Soares, John  

I have taken every class with Soares that I can, becuase I wanted to actually get my money's worth out of my education. I think he is the only professional, skilled, professor that we have in the department, and I think it is a shame that he is spending next qaurter doing academic senate and not ebing where he really should be, with his students who are goign to be lost without him. I'm graduating in December and I'm happy to be getting the hell out becuase i have a feelign that the broadcast part of the department is going to go to shambles. I hope that he is really going to be producitve on the academic senate and not just waste his time.

I didn't even go to Cal Poly. Prof. Soares was my mentor at Franklin Pierce College In New Hampshire, where he was more than a teacher. He was a friend to all. He gets it, and by that I mean, he knows most students don't sit around and study all day long and they don't enjoy being lectured all class long either. He would make a few profound statements in class that would make you think and then apply his statements outside of class, sort of in the real world. He was a great professor and an even better guy. We miss having him at Pierce, and I am thankful he was my mentor, even if for only 2 years. Mike Hayes

I was a little apprehensive about taking Mass Media Law, but the class turned out to be one of my all-time favorites. Prof. Soares' lectures always kept me interested, and his unique teaching style makes it both easy and fun to learn the material. Because he explains everything so clearly, you hardly even need your book. He always involves the class in the lectures, and I actually managed to retain the information that I learned. Definately one of the best professors you can get, for once class wasn't a drag to go to everyday. TAKE THIS GUY IF YOU CAN!!

Mr. Soares was cool and funny. Although, I got an A, I worked my ass off, went to class and studied. He cares about his students and remembers your face, which is cool. And, he's great, if you need help or have questions, definitely ask. I don't think he is an easy A, but he definitely gives you the grade you deserve. I mean if you really really feel you can work hard for an A, then you will get it in this class. He doesn't expect you to know every little detail, which is good, but the concepts. Tests were all written and you wrote your hand off. I didn't read the books at all, just paid attention in class, took notes, which was not so bad since he was interesting.

Soares is the man.

This class was so much fun to go to. He made media law an absolute blast to take. John Soares is the man.

John is overall a great professor and mentor. I learned more in his Media Law class than I have in all of my Jour classes combined. If you get the opportunity, take his class. You won't regret it...as long as your not an idiot who isn't willing to do some work.

John Soares is my favorite professor at Cal Poly. Hands down. He has a good sense of humor and makes class interesting. Take his media law class.

I thought this class was going to be a lot more miserable than it actually was. I didn't really keep up with the reading or go to class on occasion but I still did well. Soares himself is an excellent lecturer, he is clear and concise and often opens up the discussion to the students so that WE learn how to analyze the material instead of just being lectured at. Soares is also very amusing to listen to, the only reason why I fell asleep in class was because it was a late class and I had been up since very early that morning.

Mass Media Law with John Soares has been my favorite class so far, because it was really interesting and John's enthusiasm is infectious. His tests are not easy, you definatly have to study hard, but at least you will enjoy going to class daily. Oh and don't buy the Media Law textbook. You won't need it. Save your money. Test is based 100% on lecture material.

Considering the subject matter, Soares does a great job with this class. I think I opened my book once to find some material that wasn't in the lecture but otherwise his tests are all lecture-based essay questions. Just memorize the tests he gives you (you don't need to memorize cases but you get brownie points if you can refer to them on a test) and you'll be fine. And speak up - don't be a dumbass and ask stupid questions but he likes talkers.

I feel so sorry for everyone taking 302 now because Soares no longer teaches it!! But I'm sure he's just as amazing in all of his broadcast classes, so take him! The material and the case law we learned in class was not easy. It was tons and tons of memorization. And his tests require that you thoroughly apply all of the case law to a scenario he chooses--which is a lot of information! But for some reason, most people did well. He makes you care about the information. His lectures are so interesting that you find yourself remembering specific things you didn't even realize you learned. It's not that his class is easy, he makes students want to succeed. I took this class winter quarter and I still remember so much of what we learned. I know just about everything there is to know about free speech and copyright STILL! He is probably the best teacher I've ever had. Soares is really passionate about teaching and he is hilarious. Take him if you actually want to learn something.

This class was amazing. Seriously I was not looking forward to studying law but he made the class really interesting. The tests were easy if you study and know how to apply the material. Do the homework, study for the tests, and show up to class and you'll be fine.

John Soares is a very enthusiastic professor. This class is great because he makes you write A LOT, so you get a lot of practice writing scripts for radio and broadcast. His approach to teaching is literally "learn by doing," which is very practical for journalism. You have to do a five-minute report on KCPR every week (which is great that he lets you go on air). He's all about giving students opportunity. My main criticisms are that his lectures weren't that prepared and sometimes lacked substance, he never referred to the textbook, he didn't give students enough guidance when they needed some honest criticism and he loves cheesy leads. Soares' style of teaching is great for the independent person, but keep his criticisms about your writing in perspective (not every news organization will love cheesy writing). Definitely take this class because it will certainly increase your versatility as a journalist.

This class was not bad and John is pretty chill. This is definitely one of the easiest classes in the Journalism Department (which doesn

Soares is an awesome teacher! Not only have I taken his courses, but he has been my journalism advisor as well. He's always gone out of his way to make himself available to me. There were times he even responded to my emails at 3am after a long night at KCOY--some other professors (read Ramos) would have gone to bed and worried about it later, assuming they bothered with it at all. John is overworked, but it has never, in my experience, interferred with his dedication to his classes. He'll pull himself together after a full week of tough work and little sleep and still provide awesome instruction. I'm in awe of his work ethic. As for JOUR 333: While the weekly newscasts and finding the time to edit your wraps can be terribly inconvenient, you really learn a lot. It can be difficult to peg precisely what Soares is looking for, but he'll clarify if you ask him to. He's also open-minded, so if you come up with a story he isn't crazy about, he'll try see it from your point of view. He's awesome about critiquing your work--don't expect him to always tell you what you want to hear. I received quite a bit of feedback for improving my work and managed an A. Don't take offense to his suggestions or feel he's criticizing you in any way--he really wants to help you improve.

Seriously, John is a rad professor. You'll learn so much from him. Take any class you can possibly get with him!

I had John for many classes. I graduated in 2008 and before I left he told me to contact him if I ever needed help and he would be there. Since then I have contacted him several times, both by email and b phone and have never heard back from him. This is just the tip of the iceberg with him. He is extremely knowledgeable and wants everything to go \"his way\" which is always the right way, yet nothing ever really works out. My hs was able to air a once a week 15 minute newscast, John can\'t even get a college class organized enough to do that! The broadcast department at CP absolutely sucks, and if John Soares is the best there is for the broadcast department then that is extremely sad. San Luis Obispo is a beautiful area, but it\'s not worth living there if you want a decent Journalism education.

Professor Soares is by far the best professor I have ever had at Cal Poly. Any class you can possibly take with him -- sign up! I'm just disappointed he wasn't here earlier in my career so that I could have had more time here with him. Thanks Soares!

John is the best professor at Poly. I've had him for 302, 333 and 346. I've worked hard in each and earned an A. But its not easy. John will make you work and earn your grade. He is alwasy available to help despite his hectic schedule. You really learn things in all his classes and I never dread going to one of his classes, even if it is 3 hours long. Take any class you can from John. He is worth it.

I'm so conflicted because Soares is such a nice guy, but during the entirety of the quarter I felt like I didn't learn a thing from him. He never trained students on final cut pro, the cameras, writing stories, editing stories, making a rundown- the busy work of this class could've been eliminated if CPTV was ORGANIZED. To top it off, he thinks local news is more important than campus-wide stories. He certainly doesn't "get it," as they say in the news biz. I was astounded that he ignored some of the better students in the class to play favoritism with others who lacked serious news judgment. However, he's a great resource and he'll help students whenever he can (if only he would utilize his extra time to educate his students collectively so he wouldn't have to answer so many damn questions during office hours). He truly cares about his students, and he's all about giving them opportunity, but I wouldn't take anything he says too seriously.

im very torn on my feelings about john. hes an awesome guy, really willing to work to make this dept better. but plain and simple, john has too much going on. hes unable to help students adequately, and he hardly has time to teach the class! i felt lucky going into the class knowing how to use final cut, but many people didnt and john just didnt have the time to teach people which just seems rediculous! john really is a cool guy (and his love for gangsta rap is quite amusing), but he needs to find a way to spend more time with his classes. cptv itself is a joke. a ton of work, completely unorganized...take kcpr for your 2 unit requirement instead.

John Soares is the best professor I have had in the 4 years at Cal Poly. Despite what the other messages said regarding CPTV, I think John did a great job teaching the class and I felt that I learned a lot. The students have to take some initative if they want to learn. If you don't know how to use the camera or final cut pro GO ASK SOMEONE! John is awesome because he makes you "learn my doing" the stuff on your own and doesn't hold your hand. He also makes himself very available for students. I would recommend him for any and all of the classes that he teaches.

John is the best professor I have ever encountered at Cal Poly. Unlike other professors in our major, he has taught me so much about writing, the media industry, and about life itself. He is very involved, but despite this he always takes the time to help to students on an individual basis. His real life experience in broadcast makes him a great resource for all those who want to work in the field. I would recommend him to anyone. Like the real world be prepared to work hard and get all your work in by deadline.

I am completely perplexed by the postings on this site--so much so that I can\'t help but wonder if John, himself, didn\'t post them! I don\'t disagree that John has something to contribute to young minds preparing to enter the field of journalism. To some extent, he offers a real world experience of the newsroom in that he leaves much of the work and responsibility of the operation to the students. However, he is extremely abusive, which negates his value as a teacher. In fact, several of my classmates and I considered approaching the dean of students to report his behavior in the classroom. The only thing that kept us from doing so was that that John can, like the other students on this site mentioned, be a somewhat decent percent, outside of class. And I didn\'t take his media law class, which I imagine is a much different experience--the broadcast news program is its own isolated little world--no one really knows what happens in CPTV (Cal Poly Television). Behind the closed doors of Studio 300 is an untold nightmare. I believe that if any Cal Poly faculty member had ever been aware of what was happening in our classes, John would have been fired on the spot. He berated us on a daily basis, screaming obscenities for minutes at a time, storming about the studio throwing things, slamming his fists down on tables, he told us all repeatedly that we were worthless, and that we would never get jobs, or amount to anything, and that he was going to quit his job because of us. He actually walked out of class on the second day because he said the first assignment we completed was so horrible he couldn\'t work with it. One of my classmates took over and taught the class. And I must tell you, we worked our butts off in that class--I\'m talking overnight sessions in the studio at least once a week, not to mention pulling weekly stories together. We would come in at about 4:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon, leave at 6:00 a.m. Friday morning to take showers and such, and be back no later than 8:00 for the newscast. We\'d stay until 2:00 Friday. CPTV was our lives for ten weeks straight, literally. We put it before sleeping, eating, other classes... and we didn\'t complain--partly because we cared, and partly because we were so damn scared of John. We did learn, but mostly because of our own strength and tenacity. Some of it I attribute to John, because he bullied us into it, but I don\'t think his contribution in this manner makes up for the emotional scarring... Reading back on what I\'ve just written, I realize how inadequate my description of life with John is--really, there are no words. I\'ve never been treated so poorly. And I\'m no the only one who\'s said it--by far. John is the worst teacher I\'ve ever had.