Murphy, Janet  

This was one of the most biased classes I have EVER taken. Basically it is supposed to be about nurturing relationships with infants and toddlers, but all it is about is how midwives are wonderful and how everybody should have a home-birth or a water-birth, and how doctors are evil people. She preaches to be accepting of different cultures, but then sends you to a website saying that circumcision (a typically Jewish and Islamic custom) is the "first form of sexual abuse". You have a lot of guest speakers come in (almost all midwives) and watch a bunch of videos about different philosophies and ways to structure child-care centers. The only thing I enjoyed was visiting the Montessouri school. The information given was completely biased and also out of date. Almost everyone else LOVED this class, but I didn't, and the only thing I learned was that Cal Poly is as unculturally diverse as I thought. It's an easy "A", but was probably the most frustrating class I have taken or will take at Cal Poly.

At the beginning of the quarter I thought I was going to love Janet, she seemed so nice and sweet and made it sound like everyone was going to get to know eachother and it was going to be a close-knit family. This did not happen, however, by the end of the quarter she didn't even know anyone's names. She couldn't even recognize your name. She's really opinionated and tries to make you think the exact same way she does and makes you do assignments that reflect her opinion. There is like a trillion guest speakers which are sometimes cool and sometimes freaky and then you have to do a journal every week talking about what you liked and didn't like about the stuff that happened that week. You have to do a project about your birth and your family and then bring in 5 items that represent you and show them to the class. Then later on you have to do a report about daycare and make your own daycare. The final is to make a daycare with a group and she grades all anal here. I totally didn't understand what she wanted. Oh and you'll get that a lot you never know what she wants or when stuff is due. One time she started talking about how something was due that day but she would move it to Thursday and no one even knew what the hell she was talking about. And #1 thing: DON'T BUY THE BOOKS THERE IS NO FLIPPIN REASON AND ITS A WASTE OF MONEY. Theres 5 books for this class which ends up being over $100 and you don't even use them or get tested on them. "Seasons of Change": picture book with a bunch of hippy soon-to-be moms walking around naked and then burying their placentas, "Everyday Blessings": The most boring book ever and I didn't even read it, I'm so mad I spent $20 on this, "Infants and Toddlers": I think we used this three times, "Infants and Toddlers Companion": I didn't even open it, "The Binder" this was the only thing you sorta had to read, but I'd just borrow it from a friend or from someone who took her class and can't get rid of it. Anyway, if you're a CD major you have to take this class so you don't really have a choice. Just don't let her suck you into having a home birth.

Janet is a really good teacher and this is a really good class! Although if you can not handle watching live births on tape this is not the class for you. This class is pretty easy with very minimal work, except at the end there are some papers and assingments but overall really not bad. This class is very laid back and fun (you even have a provided snack break everyday) I would definetly recommend the course and Janet unless birth, breast feeding and circumsition creep you out, then stay away!

I want to point out that the other students commenting on the class are freshmen and are obviously too immature to handle the content of this class. Janet does a WONDERFUL job of exposing her students to up-to-date and enlightening information. She invites professionals to speak on various topics that we all will need to know about at some point in our lives! She fosters an accepting and relaxing classroom experience in which you are free to express your opinions. She is highly qualified and experienced in child development. I looked forward to attending this class each week and highly recommend it to anyone who is mature enough to handle birth and babies!!!!!

The last person who wrote was probably Janet. This class is supposed to be about INFANTS AND TODDLERS: NURTURING RELATIONSHIPS yet we spend 3/4 of the class talking about being pregnant and birth. This was How to Give Birth in a Bath Tub 101. Her assignments were so vague and all the guest speakers supported her opinion. There was one lady from a hospital and even she said, "You might want to have a home birth, since the hospital is so uninviting." What the hell? This class just made me angry.

DONT BUY ANY OF THE BOOKS, YOU LITERALLY DONT USE THEM AT ALL. Save your 100 dollars. Now that that warning's out of the way I should say that Janet is hands down the worst teacher I've had at Cal Poly, and this is my 4th year now so that's saying something. Don't think that I'm saying this out of spite form a bad grade; I did get an A. The class is called Infants and Toddlers, but she spent over 3 weeks on various birthing options. That's for women, not the child. She makes it VERY clear she hates hospitals and medical doctors. She let her oldest son watch her give birth for crying out loud! He's was 4 or 5 at the time; that's just creepy. She has about 15 guest speakers throughout the quarter and ALL are women. She see's the father as a necesary inconveneince to having a child. Basically men are just walking sperm to her. She teaches her opinouns like they're facts so don't be honest about your impresions in the journals. If you do she'll go out of her way to force you to think like her. Oh and any women who don't plan on nursing GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN OR SHE'LL TEAR YOUR HEAD OFF.

The thing to keep in mind about Janet is that she is that yes she is a bad teacher, but more importantly she's a bad person. For starters she makes you buy a hundred bucks worth of books that YOUD DON'T USE EVEN ONCE. The only thing we used at all was the packet but we never turned anything in from it so she'll never know if you don't buy it. There are no tests but a journal is due every week. She tells you to comment on what you like and don't like about the guest lecturers (all of which are women that are against hospital births but if you ever say anything less than positive about them, even that you weren't intersted in their message, she'll right a long commentary about why she's correct and your wrong on your journals. There is a paper that requires you to interview your parents about your birth and she even commented negativley about my parents comments! They're not in the class, why would she care what they thought/think?? But the thing that really gets me besides her opinouns, waistng money, and man hateing bigotry,is the fact that she grades people by their appearance. She litterally grades 10% of the two papers based on the attractivness of the cover but she NEVER tells you what she wants, and we never go over art in class. This is just a great example of how much apearance means to her. I always thought she was just nice when she made comments about what nice top or outfit people had on but really she's just shallow and notices that kind of stuff. She was probably the large breasted blonde cheerleader that picked on all the unpopular girls in high school. Oh, and the person who wrote like 3 down from this makes an argument that the people that typed before her are freshmen so somehow their opinouns aren't vallid, but she missed the fact that a sophmore and a freshman wrote against her, not two freshmen. Even the people that suport her are stupid!

Janet is a HORRIBLE PERSON, and an even worse teacher. Don

Janet is a really nice person. With that being said, I wouldn't say that she is the best teacher. 130 is a lot of work; the assignments are unclear and are basically busy work. The good part of the class is that as long as you turn your work in and complete your hours, you'll be fine. It wasn't my favorite class, but Janet is understanding and sweet. Like most CD classes if you get your work completed, attend class, smile and act like you are having fun-you should get an A.

I loved Janet. She is so sweet and really understands that everyone has different schedules so she lets you turn stuff in when you want to, but you just can't procrastinate. The environment is very relaxed, but she is a little unclear at times and doesn't always know what she is talking about, but i never got the feeling that she pushed her opinions on anyone and she never made me feel bad for writing my own. She's a lot different form many professors, in the way that she is very relaxed and you have to like that to take the class. overall it's a very chill class compared to Bette jeans class. I can see how Janet was probably the cheerleader who thought she was really cool, because she still thinks she is really cool!

Ahhh Janet. I had her for 128 last winter and I got to experience her again this quarter. Every class she teaches is a complete waste of time. You get put into an internship (she asks you for your times when you can work and how far you are willing to drive because some of the places are in Paso Robles or Arroyo Grande) and then sticks you in a place that doesn't work at all. After the first day she'll change the starting time to 9am because she doesn't want to wake up early and then she'll be late EVERY FRIGGIN DAY. Its not that hard to get places on time especially when you changed the time of the class so you would have an extra hour to do all your morning shit. Then her cell phone will ring 9 times during class and she'll answer it right in the middle of her lecture. You don't learn anything. Its an INFANTS AND TODDLERS class yet you are assigned to go work with preschoolers. How does that make sense? You have to do all these crappy assignments that are seriously just busy work. Its crap you'll never use ever again. Don't buy the books, it the same books you use for 128 and the preschool lab. I didn't bother even looking at the diversity book. You have to write evaluations of yourself on every piddly assignment. This school really bothers me because I've had to take two classes from this woman, and this class I should have learned something because I had to go out and actually "apply what I learned" (nothing). Its so frustrating. Anyway, do all the assignments on time because otherwise you're left with 3 hours of crap assignments and you want to shoot yourself.

Janet is not a horrible person!!! She is just not the best teacher. She adds a lot of "fluff" when she's lecturing and tells us stuff that most people and especially child development majors have heard a million times. I think she does truely want to help her students and tries to make assignments easy for them (no due dates for my 130 class), she just feels passionatly about certain subjects and wants to talk about them, even when no one wants to listen! didnt feel like i gained anything from her class, but its easy.

Janet is GREAT! I dont know what everyone else is talking about because I think she is one of the sweetest, most genuine teachers I have ever had. It is true, a lot of assignments in this class are a bit of busy work, but you still learn a lot. I recommend interning at the ASI center. You will have a great experience there. Don't be afraid to take a class with Janet! You will love her!

Janet is so great!! These other evaluators don\'t know what they are talking about. If you are a good student or at least work and are responsible you\'ll be fine. She is so nice and understanding! I definitely recommend her especially for preschool lab! Best class ever!

Janet is full of energy and has a million things to do everyday. This class takes up a lot of time, but the bonds that you make with the kids are worth it. This class doesnt require a lot of teacher instruction, but she was always there to make sure we were running things smoothly. Hardly anything is graded in the class eventhough it is required to be turned in. The one big project is at the end of the year and it is essentially making a scrapbook for you \"special buddy\". At the end of the quarter there is a super good pot luck at her house. She does a great job directing the preschool and she is also really nice.

I loved this class, but I HATED JANET AND THE WAY SHE GRADES, SHE IS A BIASED BITCH. If you\'re not in a sorority, expect to be ignored by your classmates and Janet. She favors like crazy and has terrible judgment. I INVESTED SO MUCH TIME IN THIS CLASS AND DID MY BEST, AND I GET A FUCKING B IN PRE-SCHOOL? FUCK YOU JANET.

Janet is absolutely ridiculous. There is no way to avoid having to deal with her for Preschool Lab, so get your lips ready to do major butt kissing. I received an A-, which is absurd for the amount of work put in to this class. She truly has no idea what she is talking about, and does not practice what she preaches when it comes to her own children. She is also ALWAYS late and a complete and total airhead. Good riddance.

Avoid taking Developmental with Murphy at all costs unless you enjoy spending college tuition to be taught by a preschool teacher. She basically recycled Dr. Jovanovich's powerpoints and read straight from them the entire quarter. The only original content to come from Murphy was her own opinions and anecdotes regarding her experience raising children. On the bright side, this was hands down the least amount of effort I have ever put into a class, yet I still received an A. Her test questions blatantly contradict the lecture notes and the book so you can typically argue for the entire class to toss out questions on the exams. Basically, this class with Murphy was the biggest waste of time and money in my experience at Cal Poly and it gives the Psych department a bad name.

All over the place, Bad at technology, horrible at actually explaining her powerpoints, always late, just try not to take her class

I absolutely hated this class. Yes, it was incredibly easy. However, I actually like to learn something in my classes. She would show up late consistently, get confused on a regular basis, never know how to work with technology. She's just a mess. The tests are still somewhat easy if you don't study. But it is true that she is very biased. We spent a lot of time on the baby/toddler sections and she did practically demonize birth in a hospital. Oh and she liked to do this "think/pair/share" thing that made me feel like a baby. Just the way she talks, like okay children get together and talk about what YOU think! I'm hoping I never ever ever have to take a class with her again.

Professor Murphy is so nice! She is passionate about the material, and really cares about teaching. She does have frequent technical difficulties, though. She had problems with the powerpoint nearly every class which got distracting at times. Most of the material tested came out of the book. Very generous when it comes to grading.

Murphy is great! I thought I would get a B, but I ended up with an A. Her tests are almost completely logic-based. I opened the book once, but you won't need it. Her lectures tell you everything you need to know. The last test consists of everybody's Investigation Questions, but you'll put together a class study guide for it. She's really sweet and motherly--a little spacey and perpetually late. I didn't see any favoritism issues like other people mentioned.

Developmental psych with Professor Murphy is an extremely easy class. To prepare for exams,just do the study guide the night before and skim through it. To be perfectly honest, I don't think the textbook is completely necessary for this class. However, I was glad I bought it and did the reading because it's an interesting subject and surprisingly, Murphy taught us very little during the lectures. I found her powerpoint information minimal and hard to follow, so I absorbed much more information from the book. Also, in terms of tests,keep in mind that she usually gives back a few questions after grading them because her questions sometimes contradict her lectures and are strangely worded. Overall, a pretty boring but very easy course.

Janet\'s a sweetheart. It\'s obvious she adores infants. However, the class was terrible. If you want an easy A, take the class. If you want to go to class and wait for 10-15 minutes for the teacher to arrive, pay over $100 for a textbook that you hardly ever use, sit in class doing nothing because the teacher wasn\'t prepared for class, then take this class. Even the prompt for two of her essays were the same, but she still made us write it. It\'s an easy class.

Business majors: A degree for the intellectually impaired, HA HA.