James Schafer

This professor has taught: CMSC456, MATH401, MATH403, MATH404, MATH405, MATH406, MATH411, MATH431, MATH432, MATH437, MATH456, MATH600, MATH601, MATH602, MATH603, MATH734

Sort By:

Information	Review
James Schafer MATH405 Expecting a B Anonymous 10/03/2019	After speaking with others, Schafer seems to be a truly polarizing teacher. Personally, I liked his informal and socratic style. It was a breath of fresh air from the oft pedantic teaching found in the department. He's visibly passionate about teaching and isn't one to provide a text-to-speech rendition of the book. If you'd like an eccentric professor who speaks on material that goes beyond the book, then take Schafer. If you're on the fence, register for two professors: you can immediately determine if Schafer is for you or not by the end of the first lecture.
James Schafer MATH403 Expecting a C- Anonymous 11/26/2018	Not sure how to put it politely... Schafer is fucking terrible. He seems to be pretty good at what he does, but his personal style is simply not conducive to learning. He is an aggressive classroom tyrant and stifles discussion - does not clarify things and talks in a seemingly blunt and antagonizing way. Sitting in his lecture is very stressful. His sloppy handwriting does not help either. He would jot down whatever is on his mind on some blank spot on the blackboard so at the end it's usually all over the place so it's simply not possible to make out his notes after the class ends. The material is not boring but I had a very hard time following. You have to put in a lot of hours after school since the goal of this course is to force you to absorb Hernstein. I looked at other school's syllabus, group theory and ring theory are usually taught as a one year sequence. Do yourself a favor, avoid James Schafer if you can.
James Schafer MATH403 Anonymous 11/29/2012	I thought I would do well in this class, but I ended up hating Schafer's irreverent style. Also, Schafer is not rigorous, despite what others have said. His explanations are often imprecise. Professor Schafer's teaching style is very aggressive, and I felt uncomfortable asking for clarification, as the professor tends to get exasperated with students. In regards to Professor Schafer's lectures themselves, I found them difficult to understand-- not because I'm unaccustomed to mathematical thought or rigor, but because his lecturing was often unclear. The worst was that he doesn't provide much perspective on the material, which made it seem kind of pointless. The semester was basically a mad, stressful rush to absorb the material in Herstein as fast as possible, without much reflection or analysis. I don't think my analytical or problem solving skills developed at all, and I don't plan to become an Algebraist, so this class was essentially useless to me. Also, Schafer is not brilliant. Has he even published? He has no website, and I can't find any of his papers online.
James Schafer MATH403 Expecting a W Anonymous 10/15/2011	Since I withdrew from the course about halfway through the semester, I normally would not review the professor except I don't want other math majors to make the same mistake I did. For the record, this is the first course I ever dropped with a W. I agree with the other reviews that Professor Schafer is indeed a very brilliant man, and he lectures more coherently than many other math professors I've had. HOWEVER, he is not a good professor unless you are already naturally brilliant at math. Like most professors in the department, it is clear that he holds the frustrating point of view that math should only be for those to whom it comes naturally, and that those who are not born math geniuses shouldn't even really be in the field. I am generally an A student in math, but it is not a subject that just comes easily to me. I study a LOT to get the grades that I do. His obvious favoritism for those who seemed to understand the material instantaneously was frustrating to say the least. Also, I unfortunately had a class scheduled during his office hours, so I e-mailed him to try and schedule an alternate time to meet. He set up a time with me, but then never showed up. Furthermore, after writing down a bunch of barely legible nonsense on the chalkboard, he would then make a statement like "this is quite easy, you just have to think about it," which is not a helpful statement when it actually ISN'T easy at all. In short, if you are someone who learns math as opposed to someone who just knows math, Schafer is not the right guy for you.
James Schafer MATH404 Expecting an A Anonymous 04/13/2010	He is a very brilliant prof and does a good job of repeating and going over the important stuff. with that said he is a terrible teacher. his thoughts are not organized and his lessons aren't organized. he will skip 2 chapters then teach 3 and then go back and the jump to the end of the book and teach the last chapter. you won't be able to keep up if you skip class a lot his homeworks are always do on tuesdays and he often gives you a few weeks to do it. but more often he will give you tons of homework on a thursday and expect it on tuesday. oh and he more than likely won't even really go over them and you won't really get a grade for your work unless he has a grader for the class.
James Schafer MATH340 Expecting a C Anonymous 12/19/2009	Schafer is an excellent teacher. He teaches a lot of very hard material that must be taught in a short amount of time, but he is always willing to give help outside of class or in class, and no question is too stupid to ask him. If you do the homework and do it well, the tests will be manageable. I would definitely recommend taking MATH340 with Schafer if you are planning to take it.
James Schafer MATH340 Expecting an A AnonymousScholar 12/14/2009	Professor Schafer may look like a homeless Einstein, but he's a great professor. He's very willing to help his students and explains things well during class. His exams challenge you to think differently but are never unreasonable. (If you listen carefully, he drops hints about the questions the lecture before the exam.) He's open to questions during class and will gladly walk through problems if you ask. He's a classic and exemplary math professor, and I'd recommend you take a class with him if you have a chance.
James Schafer MATH403 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/26/2007	Schafer is a really cool guy and an entertaining professor... even though he looks like a homeless person. Several students in my class went on to take 404 and then 432 with him, regardless of their grades in any of these classes. Several students also dropped out of his Math340 class. Schafer is completely incapable of hand-waving; he loves to prove things, and if you can appreciate mathematics done rigorously you'll appreciate him. Of course, if you're taking a class like 340 or 406 with him, it's likely his approach is more intense than you're prepared to deal with, but if you can stand up to the challenge you may grow a lot as a mathematician. He understands that the material he teaches is hard and how much effort it takes to learn it and he is encouraging. Many students benefit from his office hours, and he's happy to help out. He also will not let you get away with not learning -- he assigns a lot of homework. Many think his tests are hard; it's probably just a consequence of the material itself being hard, and having Schafer means no safety bubbles. Some other professors are sloppier and slower than he is, so having someone like Schafer who can hammer out details but still keep you on your toes can be a breath of fresh air. He is a really cool person, but if you don't like to prove things or if you're not willing to put a lot of energy into learning math, then Schafer is not for you.