas (some theories people barely understand in english) IN SPANISH, which would then elicit awkward silences from the entire class because we obviously had no idea what he was saying. He is easy, but his homeworks were too long and his projects repetitive.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Cesareo is definitely passionate about what he teaches. He tries to make the class seem extremely difficult to weed out students at the beginning of the semester but it became easier. I was looking to improve my grammar, but this was not the class for that since it's mainly discussion. Sweet, patient professor and very approachable.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Mario's long rants and attempts to connect everything in the class to abstract ideas are far-fetched and sometimes hard to follow, but overall reflect his passion for the subject(s). This is NOT a grammar/vocab class. Mario focuses on themes and content. Easy grader and approachable. Worth taking this class for the exposure factor. Sweet man!

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Cesareo tends to go on very long rants/speeches about metaphorical and metaphysical themes, and doesn't make much sense ever even if you understand Spanish. I didn't really improve my Spanish speaking ability but the class helped me gain confidence. Class was still engaging and fun. He grades EXTREMELY easily.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: HISP216
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Mediocre class. Relatively laid back. Got to read some interesting poems and write a few of my own. Cesareo examines the world through a marxist lens (not saying this is inherently good or bad). He also comes off as rather arrogant. His accent is also distinctly Argentine which takes some getting used to.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Cesario loves philosophical approaches to everything. Readings for homework and then class time is lectures and small group discussions. It's a good class to practice thinking in Spanish and improving reading abilities. Also wayyy more interesting than grammar classes! He also tries to intimidate students but really isn't a very hard grader.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• 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:

Seriously a genius. Every lecture was riveting. He made SUCH interesting connections between language, reality, and culture. Philosophical, but political discussion. I learned a lot and loved speaking about engaging topics in spanish. Tries to scare you off at first and then chills out. You'll be fine. He's awesome.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: HISP226
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzze. I don't think he cares at all about teaching. He leaves the class systematically and the only insight he gives is marxist-socialist viewpoint. He also has some rather bizarre behavior unexpected for a college professor.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: HISP216
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's intimidating at first, sure, and the workload seems impossible. But later, once you get to know him, the work gets easier and he's just fun and exciting. You can get him to talk about anything, and you don't even have to try very hard. He's a nice grader, too.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: HISP206
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

He makes the class seem really hard at first to scare away slackers, then completely slacks off himself, usually telling us to talk to each other in Spanish and leaving the room for 20 minutes. The class sort of becomes a joke - your call as to whether or not that's good. He's also something of a socialist, and all the readings reflect that.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: HISP
• 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:

such a great class...at first it seems like it'll be hard but then it gets a lot easier...i learned SOO much and took another class w/ him too

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: HISP216
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

It seems very intimidating at first but this is a class you have to take! There is a lot of reading and writing and in class it's all discussions in little grupitos but it's great. Mario is very approachable and interesting! He's one of my favorite prof's. Yay! Take the class

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: 206
• 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:

I love Cesareo! He is hard at first, but after two weeks he became such a slacker. He is a stickler for content, and makes Spanish an non-intimidating experience.