De Castro, S.J., Fr. Antonio Francisco B. teaches at Ateneo de Manila University. Across 12 comments from students, they hold a rating of 2.9 out of 5. Of those comments, 6 read positive, 1 read mixed and 5 read negative.
De Castro, S.J., Fr. Antonio Francisco B.
Ateneo de Manila University · 12 comments
What students said
positive 6
neutral 0
mixed 1
negative 5
De Castro, S.J., Fr. Antonio Francisco B.2.9
Background
Education · Career · PublicationsShowHide
S.J. · Fr. · PhD · Associate Professor
History (Church History, Philippine Church History, History of the Jesuits, Early Modern History) · Theology (theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar, Filipino faith and culture, Filipino theological aesthetics and dramatics)
Education
PhD Ecclesiastical History, Pontifical Gregorian University
Career
Associate Professor, Ateneo de Manila University · Department of History · current
Associate Professor, Ateneo de Manila University · Loyola School of Theology
Member, Editorial Board, Ateneo de Manila University Press
De Castro, S.J., Fr. Antonio Francisco B. | Ateneo de Manila
Comments
Others(0)(1)
Top comments
Noble Quail
HISTO 11 under Father Tony as a non-major
CourseHISTO 11
WorkloadLight
Hello, anon! I had HISTO 11 under Father Tony last sem. As a disclaimer, I'm not in a course related to history, political science, or the other social sciences, so I'm not sure if Father Tony would be stricter with students from these courses (he would repeatedly acknowledge that history probably wasn't of particular interest to students in our major). With that said, here was my experience with him: We had two quizzes last sem. The first quiz was divided into two parts - the first part was identification/enumeration based on some YouTube videos Father Tony sent as an introduction to history and historiography (so the videos discussed topics like primary and secondary sources, the varieties of history, etc.). The second part was an essay question where we could choose one of two texts Father Tony sent beforehand to analyze in relation to history and historiography. I'd say that this quiz (especially the first part) was fairly easy, so long as you paid attention in class and understood the videos. The second quiz was about three of the readings we took up later in the semester (a chapter of the textbook we were using, plus two articles). From what I remember, the questions were a mix of identification and true-or-false, plus a multiple-choice bonus question. I would say that this test was significantly harder than the first - Father Tony helped a bit by highlighting important sections in some of the readings, but some of the questions focused on details which were hard to memorize. I also feel the coverage of the quizzes was not spread evenly across the three readings - almost all the questions were taken from one reading, with at most one or two coming from the other two readings. That being said, I do feel that the details the questions were asking about had historical significance (it's not like the professor just plucked the most obscure facts he could find), so I'd say that the quiz was difficult, but not unreasonably so. Besides the quizzes, as the other commenters have mentioned, our midterms and finals were both oral exams. Father Tony gave us the readings beforehand, and for the finals, he also gave us a list of the possible questions he could ask us. Most of the questions are fairly general - most of the time, you'll either be asked to name the main ideas in the text, or to relate the text to other readings. With the amount of time you have, I can't stress how important it is to be concise, and careful with your word choice - don't delve into the details unless Father Tony asks for them; just give him a general answer as quickly as you can. Father Tony is prone to cutting people off if he thinks they're saying something wrong, especially when he's in a bad mood, so you need to establish your main points as quickly as you can. The other requirements listed in our syllabus were two individual tasks and two group projects. However, due to time constraints, we did neither of the individual tasks and had only one group project - we had to make a simple presentation on a chapter of a book we were reading. To compensate, the professor doubled the weight of the group project (which, ironically, ended up counting for a larger part of our grade than the midterms and finals), and doubled the weight of the quizzes to replace the individual tasks. I would say Father Tony seems to be rather slow with checking non-objective outputs like these - I feel that we lacked time for other tasks partly because of how long it took him to submit the one group project we did. That being said, he was very lenient with how he graded our group work. All in all, I wouldn't say Father Tony is a life-changing prof, but I also think he's not nearly as bad as some of the "terror" profs you'll come across. You may get a bit bored in his class, as he tends to ramble here and there, but I'd say most of his assessments are manageable (he himself has acknowledged that he's harsher during oral exams when he's in a bad mood, though). I'd say an A is definitely possible with effort, patience, and a little bit of luck with the oral exams. All the best,! You got this!more
Witty Quail
Fr. Tony dropped some reqs, first quiz was quite easy
CourseHISTO 11
WorkloadLight
Hello, OP! I had Fr. Tony for HISTO 11 last year (AY 2023-2024). Originally, we were supposed to have two quizzes, an individual reflection paper, and two group projects, in addition to our midterms and finals. But due to time constraints, Fr. Tony decided not to assign the reflection paper and one of the group projects. Instead, he adjusted the weights of the assessments, so that the quizzes would each be 10%, the midterms and finals would each be 25%, and the group project would be 30%. He didn't give any bonus activities, though I'm not sure whether or not this is negotiable.
Each of the quizzes was based on two or three of our readings at the time, I think. I remember the first one being quite easy - the first part consisted of objective questions about the readings, and the second part was an essay prompt (which was also fairly straightforward, so long as you paid attention in class and went over the readings). The second quiz consisted of identification questions about the readings, which were definitely more challenging (especially because we had two or three for this quiz), but still related to the main points/important facts in each reading (and therefore somewhat manageable IMO).
The group project was a presentation on a chapter of a book assigned to us. I don't remember this one too clearly, but I think I remember Sir saying he decided to be kinder grading this one to help pull up our grades (and I think he definitely kept his word).
The midterms and finals were both oral exams. We were assigned 3 or 4 readings in advance. Then, we took the exam in groups of 3 or 4, so each person would be assigned one of the readings and asked questions about it. (You answer individually, and I don't think we're allowed to help each other, from what I remember.) The important thing to note here is that Fr. Tony really only wants a summary of the most important points in each reading - so stick to the most basic points first, and expound only if Fr. Tony asks for it. I cannot overstate how important it is to be concise - you're each given a fairly short period of time to speak (around 2 minutes IIRC), and Fr. Tony has the tendency to cut people off if he thinks they're making mistakes (especially if he's in a bad mood). You're allowed to bring notes, but you can't look at them for too long given the time limit.
Besides the assessments, I guess Fr. Tony's discussions are what you'd expect from a history class - you're expected to read the materials in advance, then come to class and discuss. I would say that Fr. Tony's style is to first summarize the article, then go through the main points chronologically though he may skip over some points to save time. (I feel he tends to focus on points related to the clergy, possibly because he's a Jesuit.) He leads most of the discussion and doesn't ask too many questions, but does get disappointed if no one can answer (especially if he's still discussing the article in summary form). So, I think it would be helpful to skim through the articles first, then read them by part gradually, rather than trying to read the entire article at once - they can be quite long, and in some cases, a bit hard to understand.
His cutoff for A is a bit high at 95 (though maybe this is the standard for the history department?), but I do think it's manageable if you do alright with the quizzes and orals. He can be a bit scary (especially when he's in a bad mood during the orals), but I think he's reasonable and fairly easy to communicate with most of the time. Since we had to cancel some assessments, his grading system may be a bit different this sem, but you got this, OP! <3more
Anonymous
Quizzes, midterms, finals, and one group project
CourseHISTO 11
I had Fr. Tony for HISTO 11 last year (AY 2023-2024). Originally, we were supposed to have two quizzes, an individual reflection paper, and two group projects, in addition to our midterms and finals. But due to time constraints, Fr. Tony decided not to assign the reflection paper and one of the group projects. Instead, he adjusted the weights of the assessments, so that the quizzes would each be 10%, the midterms and finals would each be 25%, and the group project would be 30%. He didn't give any bonus activities, though I'm not sure whether or not this is negotiable. Each of the quizzes was based on two or three of our readings at the time, I think. I remember the first one being quite easy - the first part consisted of objective questions about the readings, and the second part was an essay prompt (which was also fairly straightforward, so long as you paid attention in class and went over the readings). The second quiz consisted of identification questions about the readings, which were definitely more challenging (especially because we had two or three for this quiz), but still related to the main points/important facts in each reading (and therefore somewhat manageable IMO). The group project was a presentation on a chapter of a book assigned to us. I don't remember this one too clearly, but I think I remember Sir saying he decided to be kinder grading this one to help pull up our grades (and I think he definitely kept his word). The midterms and finals were both oral exams. We were assigned 3 or 4 readings in advance. Then, we took the exam in groups of 3 or 4, so each person would be assigned one of the readings and asked questions about it. (You answer individually, and I don't think we're allowed to help each other, from what I remember.) The important thing to note here is that Fr. Tony really only wants a summary of the most important points in each reading - so stick to the most basic points first, and expound only if Fr. Tony asks for it. I cannot overstate how important it is to be concise - you're each given a fairly short period of time to speak (around 2 minutes IIRC), and Fr. Tony has the tendency to cut people off if he thinks they're making mistakes (especially if he's in a bad mood). You're allowed to bring notes, but you can't look at them for too long given the time limit. Besides the assessments, I guess Fr. Tony's discussions are what you'd expect from a history class - you're expected to read the materials in advance, then come to class and discuss. I would say that Fr. Tony's style is to first summarize the article, then go through the main points chronologically though he may skip over some points to save time. (I feel he tends to focus on points related to the clergy, possibly because he's a Jesuit.) He leads most of the discussion and doesn't ask too many questions, but does get disappointed if no one can answer (especially if he's still discussing the article in summary form). So, I think it would be helpful to skim through the articles first, then read them by part gradually, rather than trying to read the entire article at once - they can be quite long, and in some cases, a bit hard to understand. His cutoff for A is a bit high at 95 (though maybe this is the standard for the history department?), but I do think it's manageable if you do alright with the quizzes and orals. He can be a bit scary (especially when he's in a bad mood during the orals), but I think he's reasonable and fairly easy to communicate with most of the time. Since we had to cancel some assessments, his grading system may be a bit different this sem, but you got this,! <3more
All comments
Rapid Viper
Chill HI 165, easy B+ and very A-able, light reqs
positive
CourseHI 165
4.0 attainableYes
WorkloadLight
If you're looking for a relatively chill HI 165, then go for Fr. De Castro, easy B+ and very A-able. Lectures can be boring and since he only teaches large classes (80 students) good luck nalang if you're stuck at the back, but his requirements are very light. Originally we were supposed to have 3 quizzes, 3 reflection papers (max 2 pages each), 1 LT, and a final orals which if you're B+ standing or above you can be exempted from, but he was open to negotiating reqs with the class, so instead of having the 3 quizzes, we had a group project near the end of the sem which is very manageable if you have good groupmates, and for some reason he never gave us a 3rd reflection paper.
The questions he asks for the reflection papers are pretty easy but he's very strict with grading them. Your best chance to pull up your grade is with the LT, which is pure objective-type fill-in-the-blanks or enumeration but with some bonus items too. Only thing is all the LT questions come from the book and only like 1 or 2 questions are from his lectures so you really have to read. He does help by saying in advance what parts of the book you should pay attention to and what won't appear in the test (he'll say he won't ask for names or dates for example). The finals are an oral exam but instead of thesis statements, he'll give a list of readings (usually readings already discussed in class) and whichever one you pick you have to explain the main points then he'll ask follow-up questions, and I think he allows you to bring as many notes as you want and even the readings themselves. If you do well in the LT and the project though, you're pretty much guaranteed to be exempted.more
Clever Osprey
Lengthy readings and oral exams, enjoyed it anyway
CourseHISTO 11
Retake?Yes
LeniencyNo
WorkloadHeavy
ill just copypaste a review i made for him on another recent post from last week:
Hello! I had him last semester for Histo 11 but I'm going to leave a diff review from the others---could be a hot take but I don't think he's bad, I actually enjoyed his class.
What I will confirm from the other reviews is the following:
- Quizzes are mostly identification
- Midterms and finals are group oral exams
- The readings are very lengthy and he will expect you to recite (the next session after he assigns the reading)
- Does have low temper and mood swings and somehow taking diff time slots for exams gives u better/worse chances at a good grade
His normal class session basically is a clarification on the reading he assigned + synthesizing explaining it to the class, but he WILL wait for someone to answer questions about the readings before proceeding - you can't wait it out or else he gets mad a bit.
The mood swings and low temper can be a bit of a downer yes but academically they don't get much in the way. He also has a "good side" which you can easily get on by reciting correctly and arriving early in class. First impressions really matter with him and if you can sustain your presence through the whole sem you're good! The major gripe I have is just about how taking the oral exams at diff times could give you a worse grade but that can legit just be mitigated by really knowing the readings (he does NOT like bola but if you know your point and can deliver it concisely he'll like that). If you can show that you tried your best to read the readings (he's a synthesis over tiny details guy in the orals!) he will give you a high grade.
He also announces all of his assessments and coverage on time, and is willing to take on clarifications about them. There's not even a lot of assessments, you have a lot of downtime to use as time to catch up on readings. Just find a good group to split the note-taking on the long readings. The quizzes may be identification but if you catch the important terms from the readings you're good.
He is really knowledgeable on the subject matter that it's almost scary but it just means he cares. And what he teaches is consistent with the readings he gives, so if you understand the readings, you also ace his class basically.
Even though I'm not really a history fanatic, I was able to get an A in his class, granted I was the one who took down notes on every reading for our block. I also don't think he's that mentally stressful, just know how to divide the work between your classmates. Easy B+, A if you really put in the effort.
tl;dr: great class as long as you can overcome all the readings! Even then I don't think he's that mean. You're in good hands, just be respectful and take his class seriously.more
Calm Jay
Easy workload, but recitation nearly every session
positive
WorkloadLight
Workload is reasonably easy! Readings are also interesting and he does move deadlines pretty quickly. However, be prepared to answer questions about them nearly every session and especially in your midterm and final if he still does the orals. Answer quickly and you will be safe.more
Quiet Zebra
Grades high but midterms had me dying
Retake?No
LeniencyYes
WorkloadHeavy
his class' midterms had me dying helpme- he grades high but imo not high enough to make up for the mental stress his class causes HAHA i am so sorry. for his midterms and finals, take the earlier slots as he's more likely to be nice then. good luck and we all pray for you.more
Gentle Otter
Not chill, shouts, and orals will wreck you
negative
LeniencyNo
God bless nalang. You'll need it. No fr tho, he may shout at your class and any score less than perfect in a quiz is bad for him. He's the complete opposite of chill and fun. If your midterms and finals are orals, please be prepared (emotionally, mentally, and physically).
2/10more
Anonymous
Enjoyed Histo 11 despite the mood swings
positive
CourseHISTO 11
Retake?Yes
LeniencyNo
WorkloadHeavy
Hello! I had him last semester for Histo 11 but I'm going to leave a diff review from the others---could be a hot take but I don't think he's bad, I actually enjoyed his class.
What I will confirm from the other reviews is the following:
- Quizzes are mostly identification
- Midterms and finals are group oral exams
- The readings are very lengthy
- Does have low temper and mood swings and somehow taking diff time slots for exams gives u better/worse chances at a good grade
The mood swings and low temper can be a bit of a downer yes but academically they don't get much in the way. He also has a "good side" which you can easily get on by reciting correctly and arriving early in class. First impressions really matter with him and if you can sustain your presence through the whole sem you're good! The major gripe I have is just about how taking the oral exams at diff times could give you a worse grade but that can legit just be mitigated by really knowing the readings (he does NOT like bola but if you know your point and can deliver it concisely he'll like that). If you can show that you tried your best to read the readings (he's a synthesis over tiny details guy in the orals!) he will give you a high grade.
He also announces all of his assessments and coverage on time, and is willing to take on clarifications about them. There's not even a lot of assessments, you have a lot of downtime to use as time to catch up on readings. Just find a good group to split the note-taking on the long readings. The quizzes may be identification but if you catch the important terms from the readings you're good.
He is really knowledgeable on the subject matter that it's almost scary but it just means he cares. And what he teaches is consistent with the readings he gives, so if you understand the readings, you also ace his class basically.
Even though I'm not really a history fanatic, I was able to get an A in his class, granted I was the one who took down notes on every reading for our block. I also don't think he's that mentally stressful, just know how to divide the work between your classmates. Easy B+, A if you really put in the effort.
tl;dr: great class as long as you can overcome all the readings! Even then I don't think he's that mean. You're in good hands, just be respectful and take his class seriously.more
Brave Koala
Unpredictable, oral group exams, short quizzes
negative
Hello! Had the privilege of being under him (cries). While under him he was very how do I put it, unpredictable? You never really know what you’re gonna get from him. His finals and midterms were both oral and by group, but his quizzes were written and fairly short. All I can say is, good luck and God bless.more
Anonymous
High standards and unpredictable oral exams
negative
Quizzes are mostly identification. He has very high standards for the scores. He’s also very unpredictable when it comes to the oral midterms and finals. Mabilis rin mapikon. Goodluck nalang AHAHAHAHAHAHA.more
Daring Jay
Little workload but run, A-able if you like history
Retake?No
4.0 attainableYes
WorkloadLight
pros
- little workload but lots of readings
cons
- feeling major
- rambles too much
- can't bawi cos he only gave like 2 quizzes, 1 grpwork, n orals
- his orals were so annoying tbh but open notes naman
- attendance is so important to him
A-able if u rlly like history
B-able w effort
overall: run pls !more
