Current instructor
Original student reviews · all captured dates
DON'T TAKE THE CLASS Poorly organized, unnecessarily tough on grading, very vague with guidelines yet punishes you for not following them, has a hugely inflated sense of importance for a very basic class and overall just a very bad teacher and just seemed unpleasant to keep it civil. She will punish you for being sick. I could go on.Rate My Professors ↗
To comprehensively list the issues with Doctor Butler as a professor would take well over the allowed characters. To be succinct, she would shuts down discussions and questions, her assignments have vague guidelines but harsh criteria, grading is sluggish, and her handling of certain topics like mental health is borderline offensive.Rate My Professors ↗
Uninteresting, rude, unreasonableRate My Professors ↗
Butler was a great professor but she thinks that everyone taking this class loves operas and musicals. I was not one of those people so I found it difficult to find it interesting and really even care. She takes music a little too seriously.Rate My Professors ↗
Worst class I have ever taken. Butler did not teach at all. 100% partner discussion, group projects, and presentations. She assigned 2 papers a week and graded 12 wks of them in the latter half of finals week; we had no idea where we stood on grades. I got 20% taken off a paper for using the wrong type of accent. Very condescending and unhelpful.Rate My Professors ↗
Professor Butler was very disrespectful towards students in a multitude of ways. Absolutely no guidance, held favorite students, lectures were disorganized/waste of time, not to mention her lack of grading policies. Was extremely rude throughout the entire semester and never gave constructive feedback, only would point out mistakes or errors.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
No recorded grade history
Survey of major genres and composers in Western Europe from ca. 1750-1827.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Margaret Butler
Margaret Butler assigned significant reading and long, difficult projects. Reviewers found her lectures unorganized and unhelpful, noting that she was extremely picky on assignments and did not offer meaningful advice or support when asked for help.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2024–Spring 2024 · limited sampleSpecial Topics in Music explores wide-ranging topics in music history, music theory, or music education.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.83 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=12 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2027 | ENGL 799 | Independent Reading |
| Spring 2027 | MUSIC 414 | Survey of Music in the Classic Era |
| Spring 2027 | MUSIC 497 | Special Topics in Music |
| Fall 2026 | ENGL 890 | Pre-dissertator Preliminary Exam Research |
| Fall 2026 | MUSIC 105 | Storytelling on Stage: Introduction to Musical Theater and Opera |
| Fall 2026 | MUSIC 513 | Survey of Opera |
| Fall 2026 | MUSIC 990 | Masters Thesis |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_626256091e0600e29d2eb848",
"source": "enrollment",
"source_instructor_id": "mrbutler",
"identity_basis": "netid",
"identity_status": "source_identified",
"name": "Margaret Butler",
"email": "MRBUTLER@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 14,
"quality": 2,
"difficulty": 3.5,
"quality_count": 14,
"difficulty_count": 14,
"profile_id": "rmp:2648805",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2648805",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 18:55:54.293603+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_16e51e486970b4d2385f093e": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 1,
"difficulty": 4,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
},
"course_baa9c1f33c92aa0c5deafae4": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 1,
"difficulty": 4,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
},
"course_d2664ff792b5da6134878ca9": {
"review_count": 4,
"quality": 1,
"difficulty": 4.5,
"quality_count": 4,
"difficulty_count": 4
},
"course_bb57d02cd7f1902707b720b1": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 1,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
},
"course_3f1632cb1d6e623d73051062": {
"review_count": 1,
"quality": 5,
"difficulty": 1,
"quality_count": 1,
"difficulty_count": 1
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 2.975996223821453,
"prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": true,
"courses": [
{
"course_uid": "course_67da3fd8c3cf7b1b68aaedef",
"course_id": "MUSIC 497",
"title": "SPECIAL TOPICS IN MUSIC",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.855
},
{
"course_uid": "course_79562bd74a2c300ae1a7f8c2",
"course_id": "ENGL 799",
"title": "INDEPENDENT READING",
"credits_min": 1,
"credits_max": 6,
"gpa": 4
},
{
"course_uid": "course_d2664ff792b5da6134878ca9",
"course_id": "MUSIC 414",
"title": "SURVEY OF MUSIC IN THE CLASSIC ERA",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"gpa": 3.509
}
],
"revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/MARGARET_BUTLER"
}