Professor
Shalom Staub
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2019 - Overall, I really liked this class. It was the most eye-opening class I've taken at UCLA, but it's really up to you as to how much you'll get out of it. You really get what you put in. Professor Staub is a really engaging lecturer, and you can tell that he really cares about educating the class. He facilitates difficult conversations, tries to get as much feedback as possible, and welcomes all viewpoints. I had David as my TA and he's such a funny, approachable, and overall helpful TA. The main component of this class is the 3 hours/week of service learning you do from week3 -10. A lot of the locations are pretty far away, so it ends up being more than a 3 hour commitment per week but many people enjoyed what they did. For the workload, there's weekly readings, reflections, and 3 hour blocks of service learning you have to complete. The weekly assigned readings which actually aren't that long and he says their mandatory but you could totally go without reading them. That being said, I personally found the readings to be really interesting and valuable going into lecture, so as I said earlier, you get what you put into the class. The reflections varied week to week- most were reflections based on our service learning, but there was also a cool bus riding assignment and setting goals for the course. My recommendations would be to: Take your time researching the site you want to do service learning at (make sure you'll get something useful out of your time there!), be open-minded, and enjoy the course!
Spring 2019 - Overall, I really liked this class. It was the most eye-opening class I've taken at UCLA, but it's really up to you as to how much you'll get out of it. You really get what you put in. Professor Staub is a really engaging lecturer, and you can tell that he really cares about educating the class. He facilitates difficult conversations, tries to get as much feedback as possible, and welcomes all viewpoints. I had David as my TA and he's such a funny, approachable, and overall helpful TA. The main component of this class is the 3 hours/week of service learning you do from week3 -10. A lot of the locations are pretty far away, so it ends up being more than a 3 hour commitment per week but many people enjoyed what they did. For the workload, there's weekly readings, reflections, and 3 hour blocks of service learning you have to complete. The weekly assigned readings which actually aren't that long and he says their mandatory but you could totally go without reading them. That being said, I personally found the readings to be really interesting and valuable going into lecture, so as I said earlier, you get what you put into the class. The reflections varied week to week- most were reflections based on our service learning, but there was also a cool bus riding assignment and setting goals for the course. My recommendations would be to: Take your time researching the site you want to do service learning at (make sure you'll get something useful out of your time there!), be open-minded, and enjoy the course!
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2021 - I took this course remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. My experience is different than what the class would look like in person, but overall I enjoyed the class. In terms of grades, this class is an easy A and a great class to take to fulfill GE requirements. This class is different than most other classes in the way that you are required to volunteer with a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. However, it is very easy to get started with an organization, especially remotely, because there are so many different options that are provided by professor Staub and all work can be done at home. Though about 24 hours of service are required for full credit in the course, because of the pandemic, this requirement has been relaxed a little, so there really is no need to worry about this portion too much. The other main assignments are one research paper around week 6-7 and then the final for which you can choose from several different options such as a paper, writing a letter, making a video, etc. Going to discussion is also mandatory since it accounts for your participation grade, but oftentimes discussion is so engaging and almost like just having a conversation with your peers and TA that it does not even feel like you're in class. Though there is a time listed for lectures in this class, Professor Staub posts all the lectures asynchronously and we never met live for anything except on the first day and in our weekly discussion sections. The lectures and readings for the week are meant to be completed before you attend discussion, but most weeks I would not watch lectures or read and I was able to fully participate in discussion and do well on the assignments. Overall, this is a great class for someone looking for GE credit and wanting an easy A with minimum effort.
Winter 2021 - I took this course remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. My experience is different than what the class would look like in person, but overall I enjoyed the class. In terms of grades, this class is an easy A and a great class to take to fulfill GE requirements. This class is different than most other classes in the way that you are required to volunteer with a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles. However, it is very easy to get started with an organization, especially remotely, because there are so many different options that are provided by professor Staub and all work can be done at home. Though about 24 hours of service are required for full credit in the course, because of the pandemic, this requirement has been relaxed a little, so there really is no need to worry about this portion too much. The other main assignments are one research paper around week 6-7 and then the final for which you can choose from several different options such as a paper, writing a letter, making a video, etc. Going to discussion is also mandatory since it accounts for your participation grade, but oftentimes discussion is so engaging and almost like just having a conversation with your peers and TA that it does not even feel like you're in class. Though there is a time listed for lectures in this class, Professor Staub posts all the lectures asynchronously and we never met live for anything except on the first day and in our weekly discussion sections. The lectures and readings for the week are meant to be completed before you attend discussion, but most weeks I would not watch lectures or read and I was able to fully participate in discussion and do well on the assignments. Overall, this is a great class for someone looking for GE credit and wanting an easy A with minimum effort.
AD
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Honestly I went to lecture once. I do wish I could've gone more though, out of pure interest (but I was having a hard quarter and didn't have time). This is definitely an easy and interesting GE. Discussion is required, there's a midterm paper and a final project, and you have to log 20-24 hours with a community service partner (some are offered on Zoom). I'd take it again!
Fall 2021 - Honestly I went to lecture once. I do wish I could've gone more though, out of pure interest (but I was having a hard quarter and didn't have time). This is definitely an easy and interesting GE. Discussion is required, there's a midterm paper and a final project, and you have to log 20-24 hours with a community service partner (some are offered on Zoom). I'd take it again!
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