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Kennelly, Brian

Cumulative GPA: 2.71/4.00 with 17 evaluations
Presents Material Clearly: 2.88
Recognizes Student Difficulties: 2.65

Modern Languages and Literatures Department, Cal Poly, SLO
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HUM 310 Senior Grade Earned: B General Ed 11:04 pm, Apr 8, 2013 Report Evaluation		Kennelly is an interesting creature... I enjoyed him and his weirdness/jollyness he brings to class. It makes the 2 hour lecture seems like 1 hour! The books he chose was decent- some were simple, some were dry. But overall, it was doable. This class required a lot of participation, which required reading, so stay on top of your reading! It's also an extremely writing intensive (3 papers) class. He was a very very meticulous grader, so beware!! But take this class.. you learn a lot about the French!

FR 101 Freshman Grade Earned: A Elective 8:58 am, Aug 21, 2012 Report Evaluation		Monsieur Kennelly is an excellent professor. He goes through the book and explains concepts thoroughly, just raise your hand. Don't be embarrassed to try to answer questions or raise your hand because how else will you learn? Use the online resources he provides, and go to office hours. It is not hard at all to earn a respectable grade in this class if you just try.

FR 233 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Major) 2:01 pm, Aug 12, 2012 Report Evaluation		I thought this class was a good next step from learning French grammar. The stories were at times hard to comprehend, because of the different storytelling verb tenses and cultural context, but Professor Kennelly tried to make them as understandable as possible. There are two essays and if you understand the reading and are able to show that you understand it, you should be fine. The two midterms were a little difficult because they were identification, meaning you were given a quote or a key word and you had to identify the story, its context, and some analysis. What was hardest was actually identifying which story the quote was from, but if you pay attention in class, you should be fine. Overall, I thought Professor Kennelly did a good job and tried to make the class as interesting as possible.

FR 233 Freshman Grade Earned: B Elective 11:54 pm, Jun 12, 2012 Report Evaluation		Kennelly is a nice guy, but his standards are insane. I'd studied French for almost 6 years (4 on the AP exam) before taking Kennelly's 233 class, and I struggled with the papers. I took 305 Adv French Comp/Grammar with Cay Kelly my first quarter here, and it was super easy compared to 233 Critical Reading in French Lit with Kennelly. I'm baffled by the fact that he ignores our grasp of the subject (and makes everyone look and feel incompetent in their language abilities) and focuses on our writing skills exclusively. He asks stupid questions and teaches almost nothing. WARNING: His tests are freakishly weird, but not difficult. There is no explanation of what you are supposed to do. You pick a certain number of the questions (he tells you how many) and regurgitate as much information as possible relative to the story. He calls it "identifications". The "questions" are either a title, author, quote, or key word/place. You must then give information such as: where the quote occurs in the story, what happened in the story, where the story took place, who the author is, what the title of the story was, what KIND of story it was (poem, novella, story, play, biographical), what the moral of the story was, etc. I got a B- and honestly that was because I got desperate with my second paper (69% on the first one) and begged my high school teacher to go over it with me. I think I got a B- on the second paper.

FR 350 Junior Grade Earned: B Required (Support) 11:01 pm, Jun 2, 2012 Report Evaluation		I have LOVED taking classes with Kennelly. I have had him all the way from FR 101 till 350. Grammar classes are always difficult to appreciate a professor, but after taking 350, I truly can appreciate Kennelly. Every class was scandalous in an educational way and it is always entertaining and exciting. His literature class was not very structured, but doing the readings are important and really help with mid terms. 2 mid terms, 2 papers. Some advice: pay attention and actually take time to write the papers. His class is very free, open and interactive. I definitely encourage anyone to take this class, regardless of the bizarre topics and themes of French culture.

FR 305 Senior Grade Earned: N/A Elective 10:13 pm, Mar 31, 2012 Report Evaluation		I believe that Dr. Kennelly is an excellent professor. Last quarter I enjoyed my French literature class. In fact, I have learned more from him than any other language professor from the MLL department. Professors like Dr. Kennelly are innovative, work out of the box and love to teach. It is sad that some college students act immature when they are dissatisfied with their own poor performance and feel the need to attack the teacher. It seems to me that those who complain demonstrate a childish attitude. I think that the problem is that some students do not like being challenged when it comes to learning a language. Homework, readings and tests were fair and interactive. I highly recommend Dr. Kennelly’s FR 305 class, it allows us to improve our communication skills, speak properly in French and give our points of view. The class was also fun!

FR 102 Junior Grade Earned: Credit Elective 3:49 pm, Mar 26, 2012 Report Evaluation		I am shocked at the negative reviews of prof Kennelly. He was very clear and very knowledgeable on the material. He was also very helpful and success in this class is not impossible. While it is true that the exams are graded difficultly, they are not unfair and he is more than willing to explain grading on any questions or re-evaluate if you feel you were graded unjustly. Beyond that he was hilarious and really connected with our class. I loved attending class! He made learning french fun and interesting and brought the language to real world applications such as looking for a roommate or apartment by browsing real ads online. I would definitely recommend taking French with him if you want to gain a true understanding of the language, not just pass a class.



FR 102 Junior Grade Earned: B Elective 6:25 pm, Mar 20, 2012 Report Evaluation		I came to Poly Ratings to give Prof Kennelly a good rating, and am in shock at the negative comments. The students who wrote them must have been unhappy with their grades and wanted to place the blame with someone other than themselves. Prof Kennelly’s classes (I’ve taken two) are not easy. Does anyone know of anyone who has learned a foreign language in an easy class? I also agree that his grading of the tests is demanding, but on the whole the tests themselves are not all that difficult. Homework counts for an incredibly easy 20% of the grade, participation 10%, this term an easy video project 10%, and tests only 60%. Extra credit differed in the two terms, but was still 5% of the final grade. Even if one only scored 50% on the tests, that is still a C in the class if you put effort in the other categories. His class is very good for at least four things that Prof Kennelly is consistent about doing: 1. He tells the class from day one what to expect. 2. He is always in his office during scheduled office hours, and is willing to help students who want/need extra help. 3. He informs everyone the first day and many times throughout the quarter what to do in order to succeed in his class. A. Do the reading before class, B. Participate in class, and C. Reinforce the lesson with the homework. When I have followed his advice, I’ve done well. 4. He takes an otherwise tedious, difficult subject and makes learning it fun. Very few students are bored or fall asleep in the class. My advice to you is simple; if you are looking for an easy class, look somewhere else. However, if you are willing to put in the effort, you won’t regret taking his classes.

FR 122 Junior Grade Earned: C Required (Support) 11:07 am, Feb 21, 2012 Report Evaluation		This professor is quite possibly the biggest joke in the department. His standards are ridiculous. Take his class if you enjoy working extremely hard for a C. He's not helpful when you go and see him--he mostly just talks about how you should be studying harder and makes you feel like an idiot. He takes full points off if you miss an accent!!! He is the WORST professor I have ever had at Poly. Avoid him at ALL costs.

FR 102 Freshman Grade Earned: F Required (Support) 5:48 pm, Apr 23, 2011 Report Evaluation		Brian was an awful teacher. He goes 100 miles an hour, wether you can keep up or not and he is not afraid to leave you in the dust. If you don't go to class, he lectures you in front of everyone the next day. His tests are impossible, points are taken off for the smallest of things including accent marks. He will fool you into thinking he is a funny guy but once grades come out you will hate him. The only positive aspect of this class was the online homework, which you get 100% if you complete it on time, correct or not. Even so, it is not enough to boost your grade. Extra credit is 5% but you have to travel to either the the Bay or LA for a french event and then write a paper on top of it. Overall, awful teacher, get anyone else if you can! Or better yet, don't take French!

FR 102 Sophomore Grade Earned: C Required (Major) 11:57 am, Mar 19, 2011 Report Evaluation		Don't get me wrong, I really liked Professor Kennelly as a lecturer, but when it came to testing, he was completely unrealistic. The lectures were really fun and I enjoyed going to class most of the time. But his tests were impossible. And he marks off for everything, so if I made a mistake that didn't even pertain to the question, I didn't receive any credit for the question. Believe me, I understand French, but the way he tests isn't fair for a beginning level French class. Great professor, not so great tester.

HUM 310 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 2:27 pm, Aug 2, 2010 Report Evaluation		Kennelly is an enthusiastic professor. I loved going to his class because there was always something to look forward to. The books we read were very interesting and I learned more than I expected in this class. However, I do think he has a strong bias, he favors those who speak out in class. I believe that is what set me back from those students who got an A. I know there were other students in the same boat as me and would agree.

FR 350 Junior Grade Earned: D General Ed 7:53 pm, Jun 17, 2010 Report Evaluation		This is the most entertaining GE course you\'ll take here at CP. The guy is extremely melodramatic and he will make inside jokes and silly references all the time. He doesn\'t present the information very well at all. Actually he doesn\'t present it at all. He just prances about in the front of the class prompting us with various questions about the texts. He gives way to much to read, but maybe that is because I am a ME student and I was more focused on thermodynamics and other classes that are more applicable to the real world.



FR 101 5th Year Senior Grade Earned: A Elective 8:08 pm, Jan 22, 2010 Report Evaluation		amazing teacher. one of my favorites, hands down

FR 122 Senior Grade Earned: N/A Elective 1:58 am, Jan 8, 2010 Report Evaluation		Guarantee? It\'s almost been a year and no one has responded......I took a class with Kennelly and found that I learned more in his class than in other French courses I\'ve taken, due mainly to the fact that he pushes you to excel instead of making the class cake like most professors. You get out what you put in. In your case I don\'t think it was the professor who was full of themselves. Good luck to you in the future.

FR 122 Junior Grade Earned: N/A Required (Major) 8:07 pm, Mar 19, 2009 Report Evaluation		Well, it's not like I have a choice. I have to take his class for my major. I came on thinking that someone would have sign him up already, but it only confirmed that everyone is afraid to speak out. This professor constantly puts Americans down and he calls us all hillbillies in class because we use prepositions at the end of a sentence. He constantly makes innappropriate comments, and says he doesn't want to ofend, but he does anyway. He mocks students when they dont pronounce French right and embarrasess them infront of everyone. A friend of mine, who I will not mention, told me that once she took a Humanities Class with him, which dealt with the racism in South Africa and she told me that he made her feel completely uncomfortable. She is Black. He acts like he is better than eveyone else and there are many in my class that will support what I am saying. I hope that by putting this professor on your list others may step up and comment on what I have put on this blog. Besides, he makes students afraid with the way he teaches. The midterms' averages for french 122 for this quarter have been 59% for the first one and 63% for the second one. 4 people scored over 90% in the second midterm, in a class of over 35 students, and that is because they have already had previous french advanced instruction knowledge. I am fed up. I am also writing this because he is the only professor I've had who has not given out a class evaluation form for students to fill out. What is up with that? I thought we lived in a democracy where people may have a chance to express their discontent. Please allow this to be added to your list. I guarantee others will respond.

HUM 310 Junior Grade Earned: B General Ed 10:09 pm, Dec 16, 2008 Report Evaluation		Kennelly is such an awesome dude. He's super quirky and off the wall, which keeps lectures interesting. He's enthusiastic about his subjects and very into class discussion - he's always asking your opinion and getting students involved. The class itself was Humanities South Africa, and considering Kennelly's South African, he was pretty knowledgeable on the subject. I took it over summer so it was a ton of reading squashed into 5 weeks, but it was all interesting and so eye-opening. Overall an awesome class, and an equally awesome professor.

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