I loved Dr. Reese! He is a very kind, smart, and funny guy, and his lectures were informative and covered a lot without being too broad or boring. He is easy to listen to, his lectures almost felt like storytelling. He used music, videos, and other props to make lectures more engaging. If you don't already enjoy history, Dr. Reese will get you to!Rate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
William Reese
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Quality 4/5Difficulty 5/5
Professor Reese was very interesting in his lectures but you have to attend or you will not pass the class. The class required a lot of reading. The class is graded on two exams and a 12 page paper. Good class that required a lot of work.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 4/5
Knows and loves history but talks so fast and gives so much information that it is sometimes hard to follow. Need to attend lectures to pass the class-- doesn't post slides online. LOTS of reading for homework, but relative to what is learned in lecture. Discussion sections help relate the two. Erin is an AWESOME TA so try to get her.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 1/5Difficulty 5/5
Read 10 books in 10 weeks. He does most of the talking but participation is 70% of your grade. Unorganized. Not impressive.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 3/5Difficulty 1/5
Reese is a very casual, funny, and knowledgeable interactive lecturer. Very easy midterm and final in-class essays. Way too much reading for this class, but is somewhat necessary for the exams. Biggest complaint is that the course seemed more about general US history rather than education specifics.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Reese is not only extremely knowledgeable on the history of American education, but every student in his class can directly see his passion for it. He kept me very interested in material and his personal anecdotes were memorable and fitting. He is one of my favorite professors I've had at UWRate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with William Reese
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
{
"instructor_uid": "instructor_edc37f2dccb5d511facddacb",
"source": "legacy",
"source_instructor_id": null,
"identity_basis": "name_only",
"identity_status": "unresolved",
"name": "William Reese",
"email": "WJREESE@WISC.EDU",
"first_observed_at": "2025-04-16 05:20:33.104844+00:00",
"last_observed_at": "2025-11-16 05:32:31.273726+00:00",
"ratings": {
"review_count": 11,
"quality": 4.09,
"difficulty": 3.18,
"quality_count": 11,
"difficulty_count": 11,
"profile_id": "rmp:243126",
"source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/243126",
"match_basis": "exact_name",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:59:07.087658+00:00",
"courses": {
"course_7ee6ba9cbe4548a50ef23d2e": {
"review_count": 5,
"quality": 4,
"difficulty": 3.2,
"quality_count": 5,
"difficulty_count": 5
}
},
"bayesian_quality": 3.812377924868771,
"prior_mean": 3.6596857835465957,
"prior_weight": 20
},
"current": false,
"courses": [],
"revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"instructor_url": "/instructors/WILLIAM_REESE--instructor_edc37f2dccb5d511facddacb"
}