Velasquez, Gloria  

I think that she is loco en su cabeza but that is what made the class so much fun. I would recommend her to anyone. She is fun and makes things interesting.

This class was actually semi fun! I really did not enjoy taking spanish in high school, but Prof. Velasquez was really quirky and made class entertaining. Yeah, we did do the saaaaaaaaaaame things every day- but I actually found that the redundant activities helped my spanish...also, if you feel like missing a day, you know exactly what your missing-though attendance is key to getting a good grade...she does take roll. She's pretty cool about homework, i mean she gives you enough time to do it and with the labs you get like an extra few days so thats nice..the tests are fairly easy, there was no midterm, and the final didnt even cover the whole quarter, just the last few chapters that we hadnt been tested on.

Dr. Velasquez was overall a good professor. What I liked: she shared with us her views on life, told us what she thought might help us for our futures, really seemed to care about us as people, and made sure to get everyone in the class speaking Spanish every day (which is how you actually learn a language, so I loved that and it helped a ton). What I did not like as much: every once in a while, she lost patience if someone asked what seemed to be a stupid question and then didn't get it when she explained it; then again, she is only human, so who wouldn't? Her tests are not really hard, and there is lab work to be done on your own time outside of class, but it's not bad. If you have average to good Spanish skills, this class shouldn't be a challenge. Final is just like a regular test, not cumulative.

I really liked Profesora Velasquez. Normally she doesn't teach beginning Spanish, but she did this quarter. She is really interesting as a person, with her book tours, cds, etc. She always had funny jokes about her ex-husbands and/or ex-fiances. I laughed a lot in that class. The work was menial. Some days, with the workbook pages, I just got the answers out of the back of the bood, and turned it in, and still got fun credit. Although, if you want to succeed with that class--you have to actually study it and do the workbook pages & lab pages. If you're unsure with Spanish vocabulary--like I was and still am--make flash cards from the text. Tests weren't hard, although there is always an oral section when we answer her questions & she sometimes spoke very quickly, but oh, well. Enjoy the class, you might just learn something.

Velasquez wasn't so bad. I took 4 years of spanish in highschool and this class was a piece of cake. She had us do a lot of work with our partners, just practicing speaking spanish and whatnot. she was annoying in the way she would call on people who she knew weren't paying attention, embarassing them in class. the outside lab work was boring, but again it wasn't hard. There were two midterms and a final and random book assignemnts as well as lab work due once a week, but anyone can do it that can speak spanish a little. Take her. She tells wild stories about her hippie upbringings in Loveland.

En cuanto a su abilidad, es una de las mejores profes en esta universidad, pero te va a dar muchisima tarea. si no quieres hacer un chingon de tarea, busca otra profe.

I had Dr. Velasquez two years ago. I was reading her evaluations and came across one very negative piece of nonsense someone wrote about her. As male non-native speaker, I assure you that Dr. Velasquez is NOT prejudiced against men or anyone else. I have to set the record straight. She is an enthusiastic lecturer who tries her best to make the material interesting, and she succeeds. The class was challenging for me since it's all in Spanish, but she's gentle with those who are struggling with the language.she expects everyone to contribure to the discussion. She values everyone's input and never makes you feel stupid. One thing-she hates it when people are lazy and don't read the assigned literature, forget to bring their book, etc. She gives it 100 percent and expects the same from us. Papers and tests were reasonable and she made it very clear what was going to be covered. The work load was reasonable, I thought. I mean, it took some effort, but come on kids, we're in college. Finally, Dr. Velasquez is a nice person. I'm glad I took her.

Great lecturer and she knows her material. You will learn a lot and think she's funny. However, there is favortism and she is absolutely condescending.

this class should be called "velasquez 101" because it is mainly a lecture about how great she is. very very full of herself. grades unfairly. used one of my papers as an example for the class of what to do and then gave me a c on it. what the...? it is now my goal to avoid ever taking another class from her. if you're smart, you'll do the same.

Very knowledgeable and a great teacher, although she does have a bias towards femenist writings. A fair grader but demanding in terms of essays and critical content. A Good teacher no doubt, but you had better go to class.

Attend class and take good notes. I found the exams to be challenging, so know the stories/authors background well enough. Enjoyed the topic. Wasn't so keen on the final of acting out your own poem, though.

i got a C or C+ (don't remember exactly)b/c i was extremely lazy. im pretty sure i would have aced all the tests if i actually reviewed the material during the quarter and not last minute (the day of/2 hours the night before). There are 2 tests and a final. 1st test: she asks you for each authors place of birth and what theyre known for and what short story they wrote, and what you think the message or theme is. 2nd test : she does the same thing but these are for the poems (which are much more difficult but if you go to class she basically summarizes what they mean...just memorize that). Final: definitions for the first page and then stuff like the first 2 tests. ---She doesn't give homework you have to turn in but she does give you short readings every night. In the beginning she assigns you a 40 page intro reading which has big words that might scare you off. DOn't quit b/c the class is not like that!!! ---She gives quizes on short readings but she is very good about giving you "hints" that you will have a "pop-quiz"the next day...the only time she doesnt do this is when she suspects no one is doing the reading assignments ***make a great first impression on her b/c you will be her favorite for the rest of the quarter...Oh...she loves people that participate...that will get you up there lol Overall Dr. Velasquez is a great teacher. If you understand spanish well you will enjoy this class b/c she is a very funny teacher; She makes alot of jokes that you would never think any teacher would even say (from alc. jokes to sexual jokes).class is rarely boring b/c she always brings tons of energy into every lecture. she is very passionate about what she teaches and will help you whenever you need it warning: dont take it if you can't comprehend off just listening b/c once you get into class she only speaks in spanish!!!! late

at first she seems a bit intimidating and might single you out, but she's actually a really fun, interesting, and funny professor (as long as you understand some spanish humor). most of the stories and poems you read in class are pretty dry, but she tries her best to bring them to life. the essays she assigns seem hard, but i never got below a B on any of them. she talks about her personal life a lot, which makes the class fun and interesting, although i can see how some people could get annoyed by it. overall i liked her, and i'm a white non-native speaker. she is kinda araza feminist, but it's cool. she's a good professor. purple caballos en la calle........

This class was a lot of work, readings and essays are very time-consuming and there is little to no information on what the format of the essay, or even the topic should be. However, office hours are very helpful, as is writing about feminism, as that is something she feels passionately about, to say the least. Expect to read a lot of literature and poetry and you WILL talk and read aloud in class, she calls on everyone and takes attendance everyday, you lose points if you don't go, and there are also numerous pop quizzes or varying degrees of difficulty.

To start off Velasquez is a good person and is a little nuts but does know her stuff. The things that bothered me the most were her inability to learn students names and therefore calling on the same few people day after day and the fact that when I would try and talk to her after class she would be rushing out the door and would blow me (and others) off. As far as this class it is graded on a point system: 4 essays worth 50 points (1 essay is a poem you write yourself), 4 pop quizzes worth 10 points, 1 midterm 100 points, 1 final 100 points, and I believe 50 points for participation/ attendance. Professor Velasquez grades a lot harder than any other spanish teachers I've had, so make sure to take the time to edit your essays and get others to look over them. As far as her tests, you are required to know basic information about authors like what country they are from, what literary style they are, know a bit about the poems and short stories you read in class, and vocab that you will need to define. These tests are tough, don't underestimate them you need to know everything.

Profesora Velasquez is a really interesting lady. She is an author, and is really passionate about literature, so that is perfect for 233. One of my favorite things about her is how strongly she advocates for women's rights and compassion for all types of people. She seems like such an amazing person, who has accomplished a lot, and she embraces her inner crazy so that can get fun during class. Overall, I'm glad I took her class, although I don't know if I would choose her again if it was between her and other Spanish professors. Shes nice, and teaches pretty well, but her lectures can get pretty stress-inducing...

Senora Velasquez is hands down one of the worst professors I've had at Cal Poly but for reasons you might not expect. I'm currently doing fine in the class (expecting a B) and the workload is definitely manageable with assigned reading that takes about 30 minutes to do each night as well as a midterm that's relatively easy if you study the material. However, she creates a teaching environment that is almost unbearable. Much like others have said, she for some reason cannot learn anyone's name and as a result calls on the same 4 people the whole class. Furthermore, she's an extreme feminist, which in most cases, is completely fine! I wholeheartedly support the feminist movement and everything that it stands for. However, she is so extremely radical about feminism that I legitimately believe that she holds my opinion in a lower regard simply because I am a white male. She constantly cuts me off when I try to participate and instead opts to have a girl or a native speaker talk on the subject. To give an example, we read a play about a woman divorcing her husband, stealing his dog, and then when the husband comes to get his dog she lies to him and says she put him in a pound to euthanize the dog. She proceeded to try and construe this play as one championing feminism saying that the woman's identity only resided in the husband and that she needed to start her own journey. Well, I'm done ranting, this class isn't hard but god damn is it annoying. Good Luck.

Why does Velasquez still have a job? I am disgusted with how a human who spends so much of her time preaching about gender and racial equality is so RACIST AND SEXIST. Shame on her. Every day in class it was another comment about how white students wouldn't know about the importance of religion, they should ask their hispanic classmates. White students wouldn't know about respect, they should ask their hispanic classmates. White students wouldn't know about family values or being close with families. Oh, and she hates men. Furthermore, she went to Stanford University so she is always right. Also, she refuses to give a high grade on anything (hence why I took her class credit/no credit). Good luck on your Spanish minor if you get her.

Prof. Velazquez is a super nice lady. She definately makes sure everyone participates in class and tries to make things interesting. However she tends to talk about herself a lot because she is a writer, poet, and musician. It gets annoying after a while to hear her say the same things about herself over and over. Also, she definitely favors the native Spanish speakers over non natives as far as grading assignments. It's kind of discouraging for non-native speakers to have a teacher that seems to not take into account that Spanish is not their first language. If you are a native speaker you might enjoy this class and Velazquez more...

Doctora Velásquez was an overall joy to have this quarter. You can tell that she truly enjoys teaching everything she teaches, and she has a great time doing so. Calling herself both "Reina de Chistes" and "Reina de los Hombres," both of these are true. She cracks jokes throughout the whole class, though sometimes only native speakers understand. And contrary to some previous ratings, she does not hate guys, and she does not prefer native speakers over nonnative speakers. Her grading is not super clear, but she does try to improve everyone's Spanish. Overall, I would definitely recommend Dra. Velásquez for SPAN 233.

I'm a white non-native speaker, and I really enjoyed this class. The material was incredibly interesting and every reading was really great. The short story and poetry selections were really interesting and La Casa en Mango Street (the book read in class) really impacted me. Now about Velazquez... don't be scared off by her low ratings. I was worried about taking her class after I read her low ratings, but was pleasantly surprised by her. I feel like she has read her bad reviews and really tried to improve. She does not favor native speakers, and really makes an effort to call on everyone equally. She understands that writing essays in Spanish is difficult for non-native speakers, and she really takes that into account while grading. Of course, she expects a certain level of proficiency out of all her students, but she understands the struggles non-natives encounter. There are 4-5 pop quizzes, which are pretty straightforward if you have done the readings. There are 3 essays and one poem, which are not very difficult. The midterm and final you definitely have to prepare well for, but aren't too bad. She grades pretty easily. TIPS FOR NON-NATIVE SPEAKERS: 1) Some of the short stories/poems can be a little hard to follow since some of them use old Spanish. If you look up English translations of the stories, you can use the translation to help you understand the basic plot/message of the reading, but make sure you do your best to read it in Spanish, it will help you a lot to prepare for the quizzes/essays/midterms. 2) Make a friend with a native speaker in class! If you can get one of them to help you proof-read your essays, it can help a lot! 3) Every class, she pairs non-natives up with a native speaker to do discussion questions on the readings. Take this time seriously and try your best to communicate and discuss! It REALLY helps come midterms and finals. Overall, I really enjoyed this class. The readings were really great, and Velazquez is really passionate about the subject. Don't be scared off by the bad ratings, even if you're a white non-native speaker. You can do well!

Honestly, Velazquez is a passionate professor who does care about her students. However, her grading and feedback are extremely unclear, which is very frustrating. I truly don't know how I ended up with a solid A at the end of the quarter because the points don't add up that way. SPAN 233 is not particularly difficult if you know your Spanish well and can write in it. She grades very harshly on essays and not very harshly on quizzes and tests. Do all the reading though, because many quizzes are pop quizzes.

Dr. Velasquez was an awesome professor. Super passionate, and extremely qualified, in my opinion. I didn't pass every quiz but I studied for the midterm/tests and worked hard on my papers. I got an A in the class and it is mostly as a result hard work and the great teaching of Professor Velasquez. I'm a non-native. white, male Spanish speaker, which means I basically I learned a lot by taking this class. I highly recommend this course if you are willing to do the work.

Professora Velasquez is a super kind lady who has a passion for feminist and environmental texts. She is quite scatterbrained and rarely has a definite plan for class but sometimes lets us out early and has us meditate in class. We read one short story every class period/ 2 poems everyday, write 2 essays, 2 pop quizzes, one midterm, and a final exam. She stresses that you should have a native speaker help you with the essays but really as long as you follow the guidelines and keep it simple (5 paragraphs) you should get a good grade.

Do not take her if you are a male non-native speaker. She is a messed up lady who thinks she is the best writer and singer you have ever seen. She will constantly pick on you in class and has a negative attitude toward her male students. She favors the women (could be her sexist views which she shares, a total woman's libber) and the native speakers. I felt completely left out and actually dreaded the class. This is the only teacher I have ever felt threatened by. She loves to make male non native students do all the answering on questions, and will not teach you the correct answer, she will only tell you you are totally wrong. A complete psycho sexist bitch. Just avoid her if you are a male who is not a native speaker unless you enjoy being ostracized.

If you are a guy or anyone that struggles somewhat in spanish I would highly reccomend that you not take Dra. Velasquez. It is extremely difficult to get on her good side not matter what you try. I find my spanish abilities to be extremely good but it doesn't matter with Gloria. Good luck if you ever have to take this teacher.

I hated this class! I had taken her before for Span 233 which was fine, but Span 305 is about Chicano poetry. Every single class she talks about herself and her suffering and the suffering of her people. Be ready for her politics, ego, and feminist views. I almost wanted to quit my spanish minor because she ruined it for me. Every day, every poem was basically the same thing. The material is intensley repetitive. She even makes us buy and read her own poetry book which is no where near as good as the other writers we study. She gave me an A- on an assignment but didn't say what she marked off points for. She tries to give you the lowest grade possible in this class! Avoid this class!

This is the second time I've had Velasquez becuase I liked her so much the first time around in in SPAN 233. She was super hard in that class but I loved every day of it because she made the material come alive. She is a raging feminist, so when it comes time to answer any of her questions be sure to dig into your feminist word bank and plug as many of them in as possible. I really didn't like her for Hum 312, however. Then again, she IS teaching her life as a hardcore chicana. She is a throwback from the 60's and 70's Chicano movements. But because of her experience with the subject matter, she knows the material very very intimately and knows almost all of the people we learn about in the texts. (btw, the Maciel book, Chicano Renaissance is super boring, but very necessary to have!) I would take her in spanish without thinking, but would maybe think twice about her in English (its weird, but her personality is much much funnier in spanish, and I love her for it). If I hadn't taken her in spanish first, I probably would like her more.....so it is your call, but don't just not take her becuase you are afraid of the work, this class did not have much. 3 essay (film critiques) 1 presentation, and 1 research paper ( I did mine the night before/day of and got an A). I'm currently trying to study for the final which is cumulative and is our ONLY test during the course. I dont really know what to study for though...it shouldn't be too bad. her tests are always short answer and just short in general as she likes to get the hell out of there as soon as she can... so take her and enjoy the experience, you'll learn if nothing else.

Profesora Velasquez is very passionate about her field of study. I admire her willingness to be open about her history including her roots and where she came from, and connect that with the books we read, and the documentaries we watched in class. However, honestly, she took it too far. I took her for a summer course and well needless to say, what a dreadful experience. She crammed five books into a 5-week session and not to mention, we were required to go to an open-mic session in Guadalupe on a Saturday night. That wouldn\'t have been too bad except needless to say it was chaotic and pointless. The worst part of her class is her grading process. That is if there is one. She had essay style questions that you would answer with information that you read and that she lectured in class but when you received your test back, her corrections were bogus! She wanted you to give the answer she would give, which would be fine,,that is, if she even knew what that was! You are required to write a few papers throughout the qtr analyzing plays, movies, etc. But even that was tough because your response never seemed to satisfy her. Honestly, if you take this Professor be prepared for a heavy reading load and a bias point of view on everything!

As a Mexican-American student i was thrilled to learn about what my people had done in this country in the past.BUT DR VELAZQUEZ IS THE WORST FKN PROF EVER!!!!!!This class is shit, it is based mainly on art and literature BUT it has an emphasis on feminist views. I'm a GUY I don't give a shit about your feminist ideas. This is how the class works, you read a over 100 pages of a horrible book go to class to fill out a hand out that summarizes what you read(this isnt fkn high-school). Her lectures are all about her life as a child and how it was relevant to the readings and then goes and tells you how she was a student at Stanford university.Expect to hear about how she was a student writer at Stanford university, oh yea did i mention she went to Stanford be cause she did. Assignments are fkn ridiculous, she grades film critiques like if they were essays, she expects a 10pg research paper done by wk7 because when she was in Stanford she wrote more complicated papers.She is one of these professors who are a fkn joke but takes them selves seriously, no one in my class like the way she structured this course. I 100% RECOMMEND YOU SEEK A DIFFERENT PROF FOR THIS CLASS SHE IS BY FAR THE WORST INSTRUCTOR I HAVE EVER CAME ACROSS

Velasquez is the second worst professor I have had here. She marked off points for no reason, refused to give good grades on assignments that are worth a good grade and she expected people's answers to use key words…the only problem was, the key words were mysteries and it was a game for her to see if we could figure it out. She was absolutely not clear, ever. Her favorite thing to do was talk about herself and her days at "Stanford University," and her second favorite thing to do was make the same four people read out loud every class period. If you want to do well in this class, DO THE READING!!! The quizzes and midterms WILL hurt you if you don't know everything. Also, show up to class, raise your hand and talk a lot, don't be late, be Chicano/a, be a really good mind reader, go to her office hours, be good at reading out loud and pray to the Virgin de Guadalupe cause you will need all the help you can get.

Professor Velasquez was an overall good professor. She was really funny and she knew her material very well and was very passionate about it. I took her for WLC 312 which is Humanities: Chicano/a Culture. Being a Chicana myself made the material even more intriguing. The work load was very minimal. Make sure you read everything she assigns though! It's quite a bit of reading, but I would just skim through and would do fine on our quizzes and tests. We had 2 quizzes based off the readings and she tells you exactly what she will test you on and 1 "quiz" (which was actually a 1 page paper on something we did to give back to our community that weekend lol). We had a midterm and final which you will do just fine on if you read and study your reading notes that she hands out and goes over with everyone in class. We also had 2 papers which were I think 2-3 pages long: 1 based off a movie we watched and relating it to the book we read and the other being on an event she makes everyone go to called Flor y Canto Poetry Night. Lastly, we had a group project on any Chicano/a artist we chose which was so easy to do. Only took our group a day to finish. Since she's "semi-retired" she would always let us out an hour early and we had missed 2 classes because she needed to relax lolz. We would also have little 1-5 min meditation sessions too.

One word to describe her: IRRESPONSABLE!!!!!! she will loose your papers and then she'll say you never did them!!!keep every single thing for her classes, because most likely you'll need to prove your grade AFTER they are posted!!

I believe Dra. Velasquez is one of the very few excellent professors there are on campus. I was reading some of the comments and completely disagree with this guy, I assume it is a guy because he was wining about the prof. being a sexist. That is completely untrue. She loves to make jokes, she talks about her life experiences (which are interesting) to give us examples of what we are learning. If she calls on you its because she cares about what you have to say, Obviusly this person complaining of how she called on him was not prepared to come to class with the material known. That is why she always says in the first meeting of class that she expects everyone to participate!! You have to talk, not be lazy! I have taken her in other courses and she is completely fair in her grading and when it comes to her students. She wants the best from you, she knows when you are not trying so do not expect sympathy if you are not doing your part.

Doctora Velasquez es una chingona!! She is a wonderful professor. She is one of the few professors that show their passion in what they are teaching. She expects the best from you and your participation in class. Some students complain about her grading because she expects you to be ready for in class discussions and participate so if you are not going foloow up on her rules do't bother coming to class. Don't waste her time or yours. For everyone else who wants to learn, she is a great professor who you will enjoy having.

Dr.Velasquez is an awesome person and professor. She really cares about the students and understands their problems. To tell you the truth, I knew little about Mexican American culture yet Dr.Velasquez has truly enlightened me. Although she is super nice, she does mean business when she grades papers and projects. Just because she likes you, this does not mean she will give you a good grade. Her workload is fair and her material is relevant and interesting. Take her if you get a chance, just remember to be opean minded.