Bill Shields

Bill is a wonderful instructor. He's one of those people you can just sit and listen to for hours, and I suspect he's also one of those people who could go on for hours. He seems to have lived quite an interesting life leading up to and including his employment with City College. During the student protests of the tuition hike, Bill encouraged us to get involved, to caravan with him to Sacramento to organize on the steps of the state buildings. He's that kinda guy.

His exams are great. He provides a detailed study guide a week before tests. Read the book, be able to answer the questions on the study guide, you'll ace the exams. Guaranteed. Then there's the role plays. You'll be given a topic, for instance, you're slaves and indentured servants getting together to discuss whether or not you should participate in a slave uprising that would later be known as Bacon's Rebellion -- do you go, or do you stay behind? You and your group members (maybe 3 or 4 other people) take on the role and try to have it out as if you were them, then, and there. It's pretty cool, if you can actually get into it.

Homework was minimal. We had 3 written assignments at the beginning of the semester. A page of text each. The role plays had write-ups that came with them, but were graded as extra credit. Also, with the exception of tests and one "getting to know 'you'" assignment, all work was completed as a group. Oh, didn't I mention it? Bill used to be a union leader. So fabulous.

Bill's the real deal. Take his classes.

Mr. Shields is probably one of the best (and definitely one of the most memorable) teachers I have ever had. He is passionate about the subject area and seeks to share that passion with his students. He takes the subject matter seriously, and is as concerned with the process of instruction as he is with course content. He uses a "group method" for coursework which was a bit new to me and hard to adjust to at first, but ultimately a great experience. I hope to take many more courses with him.

What a teacher and what a great class. You will not be wasting your time taking Bill's class on how America was built. He is a nice guy and easy to talk to. You can tell that his main goal is to educate you and not to make you feel bad about how much you don't know. In class, you will spend a lot of time doing group activities that range from field trips to singing folk music. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Taking Mr. Shields class was a great experience. Tremendously knowledgeable of the history of labor, Mr. Shields teaches in a manner that makes learning this aspect of history fun and fascinating. This is uniquely accomplished by incorporating numerous activities and differing the types of assignments. And, Mr. Shields clearly likes what he teaches and obviously wants his students to do well.

The class covers "a lot" of ground, and is quite comprehensive in its coverage of the working classes in American history. It is not easy to get an A in the class, as there is a lot of work involved. You truly earn your grade. In addition to two very large but excellent textbooks (titled "Who Built America"), there is a lot of reading throughout the semester, short written reports, group projects and presentations, class participation, extra-credit assignments, and of course the tests. The amount of course work seemed to be more stressful in its quantity rather than in its difficulty. Mr. Shields even gives helpful study sheets prior to each exam that focus in on what to study for, yet I personally never used them, and by simply reading the assigned reading in the book I was able to ace the exams. The tests can be tough if not adequately studied for, which had 70 - 80 multiple choice questions each, but not hard if you read the required reading.

Class participation is a must, so one cannot be too shy. The numerous extra-credit assignment opportunities given were usually very interesting out-of-class assignments such as attending various civic events, along with reporting back on the experience. Mr. Shields has a big pulse on what is going on in the community, and offers the extra-credit assignments where they might supplement what is learned in the course.

One minor tough and frustrating thing I found during this class was that Mr. Shields, when assigning short written papers, would let us know generally what he wanted us to write about. But when I got my papers back, he had usually written that he was looking for a bit more information (than he originally asked for).

Lastly, I personally think this class is an absolute must for serious business majors. The background knowledge in American labor and union movements taught by Mr. Shields and through this course is invaluable and so very interesting (many in the class thought the same). And it is taught superbly. Many others in my class would strongly have agreed I'm sure.