| Information | Review |
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Avia Pasternak
PHIL245 Expecting a B Anonymous 01/21/2026 |
Professor Pasternak grades harshly on papers and doesn't give specific comments as to what you were marked down on. Grading for essays in this class are completely arbitrary. Professor doesn't allow students to make their own opinions on essay questions. The class is set up where there are 2 papers making up 50% of your grade and 1 cumulative final exam making up 40% of your grade. These three scores carry the entire weight of your grade in the class. Do bad on one of these and your grade is finished. Additionally, Professor Pasternak does not round grades regardless how close the margins. Overall, PHIL245 is not a hard class and the content is very interesting. I would recommend taking it but NOT with Professor Pasternak. |
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Avia Pasternak
PHIL245 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/15/2026 |
I enjoyed Professor Pasternak’s class. She is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the material, and they’re actually very interesting topics. I did not find the work to be too challenging. Your grade is mainly determined by two essays and a final exam (which was very simple if you studied). She is also very approachable in office hours and will talk through concepts with you if you are confused. however, I did feel like the expectations of the TA and the expectations of the professor differed when it came to the essays, which was frustrating at times, because one essay is graded by the TA and the other is graded by the professor. This class definitely isn’t an easy A but I still recommend it because of the professor and the material |
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Avia Pasternak
PHIL245 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/22/2025 |
The actual lectures were great and interesting throughout the entire semester. Workload is non existent for most of the semester. But if you are expecting to get an easy A from this class do not take it. The TA's grading was at the level where it was fairly easy to get a B+ to A- as long as you put in some effort, but extremely difficult to get an A because none of the essays were graded higher than a 95, no matter what you wrote. Nobody in this class received higher than a 96, and the cutoff is strict at 94. Meaning 93.99 does not mean 94. If you don't care about getting shafted in that way, take it for your interest because it really is a fun class to be in |
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Avia Pasternak
PHIL245 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/10/2025 |
While the content is interesting, the expectations and grading scheme make this class difficult and discouraging. This is not an easy class at all, and there are quizzes every Friday. 94% of your final grade is determined by examinations and essays, which are graded in a way that makes success feel impossible in this course. I believe that if this class were restructured to prioritize student success and learning, it would be a much better experience. |
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Avia Pasternak
PHIL245 Expecting a B- Anonymous 12/10/2025 |
I believe Professor Pasternak wants the best for her students, and she is definitely knowledgeable in her field, but this class is extremely discouraging for those looking to take it. It might have been the conjunction of her, as well as her TA, but Essays were graded as if we were graduate students, and the expectations were that of someone who had full comprehension of difficult philosophical works. I understand college coursework is meant to be difficult, but instead of providing constructive feedback in grading, as well as during office hours, both Pasternak and her TA told me what was wrong, and did not explain how to better understand and digest the material. I wanted to love this class, but it was difficult to accompanied with the stress brought from the harsh grading. I think this course would be more enjoyable if it wasn't as harsh in grading, and provided more insights on how to improve on our work. Additionally, a final worth 40% of our grade seems overly weighted, given the fact that the two essays that occur throughout the semester are not grade boosters. There is minimal explanation on what is expected of us, and the final asks us to remember everything we've discussed in lecture for a few written prompts. The grading scheme for this course feels unfair overall, which is disappointing for such an interesting course. |
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Avia Pasternak
PHIL245 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/27/2025 |
Professor Pasternak is a very engaging and dynamic lecturer. Though the grading and the weight of her assignments are daunting, I believe she awards actually learning/understanding the content. That being said, grades are not free and I was surprised receiving my first essay grade back. She leaves very detailed feedback on the essays, and is open to discussing her comments with you during office hours. I really enjoyed how she handled all of the topics she discussed, some of them a bit provocative, but very interesting. I hope I get to take another one of her classes! |
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Avia Pasternak
PHIL245 Expecting an A- Anonymous 12/03/2024 |
I was weary of being taught by Professor Pasternak because she was new to UMD and had no idea what her teaching style would be like, but I was pleasantly surprised. Her lectures were honestly too engaging, and I felt like her knowledge of the subject made me want to learn more. Be aware that a big portion of your grade is the essays (3 in total), with around six discussion board posts you have to do, so do not slack off with those. I felt the work to be manageable. Pasternak is great, and hopefully I get to take her again at some point. |