Yumi Satow

Yumi Satow is a woman who means well, but she is leaning tooooo much on the laisez faire ways of SF State and the US in general. What do I mean? I mean that she is teaching a nutrition class, but not making clear substantiated points. She is not giving complete information and she is trying to make little stabs at helping young people from becoming obsessed with food and body image, but instead she just ends up encouraging unhealthy eating patterns because she won't just provide healthy alternatives and sustantiated facts. She only makes reference to hamgburgers, pizza and milk-foods that are stereotypically American foods. She is not expanding anyone's mind in that class...enough said about that.

She does have a thick accent, which really would be okay if her grammar were good. It is far too confusing and distracting that both her accent and her grammar and syntax are confused. Not to mention that even when she does her power points she doesn't take the time to correct her grammatical errors, so things can end up reading as though they mean the opposite of what she intended. She doesn't know how to pronounce many of the new terms she is teaching us and she often avoids answering questions, probably because she doesn't have the experience.

She is cute, and she tries to be funny, and she tries to appear laid back, but these are not attributes that, alone, serve the students!!!

You would be much more enlightened and better educated taking this class with someone who is privvy to modern nutrition research and can give you info. beyond what the book does. Unfortunately, she is the only one teaching this class, at least during this semester. Yeah, it is easy and you can sit through class and check out your myspace page or text friends, but really? I mean you are about to graduate and you are taking this SegIII class for your own enrichment, don't you want to know more than what a Shape magazine of the late '90's could tell you?

Yumi Satow is a very sweet woman, but a poor teacher. Her lectures are boring and often garbled. She uses power point for everything, which is good because she has a thick accent and poor English skills. Homework is non-existent except for some minor studying. The tests are easy, but watch out for tricks and ambiguity. The project was a joke. She attempted to change the format and expectations at the last minute, but the class protested enough that she couldn't. Attendance is crucial so go to class. This class was too easy, too frustrating and mostly a waste of time.

I thought that this class was great. I am interested in food so this was the perfect class for me. The begining of the semester was a little bland (dealing with the history of cooking, domestication, and nurition) but it was still helpful. The group projects on different countries was fun and interesting. We got the chance to taste food from the 12 different countries that she selected. This worked out perfectly...you got some snacks to hold off dinner. We had a midterm, final, 10 page paper, group presentation, and some quizes which counted as extra points. The only problem was her accent, but it wasnt a big deal at all. Yumi makes the class fun. I definately encourage people to take this class.

Yumi is a nice teacher. She gave chances for extra credit and encorages students to do better in class. This is a 3 unit class but there is a once a week lab working at the vista room and food tasting. Sometimes there are a couple words she says and i don't understand until she finishes her sentences/explaination. she make sures you understand the subject. but her tests are not very easy. but she hands out study guides, it is very helpful.

Yumi Satow is a really nice person. She's got a great personality. However, she is not a very good teacher. She appears to know the material. However, knowing the material and being able to teach it are not the same thing. Part of the problem is her heavy accent. It is very difficult to understand her sometimes. If she did not use an overhead projector, I would be completely lost. There is also a 3-part project that we are assigned to do for the semester. Her guidelines are not very clear and it's upsetting when she deducts points for things that she did not specify. Her grading is not very fair, either. She seems to have her favorite students in the class and if you're not one of them, you probably won't get an A on an assignment. She does try to answer questions to the best of her ability. Before exams, she's great because she gives a review and tells you what to study. On the bad side, she makes the exams up herself and because of her poor English, I sometimes cannot understand what she is asking for. I end up having to decipher the exam. To sum up, I think she should work in the profession rather than teach. A positive thing, though, is that she is better than some other instructors in this department.