Harlan Baker - University of Southern Maine

Professor: Harlan Baker

Department: TBD

College: University of Southern Maine

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Professor Baker doesn't let outside entities weigh his decisions. In a public speaking class it is important to appreciate every person's political opinion. He does this & I appreciate this. I'm a humanist.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Nice guy. I took public speaking and improved alot as did everyone else in class. He is good at his job and not demanding.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Public Speaking - ugh - however Mr. Baker is very clear on what he wants and gives great tips on future speeches - do the work and everything works out - don't do the work - grades suffer - gives great feedback and encourages everyone to strive for more

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

From my experience Baker gives you either bad grades or good grades, depending on whether or not he likes you. I would advise not buying the textbook but rather making friends with someone who has it because it's used only twice for vocab words. Get on Baker's good side and it's an easy A, if not, best of luck.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I just had this guy's class and it was ridiculous. I learned nothing about public speaking, we used the book only two times... Your effort does not get factored into your grades. Basically, if you suck even after trying to speak fluently in front of the class, you're still not going to get a good grade

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• 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:

Teacher only has one handout out the first day (syllabus). Blackboard isn't used so there was no way to check on assignments. There was little to no wiggle room with missed classes or late assignments. This class is do-able if you write everything down and I insist on asking the teacher questions about everything. Try not to be afraid of him =)

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• 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:

Terrible. He doesn't really teach anything about public speaking. He tells you how to improve and when you do that he corrects you and tells you to do it the other way. Goes back on his word a lot. Hated this professor

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: THE101
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

A bit eccentric but a pretty good teacher. He will work with you a lot and is a very fair/easy grader but make sure you attend all classes especially the last class or else he will drop you a whole letter grade.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

Speeches are scary at first, but get easier with time. I found grading policies to be clear and simple, although obviously there's room for interpretation in this type of class. Practice your speech a lot and don't read straight from your notes and you'll be fine. Attendance is critical. Getting an A: quite easy if you practice each speech enough

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Writing an practicing the speeches was annoying but he stuck the the syllabus so you knew the first day of class when everything was due. He was very understanding and graded very fairly/easy. As long as he thought you were trying he'd give you a B even if you werent that good at speaking

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

As long as you attend the class and are prepared, it's easy.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: THE170F
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I would agree with all the other comments regarding Harlan's ineptitude. He is disorganized and doesn't follow his course outline. He also doesn't teach you how to speak in public but expects you to basically learn it yourself. Which totally defeats the point of taking the class. He is a major primadona and gets upset easily. Worst class ever!!!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

he assigns a speech every other week. he only tells you what he wants you to put in your speech he does not tell you want to do to improve. i showed up to class every day did all the assignments and worked hard. it got me a C+. good news is it was my art credit so it is out of the way.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Really didnt understand what I had to do to get above a C-. Doesnt really explain things very welland kind treats you as if you should be a great public speaker right away. Also in my oppinion he favors the females in the class.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: TH107
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

Gotta agree with most of the negative comments about this professor. Additionally, I would note he is a bit of a charlatan, and that you should always beware of somebody that holds their glasses in their hand to point with when they are talking. Dressing like an academic doesnt make you one.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I was intimidated by this professor at first, but as long as you follow the guidelines and behave he helps you to improve.He's stern but know what he is talking about.I would have liked to learn more 'tricks' to capture the audience.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: THE170
• 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:

This class could have been a lot better than it was. I learned about public speaking, but when talking to students who have taken this course with other professors it seems like their classes were more interesting and the professors were more helpful. Baker is somewhat bland and only seems to take interest in his "favorites"

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PUBLI170
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

Great man. I have enjoyed taking his course and I am thinking of taking more courses with him. Very easy and very clear. Easy grader. Excellent professor

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: THE170F
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

I think he is very nice!

Rating # 20

Overview:

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

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

Comment:

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