Cross, Judith  

anyone could teach and grade better than this lady. she needs someone to treat her ADD

Judith Cross is an arrogent woman(if you want to call her that) that has a very bad attitude towards her students. She does not know how to teach well at all. She does not make class interesting at all. On average, half of the class slept. If at all possible, do not take this lady for a class or you will regret it!!!!!!!

THIS WOMAN SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TEACH THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF TODAY. SHE IS AN INSECURE WOMAN WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF A PENUT. . ANOTHER TOPIC THAT IS, IN MY OPINION, THE REASON SHE SOULD BE FIRED FROM TEACHING IS HER LAZYNESS. IN CLOSING, THIS TEACHERS IS JUST HERE TO COLLECT A PAYCHECK. SHE RIDES HER TENURE LIKE A LAZY TEXAN. YOU HAVE TO TAKE THIS COURSES BECAUSE IT IS REQUIRED, JUST DON'T TAKE ANY SHIT FROM HER. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS BECAUSE SHE CAN'T ANSWER THEM. IF YOU GET HER ON THE RUNSHE WILL GET NERVOUS AND THEN START TO BAG ON THE STUDENTS. WHEN THIS HAPPENS GO TO THE DEPARTMENT HEAD AND EXPLAIN. WE DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS!

Ok, so I read all the other messages on this post. I think some are a little embellished, but others are more true. Although I believe that her teaching style must improve, I also think that is the material as well. Yes, she has a diffuculty explaining concepts, but part of that she says is that a philospohers mind is completely different than a "normal" mind. I agree with the post saying that if you aren't a phil major, you probably shouldn't take her because you will need to go to every lecture and ask lots of questions (be prepared to be wrong on them too). If you take this class you will have to write about a paragraph or two on the reading every week, have a reasonable midterm during the 3rd or 4th week, a paper that will eat you alive if you don't plan for (she gives you a week to do it so ask her about it ahead of time) and then a cum final. Unless you want to make sure that every detail of the material is right (she will doc you if you mistate even the little things), go to office hours a lot, and spend some quality time on the material, this may not be the teacher for you. Just remember that part of it is the material, but if I had a choice, I would take someone a little higher up on the polyratings scale.

Are these reviews for the same professor I had? From the look of it, I don't think so! I enjoyed Dr. Cross's class and had no issues with unfair grading or anything like that. The writing assignments were short and easy, but the "long paper" was a little difficult to do. We had one midterm and the final, both consisting of three short essays, that aren't too hard as long as you study a little bit and ask questions on any unclear points. As long as you follow along in lecture and read the books, you should have no trouble getting a B in this class. Sure some of the class is tedious, but that is the subject and not the professor! Dr. Cross's lectures were clear and layed out in a logical order (perfect for engineers and the such) and her little stories added some fun to this class. Since Fall 2002 was her first quarter teaching here, I seriously suggest ignoring any reviews written before grades were distributed. Anyway, it looks like the same person wrote most of them. Overall, I recommend this professor.

This lady shouldn't be a teacher. Her class is a joke, listening to her tell us shit about her kids and anything not related to philosophy. If you are good at bullshitting on essays take this class or you will have to cheat like me because she has no fucking idea what is going on.

Cross is by far the worst teacher I have ever had. She could care less about the students and will yell at you for asking "stupid questions." She grades unfairly on the exams and will not let you plead your case. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

I am really upset that this allegedly great institution is keeping a worthless piece of crap like Judith Cross. I have never seen a more apathetic, worthless, mindnumbing pathetic excuse for a teacher or human being. Generally I am pretty generous in my polyratins reviews, but Cross has dragged me down to a new low. I was honestly interested in Philosophyw before I took this class, but Cross managed to suck me down to his own level. I really think that I became stupider ever minute I sat in her class. Her lectures are completely worthless and I have never seen someone who is such a diservice to her students. To her teaching is obviously a guarenteed paycheck that she can collect by showing up and putting in as little effort as possible. Do yourself a favor and take someone else.

AVOID THIS WOMAN AT ALL COSTS. SHE WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE. SKIP PHILOSOPHY THIS QUARTER IF SHE IS THE ONLY ONE YOU CAN GET OR CRASH ANOTHER ONE BUT DONT TAKE HER CLASS. THE WORST TEACHER IN THE WORLD.

It seems that Prof Cross has some emotional problems. She doesn't give a rat's ass about her students, her tests are not entirely relevant to the course material, she is far from helpful on an individual basis, and she does not ever give a student the benefit of the doubt. She is unclear about her grading policies as stated in class and in the syllabus, but at the end of the quarter she will gladly define them for you clearly and explictly (and much to your surprise). My advice? Don't take her. Just don't. You'll thank me later.

Cross's lectures were not the easiest to get through and are difficult to understand, but the key to this course is reviewing your notes after every lecture and asking questions. Her test questions come strictly from what she lectures on so make sure you attend class, she even provides a very helpful study guide. SHe goes over possible exam questions in her office hours so take advantage of that! OVerall Cross was a good teacher and I would recommend her.

This lady is full of knowlege and she makes a reletive boring class quite interesting and fun. It is not a breeze and the tests are hard, but she gets you ready with all the info you need, no surprises. You don't have to go to class but it is so important to. She is a real nice woman aqnd there is no homework!!! well... for the most part. If you want to take a thought provoking class this is a good choice.

I have never written about a professor before, I never had a need to do this. I have never disliked a person so much in my whole life. Everyday I had to show up for her class was such a dread. She would make comments about the students in the class to cut them down, would never answer a question directly, and had to most ridiculous tests . I studied very hard to write the answers that she wanted for every quiz and every test (know them word for word). If I even mentioned anything above her intelligence that I had learned in another class I was marked wrong and she would still never unterstand the concepts when I had to go and talk to her to explain them. By the end of the quarter she would loudly dread my coming to her office to see her.I am very disappoined that the department and the college of philosophy have let a terrible, unproffesional teacher such as Judith Cross stay . She has scared away so many potential students and ruined other peoples experiences with in the philosophy major. I don't understand, don't they read the ratings, doesn't anyone care? and why as students do we not seem to have a voice in keeping or fireing tenured teacher since we are paying tution and some of their salary? I think her career is over (20 years ago).

Cross was the most boring, unorganized instructor I have ever had at Poly. She droned on in lectures and her huge, essay tests had nothing to do with the class. Many students went to complain or talk to her, and she was unwilling to help them out or explain the material in any detail. So, even if you read, and attend (and stay awake through) every class, the tests will still be irrelevant. Avoid Cross like the plague!

Cross isn't a very nice person, and should not be teaching. The expectations she sets forth are not what she actually expects. Grading is very picky and unclear as to why point shave been taken off. Although she does know the subject she does not teach it well at all. Lectures are unclear at best. I would not recommend this class. I have heard that Phil 230 is supposed to be rather easy, but it Cross's class is NOT. Take any other teacher for this but her.

First of all, this teacher is not helpful at all. When you do ask for help she finds ways to confuse you even more. She is new but I just don't know. She acts as if everyone in the class knows everything about the material. I came in knowing nothing, however, i do know some now but I am still failing becuase of assignments and quizes that purposely contain decieving material. I would definetly not recommed taking this teacher. Whatever you do stay away from this teacher. At least until she gets fired.

Without a single doubt, Phil with Judith Cross is the worst class I have ever taken. I really wanted to learn about philosophy, but I wasn

Cross is without a doubt the worst teacher I have experienced in my life. She thinks every student already has a solid grasp on philosophy and she makes you feel like an idiot if you ask a question in class because you don't understand a concept. She is the type of teacher that lectures so poorly that you sit in class crying, watching the minutes pass-by dreadfully slow. She gives you all these "suggested theories" which help you get a really good understanding of the book, but she asks questions on her test about material she has NEVER covered so how is one to do well on the tests? I suffered a quarter to tell all of you do NOT take her, anyone other teacher will save your GPA and patience.

First of all the fact that every student in her classes are reading newspapers, sleeping should illustrate the simple fact that she has no idea that no one is obtaining any information. She is simply there taking up space mumbling to one person in the front row. If someone asks her to clear something up she yells, then her double chin shakes and it scares me. I am sure she is not nice person, but I did ok in the class, but I would rather cut each of my fingers off than attend her class.

I think most of these reviews are a bit harsh, but I didnt like the class. I did the reading in the beginning, but I found out later that it didnt really matter. It was easier just to go to class and write down what she said, then attempt to spew it back out on the tests. She said she didnt want us to do that...I got a C on the "long paper" and a D on the mid term, but with near perfect attendance (she passes around a sign in sheet every day) I got a B-. Lots of anxiety, lots of confusion. She is nice, but a little "airy" and not terribly clear.

This is also the worst teacher I have ever had. She does not grade fairly and thinks that we should already know the material. This class was pretty much a waste of my time.I don't feel like I have learned anything. This professor was extremely unfair in her grading policies. She does not present the material clearly, or explain it very well. She's not good at explaining things in different ways when you don't understand. She didn't teach us anything. The teacher has a dificult time in explaining her ideas as well as the course materials. I think she had favorites and gave them the better grades even if they didn't deserve the grade. I would definately avoid this teacher if at all possible. She tells us that some of the class will never understand what she or the philosopher is saying, but doesn't try to explain it any better. I would never recommend this class to another student and would give this teacher a grade of an F.

Dr. Cross is an insult to this university. In fact, she is an insult to those of us pursuing Ph.Ds of our own. I cannot fathom how this charity case of a professor was given a position at *any* university, and find it unsettling that she ended up at *our* university. I am convinced that she does not even understand the course materials, that she grades based on whim, that she does not in any way appreciate the chance she is being given on this campus (which she certainly does not deserve), and that she is too far out of her mind to contribute anything beneficial to any student on this campus. The net result of this course was a loss of class and textbook fees and a huge chunk of wasted time. I'd almost change my major just to guarantee I never, ever have to sit through one of her painfully boring, uninspired lectures for even five more minutes. The funniest part is I'm heading into the final with an A.

Professor Cross is the worst teacher that I have ever had. She brings her personal problems into the class room and dumps her stress on the students. When she is having a bad day, you can count on her taking it out on her classes. This is not even close to being professional and is the biggest reason why I lost all respect for her as a person. Criticism from her is more like verbal abuse than constructive criticism. Does this soundlike a woman who knows how to teach? NO! Honestly, she thinks that 230 is a prerequisite for 230, because when I would try to ask questions to her in her office about anything, she would simply say "You should already know that." That doesn't give me a clue - it doesn't even help me at all. Students who have work experience similair to the 230 curriculum do well and Cross loves them and gives them special treatment. I always thought that teachers were supposed to try helping struggling students instead of stroking the advantaged students' egos. She even offers money to the really experienced groups, but not to others. This is a fact! How can her grading be fair if she has special interests in groups that she has"hired". I don't even think that this is legal for her to do. Think about it. In summary, I would have to agree with the other evaluation on Cress- a monkey with a stick would have taught me more about philosophy. Hell, a dead monkey with a stick would have taught me more about philosophy!

This has been one of the most miserable experiences I've had at Cal Poly. Cross's Philosophy 230 class happens to be a tremendous waste of time. It did not help the matter that the exams were not at all reflective of the homework assignments, and that Prof. Cross was not even remotely approachable.Her lecturing style was atrocious, and she did not allow time for material to sink in. In addition, she seemed to have a severe opposition to student examples which were at all understandable. Do not take Cross.

This has to be the worst course I have ever taken. The subject matter alone does not get very interesting, but the most difficult thing in the world was to sit through one of her lectures. She is very random and sparadic, bouncing from topic to topic without much organization, making it hard to follow. I would only recommend this class if you were going to take it with a gun in your hand so that you could shoot yourself because it is so boring.

Dr. Cross is an insult to this university. In fact, she is an insult to those of us pursuing Ph.Ds of our own. I cannot fathom how this charity case of a professor was given a position at *any* university, and find it unsettling that she ended up at *our* university. I am convinced that she does not even understand the course materials, that she grades based on whim, that she does not in any way appreciate the chance she is being given on this campus (which she certainly does not deserve), and that she is too far out of her mind to contribute anything beneficial to any student on this campus. The net result of this course was a loss of class and textbook fees and a huge chunk of wasted time. I'd almost change my major just to guarantee I never, ever have to sit through one of her painfully boring, uninspired lectures for even five more minutes. The funniest part is I'm heading into the final with an A.

It seems that Prof Cross has some emotional problems. She doesn't give a rat's ass about her students, her tests are not entirely relevant to the course material, she is far from helpful on an individual basis, and she does not ever give a student the benefit of the doubt. She is unclear about her grading policies as stated in class and in the syllabus, but at the end of the quarter she will gladly define them for you clearly and explictly (and much to your surprise). My advice? Don't take her. Just don't. You'll thank me later.

This lady is by far the worst professor on the Cal Poly campus. Aviod her boring class at all costs.

This lady shouldn't be a teacher. Her class is a joke, listening to her tell us shit about her kids and anything not related to philosophy. If you are good at bullshitting on essays take this class or you will have to cheat like me because she has no fucking idea what is going on

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE CROSS FOR A CLASS!!! She was a terrible professor who emphasized making her class as boring as possible. By far the worst professor on the campus, she made me think twice about the philosophy. Take someone else. Her lectures are so boring I found myself catching up on sleep. In a 2 hour class most teachers will give you a 5 minute break. Not Cross she talks untill you can't stand her anymore. After listening to her for a whole quarter I was cover from head to toe with all the bull shit she talk about. If you need some good sleep this is the class to take. If you like bullshit this is the class to take. If you want to keep your sanity do not take this class.

Wow! Cross was a bigger waste of time than I could have ever expected at Cal Poly! In each 2 hour lecture she would cover the amount of material that it would have taken a good teacher 15 minutes to cover. She always asks the class questions from the reading, only to find out that no one can answer them because no one has done the reading on time, so she'd get mad and waste even more time either staring at us in silence or trying to make us feel like crap for having not done the reading. But when you have a bad teacher and have to attend horrible lectures (she takes role), your not motivated to put even more time into the class. Do not take her if at all possible! Especially if you already think philosophy is boring, please take a good teacher to give you a chance at learning something. Not Cross!

I really dont understand why Poly has left this woman on the teaching staff. They should be embarrassed. Although the PHIL dept. at Poly is awful anyway, Cross only adds to the misery. Stop the bleeding. She hates kids, teaching, Poly, and especially helping students. After trying to make something of this class, I had to make some reason to Withdrawl because I couldn't stand her anymore. I think another faculty in the PHIL Dept should sit in on her lectures. Just brutal.

Great Teacher!! Mrs. Cross was very sucesfull in making the course work interensting to me. Although the information was abstract I always felt that Mrs. Cross was willing to help me through it. The work was difficult, but doable. I really enjoyed this challenging class.

Alright, so here is the low down. Professor Cross was probably the worst teacher I have had in my educational career, and that is saying something! All the postings on here are pretty accurate. She is very biased. It was clear that she didn

Its annoying hearing everyone complain about how bad professors are. Students fail and drop out of college because of unrealistic expectations of the course work at the college level. Robin Williams is not going to be your professor and make all your courses "interesting." For the idiot who said, "If you take Cross, make sure you go to class." NO SHIT! oh and i feel real sorry for the one who shows up late to class, poor thing if she gave you a tough time. You guys are ridiculous, Im not sure what everyone expects from all their teachers but I tell you what, Mrs Cross is a damn good professor. She knows exactly what she's talking about and enjoys it. She writes down the topics she is going to cover in class at the beginning of each day, meaning she IS organized. Plato and other philosophers are tough to read, but she goes over every reading assignment in class and covers all the arguments in an easy to understand format on the board. Hell, i stopped reading the material because she covered it so good in class, I just took notes. She GIVES you the test questions before each midterm a week in advance, so you know EXACTLY what's on it, (Example: she'll give a printout of 6 essay questions, and say you'll be tested on 4 of them.) IF you ask her for help, she'll give you the answers to all the questions so you just have to write them down and memorize them. She is very friendly and likes to joke with the students. Looking at all the grades students earn, im seeing a lot of A's and B's from the people who are complaining. Take her if you want a good grade. She's fun if you want her to be, and she makes it real easy for students to get A's and B's

Dr. Cross is an example of what students should not have to endure in an academic setting: incompetence. That's really all you need to know. Don't take her courses. Her grading is arbitrary, your attendance (a personal pet peeve) is of great importance to her, which is unfortunate since her lectures are really, really worthless, and she is notorious for failing to answer relatively simple questions. It's almost like having a sub in high school. No one knows what the hell is going on in her class.

Dr. Cross is an insult to this university. In fact, she is an insult to those of us pursuing Ph.Ds of our own. I cannot fathom how this charity case of a professor was given a position at *any* university, and find it unsettling that she ended up at *our* university. I am convinced that she does not even understand the course materials, that she grades based on whim, that she does not in any way appreciate the chance she is being given on this campus (which she certainly does not deserve), and that she is too far out of her mind to contribute anything beneficial to any student on this campus. The net result of this course was a loss of class and textbook fees and a huge chunk of wasted time. I'd almost change my major just to guarantee I never, ever have to sit through one of her painfully boring, uninspired lectures for even five more minutes. The funniest part is I'm heading into the final with an A.

This class made me want to kill myself. I dreaded it before every class. Avoid her at all cost. No joke. She is disfunctional, scatter brained, and forgets that this is a GE, not an upper division class for majors. She sucks at everything.

Judith Cross is an arrogent woman(if you want to call her that) that has a very bad attitude towards her students. She does not know how to teach well at all. She does not make class interesting at all. On average, half of the class slept. If at all possible, do not take this lady for a class or you will regret it!!!!!!!

When I read these evaluations of Cross when I got stuck taking her class, I was afraid I'd been stuck with some imcompetent bitch. Nothing could have been further from the truth. She so thoroughly explains the material and answers any and all questions you might have in class that the time flies by and most of it is spent in discussion of the material that can go directly into your test answers. I really enjoyed going to these lectures and the reading is minimal and the test questions are very straightforward as long as you went to class and wrote down what she put on the board. Surprisingly easy for a philosophy class, I'd definitely take her again.

This is also the worst teacher I have ever had. She does not grade fairly and thinks that we should already know the material. This class was pretty much a waste of my time.I don't feel like I have learned anything. This professor was extremely unfair in her grading policies. She does not present the material clearly, or explain it very well. She's not good at explaining things in different ways when you don't understand. She didn't teach us anything. The teacher has a dificult time in explaining her ideas as well as the course materials. I think she had favorites and gave them the better grades even if they didn't deserve the grade. I would definately avoid this teacher if at all possible. She tells us that some of the class will never understand what she or the philosopher is saying, but doesn't try to explain it any better. I would never recommend this class to another student and would give this teacher a grade of an F.

She is a horrible teacher and a truly evil woman. She chooses certain students to pick on. She doesn't know the subject and reads straight from her notes and the book. Don't discuss anything in your papers she didn't talk about it class because she won't understand what you are talking about. PLEASE STAY AWAY and hope that some day the administration will fire her.

It seems that Prof Cross has some emotional problems. She doesn't give a rat's ass about her students, her tests are not entirely relevant to the course material, she is far from helpful on an individual basis, and she does not ever give a student the benefit of the doubt. She is unclear about her grading policies as stated in class and in the syllabus, but at the end of the quarter she will gladly define them for you clearly and explictly (and much to your surprise). My advice? Don't take her. Just don't. You'll thank me later.

This has been one of the most miserable experiences I've had at Cal Poly. Cross's Philosophy 230 class happens to be a tremendous waste of time. It did not help the matter that the exams were not at all reflective of the homework assignments, and that Prof. Cross was not even remotely approachable.Her lecturing style was atrocious, and she did not allow time for material to sink in. In addition, she seemed to have a severe opposition to student examples which were at all understandable. Do not take Cross.

Cross was the most boring, unorganized instructor I have ever had at Poly. She droned on in lectures and her huge, essay tests had nothing to do with the class. Many students went to complain or talk to her, and she was unwilling to help them out or explain the material in any detail. So, even if you read, and attend (and stay awake through) every class, the tests will still be irrelevant. Avoid Cross like the plague!

fuck this retarded bitch. If u get stuck with this idiot go to class but leave at break because her shit is so damn boring. also, who studies philosophy? wierdest fucking people. So avoid her please!!!!!! DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS IF U ARE STUCK WITH CROSS.

I signed up for the class without reading these ratings, and honestly I'm glad I didn't. She's not some strict bitch who belittles her students. Granted, she does rush over material, but all you have to do is speak up and ask her to specify. Don't be scared, it's an easy class if you're a good writer (essays are an important part of exams), besides, it required way less work than other philosophy classes I know of.

udith Cross is an arrogent woman(if you want to call her that) that has a very bad attitude towards her students. She does not know how to teach well at all. She does not make class interesting at all. On average, half of the class slept. If at all possible, do not take this lady for a class or you will regret it!!!!!!!

This teacher is the most boring professor you could ever imagine. The only days I didn't want to kill my self at the sound of her voice were the ones that i got drunk before class, i didn't do shit for this class and narrowly passed it but even if i had put all my time into it i probably still would have received a C. This teacher is way to boring to take Plain and Simple if you dont believe me take her class and i dare you to stay awake.

Dr. Cross is an insult to this university. In fact, she is an insult to those of us pursuing Ph.Ds of our own. I cannot fathom how this charity case of a professor was given a position at *any* university, and find it unsettling that she ended up at *our* university. I am convinced that she does not even understand the course materials, that she grades based on whim, that she does not in any way appreciate the chance she is being given on this campus (which she certainly does not deserve), and that she is too far out of her mind to contribute anything beneficial to any student on this campus. The net result of this course was a loss of class and textbook fees and a huge chunk of wasted time. I'd almost change my major just to guarantee I never, ever have to sit through one of her painfully boring, uninspired lectures for even five more minutes. The funniest part is that I got an A and didn't do jackshit in her class.

Cross is an example of what students should not have to endure in an academic setting: incompetence. That's really all you need to know. Don't take her courses. Her grading is arbitrary, your attendance (a personal pet peeve) is of great importance to her, which is unfortunate since her lectures are really, really worthless, and she is notorious for failing to answer relatively simple questions. It's almost like having a sub in high school. No one knows what the hell is going on in her class.

Horrible teacher! Do NOT take this class, everything below is true, except the good comments. This class was the worst experience I could ever imagine as a student.

I really dont understand why Poly has left this woman on the teaching staff. They should be embarrassed. Although the PHIL dept. at Poly is awful anyway, Cross only adds to the misery. Stop the bleeding. She hates kids, teaching, Poly, and especially helping students. After trying to make something of this class, I had to make some reason to Withdrawl because I couldn't stand her anymore. I think another faculty in the PHIL Dept should sit in on her lectures. Just brutal.

This lady was probably dropped on her head as a child. She has no idea what the hell she is talking about and can't answer your questions. She definately has favorites who take up the whole class time arguing with each other and basically waste our time. She doesn't even know how to use an overhead projector!! We had to show her on the first day of class! She doesn't know how to explain something if you don't understand it and even if you take your essays WORD FOR WORD from the notes she gives you in class you will still get a bad grade on it. (She says she doens't fully understand what you were trying to say?-WTF!) How she even made it through high school I don't know. Cal Poly needs to fire this crazy bitch. Oh and that Anna bitch also needs to shut the hell up in class-she says she's a visual learner-maybe if she shut the hell up for once she would be able to hear and could be an audio learner too.

I will say that in Cross's defense, it must be very difficult to teach a class of 140 students. Also on the plus side, the books for this class are cheap, and there is no paper assigned, only three exams. Apart from that, there is absolutely nothing good I can say about this class or professor. Cross is very easily flustered by questions, and when she can't BS her way to an answer, she gets vicious and mean-spirited. In fact, she never even understands the questions unless you can come up with an example. She even told one student that he was stupid because he couldn't come up with a perfect example on the fly (remember that he was trying to ask a question about something HE didn't understand, not teach her about the subject). The notes she presents on the overhead rarely follow any sort of order. Her lecturing style is very dry and dull, but the only way to pass the class is to go to every single boring lecture, which are complete garbage but it's garbage that she tests you on. Don't bother trying to understand any of the reading: just memorize random details and regurgitate what's in your notes, because the only interpretation she wants to hear about is her own. As for the quizzes and exams, they often cover material not covered in class or in the reading. Don't stress about the essay portion of the exams; you will not get a good grade regardless of what you do. The instructions she gave us were the exact opposite of what she wanted; she told us to make the essay very elementary, exhaustive, and thorough, and then she took off points for anything she considered "irrelevant." I don't know what the other PHIL professors are like, but they can't be worse than Cross. If you have any interest in Philosophy, Cross will definitely murder it.

It is a shame that one person has gone to such great lengths to bad mouth Dr. Cross here at Polyratings. Many of the reviews appear to be written by the same person, and some of the stuff is verbatim! Read carefully and you'll probably notice which reviews are by this individual. So sad... This is the type of thing that makes Polyratings so hard to use for students like me that actually care about the quality of the teaching staff, not how poorly one student did in a class. I took this class a while ago and would suggest Dr. Cross to anyone. She is competent and makes the subject matter as interesting as possible. Don't hate a professor because the subject matter is dull (which philosophy is) or you didn't do a good job in the class.

When I took this class the only thing I got out of it was a 2 hour nap. Sure philosophy is boring but the teacher doesnt have to be. Cross is a good teacher to take if you need extra sleep. Oh yeah you better go everyday cause she takes roll. and in a 2 hour class she doesnt even give you a break because she know if she does everyone will leave. I dont know why Cal Poly keeps this woman on the teaching staff, this woman is so arogant and stupid she could screw up a one man rock fight.

Her drunk-valley girl tone was something to keep me in class the first two boring as hell lectures, but after that it only served to infuriate. She laughs at her own jokes (and with exception of the brown-nosing-jesus-loves-everyone freshman in first row), and that's all who laugh at them. They're not even jokes really.. more like she said something that reminded her of something not even remotely funny or interesting, and then she proceeds to tell the 170 moaning students about it. Time after time I was speachless as to how someone who can teach an esoteric (because no one cares enough I suppose) and boring subject not realize how badly she failed as a teacher, hour after hour, class after class. Instead of asking for conceptual questions which would prove that we know what these philosophers are wrong about, she asks the most detailed questions with answers that are even more difficult to guess from. Is didfsdhgisngns... A - something B - something else that's almost exactly the same but not really C - neither A or B D - both A and B do that 40 times per test, 70 on final and you'll be praying for a B.

Professor Cross is a tenured profesor. SHE DOES NOT GIVE A RATS ASS ABOUT HER CLASSES!! I didn't learn anything in her class all quarter. It is a waste of time going to her class and she is boring as hell. She doesn't answer questions well and talks to you like you are an idiot. My friend who got a B said he had no idea how he got a B because he didn't know shit. Everyone does shitty on her incredibly hard tests.

I'm not sure that Prof. Cross actually earned her teaching credentials.....ever. I'm pretty sure she got into teaching at Poly because they were desperate. She started the class VERY unprepared. All tests are basically a joke. Her teaching method is boring and she can't really answer student's questions either. Basically I would say take ANYONE else for 230. I've heard a lot of professors suck, but I have talked to other people and I KNOW that they are better than Cross.

I honestly do not know what people are talking about. She certainly wasn't a bad teacher. I took this class as a GE, at the same time as taking several other engineering classes, and this class was both very interesting and easy compared to them. I enjoyed coming to class. I thought she did an excellent job at presenting the material and letting us know exactly what was expected of us. And she did an excellent job of clarifying people's questions as well. There are quizzes once a week (piece of cake) and 2 tests and a final. All you have to do is go to class and study for an hour before each test, and you'll do fine. I think people just like to complain. They don't know what a hard class or a horrible teacher is.

I am most definately one of those people who left half way through class and didn't show up once in awhile to go to lunch with a friend. I found all those times I missed her class, worth it. Just find someone in class who does go and just get the notes from them. The lecture is very dry except for her occasional crack at something. But you can only catch the crack if your paying attention. I got a A on the first test and then didn't study at all and got a D on the second. I guess I pulled off a B for the final. If you just study the study guide that she gives you for the test you wont ever have to go to class. Simple as that. One more note, when you are in class, it is extremely tiring on the hand to try to write down all the examples that she gives.

Cross's class is a lot like prison; each minute you spend will seem like an hour, you will be metaphorically violated on a regular basis, and you won't learn anything other than the fact that Cross's ability to teach philosophy rivals most houseplants. Overall, you're better off not going. Her lecture is based entirely on the books, which is basically impossible to read, her midterms will test a wide array of concepts you probably won't understand from Cross's inherent inability to present material clearly and answer questions. Overall, she can't teach. If you take this class, hopefully you learn everything by taking it with a different teacher.

Hands down, the worst class I've ever taken in my life. Useless material, ridiculous concepts, pointless exercises and an exceedingly poor professor. Seeing as how we all have to take this course at some point, do yourself a favor and don't take it with Cross. The woman demonstrated absolutely no knowledge of any aspect of the philosophy world. Seriously, this rating doesn't even do the course justice. So I'll just say fuck phil 230.

Cross has a difficulty communicating in that she can't explain herself clearly. She can tie herself into knots just trying to answer the simplest question, and still end up not actually answering your question. She also doesn't respond well to criticism, and does not like to be interrupted. She grades really hard, if you dont go to class you are screwed, even if you miss class just once. I took this class at 7am and was the worst thing in the world, I fell asleep more than once. Not because philosophy is a boring suject but because Cross is so damn boring to listen to.

This is the worst teacher I have ever taken. I now hate philosophy. She babbels on in class about a subject that should only take 10 min to get to a conclusion. Don't bother with the books, just go to sparknotes.com and read them before class. She talkes in the same language era as Plato so it is really hard to understand her clairfications of the book because they are just as unclear. DON'T TAKE THIS LADY.

Well, alot of the evaluations are right on. Cross has got to be the worst teacher I have had at Cal Poly. She has absolutely nothing to teach anyone. She reads directly from her notes, which she often forgot to bring to class. I had the impression that I was doing really well in the class. I probably worked harder for this class than any of my other GE courses and she told me I was doing great work. Then she has the nerve to give everyone a C! Don't take Cross if you can help it. If you do take her, just expect a C, nothing more, and be ready to work without the reward of actually learning something.

Wow! CROSS was a bigger waste of time than I could have ever expected at Cal Poly! In each 2 hour lecture she would cover the amount of material that it would have taken a good teacher 15 minutes to cover. She always asks the class questions from the reading, only to find out that no one can answer them because no one has done the reading on time, so she'd get mad and waste even more time either staring at us in silence or trying to make us feel like crap for having not done the reading. But when you have a bad teacher and have to attend horrible lectures (she takes role), your not motivated to put even more time into the class. Do not take her if at all possible! Especially if you already think philosophy is boring, please take a good teacher to give you a chance at learning to get involved. Not CROSS!

Wow, what a horrible class. This is the teacher everyone fears. Cross is full of herself, unclear about assignments, tough on people who don't have natural learning abilities and hates to be criticized. Office hours rarely gets you anywhere. It's as though she's trying to prove her own great philosophy abilities by giving kids poor grades. The ironic thing is she can't keep her own thoughts straight for five minutes, she constantly stumbles over herself. I've worked my butt off this whole quarter and so far i've gotten a C and two B minuses on my papers, ridiculous. Fortunately she does give completely useless, easy-ass midterms, but they're not worth much. The worst thing about taking this class is you won't learn a thing. I know this is a tough class to get, but seriously consider waiting until you can get another teacher

Cross, her class, her homework and her tests are an abysmal waste of time. She should be fired. She is one of the reasons why the philosophy department at Cal Poly is widely considered a 'joke' amongst the other colleges. She is a sad excuse for an phil professor, and I am disgusted that I had to waste my valuable time attending this worthless class. Overall, a very very poor instructor, and one I expect won't last too long, if she's not tenured. I hope they do let her go. I'm sure there are plenty of other wannabie phil professors who would do a much better job than this lady.

She fails to present material in any organized way. Once she gave us a detailed lecture on Plato and the soul, then came in the next class session to tell us that everything she told us was wrong. Instead of simply starting the lecture over she tried to make adjustments to the lecture as she gave it originally. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a waste of time and my notes were completely useless. I get the impression that something is organically wrong with Cross. She seems to be confused most of the time. P.S. If anyone from the administration is reading this evaluation please work with Cross for her early retirement. You owe it to the students, and the university as a whole, to preserve Cal Poly's otherwise high standard of instruction.

A good majority of the evaluations i read for Cross have made the claim that she is an arrogant pain in the ass, that's because she is. Cross is thouroughly full of herself and one of the worst teachers I've had here. Her lectures are often pointless and disoriented. This GE class is supposed to increase the students interest in the topic and give them a general appreciation for the subject matter. It failed on both counts for me, for three other people in the class that i talked with, and for the majority of the class according to the evaluations. Probably the worst aspect of this class was her lectures. Anything would be better than having Cross as a teacher.

Made no effort to spark any interest in the class. Most of the students wondered why we had to know this in the first place. I thouroughly convinced myself that I DIDN'T need to know it, and gave up on the class.

I really dont understand why Poly has left this woman on the teaching staff. They should be embarrassed. Although the Philosophy dept. at Poly is awful anyway, Cross only adds to the misery. Stop the bleeding. She hates kids, teaching, Poly, and especially helping students. I think another faculty in the English Dept should sit in on her lectures. Just brutal.

Professor Cross's lectures really didn't help me at all. A lot of the lectures seemed like they were on the same thing over and over. I consistently got C+'s on all of my quizes. When I went to her office hours to ask about my grade on one quiz all she could tell me was that she wouldn't help me since it was only a quiz. She was a little rude at times as well. The only thing that I was able to benefit from her was a good nap.

Cross will make you feel like she cares about her student's understanding of the material. She is extremely paranoid of her students being out to get her (who knows why?) and plots anti-cheating schemes for her ridiculously difficult tests. The first couple of lectures she talks more about her stories of violent students and suicides because of her class rather than begining with some useful material. Did I mention that this is a good class if you want to catch up on your sleep. Boring as hell and her lectures are not useful at all. There are many more teachers in the philosophy department so my advise is not to take a class from Cross

Alright, so here is the low down. Professor Cross was probably the worst teacher I have had in my educational career, and that is saying something! All the postings on here are pretty accurate. She is very biased. It was clear that she didn

I am really upset that this great institution is keeping a worthless piece of crap like Judith Cross. I have never seen a more apathetic, worthless, mindnumbing pathetic excuse for a teacher or human being. Generally I am pretty generous in my polyratins reviews, but Cross has dragged me down to a new low. I was honestly interested in philosophy before I took this class, but Cross managed to suck me down to her own level. I really think that I became stupider ever minute I sat in her class. Her lectures are completely worthless and I have never seen someone who is such a diservice to her students. To her teaching is obviously a guarenteed paycheck that she can collect by showing up and putting in as little effort as possible. Do yourself a favor and take someone else.

Basically, Cross is an unjustifiably ignorant and uninformed teacher. For a university professor, she is surprisingly unprofessional and air-headed. Its almost disturbing to imagine that I have spent as much money as I have, just to be required to sit and bite my nails everyday as this woman leans back in a chair and stares off into space. And she takes role. Just avoid her. She'll be fired soon anyhow, hopefully.

Avoid this professor at all costs; you will not learn anything useful. I attended lecture less than a third of the time, missed a number of quizzes, took the final in under an hour, and scored an A-. Take somebody else for this class if you actually want to learn about philosophy.

SHES REALLY NOT AS BAD AS EVERYONE SAYS. seriously. this class is so easy and straightforward there should be no way that you don't pass. there are 7 quizzes, 2 midterms and a final, less than 100 pages of reading in 11 weeks, and one four page paper that she basically gives you all the answers too and says that everyone should get an A on. IT IS SO EASY. i can't even stress that. who cares that she may get a little boring everything she says makes sense and if it doesn't just ask because she is really good at expalining things different ways. i would definately recommend this class to anyone. seriously. all you have to do it go to class.

I have had enough of Dr. Judith Cross! The full truth of my conclusion I shall develop in the course of this letter but the conclusion's general outline is that I don't care what others say about Dr. Cross. She's still untrustworthy, jaded, and she intends to cause an increase in disease, misoneism, crime, and vice. It will be objected, to be sure, that she doesn't honestly want to jawbone aimlessly. At first glance, this may seem to be true, but when you think about it further, you'll sincerely conclude that I appear to have gotten ahead of myself here. That conclusion is not based on some sort of dirty philosophy or on Dr. Cross-style mental masturbation, but on widely known and proven principles of science. These principles explain that Dr. Cross's squibs are more than just Pecksniffian. They're a revolt against nature. Someone has to be willing to carve solutions that are neither huffy nor vexatious. Even if it's not polite to do so. Even if it hurts a lot of people's feelings. Even if everyone else is pretending that one can understand the elements of a scientific theory only by reference to the social condition and personal histories of the scientists involved. The best thing about Dr. Cross is the way that she encourages us to find the inner strength to remind her about the concept of truth in advertising. No, wait; Dr. Cross doesn't encourage that. On the contrary, she discourages us from admitting that when she says that boosterism is a noble goal, that's just a load of spucatum tauri. She, who is astonishingly adroit at twisting words, has been able to convince scores of people that merit is adequately measured by her methods and qualifications, by which I mean that you won't find many of her shills who will openly admit that they favor Dr. Cross's schemes to get on my nerves. In fact, their disquisitions are characterized by a plethora of rhetoric to the contrary. If you listen closely, though, you'll hear how carefully they cover up the fact that if Dr. Cross believes that every word that leaves her mouth is teeming with useful information, then it's obvious why she thinks that people prefer "cultural integrity" and "multicultural sensitivity" to health, food, safety, and the opportunity to choose their own course through life. She intends to create a new social class. Capricious evil-doers, reprehensible knee-biters, and impractical fast-buck artists will be given aristocratic status. The rest of us will be forced into serving as their proxies. All in all, I realize that this letter has seemed incredibly bleak. However, expecting the worst from Dr. Judith Cross means we will never be disappointed. If we're wrong and Dr. Cross does not try to convince impressionable young people that her pr

She is pretty helpful in her office hours, so I'd recommend going there before the midterm, final and paper. She is pretty straightforward in the grading, and I think she gave a pretty large curve in the end. But she isn't that nice, and cares about a lot of stupid trivial things. A big paper that "there is no reason anynody shouldn't get an A on..." well lets just say 1 person got an A before the curve. I wouldn't recommend her, as the class isn't that fun, and she is frustrating to work with, but outside of having to go to every class, and studying for 3 things it isn't that time demanding.

Dr Cross is an ok professor. I think she took to many drugs in her early hippee days, probably like most of the liberal arts staff. I though this class was a waste of my time just like all the other bullshit liberal arts classes we have to take, because I really didnt care about anything she had to say. That said if you talk to her in her office about your papers you have to write she basically tells you what to write, so its not hard to do well in her class. As for learning the material, I learned enough about plato, descartes, etc, but who gives a shit, nothing useful came from it. Why do we even have a philosophy department, do people actually major in this crap? If you do, you should quit wasting your parents money, drop out and get a job!

Dr. Cross is an example of what students should not have to endure in an academic setting: incompetence. That's really all you need to know. Don't take her courses. Her grading is arbitrary, your attendance (a personal pet peeve) is of great importance to her, which is unfortunate since her lectures are really, really worthless, and she is notorious for failing to answer relatively simple questions. It's almost like having a sub in high school. No one knows what the hell is going on in her class

Cross was the most boring, unorganized instructor I have ever had at Poly. She droned on in lectures and her huge, essay tests had nothing to do with the class. Many students went to complain or talk to her, and she was unwilling to help them out or explain the material in any detail. So, even if you read, and attend (and stay awake through) every class, the tests will still be irrelevant. Avoid Cross like the plague!

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE CROSS FOR A CLASS!!! She was a terrible professor who emphasized making her class as boring as possible. By far the worst professor on the campus, she made me think twice about the philosophy. Take someone else. Her lectures are so boring I found myself catching up on sleep. In a 2 hour class most teachers will give you a 5 minute break. Not Cross she talks untill you can't stand her anymore. After listening to her for a whole quarter I was cover from head to toe with all the bull shit she talk about. If you need some good sleep this is the class to take. If you like bullshit this is the class to take. If you want to keep your sanity do not take this class

Wow, what a horrible class. This is the teacher everyone fears. Cross is full of herself, unclear about assignments, tough on people who don't have natural learning abilities and hates to be criticized. Office hours rarely gets you anywhere. It's as though she's trying to prove her own great philosophy abilities by giving kids poor grades. The ironic thing is she can't keep her own thoughts straight for five minutes, she constantly stumbles over herself. I've worked my butt off this whole quarter and so far i've gotten a C and two B minuses on my papers, ridiculous. Fortunately she does give completely useless, easy-ass midterms, but they're not worth much. The worst thing about taking this class is you won't learn a thing. I know this is a tough class to get, but seriously consider waiting until you can get another teacher

Judith Cross is an arrogent woman(if you want to call her that) that has a very bad attitude towards her students. She does not know how to teach well at all. She does not make class interesting at all. On average, half of the class slept. If at all possible, do not take this lady for a class or you will regret it!!!!!!!

Horrible teacher. Grading is biased. She presents the material to you in a very liberal, left wing way and then requires you to write essays on her ideas. The problem is if your views on philosophy do not allign with hers then your grade will be heavily affected by it. She does not grade based on the quality of writing, amount of thought put into it, or research done, she simply grades on how much your views agree with hers. She takes forever to hand back graded papers. The material has so much potential to be interesting yet due to her teaching style you don't get the most out of it.

I got a B. This class was pure misery. Material is very interesting but the instructor herself makes the ordeal unbearable. If you have a job and are paying your way through school, quit. If you are taking other classes, drop them. This should be your ONE course in a given quarter if you expect to score higher than a C. Expect to spend 5 hours PER DAY, EVERY DAY (that's 10 hours per weekend) on homework which will be graded very inexactly so you will not know what you missed. She cannot and will not show you the same effort she demands from you. You will then be tested on the hardest, most obscure and irrelevant parts of what you did on your homeworks. The books are NOT worth buying, though admittedly the beast structures her course closely from these books. Photocopy a few key parts - ask someone who already suffered through this hell. You will have to memorize some nonsense that could have simply come from the class notes. If you are smart, you will not buy the useless books. But then again, if you are smart, you will not take Cross. Avoid her like the plague

Honestly, the fact that cal poly actually hired Cross in the first place absolutely baffles me, but more than anything, it just pisses me off because people like me sign up for these "STAFF"-taught classes hoping that maybe I would get someone decent who could actually teach me something, only to end up getting completely f**ked up the ass with someone who made me feel like I was losing brain cells just by trying to listen to her--i would call them lectures, but that's giving her too much credit. Bottom line is, if you value your brain and your education (not to mention your parents' money), STAY AWAY FROM CROSS!!!

If you do the reading, and pay attention, you'll do well. However, if you want a teacher who will challange you, and who will be interesting and thought provoking, she is not it. She strikes many students as angry and annoyed with students in general. She does not create an environment in which people want to interact, learn, or even exist.

Beware of her. She is inherently evil. I do believe that she may have made a pact with the devil. Or maybe the Devil had to make the pact with HER. She is a horrible teacher but worst of all, she is very mean. Avoid her at all cost

This professor made this class one of the worst classes I have ever taken. The course material was not bad, but she was a very inaffective teacher that made learning difficult because of the feeling tone and comfort level of her classroom. Prof. Cross is an arrogant woman which makes her hard to approach, impossible to get a straight answer out of and she has a way of making you feel inferior if you come in to ask her a question. The homework load is not to bad. She is very vague about quizzes/test and doesn't seem to care about her students success. I would urge anyone considering taking this course that they seriously consider a different instructor

This is the type of class that while you are sitting in, listening to her sloppy and extremely boring lectures you will be thinking about an escape root, or day dreaming about sexual relations with your significant other becuase actually listening to Cross, is equivalant to gouging your eyes out with a rusty nail. Truthfully, the lecture is very unorganized, and the exams consist of an essay question and 20-30 multiple choice questions. She is an ass hole about makeups, and very un-sympathetic. grading is terrible because you can get 100 percent on the multiple choice but completely fail the essay because she is extremely nit-picky, and if you did not write exactly what she wanted to read with crazy hypothesis about in depth philosophical theories then you failed. she sucks DON'T TAKE HER!

I really don't get why everyone is dogging on cross. Sure she may be a bit outdated, (using only a chalkboard and all) but she's honestly not that bad. I got stuck in her class because of having last registration, and after I read her ratings I was kinda terrified. But then after class began, I realized that she really deserved higher than .76. I'm not saying that you're gonna love her, (after all her class is rather boring) but shes straight forward with everything and thats what i like about her. Her tests consist of material straight from the lecture, so if you just copy everything she writes on the board you'll do fine. There are no projects, presentations, and she won't call on you or single anyone out. She just kinda talks and talks, and gets lost in her own thoughts. I didn't even read the book and ended up with a B. So if you need this class to satisfy a GE, i'd say go for it. It's really not as bad as some people have made it out to be.

Umm okay idiot below me...not everyone rates the professors they dislike, and if almost all the ratings on here are bad, I think that tells us something. Cross is the most narcissistic, arrogant asshole EVER. yeah the class isnt that hard as long as you do ALL the reading (don't listen to people who say you don't have to do the reading, the tests ask for random facts not really common knowledge stuff) but i could barely sit through her class without shooting myself in the head. I left about an hour early every day cause I couldn't take it. Don't take Cross and if you do be prepared to shoot yourself in the head.

Ignore the rest of the bad reviews. Judith cross is an excellent teacher who really tries to make philosophy as interesting as possible even though in general its not a well loved subject. There is little homework only 2 midterms (exams) and she gives you a study guide of exactly everything you need to know beforehand. Philosophy 230 is a history of philosophy class so don't expect the entire class to reflect around deep meaningful conversations. She takes questions anytime and asks you before each class period if you have any questions. You can even ask her questions directly off the study guide on test days right before the test. The class is not very difficult if you enjoy a lot of logical reasoning. Also you don't even have to read the required reading because everything is talked about in class. You take 1 quiz a week about 2-3 problems mostly true or false on what you talked about in class the week before. This class is easy enough just show up to every lecture and you will pass. :)

10 pages of reading a week one 5 point quiz a week (2 true/false and 1 short answer) one term paper (she expects alot) two midterms (20ish easy mult. choice, 3 or 4 short answer, one sucky essay) and a final (30 questions exactly from previous tests, 10 new questions, a couple short answer, and one sucky essay) the work load is not bad. GO TO CLASS AND TAKE NOTES. study your notes an hour before class and youll do well.

All I can say is, wow. You numbskulls are absolutely pitiful. Clearly, most, if not nearly all, of the negative evaluations were written by a student or small group of friends who all took the course together and failed it miserably. This is painfully clear from the nagging sense of déjà vu I got from reading the evaluations hastily hammered in by these imbeciles. Because they can’t comprehend philosophy for shit with their diminutive mental power, they give this professor an abysmal rating. It is not her inability to answer these nincompoop’s questions, it is the inability of the student to (a) pay attention in class, (and thus likely repeat something someone recently asked/she recently explained), and (b) their lack of competence in adequately articulating a coherent and intelligent question. Would you be able to answer the sound of a demented sheep braying? No, I couldn’t either. This professor isn’t an embarrassment to Cal Poly – the morbidly obtuse, brain-damaged, hallucinating baboons who took her class are.

This class is the biggest meh class I've ever taken. It wasn't difficult. The grading was fair. The material was kind of interesting I guess (not my major, so others may disagree). The lectures could get very boring, but she does cover all the topics that are covered on the tests. Overall meh class. Take it if you don't want any work outside of class and are decent at taking quick notes (copy exactly what she puts on the board)

The people giving her bad rating either just didn't go to class, or are just fucking stupid. Judith was a very easy going and understanding professor. she had no problem with me taking a quiz or even the midterm on a different date. I took this class as a GE and it was still kinda interesting. The class itself is pretty damn easy, one note: write down everything she writes on the board. if you do this, you'll do well. Overall, solid teacher, and a great person

She knows exactly what she intends to teach her students, but when students are confused, she begins to get agitated and annoyed. She will call you out by you're name if you are confused by what she is teaching

This professor was extremely unfair in her grading policies. I think she had favorites and gave them the better grades even if they didn't deserve the grade.

I don't feel like I have learned anything. The teacher has a dificult time in explaining her ideas as well as the course materials.

This class was pretty much a waste of my time. Not only because I got a D, which I didn't deserve but because the information was riduculous. The professor acted like we were already suppose to know everything she was going to teach coming into her class. She didn't teach us anything.

She does not grade fairly and thinks that we should already know the material. She's not good at explaining things in different ways when you don't understand. She tells us that some of the class will never understand what she or the philosopher is saying, but doesn't try to explain it any better. I would definately avoid this teacher if at all possible unless you're a philosophy major.

This is the worst teacher I have ever had. She does not present the material clearly, or explain it very well. She explains the material on her beliefs and what she thinks. It would be very helpful if she talked about the material so that people could understand it. I would never recommend this class to another student and would give this teacher a grade of an F.

This is also the worst teacher I have ever had. She does not grade fairly and thinks that we should already know the material. This class was pretty much a waste of my time.I don't feel like I have learned anything. This professor was extremely unfair in her grading policies. She does not present the material clearly, or explain it very well. She's not good at explaining things in different ways when you don't understand. She didn't teach us anything. The teacher has a dificult time in explaining her ideas as well as the course materials. I think she had favorites and gave them the better grades even if they didn't deserve the grade. I would definately avoid this teacher if at all possible. She tells us that some of the class will never understand what she or the philosopher is saying, but doesn't try to explain it any better. I would never recommend this class to another student and would give this teacher a grade of an F.

This class was undoubtedly the worst class i have had to suffer through in my four years here at poly. I simply dreaded coming to this class, and once i actually got there i felt like leaving because it was such a useless bunch of crap. The workload for a PHIL GE class was a bit much in my opinion. There were weekly one page essays on the reading, a midterm, a long paper to write, and a cum. final. It might not sound like a lot off the bat but after listening to this crap for 2 hours twice a week the last thing i felt like doing was spending more time trying to understand it (which to this day i believe is not possible). I got by in here by attending lecture and taking "good" notes (what she said i wrote down, where or not this was good notes, i still dont know). I then regurgitated this BS on the miderm and final (which turns out to be what she is looking for). Cross as a teacher comes across as thinking she is superior intellectually, she often laughs at students questions, or chuckles while writing notes and says "this all seems so simple to me". Like knowing this obscure philosophical mumbojumbo makes her smart in some way. I would avoid this class at all costs, unless you like being bored to death by difficult information and feeling like you want to destroy something two days a week.

One word......BITCH

She is very weird, but she is nice. It is super boring. You have to read Plato, Kant, and Mill.

Dr. Cross is really not that bad. She's a little weird, but who cares? I don't. I really can't understand the evaluations below. I have about an A- in the class so far, and I've learned quite a bit about past philosophers. Her lectures are pretty clear, and she has an outline at the beginning of each class that she puts on board. The workload isn't bad, and she's seems like a decent person to me.

I think all these bad posts belong to one person who got an F. This class is very straightforward and is not difficult. I didn't do very much reading, but learned a lot anyway because her lectures are so clear. She also never yelled at us, as this person with the vendetta has mentioned.

I do not see why the teacher is getting all these bad reviews. The class was straight foreward, as were the grading policies. True the subject sucks, but the teacher cannot be blamed for that. I barely did any reading and did well on the homework (1/2 page a week), tests(2), and paper(1) (getting all the information I used from her lectures). Maybe you just need a certain type of mind for philosophy, I dont know. Bottom line...don't blame the teacher because the subject sucks (or because you didn't go to class and got a bad grade).

Cross is really not that bad. Granted I took another class than most of the people who reviewed her. Going to class is a big part of succeeding in the class. I fell asleep a lot because the lectures were dry but I was there and that has to count for some thing. But the weekly quizzes are cake. And then the midterm was right off the study guide. Then there was a term paper which was graded completely subjectively. I went and had her review my paper and she said it was a great paper then when I actually turned it in she gave me a B-. The final was so easy most of the questions were word for word off the midterm. I promise I did some work in this class, but by far it was my easiest class this quarter. Take this class if you are sure you can get notes from someone else, besides that the class is cake. But you have to be able to understand cross

Honestly, I learned one thing in this class. That Cal Poly does not screen their teachers or put up any type of interview before hiring. People ask questions after getting midterms back and she CAN"T ANSWER them, she doesn't understand the language or the topic. She stands in the front of the class boring you to death with her boring lectures. In my 2 hour class we were not given a break like most teachers do because she knoew that every one would leave if we were given a break. The class is so boring I spent countless hours staring at the freakin wall. Overall, she's the worst TEACHER I've ever had.

To put it nicely, This is the worst professor at Cal Poly!!! Aviod her at all costs.

This is the worst teacher I have ever had. She does not present the material clearly, or explain it very well. She explains the material on her beliefs and what she thinks. It would be very helpful if she talked about the material so that people could understand it. I would never recommend this class

Cross is a great name for this teacher -- she made me want to fucking crucify myself.

i thought she was a great professor because she made the class really easy. she puts all the notes on blackboard so you never have to go unless it is quiz day. there are 7 quizzes, a midterm, a paper, and a final. the class is pretty much right in front of you (no surprises). the lectures are very boring though, so it is hard to sit through the full 2 hours. she is very nice and somewhat funny so i would definitely tell you to take her.

professor cross is an absolute joke (so is her class). she is the most ignorant woman i have ever encountered and it is an insult that she is teaching at a university like cal poly. her quizzes are really easy (they're based on lecture notes), the paper is simple, and the midterm and final are essays. it's easy to get at least a B, but i don't think the two hours of absolute painful torture are worth it. she doesn't even know what she's doing, comes off as a bitter woman with no personality, and is an absolutely HORRIBLE teacher. i would avoid her at all costs. philosophy is a pointless/worthless subject as it is, don't punish yourself further by taking class with this pitiful excuse for a professor.

Average teacher. Her speaking is really droning. Kind of a hard class because it is boring. Not a bad teacher but certantly not the best at all. You have to write a paper, take an essay test, and then the final is also an essay test. Just study hard for the tests.

What the guys/gals below said. Amen. I too took this class and have long since graduated from Poly, but I was cruising Poly Ratings for a kick and thought that I should pipe in and let you know how much of a joke this lady is. She is unintelligible and wicked retarded. The biggest waste of space...

Dr. Cross is awesome. She is very knowledgable and the class discussions are riveting and entertaining. I recommend taking her. The only caveat = some people dislike her dry sense of humor. I, personally, love it and I think that you need to have a sense of humor especially if you're teaching philosophy. Her grading style is straightforward and as long as you put the effort in to understand the material, you'll do fine.

Professor Cross. Don't take her. It's impossible to get the answer right with her. Don't put any of your own thought into any answers, your best bet is to go to her office hours and she'll tell you the answers the way she wants them. That's probably the only way to get a decent grade in the class. Or find someone who has the class in a different section and get the quiz questions from them. Because the quizzes are 3 points each they are basically worthless but if you can get good grades on them its worth it in the end. Professor Cross is oblivious to if you are struggling so use office hours to your advantage. She flat out failed me on the first midterm which I thought was harsh since I spent hours working on responses for the essay questions, the only way someone should get an F on an essay is if they didn't answer it or were off topic completely, not if they put real effort in. She is an extremely hard grader. I actually went into her office hours for the final and went over each possible essay question that might be on it and left feeling much more optimistic about the final, was up til 4 am going over my answers and she still gave me a D on the final. Just avoid her if possible. Oh and its not necessary to buy the books the stuff she lectures on in class is whats important to know.

Dr. Cross was...ok I guess. The lectures were normally interesting, but it was mostly listening to the shallow, half-baked ideas of the class that was interesting. The material was somewhat engaging, although I stopped reading after Plato because she gave us the notes online and I just made marks on those during class. You could probably get away without the books at all actually, because all of the essays she asks you to write she answers in class. Try not to repeat her verbatim, but don't write from your own opinions either because you are wrong. You are always wrong. The tests were easy too because she gives you all the prompts in advance, so just pre-write the essays and (if possible) have her review them. For those of us in Engineering, there

Cross is great. You have one midterm (essays, she gives questions beforehand), one final (essays, she gives questions beforehand), one really short paper, and some easy little quizzes. Just be straightforward on the essays and you're fine. Don't be florid like you would in English. Go to office hours, she's a big help. She also works really hard to clarify anything obscure and present the material as clearly and easily as possible. I also enjoyed her dry and cynical sense of humor, but maybe that's just me.

I had a very hard time with this class to begin with, however when I tried to ask cross for more help she only succeded to confuse me more. I now have Avney for the same course and it is much better, Philosiphy doesnt have to be miserable, just dont take cross

Dr. Cross is an insult to this university. In fact, she is an insult to those of us pursuing Ph.Ds of our own. I cannot fathom how this charity case of a professor was given a position at *any* university, and find it unsettling that she ended up at *our* university. I am convinced that she does not even understand the course materials, that she grades based on whim, that she does not in any way appreciate the chance she is being given on this campus (which she certainly does not deserve), and that she is too far out of her mind to contribute anything beneficial to any student on this campus. The net result of this course was a loss of class and textbook fees and a huge chunk of wasted time. I'd almost change my major just to guarantee I never, ever have to sit through one of her painfully boring, uninspired lectures for even five more minutes. The funniest part is I'm heading into the final with an A.

She is very picky. On the final and midterm you basically just memorize exactly what she writes on the board. Furthermore, don't bother coming up with your own conclusions or objections - just memorize her personal objections and conclusions. She says she wants you to learn and make your own judgments, but this is all nonsense. The smallest deviation from what she says will cost you points. Her poor attitude and unenthusiastic demeanor are also cause not to take the class.

I don't understand why Cross got such a low grade. You don't have to read for the class, the tests are just on the notes from lecture, so you don't have much homework. Go to every class and study the notes and you'll do fine. She also has weekly quizzes on the notes which were very easy if you just looked over the notes before the quiz. She seems to be a fair grader and helpful if you ask.

great teacher. i didn't apply myself as i should have (hence the low grade) but she was really funny and gave clear examples on everything. she knew her stuff, and was very into class participation. loved her. would definitely take her again.

DO NOT TAKE JUDITH CROSS FOR PHILOSOPHY. That is pretty much all I have to say. She would just sit up in the front of the class on the desk like she was smarter than everybody and lecture and no one would no what thehell she was talking about. She gave me an F on my first midterm. Now I might not be the smartest person but I would think an F would be for someone who wrote blah blah blah on their paper, stuff that was in no way related to the material. Now I honestly tried hard on that test, wouldn't you think the least someone would get is a D or a D-? And she was arrogant enough to give back sample answers after tests of what an "A" response would have looked like. It would be one paragraph long while she would tell us that we need to write at least 4 pages to get a good grade on the test. I always get angry at the thought that I paid tuition to take a teacher like that.

Professor Cross was an OK teacher. She know what she was talking about and really enjoyed teaching the material to the class. She was very boring at times and was not very good at explaining certain concepts to us. I was hoping that there would be more class discussions about the moral and political ideas proposed to us in the class, but there were only a few. Professor Cross is a nice person, but can come off as arrogant at times and even a little weird. I would recommend going to her office hours, she was pretty helpful for the most part. If you need to take this class, I would advise that you try to get another professor, who will make the subject seem more interesting and practical.

I enjoyed this class, even though there are some pretty bad ratings on here, you might as well. I liked how she presented the material, everything made sense to me when she explained it. The reading was pointless because everything you need to know you can get from lecture. I read the first piece we did, and none after that and ended up doing better on the later tests. I also like how she gives a study guide for the tests that tell you the essays that are going to be on the test. If I prepared with the study guide, there were no surprises on the test. She does grade really tough, and sometimes has trouble understanding what you are trying to ask. But overall, I enjoyed the class.

Cross knew her material well about all of the philosophers but struggled to explain or clarify the questions about the material. She told our class after a few weeks that she wanted her class to have a C average. Once you received your exam back she would subtract 3 percentage points from it to \"average the grades\" which made our whole class mad because she was just moving all our grades down by 3 points. It felt as if we were all competing against eachother because no one would receive the same grade. Either better or worse than someone else. DONT take this teacher! Especially not for a GE class.

This class is pretty easy if you put in a moderate amount of time. I never even opened the book because she puts everything you need to know on the board in class. She asks really detailed questions about the material so you have to make sure you know EVERYTHING from her notes. If you memorize your notes and talk to her before hand about the essay questions this class is easy.

PLEASE WILL EVERYONE LOOK AT THE COMMENTED THAT WAS POSTED AT 3:55 AM, MARCH 29. It seems to me that someone got a lil drunk and decided to check their Poly Ratings for fun. Clearly the results weren't as expected, and then I think someone (Judith Cross) decided to lash out at the people who wrote the comments. Even if she is right about the comments being written by a group of friends, it is a pretty poor show that she logged on (probably drunk) and tried to defend herself. PS I didn't even take this class but I noticed her rant.

Yes clearly all of the reviews were written by one student or a small group of students. Because the reviews don't date back to 2002 or anything.... That shows some serious dedication to hating one professor.

I love Judith Cross. It's really upsetting to see all these really bad comments about her. She's an awesome lecturer. While it's quite boring, that's philosophy. She tries her hardest to make it as interesting as possible by involving the class. The class is hard. You will do a lot of reading that makes no sense to you. The exams will be difficult (and that's what has gotten me my C). You need to spend time on this class. It's not an easy GE, but I did learn a lot and that's the important part. I don't think that any PHIL GE is going to be an easy A. Another plus, there are no major papers due in this class. Hallelujah!

Her class notes are clear and so are her expectations. She is a fair grader and doesn't give unreasonable amounts of work. The test essays are probably the toughest part, but she gives you the possible prompts ahead. In general, I'm glad I took this requirement with Cross. It was an enjoyable class, and I learned a lot. Go to office hours for essay help!

Cross is a excellent teacher to take for philosophy. She tends to get distracted easy and laughs to herself a lot, but she presents the material clearly and will answer any questions in the best way she can. She assigns a lot of reading, but you honestly don't even need to read the material because she goes over it all during lecture. As long as you show up and study your notes the class is fairly easy. There are two midterms each consisting of multiple choice, two short answer, and an essay. Before each midterm she hands out study guides that consist of a few essay prompts, out of those few essay prompts she will pick one that will be the essay prompt on the midterm (but she won't tell you which one). There are also weekly quizzes that consist of two true/false questions and one short answer. Weekly quizzes are very easy as long as you review your notes right before going to class. Basically all you need to do is study & show up and it will be impossible to fail this class.

Professor Cross is definitely a dry speaker, she does her best to make things "interesting" which normally results in unnecessary tangents that confuse the class. If you enjoy philosophy, she is probably fine, but otherwise I would not take her class. She is a very kind woman and has a cool life story, but I felt like I was memorizing info just the grade, not that I truly understood it. Also, she grades very difficult. I thought I nailed every test and got B's on all of them, most likely because she really wants you to think philosophically on your own, not just what the classics say. So if you think you can create your own philosophy, go for it! Otherwise, find a different professor.

Honestly this class wasn't that bad. I took it credit/no credit from reading the reviews but I wish I hadn't. I could have gotten an A, its pretty reasonable work for a GE

I don’t know why Professor Cross has such bad ratings on here: she really isn’t that bad. Sure, she’s not AMAZING, but she's not terrible like some people are saying. The course material is really interesting if you’re into philosophy. She teaches it in a really plain way that is neither too easy or too difficult. She can sometimes take a long time to explain something that could have been better explained in one sentence, but you can definitely get over that. She grades reasonably. You can definitely get a B by just showing up to class and paying attention. I bought the textbook, and then returned it when I realized I could find all of them on Sparknotes. I suggest doing this anyways because the text is so hard to read, you’ll end up reading the Sparknotes anyways. But you’re never tested on what’s in the book, anyways; only on the lectures. Both her midterms and final are based on prompts that she gives to you ahead of time, so there really isn’t an excuse for bombing the tests. Overall, a pretty average GE. If you’re taking Cross for PHIL, you’ll be fine.

I do not understand why this professor is getting all the hate that she gets. Perhaps, due to her teaching mainly 230 and 231, too many people here are simply taking this to fulfill their GE and are without any real skill in understanding philosophy. They then vent their frustrations associating their difficulties with her. That said, I think she is a stellar teacher. You don't really NEED to read the book as her lectures cover all the relevant material, but you won't get a good grade without doing so. She formalizes every major argument in standard form so you can clearly identify its logical structure and attack any premises, which she provides the chance to do. In general, she has a very chill attitude and I enjoyed her class.

What the guy/gal below said. Amen. I too took this class and have long since graduated from Poly, but I was cruising Poly Ratings for a kick and thought that I should pipe in and let you know how much of a joke this prof is.

Dr. Cross is an insult to this university. In fact, she is an insult to those of us pursuing Ph.Ds of our own. I cannot fathom how this charity case of a professor was given a position at *any* university, and find it unsettling that she ended up at *our* university. I am convinced that she does not even understand the course materials, that she grades based on whim, that she does not in any way appreciate the chance she is being given on this campus (which she certainly does not deserve), and that she is too far out of her mind to contribute anything beneficial to any student on this campus. The net result of this course was a loss of class and textbook fees and a huge chunk of wasted time. I'd almost change my major just to guarantee I never, ever have to sit through one of her painfully boring, uninspired lectures for even five more minutes. The funniest part is I'm heading into the final with an A.

Dr. Cross is an example of what students should not have to endure in an academic setting: incompetence. That's really all you need to know. Don't take her courses. Her grading is arbitrary, your attendance (a personal pet peeve) is of great importance to her, which is unfortunate since her lectures are really, really worthless, and she is notorious for failing to answer relatively simple questions. It's almost like having a sub in high school. No one knows what the hell is going on in her class.

I really thought I was going to enjoy Greek Philosophy. Unfortunately the class was loaded down with "contemporary perspectives" and symbolic logic. Any time Professor Cross was asked a question that made her uncomfortable, she would shift the focus from the Greeks to modern philosophy, which she clearly understands and appreciates more. Perhaps if the course were modern philosophy she would have been a better lecturer. As it is, my knowledge of symbolic logic and modern philosophy have been reinforced, but my understanding of philosophy's foundations is dim.

Wow. People need to stop whining and realize they're in COLLEGE, which is not designed to spoonfeed lazy students and reward lack of effort. If you didn't like the class, you probably just don't like philosophy, so don't take it out on Dr. Cross. She is actually a good instructor, and merely presents material that other people have written in order to get you to THINK for yourself. That being said, her grading is straightforward: weekly 1-page papers, 1 big paper, 2 exams and a final. All you have to do is show up (bring your brain), and you should have no problems. It is worth it too, she's quite entertaining when you get used to her personality.

wow, i didn't realize people hated prof. cross. the class was standard. she followed the sylabus which was a relief because a lot of teachers dont. there were three midterms a response to a quote from the reading due weekly. these 4 factors were weighted equally plus the final. the reading was not too much and the subjects were interesting. she even let the class vote on the last subject. she consolidated the arguments made in the text if it was hard to understand. I liked her, i thought she was good. i thought she was funny too, maybe not even intentionally, just her manerisms... anyway. oh, she curves it too. not a hard class, not an easy one either tho. id recomend it

Honestly, I really don't understand all the bad ratings. Perhaps you all simply had really bad experiences. However, it is completely incorrect and inappropriate to call Cross incompetent. First of all, she -really- knows her material and knows how to clarify it. She can be a tad bit difficult because she tends to lecture very intelligently, but if a student is struggling not only will she spend time in class to attempt to remedy it, she will work hard during office hours to make sure that you understand the point. I had some trouble with a few subjects during the course, and she helped me understand it and I earned an A. She is very kind and very helpful overall. I highly recommend taking this professor; I truly enjoyed the class thoroughly.

I know that everyone believes she is hard, and I do think that she was psychotic on a lot of issues (like the scary threats to "smell you out" if you are wearing perfume or cologne and then kick you out of class). But I actually really enjoyed this class. I will say that you have to go every time but you don't really need to do much more than skim the reading. The reading can be pretty difficult, but she tells you exactly what each reading means and basically what you will need to know in class. I thought a lot of the discussions were really interesting and although I am not the type to go to class very frequently, I actually didn't mind going to this class. The tests will definitely take preparation. She gives you a few essay questions and then picks which one(s) will be on the test so you will have seen any essay question that she gives you in advance. I do recommend answering these on your own before the test. It was somewhat work intensive, but all in all, a very interesting class and a pretty good professor.

Cross was a good teacher who apparently is getting a bad rep. Her tests were straight off the information she covered in class and you really don't have to read the book because she covers everything in class. For the final we had the option of taking it all multiple choice, which were straight off of the old exams. It had 50 questions and took all of 15 minutes. It seems only students taking her lower division classes are having any trouble with the class. She's a good teacher.

What can I say that hasn\'t already been said. She sucks.

She is a good teacher. Philosophy is hard. There is not much work. For the most part, it's pretty interesting. She is a nice lady. 10-15 pgs of reading a week. Five 1 page papers (250 words). One midterm and the final. Her class is fair and she lays it all out on the board for you.

Cross's class consisted of 5, 250-word papers, a "midterm" of 15 multiple choice questions, an actual midterm of multiple choice, short answer, and an essay, and an identical,just longer, final. The format is clear enough, and the material mostly interesting. However, Cross does an absolutely terrible job. This was supposed to be an ethics class, but there were no discussions nor opportunities to explore/improve your personal ethics code. As a philosophy class, we should have been asked to formulate well-thought out positions. Instead, she read to us from the textbook in class (which you can find for less than $5 online), gave us lots of things to copy off the board, made us regurgitate the opinions of the biased authors, and even expected that we memorize the texts so that we could identify which author said which quote (that's why she has the first "midterm," so you get used to her format). There was no compare and contrast of the different positions which I would have expected for as controversial topics as abortion, euthanasia, terrorism, and the death penalty. Overall, the lectures are tedious and painful and her grading on the essays vague and unclear, but it's a USCP and if you put in some effort (I didn't) and are only slightly interested in learning, you should be fine.

Cross lays out misleading information in class that will screw you over on the tests. Furthermore, her lectures are taken directly from the book and the only reason to attend class is to debate topics with her and peers and to see her get distracted by any various object in the class (which she may focus on for a solid 5-10 minutes before returning to the course material). Her grading is unclear and it seems that her grading system for written papers and exams is based partially on actual grading and partially on whatever number happens to be in her head at that moment. Do not take her, you can find much better professors.

I count myself lucky to have gotten a C in this class. She was an atrocious teacher and I had to teach myself everything. Her definitions are as ambiguous as they come and she flip-flops her opinions based on what the class is saying. I watched multiple students rip major holes in her "theories" and she ended the argument by saying that that's what she actually meant to say. She's ill-equipped to handle middle-school english let alone an upper-division philosophy course at a top-tier school. I'm disappointed that she even has a job here.

Honestly she's a pretty good teacher. I went to class, I took notes (she is not the clearest at times but she will put everything you need on the board and talk about it). I went to her office hours when I needed help, I studied for the tests. Pretty regular stuff, and I got an A. Not sure what all these other people are doing to perform so poorly but Dr. Cross helped me when I needed, graded reasonably, and gave us everything we needed to succeed (including study guides). The tests are all part multiple choice and part essay. The essays are not hard if you prepare, the multiple choice can be difficult though. There are also like 5 short papers (maybe 2-3 paragraphs each) and those are easy points if you put forth the effort and go to office hours when you need help.

Hands down worst professor I have ever had in my schooling career.

Did all the homework. Attended every class. Turned in every assignment. Got a D. Nazi grader and a pathetic excuse for a Philosophy teacher at best. Do not take her small fragile stature lightly, she is the devil.

When I first stepped foot into Professor Cross's class, I was weary about her. She was a little scattered and laughed a lot, but throughout the quarter, I found her helpful and knowledgeable. I've never taken a philosophy class, let alone business ethics, and she helped me understand the material. She may not be the best teacher in the world, but she's not as bad as some others may make her seem. I was surprised I ended up with a C+ since I've never had a class like this before, but if you're struggling, make sure to go talk to her because she is very understanding. Oh, and don't forget to form a study group! You'll need it.

Professor Cross is being ripped way too hard for how straightforward her class is. She gives you a study guide on what is on the midterms and goes over students questions pretty thoroughly though she sometimes has a tough time directly answering a question. WRITE EVERYTHING SHE WRITES ON THE BOARD and you'll be chillin. There's like 5 or 6 writing assignments throughout the quarter that are pretty simple (dont take more than an hour). She also shows the movie The Big Short that is pretty entertaining.

professor cross is super straight forward... if you go to class and take notes and just study your notes you should be fine. shes actually pretty funny and laughs to herself alot which is entertaining... overall this class wasnt bad. i honestly could have put in just a little bit more effort and gotten an A.

Professor Cross was really cool and she definately helped to clearify all my ideas for the eassys on each test as long as you go into office hours beforehand. I would definately reccommend her as a professor and I hope you find her as helpful in understanding a very difficult subject as I did.

I'm not really sure why Professor Cross's ratings are so low. Maybe she's not that great of a PHIL 230 or 231 professor, or maybe she's improved a lot in here 9-10 years since coming to Cal Poly, but for PHIL 341 (Professional Ethics) she was great. I found the class much more interesting than PHIL 230 (I took it in a big lecture class with Dr. Todd Long). It's an applied ethics class so instead of reading about Plato, or some BS about how Descartes proved the existence of God, you actually get to learn about different ethical theories and how they apply to different professions. As an engineer, I found it pretty interesting when we learned about the different ethical dilemmas that an engineer might face. We also learned/read about how the different ethical theories apply to and the different ethical and moral dilemmas that lawyers, nurses, teachers, and businessmen/businesswomen. She assigns a fair amount of reading, but nothing too heavy. No more than 20-30 pages that you have to read over a weekend (before Tuesday class) or between Tuesday and Thursday class. She also assigns 5 one-page "papers" during the quarter. The term "papers" makes it sound worse than it actually is. Really, all you're doing is completing the reading and then responding to 2 questions about it by writing a couple paragraphs for each one. Midterms (there are 2 of them) are bit more challenging. Each midterm has a multiple choice part (20 questions or so), 2 short answer questions (similar to the questions in the one-page papers), and 1 essay question. Before the midterm, she gives you 3 possible essay questions, one of which is the actual one she will give to everyone on the midterm, so at least you can prepare yourself. The final is about the same as the midterms, and it's comprehensive. It has the same amount of short answer questions (2), and one essay, it just has about double the amount of multiple choice questions. She also very helpful and friendly during her office hours. She will look over your one-page papers and offer help/advice and also get help from her on writing and preparing any of the 3 possible essay questions before the midterms and the final. If you're looking for a C4 class without the GWR requirement, taking this class with Judith Cross.

She is a horrible professor. Her lectures are incredibly boring. A majority of the class is full of her rambling to herself in front of the board and going off on tangents about her awkward life. Do yourself a favor and do not take her. Seriously, drop the class and fill the open spot in your schedule with literally anything else.

Okay, here's the the real deal on Cross: she is not a bad lecturer but lower-division Philosophy classes are not her bag. She is much clearer and better at teaching upper-division classes. I think part of the reason why so many people leave nasty reviews is because she has a difficult time presenting material in a way that a lower division, non-philosophical mind can understand. To make matters worse, lower-division students tend to ask meaningless "pseudo-questions." It's not her fault that she can't answer them. God couldn't answer them. Ask some genuine, meaningful questions and then see what happens! She is not the finest professor I've had, but she certainly is not the worst I've had, or as bad as the majority of reviewers paint her to be. Give her a chance, pay attention in class, do the reading (and thinking!) and you'll realize that most of the exaggerated negative reviews are groundless.

I don't know about Cross in the lower division classes, but upper dvision I thought she did a satisfactory job of presenting the material clearly. She seems open to rebuttals from students and might not be able to quickly answer some of the difficult question thrown her way, but she will genuienly try to figure out an answer through discourse. I did attend her office hours and found her able to answer questions clealry that I did not understand in class. If you go to her office hours she lays out exactly what she wants in her papers and how she wants her midterm questions answered. From that point its easy. I would not fear her class as many seem to suggest.