David P. Dempsey

Dave is one of the best teachers I have ever had. He is a compassionate individual who sincerely cares about your well being in his class. He makes learning the material very interesting and he gives you plenty of basics to succeed on your own. I found a little of the subject matter repetetive since I took Metr 100 & 101 prior to this class, but anyone could stand for a little review. The class consists of group work, lectures, a weather journal, and various quizzes. And Dave is always available to answer any questions you have by e-mail or during office hours. There is also a class website which proves very helpful in keeping up with the course. Overall Dave made the subject matter much more fun and comprehensible.

I think that this was one of the most boring teachers that I have ever had. Before taking this class meteorology was an interesting subject to me but Dr. dave Dempsey changed all that. He teaches the class like we are fourth graders and is not very clear in his lectures. His quizes are tricky because he often doesn't use material covered. He also seems to hate the earth by the way he gives us a stack of un-needed handouts every class period.(how about saving some trees huh Dave?) He also seems to treat the internet as though it were the Mesiah- he never shuts up about it.If you are thinking about taking a meteorology class and want to actually learn something about the subject think twice about taking Dempsey and consider taking Oswaldo Garcia. He's about 10 times more interesting he knows what he is talking about and doesn't make learning meteorology like pulling teeth.

i found dr. dempsey's ("dave") class to be informative, easy to keep up with, and intersting. because the class fulfills a segment III requirement, enrollment was high, and a attendence was sporadic (it may have been sporadic for other reasons as well). the material covered in the class presupposes--not unreasonably--a knowledge of basic physical laws and phenomena, i.e. what you would get in a high school course. although his lectures could be a bit dry, anyone with even a little interest in science should find the class rewarding. quizzes and tests were well presented, and writing assignments--called "thought questions"--required critical analysis of reading and lecture material. one of the really great things about the class is that dave maintains a website for the class, where he posts lecture notes, handouts, quiz prospectii, etc, ad infinitum. (you can check out last semesters site at http://twister.sfsu.edu/courses/metr302/F98/m302.html to see what it's like). it's important to keep up with the classwork, as the class builds on knowledge from previous sessions, but if you miss class you can get most of the material from the site, and if it's not there, his office hours are frequent. he has great enthusiasm and tremendous knowledge of the subject, is happy to share it and encourages questions. great class.

This is a man who truly enjoys teaching, loves his job, and does it excellently. His class is a little tough and it does require you to work, but the amount of time you spend studying is pretty much directly related to your grade.There's also a website that will help you catch up if you miss a class. He is extremely accessible outside of class and actually seems happy to have students drop by his office. If you do go to see him, he'll practically give you the answer to what ever homework question you were wondering about.