| Information | Review |
|---|---|
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Robert Smith
Anonymous 05/16/2025 |
was a chill dude but takes this class a little too seriously for a gen ed. gotta love rob but our vibes just didn't match |
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Robert Smith
THET285 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/15/2025 |
Rob is an incredible professor—kind, supportive, and truly invested in his students’ success. I feel much more confident stepping into the real world after taking his class. Highly Recommend!!!!!!! |
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Robert Smith
THET285 Expecting a B+ Anonymous 05/12/2025 |
PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD (and your sanity) DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. Over the course of my time at Maryland, I've done a lot of sketchy things- namely eating dining hall seafood, taking a selfie with a cop outside of frat party, agreeing to get an apartment with a stoner, etc. etc. Enrolling in this class by far takes the cake. This semester, in the midst of rough classes, I watched in abject misery as my peers attended their regular oral comm classes, waltzing by with easy As for half-assed speeches that they practiced for an hour before class. I, on the other hand, sleep deprived and two Monsters in, attempting desperately to wrangle infinite summations and covalent bonds, was forced to sit through FOUR GRUELING HOURS of this class every week. Four hours that I could have spent sleeping, for one, hanging out with friends, hitting the gym, the list continues. Instead, I sat in a stuffy studio watching students recite speeches and attempting not to fall asleep. Now, if the attendance policy was slightly less strict or an A was less impossible to achieve, the actual content of this class would receive a solid four stars. But Rob requires attendance with little recourse if a class is missed and IF YOU'RE NOT A THEATER MAJOR, YOU'RE NOT GETTING AN A. Read that again. My darling fellow STEM majors, you feel my pain. Perhaps a humanities student has some GPA to lose but in our majors, with 55% averages on tests, med school and grad school applications that are getting ever more competitive and requiring higher and higher GPAs, YOU DO NOT WANT TO GET EVEN AN A- IN AN ORAL COMMUNICATIONS CLASS. And an A- is the best you can hope for in a class full of theater majors where the professor does not give even one small pebble shaped turd about the fact that we are STEM majors with little acting experience. It doesn't matter if you put in effort. Hell, it doesn't even matter if you show up. My friends who have perfect attendance (but are STEM majors) are still getting, at best, an A-. If you enroll in this class, you can kiss your dream of an A (in a class where you honestly deserve an A for showing up and giving half a shit) GOODBYE. Worst class ever. The reviews are lying to you. I repeat, DO NOT TAKE. |
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Robert Smith
THET285 Expecting an A- Anonymous 01/27/2025 |
Teacher gives amazing feedback and is very approachable and understanding. I've never had an oral comm class before this, but I imagine his class is actually useful compared to other credits. |
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Robert Smith
THET285 Expecting an A Anonymous 10/19/2024 |
Loved Rob. Had him last spring and THET285 was the highlight of a tough semester. He makes the class feel small and gets everyone to know each other. There were 4 presentations and a final, spaced out with 1-2 lectures for technique and introducing the next assignment. You also get participation points by giving classmates feedback and "workshopping" your draft speeches that act as a grade booster. A 2 hour class may seem like a lot for a 3 credit comm class but trust me, you'll wish it was longer than that. Wouldn't take any other comm over this 👏 |
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Robert Smith
THET285 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/17/2024 |
Awesome teacher and very nice human being. This class actually made me better at public speaking, which doesn't seem to be the case for a lot of other oral comm classes. Only thing I didn't like is you need a 95 for an A, but that wasn't very hard to achieve if you listen to his advice. Make sure you participate as much as possible though to get feedback. |
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Robert Smith
THET285 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/12/2023 |
Fantastic supportive man and a fun class! I really learned a lot. Take this class for your comm credit, you won’t regret it. |