Brian Tonks - Brigham Young University - Idaho

Professor: Brian Tonks

Department: TBD

College: Brigham Young University - Idaho

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: GESCI101
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

course work is way too much and is beyond extensive for a general science class. For all that is good and holy, don't take this class!

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PH127
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Brother Tonks doesn't do a whole lot to help you to understand it, he just focuses on making sure you have 2-3 assignments due every class period. There are no test reviews or helps, basically you need to memorize every little detail that he discusses right as he says them and then you'll be good. Treats it like a 5 credit class. THE WORST

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PH105
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof. Tonks is a good guy..... but a terrible lecturer. He knows astronomy and physics, but his explanations leave students confused and unsure of what to do. His homework packets become tedious, but at least he allows for test corrections after the fact. Be prepared and know how to do individual study, because odds are, you won't know what he says

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: FDSCI207
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

If you are looking to take an easy general Science. I recommend skipping his From Atoms to Humans class. The class is still under construction, this makes exam and test incredibly hard. I received an A- in the class. Though I learnt allot of interesting stuff, The knowledge you gain don't translate to exams which makes it impossible to do good.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PH127
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Prof Tonks is a great guy but makes Astronomy a hard subject. He has you do a bunch of math and physics equations (which even the kids who take the equivalent course at BYU-P don't have to do). He doesn't really do test reviews and a good deal of your grade rides on an observation project. It is still a cool class but he makes it a little hard.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PH127
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Brother Tonks is an awesome guy. But his Astronomy class was really tough. I didn't enjoy most of it, and the lectures were almost always dry and hard to follow. It was very unclear what was due at the beginning of the semester since he only mentioned it once or twice. Homework has to be downloaded and printed to turn in.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: FDSCI207
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He genuinely cares! I missed an exam b/c I was an idiot and he let me retake it without penalization. I did fall asleep a few times during his lectures but he respects students who attend and don't give up! Easy readings and quizzes before each class, just pay attention, dont blow it off. If you keep up with the work and notes it's a good class.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PH105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Brother Tonks is nice guy but not a very good teacher. In my opinion he dosen't explain things very well. I walked away from lectures more confused. He over complicated things to the max. The exams are 8-10 pages write on exams. Most students is takes around 4hours in the testing center. Tons of HW. This is the hardest class I have ever taken!!!!

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: FDSCI209
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Nothing special but has a lot of homework usually the week consist of a 2 page single space paper on top of the daily essay questions and readings its just a lot of busy work

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PH105
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

The way he teaches the class makes it a lot harder then a introduction to physics class. The exams and the OYO are super hard and we hardly go over them. We hardly have anytime to study a topic before we are tested on it and the exam averages are generally in the low 60's He does care, but I think he should teach only the advanced classes.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PH105
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

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

Comment:

I'm not sure why everyone rated him so poorly. He was one of my favorite teachers. He is super funny, and really good at explaining the problems. I really liked him as a teacher, and would take him again if i could.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PH121
• Grade Received: C-
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Worst class I have ever taken. I had never even failed a test before but I got a 29% on one of his. Because the class is weighted, if you do all your assignments then you'll likely pass, but you will learn almost nothing from the instructor himself. Too many lectures on proofs of equations, and expectations and explanations are rarely clear.

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PH277
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

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

Comment:

He's a fine professor, but his classes never really get in depth about any of the topics. He gives you the most basic information about everything and doesn't really provide what I would consider a college level discussion of the topics. Feels like a high school class.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PH314
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Dr. Tonks requires his students to read a lot if they want to succeed in his class. Some of the material can be difficult to get through, but it's all rewarding in the end. I honestly though that it's rather funny that he wrote 1/3 - 1/2 of the course material that he assigns to read. This means that you only read what he knows teaches best.

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PH127
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

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

Comment:

Absolutely horrendous professor. He clearly knows what he's talking about, he just has no idea how to talk about it. He's either socially awkward or incredibly malicious as he answers questions with the highest levels of condescension. Avoid this class at all costs - Brian Tonks is a horrible teacher. In fact, calling him a teacher insults teachers

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: FDSCI209
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

Lectures every class, occasionally funny but mostly boring. There were clicker tests throughout the semester. Tests are really hard and there is no specific study guide. somewhat uses the textbooks. He was nice and willing to help.

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: FDSCI209
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

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

Comment:

He will lecture for the full 60 minute class while 10 minutes worth of that lecture is actually relevant to what is on the test, and that 10 minutes is spread throughout. I get the impression that he loves his voice a lot. He's not a bad guy by any means, he just doesn't teach it well in a lecture. No on in the class ever knew what was going on.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PH127
• Grade Received: C+
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 1.0

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

Comment:

College courses are not so much at a college level, more like high school.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PH127
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Tonks is a good guy, but not a great teacher. The worst thing about the class is that about half the material on the tests are not covered in class. He formats the class like a foundations class, which is extremely frustrating if you are getting your degree in astronomy. He also brings in the gospel too much. I liked his lectures, but not the class

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: SCI209
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

A great teacher and very nice person in general. I enjoy his class but sometimes he does teach a at a pretty fast pace, so make sure you thoroughly do the reading before class. He seems very qualified and genuinely interested in what he teaches. Super patient with students, cool ties.