Elizabeth Parent

Elizabeth Parent is one of the worst (if not THE WORST) teacher I have ever taken in SFSU. One thing for sure is she was the most unorganized instructor I have ever encountered. It seemed like she was never prepared for class and her lectures just came from the top of her head (i.e. she'd make them up right there and then). That would have been fine if the things she talked about were relevant to the subject, however, often times, she'd just ramble on and on about her personal life and the fact that she went to Stanford and Harvard. It's funny because she said she designs class curriculums but she can't even follow her own syllabus! Also, it was kind of annoying because it was so obvious she played favorites especially to her Native-American students or students who kissed her a**. If you were not a kiss-up, most likely, she would've been rude and unapproachable to you. One time, in class, a classmate asked her how long a certain research paper was supposed to be and she replied: "I don't like that question. Oh, I don't know, under 35 pages?" What kind of answer was that, you know? You'd expect a teacher not to be so blatantly rude to her students. Parent said it in a sarcastic way that I felt quite sorry for my classmate because she made her feel stupid for asking a VALID question. I guess Parent must get a kick out of throwing projects at us without giving enough guidelines since she was always very vague and expected us to figure out everything for ourselves (as if we were psychics who could read her mind). Also, she assigned us 2 book reviews which were only about 1 1/2 weeks apart. Does she think it's THAT easy to read an entire book and write a 6-8 page book REVIEW (not report, mind you) about what we liked and didn't like about a book? Give us a break! I admit, she was somewhat an easy grader but that doesn't make up for her incompetence as a teacher. She was absent around 3-5 times and she usually let us out early but that was probably because she finally ran out of things to blab about. I didn't mind getting out of class early (it's better than listening to her babble) but I'm sure some students in my class must have felt jipped off their tuition fees. Lastly, don't even bother wasting your money on the "required" texts because we never even used or discussed them at all. Parent is definitely not the kind of teacher you'd want to take if you want to actually gain something out of a class. I can honestly say I learned jack sh*t from her and I'm sure most of classmates feel the same.

Dr. Parent's knowledge and experience in her field is irreplaceable. Her command of the subject is very valuable to students as myself, who have true interest in it. I learned alot from her class. I did not get to know Dr. Parent personally very well, but I always felt comfortable in her class and she was always willing to help me out of class when I asked her to.

Dr. PArent is a pref who teaches in a more relaxed or should I say informal atmosphere. She is extremely educated and knowledgeable about current affairs which effect the Indiginous people of today. She does miss days from time to time just like the rest of the students, but is always there in here classes if not there early or waiting in the halls. She follows a sylabus which is handed out in class and is very flexible. If a student is having difficulty with understanding an assignment she will make it a point to arrange a time to meet with the student and advise them. If a book review is assigned as they usually are an d students are unfamiliar to the criteria she will explain them and also refer them to the pink sheet in the Sundays' paper BOOK REVIEW section for examples. Midterms and finals are sent home on Fridays and to be returned the following Monday. SHe does this to lessen the stress of a paper and the students can take their time to do a good job instead of feeling rushed. Dr. Parent is packed full of information and knows a great many nationally known people personally. I find her to be helpful, compassionate, reasonable and one of my favorite profs. She gives knowledge, and develops a curriculum that is diverse and not boring. She has a sense of humor and encourages exposure to many fields of creative arts. To some the relationship between a Cuban art exibit, a play that takes place in the late 19th , century, and Seaseme Street are not clearly made. But there is parrellel between these and Native American People and their lives. She causes the student to think on their own and not wait to be fed the information. I will take her classes as often as they are offered. She is hard working and their for the student who seeks her guidance and knowledge.

WHERE DO I BEGIN??? I have NEVER, in my entire career as a college student, wasted so much time in one class in my life. I'm not a really harsh critic of teachers, either, but Parent is the WORST teacher I've EVER HAD!!! But when you talk to her outside of class, she is actually very nice. But that doesn't say anything about her teaching. She talks radomly about NOTHING in her classes. Then she assigns a fucking midterm for a weeknd about theese 2 books and NEVER EVEN TOLD US YO READ THEM!!!!! BAD BAD BAD BAD!!!! I know that teacher evalutions don't mean shit, especially when the teacher you are reviewing is the HEAD of the fucking department, but this is HORRIBLE!!! something needs to be done about her. OK, so for the final, she tells us to do a research project. That is it. No guidelines, nothing. Just, "Do a research project." OK. So we all do the research, then she springs these questions on us about HOW we did the research to turn in for the final. WHAT???? Many of the students had written out these big research papers and SHE DOESN'T EVEN WANT THEM!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!! Out of control.

SO ANYONE READING THESE REVIEWS... DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE PARENT!!!!!

My brother took this teacher, and he named the course "white bashing 101". Since then, she has expanded her bashing to all non-Native American races and anyone who can remotely be called "male." She cancels class more than she teaches it (usually once a week, sometimes more). Half the time she just doesn't show up and leaves the class sitting there for hours on end, claiming she's on "indian time". Her lectures have no orginization at all, and those listed below are fortunate enough to have recieved a syllabus - my class got one about 2 months into the semseter..pretty useful huh? And to top it all off, she hates all races from a European background, but her father's French. Go figure. She's a waste of time and so is the class.

I actually thought that elizabeth parent was a very poor instructor. She never followed the syllabus and her lectures didn't even follow with the text that was assigned. A few things that were very upsetting was the fact that she was a very strong feminist and male basher. The class was not called male bashing 101. I did not dish out $1000 of my own money to hear her male bash all the time. Another thing was that she never allowed for any questions, which can be frustrating for the student who needs clarification on any materials or lecture. The tests she gave were ridiculous. She expected the students to write three essays in fifty minutes time. Overall, she was a very poor teacher and I don't understand why the university still allows her to teach when there has clearly been many complaints against her.

Parent cannot stay on subject, cannot follow her syllabus, freely plays the role of male-bashing feminist, and is generally a waste of time. Tests are ridiculous; three essays in fifty minutes which are difficult to prepare for as she generally strays across the landscape during her lectures with no visible connection to either the assigned reading or her syllabus. The university should seriously consider her status. Avoid her like the plague.

Several times instructor has come into class poorly prepared, but she makes it up by making the lectures quite interesting, however off the subject they may be. Lectures do not follow the syllbus, and if they do, instructor goes off into tangents, almost unrelated to the class. However, instructor is helpful as student advisor and makes every effort in helping students with their majors. Few written assignments and tests are given in this class and classes go by very quickly, since instructor lets out students early. Class recommended if you just need to fill units or want to slack off.