Reviews for Arnett W. Gaston
Average Rating:| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A August 11, 2011, 11:00 am | This class is the epitome of state-based college education failing to do what its supposed to: actually teach and assess the students on what they have learned. I kid you not, this has been the most pathetic, easiest class I have taken at UMD, and I feel all the worse for wasting my time having taken it- I know I learned pretty much nothing, even though I did get an A in the end. Then again, grades don't count for much in such classes, and let's face it, in most classes at UMD. Just a note: don't bother studying for the exams- I got an A on the final and the second exam just by purely guessing on all the questions, and even though I studied for the first exam, I got a B on that one. Lesson to be learned: This class is a crapshoot, and a complete waste of time. Oh, and its a good way to meet other mostly nonchalant students who have no goals/no cares in life- 90% of the class was on FB or talking about the "next big party" at Cornerstone. Uh-uh. Makes me worry for the future of the CJ system here in the U.S. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A May 22, 2011, 8:19 am | class wasn't as easy as everyone makes it out to be..you still need to either go to lecture and listen (which I didn't do) or read the book (the night before - which is what i did). you should still expect to do some level of work. i feel like a lot of people that didn't get A's were the people that either messed up on one test (ugh our first test didn't follow the book, but the other two were fine..i just learned to know every bullet on the study guide) or didn't go to discussion. my advice is this: - read the book and know the random details because he asks about them - make sure you can address each bullet point on the study guide - i feel like that he takes his test and literally writes what exactly is on it on his study guide - you really don't need to go to class - definitely go to discussion and make sure you do your papers properly perhaps it was just my TA that graded harsher than the other TAs, but you do need to put in effort into the papers (i still did fine but a few of my friends tried to bs a bit and their grade reflected that she knew it). also apparently they massively screwed up assigning final grades so i presume they're fixing that over the next couple of days. class was boring, but my SB is out of the way. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A- May 21, 2011, 9:39 pm | easiest class at UMD. if you've ever watched law and order you already know half the course. everything is super easy, quizzes are free points. gaston is pretty interesting. he was the warden at Rikers Island for over 20 years. he knows pretty much everything there is to know about the subject and has a lot of cool stories. easiest A ever, take it. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A May 20, 2011, 4:19 pm | This is a very easy class. Did not really focus and can study for test the nigth before the exam. But sometimes Gaston does stuff that can screw people over like making the first test based on another book that we never read. Also dont need to come to lecture (his lectures arent really helpful for the tests) but need to go to discussion for participation. |
| Kris10 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A May 17, 2011, 10:07 am | This man is hilarious!! He makes the course very understandable and very easy to get a good grade in. For example, the 12 online quizzes we have to do (which he later called "a lot of work" even though they each only take 10 minutes) are easy to begin with; we are given 3 attempts at them, with the correct answers given after each attempt, so only 2 attempts are really needed for full credit. He has great stories to tell and he truly is experienced in this field. Don't expect him to take any crap though: while he handled the guys dressed up as 5 bananas and 1 monkey running through our class and dancing to music quite well, his response to a girl in the last row who asked "Could you please speak up a little bit?" was "Could you please move up a little bit?" If you're gonna take this class, use common sense. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: B May 14, 2011, 7:02 pm | The 42 reviews under this all advise you to take Professor Gaston's class. This semester he decided to use a different book (not the one he has been using for the past ten years) and yet he still used the same exam for the book last semester?? he is an awful teacher. he changed his syllabus at least ten different times. the tai have is the most incompetent teacher i have ever had. she is difficult to work with and unwilling to help. I emailed her multiple times and got no response on many different occassions. i do NOT recommend this class. I thought it was gonna be an easy A and help my gpa instead I am working to get a good grade |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A April 13, 2011, 8:27 pm | Single handedly the best and easiest class I've taken at UMD. It's so easy. Please take it. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A April 11, 2011, 8:27 pm | Awful teacher. Changed the syllabus 10 times and based the first test off last years book. The whole course and criminal justice dept. in general is a joke. This class is really easy. The only difficult part is dealing with incompetent TAs and Gaston. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS452 Grade Expected: A January 25, 2011, 12:43 pm | BEST. PROFESSOR. EVER. |
| thewit691 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A December 20, 2010, 1:20 pm | Grade A badass. This guy used to run Rikers Island Correctional. Lectures are average except for the occasional story about shooting someone or something. I never went and wound up with a 89.4. An A is definitely possible as long as you work hard on the two papers (~4 pages) and take the quizzes until you get an A. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A- December 20, 2010, 7:20 am | Dr. Gaston is kind of a tool, to be completely honest. Yes, he has funny stories. Yes, he knows a lot about the material. And yes, he's a jolly fat man. However, he made things needlessly difficult around exam time. For instance, instead of leaving the Final Study Guide up during finals week, he took it down to prove a point. What that point is? I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that dozens of students complained; after all, we all have other exams to study for, so we had a very reasonable expectation that the study guide would remain up through the exam date. After receiving these complaints, Gaston sent an icy e-mail to the entire class claiming that a study guide is a priviledge, not a right (fair enough), and that we shouldn't have expected it to remain up through finals week (wtf?). He did several things like this throughout the semester, but this was the most recent example of his strangely arbitrary class expectations. Still, the class is absurdly easy, which is why I gave it three stars. I went to lecture a grand total of two times, and missed pretty much all of my discussion sections. Still got an A. Dealing with Gaston's frustrating idiosyncracies is probably worth the ridiculously easy A. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A December 18, 2010, 9:31 am | hes good. but definitely puts obscure questions on the test. he eventually curves the tests so it evens out. if you get maja, run for your life. she is very strict in terms of grading so it's really hard to please her. |
| tennisace147 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A December 17, 2010, 1:24 pm | CCJS100 is one of the easiest classes on campus, no question. He takes material straight from the book. However, Prof. Gaston himself is not a great person. He posted a final exam study guide, but took it down in the middle of the week (the final was on Saturday, the last day of finals). He also has not been very forgiving or courteous in email contact I have had with him. Overall, I recommend the course for an easy A, but don't expect a great professor experience. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A December 15, 2010, 5:55 pm | The lectures are kind of boring. They're easy to fall asleep in. I'm not even sure if they're worth your time. Just read the book and articles and you'll ace the exams. However, going along with what everyone else has been saying, if you can take the H-version, DO IT! Since lecture only meets once a week for an hour, you don't really get to know Gaston, but he's a great guy with interesting stories, grades easier than the TAs, and discussions are probably more enriching than the lecture. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A December 13, 2010, 2:29 pm | Dr. Gaston is a really really cool teacher. CCJS100 is a very easy course, and you could probably get a B in it without doing any reading if you watch a lot of Law and Order. But why do that? Gaston's lectures are very interesting and informative, and he himself is a very fascinating individual. You won't be falling asleep in lecture. From what I've heard, definitely take the honors version if you can because he leads the discussions. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A December 6, 2010, 6:46 am | I feel like if you don't have him for the Honors version then you wont have that great of a view on him, but during the honors section we get some pretty good discussions going and actually learn stuff during discussion as opposed to lecture. This class also allows you to learn a lot about Criminal Justice if you want, but Gaston makes it more or less optional. You could study very little and get an A. Or study a lot and learn a lot and get an A+. So basically it is a good core class, and if your major is CCJS then you will have the materials to learn a lot. Gaston is a good discussion leader, and a funny guy. |
| mreese Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A December 2, 2010, 10:15 pm | Dr. Gaston is one of the most interesting people I have ever met. Lectures are mostly story telling, which is fantastic because the class is trivially easy and it makes going highly enjoyable and relaxing. Dr. Gaston is respectful and very funny. Having Dr. Gaston for discussion was also great because he has so many relevant experiences to topics we discuss. The only part of the class that takes time is writing the two essays, which isn't very hard. It really is unbelievable that this class is 3 credits and satisfies a core requirement. |
| terp13 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A November 19, 2010, 10:08 pm | interesting guy, but lectures are dry. exams are easy. the questions are all common sense. two papers that aren't that hard -- just plan ahead! must lead a discussion section once with a partner based on a ccjs article. |
| butler92 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A- October 31, 2010, 4:38 pm | very easy class as long as you look over the book before exams. BUT.. if you get the TA Maja not only does she grade your papers very meticulously but she also refuses to provide sufficient review for the exams. Gaston is hilarious so definitely worth taking. |
| zhangsta Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A+ July 20, 2010, 6:49 pm | great guy, awesome stories, and one very interesting class. def take it for a CORE. exam questions for the most part came from the lectures and the book. many of the questions also tended to be very intuitive. |
| vnsach Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A June 1, 2010, 10:17 pm | This class is incredibly easy. I did not buy the books, go to lecture or discussion (in the honors section Gaston is your T.A. as well as professor) or even think about the class until the day before exams. The tests also have built in curves so it is easy to get at least a B on them even if you don't know the material. If you want to fulfill a CORE, this is a great option. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A April 12, 2010, 8:21 am | Easy really interesting class. Lots of great stories. If you can take the H-version you definitely should! |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A+ February 4, 2010, 3:12 pm | easiest class ever. some of the exam questions are right from the online quizzes. my TA had a review session for each exam and literally went over every question and its answer..so there was no need to even study the book. also you really don't have to go to lecture |
| aschnei4 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A- January 26, 2010, 5:15 pm | Great professor! You may not have to go to the lectures, but they are certainly a joy to attend. Must go to discussion. Tests are multiple choice and right from the book. The online text quiz questions are very similar or exact to actual test questions. Study guides are helpful; make sure to go through them using your textbook. |
| primetime Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A December 22, 2009, 11:27 pm | I agree with the people who have written before me. Great class great professor. If you dont get an A theres a good chance u shouldnt b in college. seriously everything is on a silver platter and the material is not difficult. Put forth min. effort and ur good. As for taking the honors its a great experience. Hes a very good leader and grades with the purpose of giving u an A. The court case project was awesome. Take this class. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A December 10, 2009, 11:54 am | This class is extremely interesting. As the previous rater said, if you are in the Honors program, TAKE THE HONORS VERSION. Dr. Gaston is your discussion leader instead of a TA. He always have interesting stories to tell that may (or may not) relate to the topic at hand. He said himself that he's passionate about teaching, so he's very open to questions, comments, disagreements, etc. Your grade depends on online quizzes, 2 midterms, 1 final exam, two 5-page papers, and the quality of your leading a discussion session. All of these are very easy A's if you follow the rubrics and the study guides (all his exams are based off of his study guides, word-for-word). Overall, Dr. Gaston and this class is very fun and an easy A. Even if you don't have much interest in the criminal justice process, you should take this class with Dr. Gaston. You will definitely enjoy his class. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A December 4, 2009, 4:00 pm | This class is very thought-provoking and interesting. If you are in the Honors program, you MUST take the Honors section of this course. Instead of a TA, Dr. Gaston is the discussion leader. He is a VERY lenient grader, and also has very interesting things to say during the discussion. It is also wonderful to be able to ask him any questions you may have about lectures or the field of criminal justice in general. He has a lot of experience, especially with law enforcement and the prison system and tells really interesting stories about his experiences. The only downside is that he often repeats stories more than once and if you have him for lecture AND discussion, there's a good chance you will hear the same story up to 3 times during the semester. He is VERY nice to his students and turns the class into a philosophical debate often. Other TAs will just give you busy work, but Dr. G actually creates a setting that makes students think and enjoy the class. It is an incredibly easy A. In general, Dr. G gives you study guides that tell you exactly what will be on the exams, online quizzes that are straight out of the text book and very easy (usually about 10 questions, some of which are repeated in the 3 different tries), and two 5 pages papers which are not very challenging. Over all, great course! |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: B+ November 20, 2009, 12:57 am | Really interesting to listen to. He has a lot of experience in the field and always tells great stories in lecture and discussion. Can seem intense or intimidating but is really approachable and easy to discuss issues with. Really interesting class and subject area. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A October 11, 2009, 11:39 am | I did not go to a single lecture, but I did attend every discussion, and I easily got an A in the class. My TA was a pretty easy grader, and the exams are very easy if you read the book and look at Gaston's study guides. |
| FatJesus Course: CCJS352 Grade Expected: A August 19, 2009, 11:05 am | Dr. Gaston is probably one of the most recognizable names in Undergraduate CCJS classes. He is a lot of fun to listen to, makes lectures entertaining, comes prepared and has everything pre-planned from day one, and gives you pretty comprehensive notes in class. I've had him for CCJS100 and CCJS352. He made both classes very enjoyable and I never missed a single one. He is an Expert Witness on various things and used to be a Warden. His background provides some interesting insight into stuff learned in class, but is also nice if you have specific questions you'd want to ask for personal edification. Any one of his classes will be very enjoyable, I feel pretty confident in saying that. One thing to note though: In CCJS352 (Drugs & Crime) specifically, some of his lecture slides and some of his statements about Psychedelic drugs are not entirely current/accurate. For example, DMT has been known since the 1960s at least and is a naturally occurring chemical in a variety of legally available plants; however his lecture indicated that this was a "new" drug that was being "synthesized" in "laboratories." To his credit though, he does point out that there is no concrete, logical reason why Cannabis is prohibited and that we are prejudiced/biased against it as a society. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A June 17, 2009, 6:02 am | There's really not much else to add. Gaston is a cool guy, and the class is easy but also interesting. Discussion grades consist of participation and the occasional short pop quiz, so read the chapter beforehand or at least show up. Lectures don't add much, but Gaston does have some interesting stories and gives random/funny comments. The exams are pretty easy, and Gaston posts a review sheet online. Study a reasonable amount, get the papers done on time, and you should be fine. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: June 4, 2009, 8:21 pm | Like all the other people said-this is class is simple and a lot of common sense. 2 easy 5+ page papers, 2 midterms + final and online quizzes and discussion participation. The only problem I had with this professor and his course is that he changed the grading scheme for the disadvantage of the students to "correct" a point error in total points (i.e. since when is 94% of total points an A minus???) I think he was just too lazy to change everyone's grade to the correct grade. Just beware. But other than that, it was a decent course that did not require that much work/effort allowing you to concentrate on your more difficult classes. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A May 10, 2009, 7:53 am | This class is an easy A and totally worth taking! Gaston is very smart and kind of funny. However, the best part of the course is that you really don't have to go to class, at all (except for the exams). But, you do have to read. READ THE BOOK! That’s all you have to do! Oh, and there are two papers and a group project, but both are very easy! |
| kvizzle321 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A April 28, 2009, 11:35 am | An extremely easy class with 2 long papers throughout the semester, which was the only hard part. Lectures are essentially optional. You also have to do a short 5 minute presentation in discussion once, and participate in discussion. The online quizzes are a joke. In fact, there was a malfunction in the system that gave me an extra 10 points to my grade. Most people with common knowledge of the criminal justice system could get A's or B's without ever taking the class. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A April 8, 2009, 1:22 pm | Gaston is a mad chill professor. Meet once a week for lecture and discussion. Just read the book and you'll get an A. Lecture is not mandatory, I think I went to two lectures excluding the exam days. Like I said just read the book and definitely go to all the discussions! |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A April 7, 2009, 10:02 am | Very interesting lecture. If you read the book, study, and go to class there should be no reason not to get an A. Overall easy class! |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: March 1, 2009, 3:47 pm | Like everyone else said, Gaston is an extremely easy professor, but it was almost to the point where he was babying you through common sense. He is an interesting guy with lots of experience, but he was also fairly unorganized. If you just want an easy class to fill CORE or CCJS requirements, Gaston is a great choice, but if you are really interested in the subject, a different teacher may be a better option. |
| lys Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A February 10, 2009, 8:58 pm | Like another reviewer mentioned, try and take the H-version if you're in the honors program. The discussions, which are just weekly oral presentations of each week's assigned reading, are far more interesting when Dr. Gaston leads them. (I switched from 100 to 100H, and while in 100 I had a particularly unpleasant TA.) His knowledge, personal experience, and sense of no-nonsense humor are what makes this class fun to take, especially for a CORE. Also, I stopped going to lecture after the first two or three and the exams were still not difficult. |
| Anonymous Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A December 15, 2008, 6:18 pm | This class was nothing special: interesting if you like criminal justice, tedious if you don't. Actually, even if you like it, there are parts that are just plain deadly. But Gaston is the man, and he makes lectures worth going to. The TAs do their best to mess it up, but overall, it's a pretty good class: easy and (for a lot of us) required. |
| stanleyj Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: A December 8, 2008, 2:04 pm | Really easy class. There is nothing that is really challenging about this course |
| sleepyb9 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A+ May 26, 2008, 7:40 am | Easiest course in the world. Basically tells you exactly what is on the exams and he automatically curves every exam even though everyone does well. For the two midterms if you get a 45 out of 50 on the MC it automatically becomes a 75 out of 80. There are like 13 online quizzes that you have to do but they are just free points. You can do each in about 5 minutes and can attempt 3 times if you get anything wrong. There are also two papers which are also easy. Overall if you cant get an A in this class you should without a doubt not be in college. |
| gundamwing4132 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A May 1, 2008, 12:44 pm | Awesome lecturer. Very easy exams and hw. |
| Miss. Ma Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: March 28, 2008, 11:17 am | Probably one of the best lecturers I've experienced. You don't have to worry about anything if you have him. It was a smooth sailing class for me. |
| ymccalla Course: Grade Expected: January 28, 2008, 12:11 pm | Awesome prof! okay class. couple test (I think three), one five page paper on a court visit, and a ten page case brief. Attendance is necessary in discussion and participation makes a big difference. If your TA is Amy. RUN for your life. An easy course will turn into a nightmare. She is meticulous and picky. |
| OneManArmy Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A January 22, 2008, 3:29 pm | Great lecturer. Very friendly. A nice easy CORE to end the day. |
| kbe12478 Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: A November 13, 2007, 9:27 pm | An incredibly funny and on-the-ball guy. The class is extremely easy and the material is not very deep, but Gaston still manages to make students want to come to class. The online quizzes are an easy 100%, and the rest of the work is tedious but not difficult, and is graded very easily. |
| terpfan29 Course: CCJS100H Grade Expected: November 2, 2007, 10:00 pm | Took this class in Spring 2006: Dr. Gaston is a great guy. Very knowledgeable about the field of criminal justice. The class isn't difficult provided you read the textbook, do the online quizzes and papers, and attend discussion. I didn't go to lecture after the first month and will be getting an A, however the lectures weren't bad at all because he is very interesting. If you are an honors student definitely take the honors version of CCJS100. You have Dr. Gaston leading discussion which is a big plus. He is a great leader of the discussions, very nice and funny, and an easier grader than the TA's. There is no reason to take the regular versions if you are an honors student and I stress that. A great course to take and made a lot better by taking the honors version with the man himself! |
| xsachinx Course: CCJS100 Grade Expected: October 24, 2007, 7:35 pm | EASY EASY EASY!!!!.. if you want a EASY A on an SB take this class.. the test is easy and quizzes are ridiculously easy that if you don't get a 100 there is something wrong with you.. and fun lecture.. and just 2 papers... |