Manouchehr Kasheff

An important point not discussed is his teaching abilities at the technical level, specifically, his ability to explain seminal points of grammar. The official class textbook is his own, and handwritten in major parts. It is not clear on many issues, however, on major points of grammar, for example, the proper formulation of imperatives, subjunctives and jussives, it is beyond dismal. Supplemental texts (not required but) available in any bookstore, are far too pedagogical to be of use to the average student. I speak here of the well known texts by Wheeler Thackson and Ann Lambton, both useful tools, but often dense. Thus, it falls on the teacher to explain these points clearly, and Kasheff is lacking in this area. Nothing separates a good teacher from a bad one more than the issue of communication. Many students who take his class have no background in foreign languages. In order for a student to grasp Persian, they first need a primer in grammar (beyond what a verb, noun or adjective is), and he is not able to explain these necessary elements. Indeed, he claims to dislike grammar terms, which is regrettable because these grammatical terms are fairly standard, irrespective of language. Thus, even those students who do have a background in languages, are denied the necessary frame of reference by his refusal to identify a genitive as a genitive, and an accusative as an accusat…

So I went into this class believing that there was some way to get a decent grade by doing my homework, studying, and participating. Well....honestly, there is no way. Kasheff's class is filled with mostly tangential material and he expects you to remember much of the useless crap he tells you. The grading is pretty much completely arbitrary....he says you grade yourself, but at the end he pretty much gives you whatever he thinks you deserve. There's absolutely no structure or indication of how you are graded. The notion of homework is very nebulous as is the notion of tests. The class is filled with random pop quizzes and its unclear whether they are graded. He doesn't remember anyone's name, so its obvious he doesn't keep track of homework. Even if you have a genuine interest in learning the language, such as I did, it is disheartening to not be able to do anything to get the grade you deserve. Kasheff is not a bad man, or mean spirited as other reviews state; he simply is very set in his ways and opinions. Beware to anyone who gets in his way! If any notion of gpa has no meaning to you, then by all means take this class, its slightly entertaining but also slightly terrifying, since he enjoys embarrassing people openly in class.

I have to agree with the majority of the comments posted here. Kasheff is arbitrary in his grading, and favorites do better than others. He is a good teacher, however, that is overshadowed by his classroom manners, where he can be rude to some, pleasant to the people he likes; further, he wastes time with his stories, including some that are inappropriate for a mixed classroom, like his tales about visits to strip clubs. Unfortunately, he is the only one who teaches Persian at CU. If you absolutely have to take Persian, then suck it up, be real nice to him in class, visit him during office hours, attend all classes, do ALL the homework and corrections, and pray for a good grade. If Persian is an elective, avoid him like the plague.

Kasheff is a pretty damn good professor. He's not perfect, but who is? Those students who have complained about him on this website suffer from a lack of perspective and work ethic. Allow me to explain... For those that complain about his first year teaching book-- try learning from one the few published Persian textbooks (and they are slim pickings). You will find that Persian teaching material is dismal and confusing. Take it from someone like myself who learned first year Persian at another University with a printed textbook-- they're terrible. Kasheff's material is as good as it gets and I think it speaks well of the man that he went to the trouble to put together a text book of his own, which I might remind everyone that he certainly was not obligated to do. Appreciate it and be glad that you do not have to encounter the printed Persian teaching materials. For those who complain of Kasheff's teaching style and recommend learning Persian elsewhere-- Persian instruction in this country is not good. Kasheff does not teach particularly well, that I will grant, but see it in perspective-- no one teaches Persian any better. So, if you want to learn Persian, my advise is to stick with Kasheff and do some extra effort so that you can get a lot out of his class. This brings me to work ethic. Look, I know in the ivy league, some students are used to sailing by in courses on grade i…

If you are accustomed to neat textbooks and workbook exercises that help you learn grammar and vocabulary, you will be sorely disappointed with KasheffÂ’s Persian class. Kasheff wrote the so-called textbook which is actually a disorganized bundling of class notes you must purchase from CopyQuick. Frankly, I think itÂ’s garbage. It is certainly not as user-friendly as the material you receive in the Hebrew or Arabic courses at Columbia. What one of the previous reviewers said about KasheffÂ’s personality is true. The guy is obnoxious. He has a habit of dotting over a few of his favorite students. When one of his not-so-favorite students tries to speak, he lashes out at them if they make a mistake. He also has the habit of asking students very inappropriate personal questions with the obvious intention of humiliating them. One female student in my class burst into tears because of his verbal abuses.

Ive read a lot of the reviews here and I think they are wildly unfair. Kasheff is fairly odd but not as evil as some make him out to be. He gives the impression of being a bumbling little sweetheart, but is sharp as a tack and i know that may throw some people off. The reason grades seem strange in class is that he gives the impression that homework doesnt always need to be handed in or that he doesnt see every little face you make, but watch out becasue hes on top of it. Kids who think they can just get by in his class have another thing coming. and as methodic a teacher as he is, he is also one of the most sincere and kind people i know of. His political views are quite strong, and he will challenge you on any issue. Dont expect him to always listen to everything you have to say or even answer your questions, but give him a chance and listen to his stories and his rants. if nothing they are entertaining. and i dont know of anyone in their right mind who would actually COMPLAIN about his tangents. fifteen minutes of Kasheff oration in a two-hour class can be great when you've had a long day and feel like you cant really absorb persian at the rate he ususally presents it. Just make sure you look mildly interested! In any case, his methods are unorthodox but you will learn to speak persian before you know it, and much faster than in any other class...grammar comes a bit later b…

kasheff is the most unprofessional and obnoxious teacher I ever had. He really should be ashamed of the way he teaches or rather doesn't teach. In my opinion, he plays favorites with his students, giving higher grades to students he likes and lower grades to those he hates for the same amount of correct answers. Avoid him.

I've had Prof. for two semesters. So far, I can see the negative and positive sides of the man which were reflected in the three other opinions from former students of his. Personality: on one hand, if he likes you, he will encourage you, will give you a better grade. In this case, he is sweet and avuncular. If he doesn't like you, WATCH OUT! i've seen him tear perfectly nice people to shreds with a whip of his tongue-sometimes in a backhanded, circular kind of way, sometimes quite openly. it is really hard to watch, let alone endure that kind of castigation in public. anyway, before taking his class i heard he's hardest on iranians, and it's not totally false. i think he expects a certain type of behavior and respect from them that is very traditional. my advice: to get on his good side, seem very eager to learn, ask questions, and attend class regularly and on time. also, this sounds ridiculous, but don't dress loudly( trust me on this folks) or roll your eyes when he says something quaint or outdated-he's old but he's not blind. he's quite sharp when it comes to reading attitude, expression, and body language. if you are on his bad side , the best way to deal with this is to praise him to his face. lie if you have too dammit! it works!! he raked my friend across the coals of persian hell and then my friend changed his approach to dealing with Prof. K. Prof. K was surprised,…

Kasheff is the worst instructor (heÂ’s not a professor and never will be) I have ever had. I agree with the other reviewer who said taking Persian at another school would be better. In my opinion, Kasheff is rude, obnoxious, plays favorites, and is condescending. He is extremely discouraging. Someone mentioned earlier that people in the class with a problem with him should talk to him so that the class would be better. Well, I tried that. I tried speaking to him on a number of occasions, expressing my concern. I found him extremely defensive and he quickly lost his temper. His behavior inside the classroom and out is totally inappropriate. I worked very hard this semester and feel that I could have accomplished much more with another professor. Avoid him.

Spending four semesters with Kasheff as your Persian instructor is a fate I would not wish upon my worst enemy. He is a very obnoxious man who can be extremely mean and sarcastic to those students in the class who are having difficulty grasping spoken Persian. I have no idea why he says the cruel things he says to students. It just discourages them and creates an unpleasant atmosphere in class. He is also an extremely disorganized teacher and a highly subjective grader. There is no course syllabus and no idea of how quizzes and tests count toward the final grade. In fact he doesnÂ’t even give letter grades, not even on the final exam. You are not sure of where you stand until the course is over and you see your course grade online. My advice to any students who wish to learn Persian is to take it at another university. The Persian program here is a mess just like the rest of the MEALAC department. Kasheff is the only instructor of Persian at Columbia so you will be stuck with him for four semesters if you chose Persian to fulfill your language requirement.