Heinz Insu Fenkl - SUNY New Paltz

Professor: Heinz Insu Fenkl

Department: TBD

College: SUNY New Paltz

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: ENG345
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I am so glad I got to take this course before graduating from Vassar! Learning about Asian American comics from Prof. Fenkl was amazing. Even though we had to finish the course online, I feel like I learned so much that will help me in the future. My project for the class is even getting published!!!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: ENG211
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

The first time I took this class I had to drop it, because I didn't do the readings adn failed the midterm. I found Prof. Fenkl's lectures so interesting, I took the class again as a junior. The second time around I did the work and did well. I am really glad I did. This is the best class I've had and Prof. Fenkl was very understanding.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: ENG211
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I'm coming back a whole semester later to write this, but this professor is very unclear and boring. Literally the worst grade I have gotten in this school. The sad part is that I actually tried. Don't waste your time, unless you want your GPA to decrease. Not worth it.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: ENG255
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Often went off on tangents, and was constantly changing criteria and due dates on assignments. He was really interesting and passionate, but I wish I took a different class with him

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: ENG308
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Fenkl is a really knowledgeable guy. He has that dry sense of humor, and spends a lot of time talking about somewhat relevant facts about authors and subjects. He kinda just meanders to random topics without much guidance. His assignments were really vague in my class, and ended up being the only difficult part of the class.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: ENG255
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

One of my housemates took this class and said I would really like it. He was right. My favorite part was how we analyzed children's books and shows. I liked the way the class was organized with everyone having to turn in paragraphs on the readings before class. Somehow, that helped me get the reading done!

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: ENG255
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Literally one of the worst professors Ive had here, he is not accessible at all, extremely disorganized, grading is unclear. Please do not take this class, we watched an episode of teletubbies, no joke

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: ENG255
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Fenkl's comments on my first paper were very helpful. i don't think I understood how to organize a paper before I took this class. He never seemed to mind going over the basics with me and I think it's helping me in my other classes. The readings were great and he always seemed to have something interesting to say about them.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: ENG255
• Grade Received: INC
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Don't get me wrong, Fenkl is a very intelligent man. He has a lot of good information to give his students, but that does not compliment his teaching style. There was no use of Blackboard, no clear syllabus, and he graded absolutely nothing. I have no idea what my grade is. Avoid this class but maybe have a convo with him once, it may be enjoyabl

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: ENG452
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I thought the writing exercises were interesting and I liked that we did close readings of the stories. I feel like there was more time spent on analyzing how a story works compared to other classes I've had.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: ENG452
• 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:

He's a very smart person, but his classes are very disorganized. Assignment deadlines are unclear, as are expectations. He will talk about the same short story for several days, and skip over multiple assignments you've already done the work for. Instead of using Blackboard he has you follow assignments on his website and submit them on Dropbox.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: ENG343
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

It was great that we read Native American writers and other writers that weren't covered in my other classes. This was my second class with Prof. Fenkl and I feel like I learned a lot in both. I wasn't sure what to write for my long paper and he helped me figure out a topic I really cared about. It was a lot of work, but worth it.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: ENG343
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I personally wasn't interested in a lot of the material (Japanese, Korean, Chinese writers) so it was hard to focus in class. All he does is write on the board, in a very unorganized way. Doesn't give feedback on homework assignments, so you never know where you stand grade wise in the course.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: ENG452
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I loved this course. I learned a lot about revising my work in ways that really helped me improve as a writer. It seemed like other students in the class wrote much better stories in the second round of workshopping, too. I wish I could take another class with Prof. Fenkl, but I am graduating. He's the best professor I've had.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: ENG255
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

I hated writing papers before taking this class. Prof. Fenkl had us write paragraphs on all the readings and it helped me learn how to get started. I talked with Prof. Fenkl about having writer's block and he had great suggestions that helped me in my other courses. Also, the class discussions were great.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: ENG448
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

This was the best class I've ever taken. We learned so much from Prof. Fenkl about writing that I think some members of the classmates will actually finish their novels and get them published. I am hoping to be one of them! Prof. Fenkl gave me a lot of help during office hours and was very encouraging when I had writer's block.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: ENG255
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I wasn't looking forward to taking ENG 255, but I needed to fill a requirement. I feel so lucky that I took it. Prof. Fenkl is amazing. He gave us feedback on short assignments by email before each class and was really encouraging. He even asked what we wanted to focus on and added to the syllabus. This is the best class I've had.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: ENG452
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I took a lot of creative writing courses and Prof. Fenkl is the best writing teacher I ever had. He taught me how to do a close reading of my own writing and to edit to improve my stories. I was depressed when I was taking this class and he was encouraging and always seemed to know the right thing to say to help. Amazing and helpful.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: ENG452
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

I had him for Craft of Fiction, my second class with him. His lectures are sometimes far off topic, but most of the time you can see the points he's making. They are always eye opening and interesting, though. When it came down to the assignments you knew what he was looking for and the feedback was helpful. Do I think I've improved my writing? Yes

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: GBA01
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Professor Fenkl has a tremendous aura about him and those willing to look have a great opportunity to grow! His class opened my mind to my true passions. Perhaps the most intelligent person I've ever met and a wonderful author as well. Professor Fenkl has the ethos to inspire and the mind to bring it justice.