Pharaoh, Clay  

Clay explains things very clearly. I asked a lot of questions in that class (Statics) and he was always able to answer them and enhance my knowledge of the subject. I feel that i learned so much in that class and that i have a good background in Statics because of his teaching style. I would highly recommend taking Pharoah for this course. Pharoah is not an easy teacher, he is a hard grader,but fair at the same time. If you want to "learn" a lot in Statics, take him, you'll learn so much.

Pharaoh's class wasn't nearly as painful as I'd heard it might be. ARCE is just more physics, and Pharaoh teaches it better than any of the God-awful physics teachers I've had here (ie Sungar). He's FANTASTIC in office hours, if for some reason you can't follow him in class, since he's once of the most patient and easy to follow teachers I've ever had. He demonstrates a passion for this seemingly bland subject, and incorperates humor into class and always seems to maintain a friendly atmosphere in a class of 35. He gives a few pop quizzes, and a midterm and final. All problems are just like the homework. The homework is collected EVERY CLASS, so many students actually find it hard to fall behind, since doing small homework assignments the night before isn't that bad in this class. My conclusion: TAKE THIS GUY!

Ok this was a fairly interesting class because of the material. I mean it's a pretty good book to make static loads seem interesting. It's odd because you'd think the professor makes the material more interesting and not the reverse. I probably would have enjoyed this class more without the teacher ya know? It seems like he spends eternity on easy subjects like vector addition and then he zips through the more difficult sections on which the rest of the quarter build. It's a nightmare because you constantly feel like you're trying to catch up. Only the rest of the class is as lost as you. I did fairly well in this class but I credit lady Luck. I don't get his test grading. Wrong answers can get high credit and correct answers can get practically no points. Weird class. Avoid it if possible.

Great teacher, lectures very well. His tests aren't too bad. His quizzes suck, but he doesn't grade too hard on them. The Homework grader nitpicks every problem on your homework. It

This guy might be a little harder than other profesors, but you will learn so much form his class, it doesn't matter. As long as you do the homework, and make sure you understand what's going on in class, you'll do fine. He's very helpfull if you go to his office hours and make sure you pay attention to little details because that's what his tests are based on.

Good teacher. Be prepared for a pop quiz the day before every exam. This never fails. I'm in 222 with him now after having him for 221 and he still has given us pop quizes the day before the exams.

i took this class as a support class for architecture and i understood the material. This guy knows how to teach and pound the info into your head (partly from homework every night.) i got a 100% on one of his midterms. He is a very good teacher but it seems like he has favorites. He would ask them if they got it and then moved on. Take notes quickly and do the homework and you'll be ok. (ps there was a pop quiz the class before both midterms and the final so make sure you bring your calculator.)

Clay didn't seem to want to help when I asked for his office hours. Class time was informative, but sometimes it didn't match with the assignments. Homework was given every class and it's due the next class at the beginning. Quizzes are given the class before a test and there was one other surprise quiz. You need to know your stuff for the tests. There is usually only a couple problems on them, so make sure you know everything. If you need help, find a tutor before it's too late.

this is a hard class, but clay is the funniest man ever. he makes a normally boring subject somewhat entertaining.

Clay is a great proffesor, the only reason why I got a c was cause I didn't do to well on the final, but he is really good at explaining the material and he is always willing to help you out during office hours. Some people say he is hard, and honestly, yeah he might be harder than some of the other teachers, but you will learn more from his class, and therefore do well later on.

Great professor, subject just difficult

Clay is a really funny guy. He always makes jokes in class, corny as they may be. His homework is right out the book he wrote on the subject. Tests aren't difficult ig you can understand what he's asking. You get to make your own cheat sheet though so it's really not that hard. There's only one model which is a group project. Choose your group wisely because that can totally screw up your grade, (I'm a good case in point.) I would defiantely recommend Clay for 223.

I have no idea what everyone seems to enjoy about Clay Pharaoh. We currently have a complaint against him being registered with the university; he is disrespectful, unprofessional, biased against architecture students, and an inconsistent grader. The guy wrote the textbook that he teaches out of, which he uses instead of writing things in the lecture. He proofreads it while he's teaching, though, so he changes the material in the textbook as he shows you examples (which is all his lectures ever are). Because of this it is a very bad idea to miss class. When you have to because of unfortunate things like illness he refuses to help you learn the material when you try to teach yourself out of his illegible textbook. Even if you show effort he will not set up an appointment to meet with you in place of office hours, which you'll have to attempt if you are in architecture because he plans his office hours to be when you have your major classes, which are posted for all teachers to see. If you choose to leave your design studio or another major class to meet him he will never give you your grade on assignments or tell you where you stand in the class; he doesn't actually conduct work in his office because he keeps his grades at home. He also does not have a point system for his grading of assignments; if he doesn't like you he can take enormous points off of assignments for little things. Not only this, but when we went to complain to the administration they informed us that we were not alone in our complaints against this teacher. His time has come. Boycott this useless sack of teacher.

Pharaoh is by far the worst ARCE teacher that I have had at Cal Poly. He teaches from the book he wrote, so basically you are in class flipping pages back and forth. The material is very basic, but is not taught well, so it is hard to understand it. He is very unapproachable, and when you do dare to ask him a question prepare for a rude and short response. I had to go to another ARCE teacher that I previously had to ask him questions before the final, and in those 10 minutes, I learned more than I had the whole quarter from Pharaoh. His grading is so inconsistant and varies between majors (ex. a CM got a 98/100 on a test, while an Arch major got 20 points off for the same mistake!). If you are architecture, prepare to get discriminated against. He frequently made comments in class about how "the architecture students wouldn't know this, but the CM's would". I actually got negative points on a homework assignment.. shocking, I know... the dean thought so too. Bottom line, DO NOT take Pharaoh, you won't learn anything.

It surprises me that some people give A's to this professor. When reading these ratings look at whether it was a Major course or a Support course. I am an architecture student and I definitely felt a negative bias throughout the quarter. He is extremely rude and unapproachable in his office. Our group went into his office with specific questions on the project and he offered very vague and defensive answers. I also found it very difficult to retain any information during the lecture because all we did was flip pages in the book he wrote. I'll give him one thing, he does know those page numbers. There wasn't very much homework, which didn't help with learning the curiculum. We also weren't returned our last homework before the final, and there were also no solutions posted. It turned out that the problems on that last homework were a large part of the final. I earned A's in the previous ARCE's, and this one I was convinced I had failed (I didn't though whew!). Architecture students do not take this professor ever!

Mr. Pharaoh is definitely the worst teacher that I've ever had. I have always done well in ARCE, and have a good understanding of the course material. However, pharaoh makes it virtually impossible to do well in his class even if you do know the material because he takes off huge amounts of points for even the smallest mistakes. To make matters worse, he's not only a hard grader, but a very inconsistant one. For example, he would take off 20 points for one students mistake, and then take off 2 points for another student with the same mistake. In addition, he is not at all approachable during his office hours. Whenever I went to him with questions I was snapped at and then ignored. I couldn't help but get the feeling that he was actually there to harm rather than help. Do everything you can to avoid taking this teacher.

clay is probably the worst prof i've had at poly. his method of teaching out of the book he wrote himself was more a detriment than anything else because he felt like he never had to explain anything since he had already gone to the trouble of writing it down. unfortunately, the book itself is not very clear without supplemental information. sure, he'll mention everything once, but if you're ever not on the same page as him (literally or mentally), expect to fall behind for the rest of the quarter b/c NO ONE will be able to answer your questions. your peers will be as lost as you and his office hours are no help. he is condescending to architecture students and is defensive to even the most legitimate questions. he also admitted to me, flat out, that he is a subjective grader when the material is clearly objective. there is no grading rubric or set amount of points that problems are worth so he can take off however much he feels like, which means that the same mistakes can land differerent students with different grades. this is bad if your an arch or if you EVER ask a question that he doesn't like. i got a B b/c i'm pretty damn good at arce, but if you're not...good luck.

clay is kind of a smart ass but all around hes a good guy, as long as your not in architecture, then he hates you. i was kind of a smart ass back to him and so he liked me except for the fact that i missed the first test and it literally lowered my grade by two letters, i would have had an A and he wouldnt let me retake it. not a bad class, just show up

I've got mixed feelings about Pharaoh. First of all, it's worth mentioning that this was the easiest ArcE class I've taken so far. The work Pharaoh assigns is relatively easy and infrequent. His grader was pretty harsh but the tests were fairly graded by Clay himself. He indirectly claimed there would be no curve but I suspect he was bluffing. My final grade was higher than I expected. My biggest complaint is Clay's teaching style because he almost completely taught from the book he wrote. Most of the lectures were spent listening to him say, "Ok now flip to page 92. Ok now flip to page 127. See how that works? Good. Now flip to page 62." It didn't work for me. In the end, though, I feel like I learned the material and I'm happy with my grade. What else really matters?

Clay Pharaoh is an excellent teacher. He has a sense of humor about life in general and uses it to keep the class light, but still informative. His use of models is very helpful and appropriate. His assignments and tests are clear and well thought out.

I had Clay only for Steel, and I'm glad. He is a nice guy, but I just don't his teaching style. He is definitely one of the old school teachers in the ARCE department and is a rough grader. He doesn't do percentages, it's just straight points. Homework is all 3 points each, the midterm is 100 and the final is 200. Since he's been around for a while, he definitely knows his stuff, but isn't the greatest at conveying it...just study your notes or the text or ask around and figure it out. I had a D+/C- going into the final, got a 190/200 on it, and ended up with an A in the class. Don't fret if you have a crappy grade throughout the quarter, just do your homework, do your best on the quizes (which can be tough), and study hard for the tests and you'll do fine. You get a page of notes and the Steel Manual for the tests, which should be plenty. Make sure to tab your book and you'll be set. All in all, not a great teacher, but definitely not the worst.

Clay is a cool old man. He would probably make a better drinking buddy than a professor. nuff said.

Great teacher. Next to Berrio, the best one I've had so far. He presents information clearly, explains everything, and shows models to help students understand. All three of his tests were hard, but not because the work was actually hard. He just didn't allow enough time for them. I found myself panicking on every problem, worried I wouldn't finish in time. One of things I liked best about the class was the 1 page cheat sheet he allowed us to use. Since he wrote his own book, it is very easy to follow his lectures. They work perfectly with the book, including the charts and tables in the back.

I don't know what happened to Clay Pharoah since those last students that evaluated him took his classes. He has definately changed! He was rude in class, disrespectful, and good luck if you don't understand material in the lecture. He refuses to help at least upper division students with questions and even finds it amusing when he turns them away. He grades his exams unfairly. You could fail his class if you get even small things wrong that you should have learned in previous classes. He expects perfection and if you make even small calculation mistakes, large point deductions will happen. The homework load is unreasonable. You would think that you are training for boot camp with the all nighters that you are expected to pull. This is ARCE,not med school. I have never had a teacher that I thought really wanted me to fail, until his class. The only way to get on his good side is if you enjoy hanging out with your professor on the weekend drinking and partying. No thank you. Do whatever you can to not get this professor. It is a painful experience and you will wish you could change majors.

I got a C+ in this class and I worked my ass off. Clay is a cool guy, yet will not give the answers to you straight up. He'll make you think, and you just have to learn how to word your questions. Think about the problem, make up a solution and then have him help you evaluate it. He will kill you with statics quizes so know your shit. It might hang you up for a while and realize how easy it was when he explains it. Class isn't too hard but it is just tedious and repetitive. I got an A on all the individual projects and did okay on the quizes. Just make sure you present your material as well and as clear as possible. And if you don't pass the final you won't pass the class...I think. You will definitely learn a lot. So if you want to learn a lot take him and suck it up....It's not that bad. It is a hard class as it is.

Clay class sounded so scary coming in this quarter. I managed to do very well on the hw, which was do able but it is true. HE DOESNT ANSWER QUESTIONS he does make you think, and his motto is LEARN BY SCREWING UP. So doing well in the class i didnt prepare for the final that i heard I needed to pass. I did not feel confident at all about it but managed a C so good enough for me to move on. Have some drinks with the guy and that might be the only cool thing u do with him.

This class is a ton of work. Take it easy with your other classes and make sure you pass this one. With Clay, the biggest concern is learning how to ask questions. If he thinks you're just trying to get an answer out of him without having to think, he'll laugh in your face, make fun of you, and not answer your question. Learn to "Draw the Damn Free Body" and he'll start helping you out. Watch out for his quizzes because they are on anything and everything you may have ever needed to know as an ARCE or human being, not just 371. His final covers "Everything from second grade math on". Learn to ask questions the right way, and you'll learn everything you need to know. Take Clay if given the chance.

Yes he seems to be an insensitive jerk and sometimes you just need to have thick skin. If I had the choice though, I'd take him again. He gives you the right amount of homework, not too much like some others in the ARCE department who bombard you with a un-staple-able packet every week. He'll never answer your questions unless you prove to him that you've struggled over it and tried everything possible. If not, he'll just blow you away or just nudge you in the right direction.

worst arce teacher there is. grading is totally random and he gives no credit if your project is more difficult even if he knows that it will be nearly impossible. he is lazy and doesn't give and a damn and even if you struggle over something he will never help you, instead he'll just laugh at you and tell you to draw a damn free body or read the damn book even though the stupid book that he wrote gives useless examples. avoid this teacher at all costs unless you want your life to be hell or want a definite reason to change majors out of arce to something where the teachers actually care. avoid him like the plague

ass-hole