Ratings from <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ratemyprofessors.com&#x2F;ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1835732" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ratemyprofessors.com&#x2F;ShowRatings.jsp?tid=1835732</a> might illuminate some of the back-story. Lots of unhappy reviews in there:<p>&gt;He went off on so many tangents, nitpicked on random things and when it came down to it, taught the material rather poorly. I took his class with prior calculus knowledge so it was alright but for those that never had calc, it would&#x27;ve been so awful.<p>&gt;Tries to teach math in a confusing essay format, and marks you down when you don&#x27;t use his method correctly. Extremely arrogant and set on proving how his principles in teaching are the best. Class was very disorganized and grading until the very end of the course. Avoid taking a class with him if possible.<p>&gt;Doesn&#x27;t give homework, doesn&#x27;t have a syllabus. Exams are a bunch of meaningless boring calculations. He&#x27;s a genius but not a good teacher.<p>&gt;He is a nice person, but not a good teacher. Instead of math, he spends most of the lecture telling you how to be a good person: he starts with telling you &#x27;not to give up&#x27;, and then discusses a mathematical problem(which is not tough) and gets stuck. For the rest the lecture, he will actually show you what &#x27;not to give up&#x27; means.<p>There are also many positive reviews in there (more than negative ones), but they often focus on his charisma and dedication:<p>&gt;Coward is an inspiration- he deeply cares about his students&#x27; learning and believes that you must be infatuated with your education. He really cares for his students and always asks the class if he&#x27;s being clear.<p>&gt; I have never had a Math professor who I truly admire - he changed that. The level of interest he takes in the class is unmatched and he really wants his students to do well. Rebellious, fun, helpful and unimaginably intellectual. Best class at Cal so far.