Advertisement - Click for coupon or website
Login Textbooks Professor Ratings Classified Ads Apartment Guide
Rating for Thomas Spitzer-Hanks
Professor Overview - Thomas Spitzer-Hanks

Overall Score

Ratings

Teaching Ability

Availability

Helpfulness

Workload*

91 12

*A 5 star workload is an easy workload; a 3 star is average; whereas a 1 star workload is extremely hard.

Search / Options
Individual User Ratings

Teaching Ability

Availability

Helpfulness

Workload*

Comments:2344 - Cultures 4 - The thing with Spanks is, he wants to make your semester better. I guess I didn’t mind his politics, so I could focus on how much he made small group a place you feel seen, encouraged, and believed in whether or not you are coming in with a 4.0. Discussions are about soliciting lots of perspectives, but you cannot come away without getting a sense of how left-wing he is. Cultures 4 involves a lot of discussion of race and gender, so you need to be ready for that, whoever your small group leader is. I think he strikes a good balance, because he never wants anyone to feel excluded or alienated because they do not have the exact same values. His grading is really positive and highlights strengths and successes, not just failings and typos. He was not the fastest grader, but you stopped worrying about what your grade might be after getting such positive feedback the first couple of times. His lectures were a reflection of his values, which we understood in small group, but other students threw shade at how much he relied on images and videos without much that actually helped us with discussion or exams. Loved coming to small group more than any other course.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2023-01-14

Comments:World Cultures IV - He is such an amazing teacher. He truly cares about his students and he will always prioritize our mental health if he could. It was his first time teaching this class but he tried his best and I felt like I learned something for sure. I do expect you to at least read the readings for the day because you do alot of socratic circle and discussions in person so it helps to know what yall are talking about. Other than that, TAKE DR.SPITZER-HANKS!!!! AMAZING PROFESSOR  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2022-05-07

Comments:Rhetoric 1 & 2 - I LOVE LOVE LOVE Spanks with my entire heart. He truly cares about each and every one of his students and is such an amazing man. He grades fairly easy, as long as you sound like you know what you're talking about in your essay you'll get a 85+. Took him for Rhetoric 1 and 2 and I plan to take him anytime I can get him in the future.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2022-01-30

Comments:1323 & 2334 - I had Dr. Spitzer-Hanks for Rhetoric 2 and World Cultures 3, and if I could take him for any other courses at this point I would. If you ever have the option to take his course, do it. He is great about making any topic engaging and letting the students determine what we talk about and how we approach a reading or topic. He tries to reduce the amount of quizzes and stressful work we have to do, and the assignments he does include ultimately are helpful in working towards future essays or assignments instead of only policing readings or being busywork. He is also extremely compassionate and really cares about students, and he is absolutely willing to work with you if you have a life problem that could interfere with coursework. The essays and assignments that are universal to the BIC course can be difficult, of course, but he is very clear when we go into them and is a fair grader. Also, a highlight for Spitzer-Hanks is the fact that his grades come with paragraphs of feedback, so you know what you did well and how to improve moving forward. I cannot say enough good things about Spitzer-Hanks!  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2021-12-17

Comments:Rhetoric I-II, SWI, WC3 - If you like a professor who keeps it real and tries to get to know every one of his students, take this guy. A fair grader, understanding if you skip a reading one day but don't make it a habit, gives a lot of feedback on written assignments. Genuinely tries to engage with you as a person and helps you out as much as he can. Truly a delight.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2020-11-18

Comments:1323 - Amazing professor. I had him for World of Rhetoric I and II. One the best professors I had. Extremely accommodating and cares so much for his students. If you ever need any sort of help with school, he is more than willing to help you out in any way he can. Exciting class and so much fun even though the classes were kind of hard. Dr. Spitzer-Hanks makes the lessons fun even when they're boring and is always asking for feedback. I have OALA accommodations and he was always making sure I was keeping up and doing well in the class. Super understanding. I would have taken him a third time if I got a spot.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2020-04-21

Comments:BIC 1413 and BIC 1323 - For any incoming freshman in the BIC program, Spitzer-Hanks is your saving grace. Never have I had a professor who cares so much about the wellbeing of his students. He is great because he is constantly finding ways to improve his teaching style to better fit the need of the students, which is a rare find in a university plagued with stubborn professors who take any advice or criticism personally. He wants the class to fit you and he wants you to succeed. If you have any issues, he is incredibly responsive and eager to help you, whether that has to do with the difficult material or with life problems. The biggest mistake you can make in this class is to not get to know him, as he is a professor who will support you throughout your entire time at Baylor. The essays, I will not lie, can be very challenging and often require a lot of time to complete. Take advantage of his office hours and more than likely you will do well. He generally stuck to the course syllabus, though sometimes he changes the reading if he feels a different source will better fit the unit. If you do the work for both of these classes, your writing will improve SIGNIFICANTLY. Make these classes a priority, as the interdisciplinary nature of them brings more to the table than you might originally think. Overall, I highly recommend Spitzer-Hanks, he really has made my writing skills improve and he is a great mentor to anyone who takes his class.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2020-04-20

Comments:BIC 1413 - Dr. Spanks is an amazing teacher. He makes class interesting with applicable information and rarely resorts to a boring lecture style. His class is very conversational and be prepared to input your opinion and takeaways from the material. DON\'T GET ME WRONG, THIS CLASS IS A LOT OF WORK, but the reason I gave four stars is because if you seek him out to get some insight on your paper he will very quickly set you up for success. I was used to teachers rewriting my whole paper, but he is really good about using what you have already have written down instead of starting all over. This class will push you (I had many sleepless nights, but I\'m also a procrastinator), but this class developed me more than all of my freshman classes combined. I have since dropped the BIC, and while I do not regret my decision, I miss the quality of teaching that Dr. Spanks provided. If I have any critique I would say that his content can tend to be biased towards the leftist view, but he\'s not like some teachers who shove it in your face. As far as professors go, he is fairly open minded. He will make time to meet with you for office hours (SUPER HELPFUL). Class is always a surprise; sometimes it will be lecture style, sometimes it will be an hour of us talking about our feelings and problems. Great class, highly recommend. He wants to give you an A, so demonstrate effort and you\'ll get there. This is great because it\'s also a four-credit hour class. I got a B+ because I didn\'t put a lot of effort into my last paper.  - Grade In Class:B+

Date: 2019-04-24

Comments:1323 - I absolutely love having class with Spitzer-Hanks. He really goes out of his way to make sure that we understand the material that is being taught. He comes to class prepared with lots of examples and ways for us to further understand what we've been taught. His course is very Socratic-seminar-esque and there are plenty of opportunities to ask questions. He is also okay if you're introverted--he won't put you on the spot, but he expects your understanding of the material to be reflected in your writing. Dr. Spitzer-Hanks makes sure to remind us that our health should be our main priority and is very supportive. I would highly recommend taking him.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2019-04-15

Comments:BIC 1413 and 1212 - Spitzer-Hanks is the best teacher I have had by far. Transitioning from a high school to a college workload was hard for me, but Spitzer-Hanks made sure that every student knew that we were appreciated and not alone in our struggles during our Freshman year. While rhetoric is a more time-consuming class, I never felt too much pressure and I felt that any ideas given in the classroom were respected. Although he addresses both, his grading is more focused on concepts than grammar, which I appreciated because it helped me better articulate the way that I viewed texts. I gave the workload 5 stars because I felt that it was easier to get through texts like Socrates and Plato with him as a teacher. He explained the concepts in the book well and didn't BS us whenever he disagreed with an idea. Overall, he is one of the most caring people I have ever met and I will definitely be taking another class with him if given the opportunity.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2019-03-20

Comments:1314 - Spitzer-Hanks was one of my favorite professors here at Baylor. He was an incoming professor when I was an incoming freshman so I think we were both trying to learn the ropes at the same time. he is very personable and really hopes to see his students thrive. He is very encouraging and will tell you exactly what it is you need to know in order to make the grade you hope to (within reason). If you can take Spitzer-Hanks, do it. He's great.  - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2013-05-13

Comments:1323 - Spitzer-Hanks is a decent professor. You can tell that he still has the training-wheels on and that he is living in his father\'s enormous shadow. However, he has begun to become his own man. He always starts the class off with logistics, and then facilitates discussion during each small group. He is eloquent regarding the roles of gender in each culture. The discussions got better every week. My only complaint is that his large group lectures were not very insightful or well done.   - Grade In Class:A

Date: 2011-01-13
LOGIN     HOME     ABOUT US     FAQ     PRIVACY     TERMS OF USE     ADVERTISING     CONTACT US    

©2003-2024 Bubooks.com - All rights reserved