MATH 1220

Do NOT take this class with Socolovksy. Unfortunately his accent and language-barrier makes the class very, very difficult. The lectures will become entirely useless and it's up to the students to learn the material themselves. Socolovsky definitely knows his stuff and is knowledgable when you go to his office hours, but the lectures are very dry, slow, and he has a hard time prioritizing what should be covered in class. The most mundane things get extra time getting covered in a single problem (like why he used chain rule), and then much harder sections of the same problem just get thrown up on the board without an explanation. He also has a tendency to either write out every single step (including very unnecessary ones) and then other times skipping steps and simplifying parts in his head. Again, throwing it on the board afterwards without an explanation.

For the times when someone is able to flag him down to ask the necessary questions, the language barrier gets in the way again and he points to the wrong sections on the board, the student has to say "No, right, right, up, yes, that one" and he still somehow spends 20 minutes explaining the wrong step. At this point students give up on the question and move on. Repeat ad nauseam. He also spends a ridiculous amount of class time on proofs, and not enough time on the actual material and application of said material. I sat near the front of the class every lecture and talked to the other students who sat in the front and they all had a very difficult time understanding him. The ones who spent the time outside of class learning the material by themselves were the ones who got a good grade.

You may think this review is slightly exaggerated, but please take my word and don't take it with this professor. You will have a much easier and better time with a better professor. Taking him because he fit my schedule was a mistake, and I should've prioritized my calc class schedule over the others first.