Valente, Jose  

Valente is an awesome professor! I know it's only week 4, but this guy is awesome and unless he has some massive stroke and just sits there comatose for the rest of the quarter or something, and even then maybe, he is one of my absolute favorite teachers at Poly so far! Not only are his classes outrageously interesting, but every little thing he says is hilarious! He has this amazing accent (he's from Portugal, among other places) and is just a pleasure to listen to! We have a midterm and a final (no m/c questions =( ...all essays) and a rather long paper, but atleast it's not a research paper, and he really has gone out of his way to try to make this paper interesting. Overall, I LOVE going to his class (which is good because it's really late at night!)!!!

It's the 7th week and Valente is still going strong. He is what gives going to college the "experience of a life-time" tag. He is truly one of the very best you will ever find. He is the kind of professor that should be the centerpiece of a lecture forum at Oxford and yet we have the honor to have him here at Cal Poly.

Jose is chill. I've had him for two classes now and im seriously questioning the fools in the history department who are going to let him go after next quarter. Probably because he got caught talking about the poor way in which the school is run in front of an old miserly history professor. Class starts out slow cause we usually talk about trader joes or the beach for a while, which wakes you up a little bit before the rest of the rub. He's cool, talk to the guy in office hours , he's from portugal and he likes when people come in and hang out for a little bit. Best and most lope at cal poly so far.

Dr. Valente is a very passionate teacher, and you can tell he loves what he does. The witch craft class is great and he knows a lot which is very apparent in the first week. The assignments are a little weak and could be updated to the times but it is a GE class so what do you expect. If you can get in I would say go for the class, just make sure you get him to clarify exactly what he wants in front of the class or else it is liable to change from day to day. All tests are essay and rather challenging.

This class is Professor Valente's passion. He teaches the class in a way that excites your interest in a rather drab part of history. Their are 2 tests a mid-term and final, which are essays. One paper which is not a research paper. Attend class, take notes, read the assignments and you will do well. He does not test on material not covered, and he clarifies what you need to know for class. He is needed at Cal Poly his enthusiasm is what made this a must take class, with him as the teacher. He is easy to talk to and will provide any help one may need with the course. It will be a big loss to Cal Poly if this is his last quarter.

This professor is hilarious. He is from Portugal and has a cool accent and he is good looking in a pirate kind of way. He knows his shit. He is a European historian & knows lots of cool stuff. You will learn a lot but about 1/4 of the time he is like a stand up comedian, commenting on the college system, Americans and Europeans, etc...trust me you will laugh as you learn, everyone did. I think Cal Poly should hire him full time but I was there when he was evaluated in 2004 and, here's the story... Valente didn't realize Dr. Barnes was sitting in the class (evaluating him). Valente proceeded to do his little monologue, and this one was kind of risque, using some explicit terms, criticizing the university system etc. He even bent over and told the administration to shove it. Then he looks up and his face turns bright red as he notices Barnes sitting there frantically writing notes on all this shit Valente is saying. It was great. I am so glad I was there. So if Cal Poly doesn't hire him because of that episode they are stupid. CPSU would really benefit from him being there full time. I think the chair evaluated him too when he was behaving and he got a good review from her, but we'll see if they can handle him. Anyway, great professor. Clear notes and expectations and all that jazz.

Valente rocks! He is hysterical! He is obviously passionate about teaching, and brings that passion to class. He does have a tendency to wander off on tangents, but it can be a pleasant diversion in a class like History of the Middle Ages, which can tend to be a little heavy. I've heard that he's in danger of being laid off due to budget cuts. Whether or not you've taken one of his classes before, DO NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!! He is an asset to Poly, which tends to have a lot of very mediocre professors.