Thomas Barber

School: University of Connecticut
Department: Engineering
Location: Storrs, CT
Overall Rating
rated by 29 students
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Rating Comment
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Mr. Barber was a skilled orator who had the class' attention from the first day. There are two to four pages of writing assigned with every class, so getting behind on the work can take this class from "easy" to "hard" in a flash. The writing assignments were often more about developing the individual writer rather than driving a lesson into everyone. He made what could have been a very boring class into an enjoyable place to be at the very least. Do NOT take 122 with Mr. Barber if you are looking for a lot of instructor feedback, i.e. if you are an English major.
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Cons: Would not recommend this professor
Confusing or hard to understand
Notes/lecture is confusing
This man teaches a very hard class off hard to understand powerpoints. He never gives you a clearly written solution to any problems. He thinks giving an exam unrelated to the homework is what a teacher is suppose to do. Barber is a classic example of a great engineer who is not a great teacher. Do not take this guys class unless you want to learn nothing.
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Sorry none of the standard comments fit. Senior design should be good but Barber lacks communication between company and advisors. He also gets one meaningless idea stuck in his head and it all he cares about. He is a nice enough guy though, about average for a UConn engineering professor.
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Pros: Is interesting/entertaining/funny
Is creative
Brings discussion into the classroom
Comes to class organized
Cons: Would not recommend this professor
Poor sense of humor
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He is a very funny teacher. He makes learning easy and fun; you'll think your going to a comedy show, instead of a english 122 class. He's very helpful and understanding. The homework is easy and simple to understand; the essays were fun to write and most were just experiences of your own. I'm not an international student and I'm not that great in english, but I did the work and listen to what he had to say and I learned alot. I tested into 116 & 118, but I could have passed his class w/o taking those classes. I wish I could take he's class again.
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My list of this corky guy: - Great teacher, learned a lot from him and I went from 300 word essays as my comfort level to 900 word essays! Professor rated by: Student on December 8, 2008Helpful Rating?YESNO
I don' know what the guy below me is talkin about, but Barber is the coolest sickest teacher at DVC. He is really funny and really straight forward. You get hw everyday, so its not a class to ditch, plus attendance is highly important to him. But if you need to miss classes and you tell him ahead of time, he totally understands. He is a really fair grader and the bitter ass person below me is just jeoulus that he/she didnt get an A in such an easy class.
Mr. Barber is a wonderful teacher. I was unsure about the class because I have tried to take English-122 from other teachers and ended up dropping, but Mr. Barber makes all of the essays easy by giving the assignments to you piece by piece. There is homework every night, but it just makes it so you can write one page about anything without trying by the end of the semester. Overall this was a good class from an excellent teacher.
First of all I have to say that I hate English. I Agree with the people below me. You will absolutely learn nothing out of Barber's class. Although he is a really nice guy and is willing to help but his classes are just a waste of time. If you are not an English major, take his class because you do not need to spend any time for him. Just write whatever you like for the daily homeworks and he will just give you the garde.
Lets see, first off he is a funny SOB. Some people dont see the humor as well as other but I did. The material was ok not to difficult. You have to show up to class everyday. There is always a hw assignment due! And you cant miss one without it affecting your grade. We write four papers, and overall its not hard if you put in work, dont expect the A if you never come to class or do the work.
this guy is very funny nad super funny. we only do three essays in the class, and 8/10 times you will have homework, and they are called show me.the show me is a topic which he gives you, and you are just to show more than you tell. just give more detail. but yea he makes a lto of jokes in the class, and thinks he is hella funny in which he is, but sometimes he does it too much.
This is the best English teacher I ever had. I am an ESL student, and I took him for 122, 126 and 123, and he is great! HE is funny, he makes you participate in class, and you won`t have to take notes at all. He is interesting and all his students love him. Take him. you will have to do a lot of homework, but you will have a great learning experience, and you will get an easy A.
Mr Barber is a great man,but he does not know how to teach a higher English class. If you are a foreign student take him because he gives you high grades, but if you are not a foreign student he could care less about how you are doing. Tom should teach the lower Enligh class so you can get something out of it. We learned nothing all semester,and this is a college level class.
This class was great, there wasn't a day that went by that i didn't laugh because Mr.Barber would always crack me up with his randomness. Other than that this was an overall easy class, but if you do miss a day or two you can be lost and make up assignments are quite minimal but he makes class worthwile and fun to be in with class discussion and hw everyday but is very easy.
Mr. Wonderful is great. He makes english class fun. You have simple little homework assignments, and 4 essays throughout the semester which you write on topics you like. He is a great guy, really funny, and makes class fun...its like your not even in english class but your still learning. Really good guy, strongly recommend him, you wont be disappointed...I promise.
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Lets see, first off he is a funny SOB. Some people dont see the humor as well as other but I did. The material was ok not to difficult. You have to show up to class everyday. There is always a hw assignment due! And you cant miss one without it affecting your grade. We write four papers, and overall its not hard if you put in work, dont expect the A if you never come to class or do the work.
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Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
First of all I have to say that I hate English. I Agree with the people below me. You will absolutely learn nothing out of Barber's class. Although he is a really nice guy and is willing to help but his classes are just a waste of time. If you are not an English major, take his class because you do not need to spend any time for him. Just write whatever you like for the daily homeworks and he will just give you the garde.
Overall
Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Mr Barber is a great man,but he does not know how to teach a higher English class. If you are a foreign student take him because he gives you high grades, but if you are not a foreign student he could care less about how you are doing. Tom should teach the lower Enligh class so you can get something out of it. We learned nothing all semester,and this is a college level class.
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Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
this guy is very funny nad super funny. we only do three essays in the class, and 8/10 times you will have homework, and they are called show me.the show me is a topic which he gives you, and you are just to show more than you tell. just give more detail. but yea he makes a lto of jokes in the class, and thinks he is hella funny in which he is, but sometimes he does it too much.
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Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
Mr. Wonderful is great. He makes english class fun. You have simple little homework assignments, and 4 essays throughout the semester which you write on topics you like. He is a great guy, really funny, and makes class fun...its like your not even in english class but your still learning. Really good guy, strongly recommend him, you wont be disappointed...I promise.
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This class was too easy. The teacher is really funny, and I liked the selection of plays we did - Twelfth Night, Othello, and Macbeth... but it was SO easy... I didn't learn anything. I learned more about "Shakespeare and His World" in two lectures about Shakespeare's sonnets, in English 252, than I did in an entire semester of this class. Plus there was homework for pretty much every single class, just a journal usually, but it got kind of stupid. If the class hadn't had fun people in it, it might have been really boring.
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Barber is probably one of the best teachers i have had at DVC. He lets you write freely and doesnt limit you to guidlines. He's hella funny and makes his class really interesting... most of the time. Theres an ok amount of work, but its college, and for college the load he gives is really good compared to other teachers. You have to write a few papers and there's always homework, but its not hard. I'm one of those people that gets unmotivated sometimes to go to class, but i never wanted to miss his class. I think everyone should take him for english 126 or whatever other english classes he teaches, you wont regret it.
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Pros: Is interesting/entertaining/funny
Has enthusiasm in the classroom
Cons: Expectations are unclear or lofty
Overly difficult tests or assignments
Professor does not relate to students
Avoid Barber as an advisor at all costs. Like a drunk driver he will steer you in one direction, then jerk you towards the opposite. Constantly changes his expectations - then complains when a final product isn't what he wants. Any group with him as advisor is better off just dealing directly with their sponsor. The irony of his power-point rants is overwhelming too.
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Wont let us do SAE Formula 1 Car as a Senior Design project because it doesnt make money like projects with outside companies do do. He cant see the forest for the trees. Other universities attract top notch students because of SAE projects, I know, Ive met some. He is a greedy tool.
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Mr. Barber a.k.a. "Mr. Wonderful" is one of the best english teachers i've ever had. He's "HELLA" funny too. He gives out homework everyday, but it's not hard, all you have to do is write a one page essay about a topic he gives you. There are 4 essays which are a piece of cake because you basically pick what you get to write about. His class made me enjoy writing essays rather than dreading them. Just show up everyday, do your homework, try to stand out and throw some jokes around every once in a while and you'll pass with atleast a B.
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Professor Barber aka Mr Wonderful is one of the best if not the best teacher on campus. In the beginning of the semester he intimidated me a little because we would basically have a paper to write every class, but it honestly does expand ones writing. He's really funny, and really makes you appreciate the work you did. There are four essays and only one is based off information from the book, the rest are all free writes basically. Theres no final, just a portfolio. Attendence is important but u can miss a few classes if you explain yourself, but either way you dont want to miss his class anyway. Hes really understanding and "hella" funny. ;-). Not a class to slack off in.
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I don' know what the guy below me is talkin about, but Barber is the coolest sickest teacher at DVC. He is really funny and really straight forward. You get hw everyday, so its not a class to ditch, plus attendance is highly important to him. But if you need to miss classes and you tell him ahead of time, he totally understands. He is a really fair grader and the bitter ass person below me is just jeoulus that he/she didnt get an A in such an easy class.
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Helpfulness
Clarity
Easiness
He keeps you laughing and learning. He helps get your mind thinking about your essays, by class exercises. Class participation is a must. He is a wonderful teacher, Mr. Wonderful to be exact. That is what he calls himself, but he is a great teacher. You get homework every class, and if you want that A, you need to do it. The class is work, but it is not hard. For those looking at 126, he uses some of the same jokes, so keep that in mind if you didn't find him funny the first time around. 126 is a harder course than 122, but his teaching technique are the same. I enjoyed his classes, as did many of my classmates, as they are back for a second round with him too. Half his 126 class had him for 122. That should tell you something!
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SR. Design is about the student, not the professor. Prof Barber is given a difficult job, Sr. Design is about the student, at the point your in this class you are meant to use the last four years of school for something constructive....he's just there to guide you, and as a liason between you and the working world. This man is on your side, give him the respect he is due.

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