Spring 2022 Course Evaluations

for his time. He also yelled at a couple students when they asked about grades on the writing assignment when they came up to him after class confused about grading. Every class he sat in the front with his headphones in, doing his own work and not paying attention. Finally, he told a couple students that the only reason he decided to be a TA was to get the recommendation. It is laughable that he was paid to do what he did. Professor Robertson is a very likable professor. However, I would recommend that next year the Dean chooses a T.A that is more approachable. Leon is a nightmare to say the least and is overall a stormy cloud every single time he enters the room. Poor choice in TA for a good professor. TA Leon Rotenstein was, in a word, rude. He was not approachable, and we overheard him in the beginning of the semester claim that he was only acting as a TA for the professor’s recommendation letter and did not understand how we were having so many questions about such an "easy" class. We have had 1 (one) review session throughout the entirety of the semester - whereas we have had over 11 (eleven) in our Contracts II class, which is only 3 credits. It is truly a disappointment and has left me with a negative attitude towards torts (and even some TAs), and feeling unprepared for the final. Torts TA Feedback - Leon was by far the most ineffective teaching assistant I have had in my academic career. While I understand TA’s are busy and have their own academic priorities Leon’s communication was not only rude but defensive. His ability to explain something is as follows: "you’re overcomplicating it" to any type of question asked not just by myself but by other classmates during his review sessions. His reviews consisted of him reading off of the slides which were screenshots of his outline. I say this about his reviews because the other TAs for our courses are equally as busy and they take time to make or re-use slides that thoughtfully address how to analyze issues and give examples or tips on how to approach an essay. I don’t express my statements above because I dislike Leon as a person but I am providing this feedback because Professor Lipshaw received harsh feedback as well and it made him a more thoughtful and effective professor this semester such that I felt my learning improved in quality. The quality of my learning is why I am deeply upset that my tuition money was wasted on a TA who does not have the skills to explain the content or desire to help others in the legal profession learn. My intent with this feedback is to improve who gets chosen as the Torts TA. Overall, I feel like Professor Robertson really cares about us and tried to the best of his ability to help us in any way he could throughout this course. Leon the TA was not helpful and somewhat degrading to students The TA, Leon, was one of the rudest people I’ve ever met. He constantly would yell at us and belittle us for simple questions. He was unapproachable and not helpful. He said in the beginning of the semester that he did not care to help us and was only here for the professor’s recommendation. I look forward to taking future classes with professor R, specifically his law and economics class.

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