Western Kentucky University / S / Donald Slocum

Dr. Slocum wasn't as bad as everyone said that he was. Organic chemistry is difficult no matter who is teaching. I can see where he was rude to a couple of people without reason to be, but he's not intentionally hurtful. His tests every week get pretty difficult but his grading is very fair. He gives lots of partial credit and adds points to tests. Just learn the material and you'll be fine.

So Slocum is a good guy, I think all these people don't like him because he doesn't give free grades. He's fair and honest. He'll tell you exactly where you stand. His tests are difficult, and he challenges you to be inventive and apply what you've been taught. He expects studying, and for you to come to office hours and ask astute questions. There are tests every week worth 100 points, but they really don't figure into your grade like that. He looks at the average of all your tests to see where you stand, then factors in your final and the final lab report, that wasn't as hard as people had made it out to be. Do your work, be honest, study. This is college. Take Slocum, he'll make you learn. You'll be better for it.

Slocum is not as bad as all the other reviews make him out to be. Yes, he expects a lot out of his students. Yes, his tests are hard if you don't understand the material and haven't studied. But this class is sooo doable. If you're taking this class, you should already know that it takes a lot of time to get all the material straight in your head, and if you know your stuff, you'll be fine. He gives a test every other week worth 100 points, but they don't matter much. All of these tests average to make only 10% of your grade. The midterm and final are worth more, but all the material has been seen before on the biweekly tests. He only requires one full lab report, and lets you turn in parts of reports for other labs for him to let you know what to fix. He seems intimidating, but he's really fair. I would take him again in a heartbeat.

Dr. Slo-cum,

Is a nice guy, although eccentric, outside of class, but in class is a whole other story. He can't teach, he just talks your ear off, and by the time he makes an actual point, you are so bored and ready to kill yourself that you don't even realize he made a point. He is condescending and likes to make you feel stupid and crazy for even asking a question. He grades based on whether or not he likes you, if you get on his bad side, then see-ya-bye. Or at least drop the class. The final lab report is about 30 pages or more long to get a decent grade, and this is if he even likes you. If you do research for him, he will like you. If you leave his research group he definitely will not like you. Just read the book for tests and quizes. He doesn't take up the lab notebook, so don't worry about it. Just do well on the midterm and the final and the final report. That's all that counts. If you can avoid taking any class with him!! Oh and if you buy him a manhattan drink he will be sure to like you!

DO NOT TAKE THIS PROFESSOR!!!! He acts like he knows everything about chemistry, but he sneaks around and asks other professors about "possible" solutions to ordinary problems. (I hope your reading this Sloscum...your secret is out old fart) Then, in class he acts like a god...cuts people off during mid-sentence, ignores questions, and talks very condescendingly to students IN FRONT OF OTHER STUDENTS!! If you are able to teach yourself from the book or you are able to get a tutor, then you could ignore him and get a decent grade without his help. Otherwise, find someone who knows what the hell their talking about and doesn't avoid questions because they are insecure.

This class was an absolute joke. Dr. Slocum teaches the course like a separate course from your lecture. While all of your classmates are using the applications you learned in lecture and applying them in lab, we're over here in la-la land using some ancient approach to science. He gives you a 3-4 page test every week over HIS lecture not yours and then decides later to count the grade or not. By the end of the semester, none of the test you had studied your butt off for were counted and the notebook you filled out everyweek was not taken up for a grade, so, the only grade you are left with is the final and the final lab report that you spent five weeks completing and is over 25 pages in length. If he doesn't like you or the report, then he will attempt to fail you, that's right, fail you in a lab and keep you from enrolling in Organic II, even if you received an A in lecture. Do yourself an favor and do not take this class.

There was an old duffer named Sloc,

ahhh whose tests were always a joke.

He fell in a ditch,

and swallowed some pitch,

but was too contrary to choke. Hmph.

organic chemistry I with dr. slocum is easy if you can teach yourself. organic II is another story. simply put, he is not the teacher you want to take. even if you make good grades on the tests..you will probably not understand material you need to understand. he is no help outside of class either. i recommend taking ANYONE but this teacher for organics. i do recommend holman, even if he is off semesters.

I still have no idea what was going on this class. Random comments, constant jumping from topic to topic. His tests were crazy, averages usually were in the 30's. Dr. Slocum seems to enjoy this sort of thing, he brags about how students fear him, how he causes loss of sleep, and anxiety over tests. Basically, a real asshole.

They say you can approach him out of class, I never tried, seemed useless. Know the book, or fail the class.

Avoid him. He is a joke. People with English degrees could teach Organic Chemistry better than this guy.

I highly recomend taking Dr. Slocum's class, if you enjoy teaching organic chemestry to yourself. In his lectures he randomly jumps from subject to subject. I found his lectures and notes to be useless. All of my knowledge came from reading the book. The man brags about the difficulty of his tests, and pokes fun at students' anxiety during final exam time. But if you enjoy paying large sums of money to teach yourself, by all means take Dr. Slocum.

Dr. Slocum has a knack of making a moderate course into a severe one. He doesn't lecture, he simply goes over a chapter outline, and tests you on what's in the book. If you can't learn on your own, avoid this guy at all costs.

He likes to put impossible tests together to scare students. Averages are commonly in the lower 40's. Outside of class he's a fairly nice, if eccentric fellow, but I wouldn't reccommend him as a teacher. The one thing going for his teaching is his aide Phil who is great at helping people understand the ideas behind the chemistry. Too bad Slocum can't master that.

This guy should have never been allowed to teach. He seems to be very intellectual. He doesn't care about his students, on the first day of class when calling role he said that he didn't care what we preferred to be called because he wouldn't be calling us at all. He uses the overhead projector for notes which follow the book word for word. He talks to himself under his breath while working a problem on the board. If you ask a question about how he got something he tells you that you need to pay better attention and makes you move to the front of the class. He does not repeat anything and he grades with a curve so you may get a 99 on a test and its a B, or a 40 and thats a D. It is confusing and he is not willing to help you at all. Stay away from this professor at all costs!!

Avoid this prof at all cost! If he is the only one teaching chem 340 then put it off a semester. Worst chem teacher I have ever had. There is no point in going to class, just stay at home and read the book. When the class average on one of your tests is a 28/100 then something is very wrong!

This professor has horrible teaching methods. His exams are extremly difficult and often test you over material that was not covered. He teaches only by example, and expects his students to understand the concepts behind the examples without explaining them. The grades in my class were very irratic. The class average for one quiz was a 28/100. Also, he grades everything on a curve, and since two people in my class had taken 340 before, that seemed a bit unfair. You never know how you are doing in his class without asking. Avoid this professor!

Stay away from the professor!! He belittles his students confuses himself during lectures and doesnt explain the material. He will show how to do something once maybe twice if he is in a generous mood. His test frequently contain material he hasnt covered but he still expects you to get it. He grades on a curve so you can still get a fairly decent grade if everyone is as confused as you. (which is the case in my class and his other so I am told) but you will not know the material which will hurt you on the final and can hurt you later in your career.

Stay away from this professor!!! He goes over the material quickly as if he expects you to already know it. I have seen him refuse to do a second example. I have watched him confuse himself while teaching. This teacher loves to make smarteleck comments about the other students. And its not just me the whole class is still confused about the subject matter of the class.

Worst teacher I have ever had at Western. He doesn't have a clue how to teach. Seems like he enjoys seeing students suffer. He doesn't even teach 3/4 of the info that he has on his exams. I think that the only thing he is good at is research, but I would never do research under him. He is absolutely terrible and I would never think of him as a good person. Stay away at any cost.