Michael Brown
School: | Mississippi State University |
Department: | Music |
Location: | Mississippi State, MS |
Overall Rating
rated by 20 students
Helpfulness | |
Clarity | |
Easiness |
School: | Mississippi State University |
Department: | Music |
Location: | Mississippi State, MS |
Helpfulness | |
Clarity | |
Easiness |
Mailing Address:
Uloop Inc.
306 S. Washington Ave
Suite 400
Royal Oak, MI 48067
Telephone Support:
312.854.7605
Email Support:
greg@uloop.com
Cons: Boring
RUDE
Makes the class harder than what it should be
If you're not a sensitive person and you focus on the material then you will do fine. It's not an "easy A" but its a "doable A." BUY THE CD! The work isn't hard. A lot of people do not do well in this class because Prof. Brown is extremely RUDE! Period. His class is boring, he does not dismiss early, and makes the class seem way more important than what it really is. IGNORE HIM. Do the practice tests for all of the extra credit, go to both of the concerts, go to class, and make your own notes. You learn virtually NOTHING in class, but it is imperative to go because of the "pop quizzes" that count for 30% of your grade. If you do have to miss class, do it towards the beginning of the semester because he has hinted that most of the quizzes (other than the quiz on the first day) are given at the end of the semester. Do good on tests, complete the extra credit and go to class 80% of the time and you'll get an A.
Cons: He requires you to go to one of his orchestra performances. Although I love music, some other students were bored during the performance.
I hardly ever went to class, missed almost every single pop quiz, and was still exempt with a high A because I did all of the extra credit opportunities (including going to his orchestra performances).
Do all of the easy extra credit and you will have no worries!!
He's a prideful boastful belittling control freak. He was the biggest disappointment for a professor. Real shame, too. That could have been a very pleasant educational course. I'm also very disappointed that MSU is willing to hire some one so blatantly disrespectful to so many people.
MSU should hire somebody else for this job. Preferrably somebody of valuable character. Professors should have a passion for teaching students who are eager to learn, and should do their job to help the students that make every effort possible to do well in the course instead of laugh in their face and walk off.
This guy doesn't know how to follow through on his word. He evaded every request to reopen a quiz that blackboard fluked on.He said he would open it and over a time frame of 4 weeks he continued to blow it off and then just didn't respond to my email nor did he ever open the quiz for me. This guy is obviously too old to keep up with his job.
He has no common manners for anybody. Even at his own choral functions in front of the public.I had asked him during class when and where was this event taking place, because he was giving extra credit for those who showed up. I showed up (with a friend even), spoke with him face to face during intermission, and once again he did not fail to disappoint me on his side of the bargain. I asked (again) about the extra credit and in front of me, my friend, and the whole crowd there, he laughed a little scoff, turned his back to me, and walked away. No extra credit for me for showing up like he asked. Why? he wanted me to have a "ticket". Nevermind I showed up and was there- which was the extra credit. I personally asked him face to face about that extra credit opportunity, but not once did he mention a ticket until it was too late when he could laugh and walk away.
I've never given a class so much effort but i love music and wanted to give this class a great deal of my attention. If he weren't entirely difficult to deal with, it wouldve been a great class. However, after meeting this poor character of a man, I've never been so happy to drop a music class. This is all coming from a nerd who loves school and comes from a family that revolves around music.
This should've been a great experience, but he ruined it and lost a good student.
Anybody that speaks with this guy will see the evident joy this guy gets from being rude and difficult with his students.
I assumed that music appreciation was suppose to be an easier course, yet I was sadly wrong so I would advise that no one take the course unless you are majoring in music. The most challenging aspect of the class was dealing with Mr. Brown. If you make a mistake don't even bother with asking him for help or a second chance; it is only going to make things worse.
Mr. Brown requires you to attend at least one concert out of a few concerts that he conducts. I attended the last concert at the end of the semester to earn a few extra points. I arrived about 15 minutes early and sat through a very dull recital that lasted at least 2 hours and 30 minutes. At the end of the concert you must "turn in your ticket." I made the mistake, as well as about 10 others, of picking up a program instead of taking a "ticket" which were "being distributed" by his wife. When the concert ended I handed the program to Mr. Brown to which he gave back to me and would not accept. I waited calmly after the rest of the students turned in their tickets to talk to him about my mistake. Once I got the chance to ask him where I went wrong he told me that I did not follow the directions and that he believed that I showed up at the end of the concert and that I was trying to "pull one over on him". The fact that he accused me of cheating offended me greatly, yet I tired my best to keep my cool about the situation. I noticed lady that was standing next to him was the "ticket keeper" who happened to be his wife. I asked her if she remembered me coming in early to which she replied,"Yes, I remember you, but you didn't follow the instructions." At this point I realized that there was not much to be done and that I had messed up so I decided to leave. As a stepped back, other students began to ask for an explanation as to why they could not receive credit for attending the concert to which he began to raise his voice close to a yell and became extremely rude towards the other students. To make the situation worse this was all happening inside the Starkville First Baptist Church in front of at least 15 to 20 others whom were not students and most likely members of the church. The situation was not handled well by Mr. Brown or by some of the other students, yet he had the opportunity to be the bigger man and not to yell in a church, yet he chose to let his impatience get the better of him and make a fool of himself.
SHORT VERSION: Don't take this course unless it is required for your major. If it is possible get a different teacher. Mr. Brown has a temper, has no sympathy, can be very rude towards his students, and also feels no shame in embarrassing his students for minuscule reasons.
Entertaining
Intelligent
Michael Brown is probably the most dedicated teacher I've ever had. He clearly loves what he does, and it shows in his lectures. He doesn't take attendance, but he gives pop quizzes throughout the semester just to keep you coming to class. These pop quizzes, as well as the tests and assignments, are all very easy if you attend often. Brown doesn't try to make the class difficult; he wants his lectures to be a learning experience. You don't have to take notes or anything. As long as you pay attention and get involved, you'll get a lot out of this class. You are required to go to one symphony and write a paragraph about it, but that's about the extent of outside work that you're required to do.
This is a great class to pick if you want to learn a lot about the history of music with an excellent teacher who creates the best learning environment you can find. This is also a great class if you want an easy A.
He doesn't take attendance, but going to class is important because his tests come from his lectures, and there are 5 pop quizzes through the semester, and they count a good bit toward the final grade. You'll be glad to have those points when the end comes because if you have a high enough grade at the end, you can be exempt from the final exam.
The book is actually a CD with all the chapters and a glossary. The only thing I really used was the glossary, which is very important because a LARGE portion of his tests are vocabulary. I HIGHLY recommend reading his notes for each module that he posts online, and copying down the vocabulary for each section before you take the exam. It will help you alot.
All tests are online.
The tests are online and are fair, but he only gives you 15 minutes to answer 40 questions! I understand this is meant to keep people from cheating, but you barely have time to answer all the questions, much less try to look up the answers. I would've much rather had a regular test in class with a decent amount of time to complete it.
He was also so very BORING in every since of the word; I struggled every day to keep my eyes open, and this class was at 1:00 in the afternoon! Mr. Brown is well aware of how boring he is, which is why he gives random 4 pop quizzes that consist of 20% of your grade to force people to come to class. He admitted on the first day that he would intentionally give these quizzes on the days when the least amount of people were there, forcing you to come every day for fear of missing a pop quiz! He also requires that you attend a concert that he directs (on top of buying the book that he wrote) but only offers two the whole semester--one was the very first week of class, and the other was the night of our last home basketball game! I didn't go to either concert (which counts as 5% of your final grade) and still managed to get an 89 in the class. But of course, Mr. Brown, being the mean man that he is, wouldn't spare me the one extra point to give me an A. I wasn't surprised, I just really wish I would've taken something else as my fine art. Don't make the same mistake I did, trust me--After 6 straight semesters at state I've only ever made three B's, one of them being in this horrible class.
Would you also like to know that he does hold the cards over the head of Dr. C, and a grudge? I guess he thinks that he's winning with the firing of Dr. Chesnutt. Dr. Chesnutt beat him out for the band director and director of the Starkville Symphony. I guess Dr. Brown has to win somewhere.
Why is he not advertising for the job of Director of Bands? Because we all know if there was a search committee and the job was going to be advertised, Ms Lance WOULDN'T HAVE A CHANCE IN HELL of getting the position. I really do wish more applicants who are much better could've applied for the department head position.