This professor SUCKS..... DO NOT take a class with him unless you want to fail!!!
His lectures don't correspond to his exams and overall he just lectures all over the place.
He really is the only one who knows what he is talking about and he just can NOT teach it to anyone else....
The worst Professor i have ever had....Just WORST

TO ALL THE STUDENTS SAYING "The other reviews are so harsh...they must not have put in the work... they must not have gone to class." Literally STFU. Im sick of you entitled UCLA students that think you know everyone. This class was AWFUL. Did I get an A?? Yes but at an expense. I did worse in my other classes, I lost a lot of sleep from studying, and I missed shifts at work so I can attend "mandatory" unlisted TA sessions. This class was hard and I shouldn't have to break my back to get barely an A. You people need to stop being so entitled and thinking everyone is just giving a bad review because they are lazy and did not put work in. We all worked out ass off its just a hard fucking class so stop pretending like you are better than everyone else. Theres a reason why he has a lot of bad reviews, like shut up.

Professor Okin is amazing! I took him for Enviro M102(Soils and Environment) and he made me want to pursue a career in the field. He explained soil chemistry in easy ways to understand and made sure that students had all of their questions answered. The class consisted of a midterm, final, and discussions where you had to participate. The exams were a little tough and require memorization of soil orders, sub-orders etc but if you put in the work it is very doable and rewarding. I truly do not understand all of the harsh reviews about Okin as a professor. He is accommodating and makes it very clear from the start what he expects out of his students for the exams. Anyone who left a bad review probably didn't go to lecture and expected to ace the test. Take the class! You won't regret it and will have a newfound appreciation for soil and the Earth!

There are some rather harsh reviews of Dr. Okin on this page and while I can understand why some may feel like that, it is important for those who read Bruinwalk to understand that those are the people who did not put in the effort to rise to the challenge. Don't be deterred by their reviews. Dr. Okin is the reason I went from N. campus to S. Campus at the end of my 2nd year. He helped me discover my love for science and he helped me realize that being a lawyer was actually the last thing I wanted to be.

I took Geog 1 with Dr. Okin and didn't really like him for the first few weeks of the quarter, but eventually he changed my opinion of him completely, this guy is a genius. If you take the opportunity to get to know him, you will learn SO much.

He is really good at explaining things in more than one way until you understand a concept. I got a C in Geog 1, but that had entirely to do with struggles outside of my academic life.

I decided to give his upper div class a shot and it ended up changing my life. It was SO hard and I had to study so much but I ended up getting one of the highest grades on the midterm and an A in his class. Don't be afraid to take this class if you have never taken chemistry before, its going to be hard but you might surprise yourself.

Avoid Dr. Okin at all costs. Not only does he think that he is better than everyone else, but also he finds odd pleasure in tricking students and watching them fail. I took Geography 1 with him the quarter before, and heard that he was a better professor when it comes to upper-division classes because he's not trying to weed out the stragglers. FALSE. It's like he feels better about himself when his students fail and can't understand anything. Okin created this test with about 25 short answer questions and 5 essay questions in the span of an hour and fifteen minutes. He refuses to curve according to the difficulty of his exams. You have to write down and memorize literally everything he says in order to have a fighting chance at passing the class. Also, when he tries to explain these concepts of soils in class, he does not make sure that people are following him. He says that a basic understanding of chemistry is all that is needed to do well in the class. This is also false. Okin went into more Chemistry about soils (probably the most boring topic I can fathom, that he makes even more painful) than I had ever wanted to encounter in my academic career at UCLA. He was extremely unapproachable and explained things in the most complicated ways possible. Please avoid him or face the consequences. Maybe people who are like him will do well in the class. But unless you are inherently born with an in-depth knowledge of the chemical properties of soils, then I suggest you steer clear of this class and even Geography 1 with Okin.

This class is almost entirely about soil chemistry. Do not take this class unless you have a serious interest in chemistry for it's own sake, or soil chemistry specifically. There is virtually nothing here of practical use for the non-chemist. You will learn about soil chemistry at the atomic level: protons, electrons, colloids, CEC, anion and cation exchange, surface charges, isomorphic substitution etc., etc. If you want something practical and useful on soils in the Geog department, take Trimble's Geog 107: Soil and Water Conservation.

If however, you do have an interest in chemistry, Prof. Okin is excellent.

Professor Okin is a great professor. Took his GeoM127 class about soils and he turned a pretty bland subject into a somewhat interesting subject. Best advice to you is to record the lectures or find a friend who does. The textbook is basically worthless. He gives you a set of study questions for the midterm and final. I aced both the midterm and final by just re-listening to his lectures and answering the study questions as they came up. Was not difficult at all if you pay attention in class and understand the concepts which aren't that hard.

Professor Okin is an excellent professor and conveys information effectively. His exams were difficult but very straightforward, meaning that he doesn't try to trick you, but he makes sure you know the material. Make sure to record his lectures because his exams are straight from what he talks about during class.

My only concern/annoyance of the class was that non-geography majors get screwed. There were a lot of graduate geography students and undergraduate geography and environmental science majors who had an upper hand, smothering the curve. So beware, if you're an EEB major be ready to study your butt off!

Nonetheless Okin is a very good teacher and a fairly easy tester.

WONDERFUL professor! He is extremely concerned about his students' learning, and is always willing to help. Tests were extremely fair, although beware -- there's only one midterm and one final, each worth 50% of your grade. His passion for soils truly got me interested in the material -- I don't think I will ever look at soils the same again. Take this professor; you won't regret it. One of the best professors that I have ever had at UCLA.