More students speak out on Perry's bequarter (because behalf would be construed as too biased):
10/22/09: I love Perry Mills. He is a critical thinker who tries to teach us publicy-educated-numskulls how to critically think. Political correctness isn't on his agenda. Your eduaction is. Besides, he's hilarious. He's a man who would choose freedom over security--because having both is impossible. TAKE HIS CLASS, YOU WON'T REGRET IT.
9/8/09: God bless Perry Mills. Perry is, without a doubt, one of the best profs that I had at WWU. I loved his class-- especially watching his no-nonsense approach with elitist snobs.
9/1/09: Someone needs to make a documentary about Perry Mills. He probably should be teaching at a better university to a different audience. His style is very interactive and engaging, but he's only a great teacher if he's got students that want to learn something. Better than Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society.
(Typos left intact to prove that these are authentic students).
From ratemyprofessor.com
5 comments:
Are we perchance talking a float in next year's Ski-to-Sea parade?
I'm currently taking Mill's Introduction to Cinema class, and I've never been more disappointed in a professor.
Mills can be funny. He can be insightful. He refuses to back down on what he believes.
He's also made this class into a joke.
When I signed up for Into to Cinema, it was as a student contemplating a future career in film. Intro to Cinema seemed like a good place to start, with a description in Western's course catalog reading "Training eye and ear to appreciate the work of the filmmaker. Analysis of the
basic conventions of technique with an emphasis on critical exposition."
This class does no such thing.
Class is composed of short films, feature length movies, and lecture. There are two grades, the midterm and the final. The midterm was entirely concerned with trivia, and featured questions such as:
1.Horses and men on parade... [are featured in which film?]
23. A very strange little cowboy prances through the middle of a fight during... [which film?]
83. There is a flying Unicorn in the movie CITIZEN KANE... [true or false?
Our class didn't even watch Citizen Kane. It was cut, due to lack of time.
I've been cheated. I've paid money to take a class that has taught me nothing. I came in expecting to, at the very least, know what "the
basic conventions of technique" are.
The lectures may occasionally contain wisdom, but it's so wrapped up in angry ranting at how disgusting the world is that I haven't caught any of it.
Mills may be a very interesting person, but as a teacher, he is a failure. The job of a professor is to impart wisdom and knowledge, and Mills has done no such thing.
When asked what a movie means, he doesn't even deign to answer! It's impossible to know why a movie made it onto the syllabus, and Mills isn't explaining.
There are certain expectations I have when I go to a college level class. Mills has failed to teach, to give assignments, and to even explain the subject material.
I take every chance I get to warn other students of what to expect, so that no one else is forced to waste time and money on a worthless class and professor.
Hmm… obvious convergent thinker.
Secca - I understand your criticisms, the Cinema class is his worst by far and I myself wasn't that thrilled with it but you're right that he's interesting, interesting enough to take again, and if you get him for a smaller course you'll love him. I took a bunches of courses with him post-intro to cinema. Believe me, he's worth another shot. He teaches stuff nobody else is and I bet you'll dig "Arts Inquiry" or "Dramatic Writing Workshop".
Spartacus - that's a freakin' brilliant idea.
Oh I'm not Nate, that was my bro's account. Eric Stone here. Dang.
Post a Comment