Harris, John  

A decent professor. Unless you're interested in the subject arae you will probably find the class boring but easy enough to pass.

This class is easy to take notes in, and the tests are directly from the notes, you don't even need to purchase a book. The tests and quizzes require some memorization, so for some people it can be tough. It is also very important to go to class everyday. You have to write a couple of papers and find newspaper articles, which gets boring after a while, but he is a fairly easy grader. Not too bad a class overall.

he sure does like his women, wet!!

Dr. Harris was very helpful for dendrology. I had taken the class before with Nathan Smith and had to withdraw due to a family emergency now that guy was a bad teacher. Dr. harris on the other hand told you what was important and really wanted his students to do well. I know he can be boring or say some weird stuff at times but he really does care about the success of his students.

Harris, i think it was best summed up earlier on this page. retire! truly another wonderful proffessor for FNR...NOT! A four hour lab that never seemed to last over an hour maybe an hour and a half. now normally this would be a good thing, but for those of you who have had dendro will probly agree there is a shitload of stuff to learn for this class, so not teching the info we needed to know was a pain in the but. if i had not wanted to learn the material myself, and spent an enormous amount of hours in the library i would have failed! The best were his dumb ass questions about the forest regions. there was no good material availible to sudy that was to the point for the questions he asked and usually no one in the class was able to understand what the hell his questions were actually asking. also, always draw a picture even if he doesn't ask for one, and even if you know the answer to the questions, because he will grade you down for "not preperly clarifyig your answer"...DUMB!

he is very enthusiastic about the material...make learning about trees a little more interesting. VERY difficult class, but he definately helps you to do the best that you can and cuts you some slack if you need it

Professor Harris is very nice and tries to make memorizing 140 different plants by scientific and common name as interesting as possible. Use quizlet and take pictures of the plants on the 5th floor arboretum in the library.

Professor Harris' Dendrology class is a lot of information to take in. The lecture and lab portions are taken together, but the tests are also administered at the same time (which makes it hard to change gears between). You will have to identify and collect specimen on your field trips, make sure to press them right away and check for mold periodically, you can even check out a plant press, which makes everything so much easier. For the lecture part, there are quizzes on the lecture material on the tests. The lab tests are identifying the plants, which is brutal for the final. If you are made for studying and memorization this class is for you, have fun differentiating between 30 different species of pines! P.S. Do not cheat in this class, you will get caught! There is an extra credit opportunity to make some of the points back at the end of the quarter anyway, however this is a pretty difficult class and not to be taken lightly.

This class is pretty easy to pass. If you put a little effort into it, you can easily get an A. There are a LOT of papers, so if you really hate writing papers and essays don't take him. The study guides are incredibly helpful and are basically what is on the test. I didn't really learn anything in this class. He basically asks for your opinon, but he really wants HIS opinon. The movies were old and out dated. The only thing really current was the news articles that he forces you to do. Easy class, but you don't learn much. I'm just glad it's over with. He did give out some intresting facts, though.

Wow, where do I start? You will never probably ever have a teacher like Harris at Poly. He is a really chill guy, means well, very easy to approach, and overall a good guy. He is very lax about turning in assignments on time and has a solid FNR background. However, what this guy knows about Forestry lacks in what he really struggles at: Teaching! He goes off on personal stories and you get nothing out of this class, it is hardly even forestry related. His grading philosophies make no sense. I will always maintain how bad of a class this is, but I definitely respect Harris as a person, and his potential as a teacher that he clearly hasnt realized yet. Plain and simple, you can get by this class with a B because it is not the least bit hard, but it just makes no sense. I am at a loss to how, with respect to Harris aside, what this class has any purpose doing in the FNR major or any major for that matter. Harris could be a better teacher if this shit wasnt so boring and pointless, and he really is a COOL GUY, but he just struggles at teaching a stupid class that nobody should ever care about. Blame shouldnt go to Harris, but rather Piirto for allowing such a ridiculous class to be taught at this school.

This class was so boring. It could be very interesting, but all he does is lecture for two hours. You are ready to leave by the first half an hour. It is sad when only 6 out of 30 people come to class. He gives out a full 1 1/2inch binder full of printed notes and adds to it. These are a wast of paper. He needs to refine his note and use overheads. I did learn a few things in class but for the most part I dreaded going. His tests were ok becaues he gave you the questions and answers before hand.

Get ready to bore yourself for an entire 10 weeks!! Actually, I guess you can avoid that by not even going to class because you're not going to miss out on anything and he never once takes role or attempts to get to know you. He talked about the same thing every single day and finally and luckily I realized that if I just turned my assignments in at his office and showed up for the 2 test I was good to go. It was such a waste of money and a waste of my time. I highly value education and this class does not qualify for a college level course. Try to take a different class!

Geeee.....Wonder why there are so many new replies to Professor Harris attempt at RecX315. Because that class was an absolute joke. I'll admit- this course has a lot to offer but the sad part is that Prof. Harris should not be teaching it. He is all over the place with what he talks about and if you bother to listen- some of his facts are wrong, irrelevant, and generally are an attempt at his own self promotion. Bottom line: the class was pathetic. The class started with about 35 people and about a dozen attended everyday yet at the final there were about 35 people showing that he doesnt take roll and you dont even need to show up. His "notes" he hands out are pretty silly and a total waste of tress as mentioned by the person below. I'd give this class a huge F- and I'm not just saying this to be mean and slanderous because these are the thoughts of many a fellow student. I feel like writing my Congressman about this class.

this teacher is a total fucking retarded idiot. blah blah blah blah- this is the material he presents us with in that pathetic class. what a piece of work this person is. does cal poly know what goes on in this guys brain? oh my gosh this teacher made us really wonder if being educated is worth it. I think if Mcdonalds found out I had been educated by this clown- it may hinder their ability to hire me because they know my brain has been tainted. this course was community wellness or something along those lines but i think my community will not be well now i have learned under him and his community must really be not well with him there. i think atascadero state hospital should reject his day leave so we can continue with our educations and not risk being harmed or tainted by creepy harris' whole aura.

The class was a natural resoources class and how humans affect those resources, so the subject should be controversial. Prof. Harris will tell you at the begin of the quarter that he wants you to react to subjects and give your opinion. What he dosn't tell you is that he wants to hear his opinion comming from your mouth in your own words. You can easily pass the class if you are the kind of student that just does the work to please the teacher. Avoid Prof. Harris if you do not like being told what your opinion should be. It appears to me that he believes we should all go back to being hunters and gatherers. Which is ironic because he would not be able to survive due to knee injuries and other hinderances.

Dr. Harris is boring, repetitive and going to the class is basically pointless. If you want a class that has a LOT of busy work, take Dr. Harris. This class had way more work than any other FNR class I have ever taken. There are about 25 pages of diaries that you have to do, 3 position papers which are either too long or too short, neither is good enough, 10 newspaper articles which have to be single spaced, 2-3 pages, and his tests (assuming you want to get an A) will require at least 5-7 pages of writing each. This class has an insane amount of writing, avoid it if you don't like to write. The material in the class is interesting, but it is clear that Harris wants his opinion to be accepeted. The funny thing is that he is completely devoted to the environment, but he is a republican. Talk about a contradiction

This class is frustrating, but easy enough. Lots of papers to write, the key to an A is to turn your papers in early for proof reading. Turn them in two or three times (doesn't matter if you make the corrections or not) by the second time of turning it in he doesn't read it when you turn it in, just gives you a 90-something. Turning your papers in multiple times for "proofing" is the ONLY way to get an A. He's one of those teachers that you just figure out what he wants you to write about, and run with it. Don't question his ideas, perspective etc and life will be easy. He'll never learn your name, class isn't very important, just keep up on reading the notes. He gives everyone copies of past exams and quizzes, study those and know all of the basics about the topics the questions are on and you'll ace the midterms and final. Overall, if you don't mind writing papers, this class is an easy A and a good one to take if you're not big on going to class everyday.

And this instructor is terribly annoying because what? This man says the word "what" compulsively!!! I would just sit there and tally up all the times he said "what". He tries to use it to punctuate sentences but does it completely ineffectively. He'll just answer the obvious questions he asks immediately after he asks them. Looking back now, it's hilarious, but at the time it was so frusturating because I couldn't follow lectures since all I ever heard was a string of what's. Anyway,The class is not very interesting, he just reads out of his booklet you buy at the bookstore that contains many type-o's and shows a few videos. It requires an enormous amount of writing to be printed on oh-so-many pieces of paper (a bit hypocritical for a class titled "Human Impact on the Earth", maybe?!)But the quality of this writing is virturally irrelevant to your grade on it. I rambled about whatever and got an A-. The weird thing is he actually seems to read everything you turn in cause he comments on it! This professor does not try to be terribly annoying and ineffective, he's probably a decent man, but I'd tattoo the word "what" on my body rather than sit through one more lecture!

The class material was interesting, but topic discussions were ruined by his tendancy to interrupt student comments to push his views or boast about himself. Quizzes are given a week before exams (non-cumul) and are identical to test format and to the practice exams he publishes in the class notes; know the answers to all of these and tests will be a piece of cake. You also write 2 papers which he encourages you to turn in early for "feedback". . . his feedback is generally silly, but will help your grade. Attendance helps a lot, especially because we watched a lot of videos, but is not completely necessary (no roll). The class was painful, but easy to do well in if you do the busy work.

Textbook: Notes he writes and prints off at Poly Prints Class Quiz/Test: Just extremely easily. Not hard, just do a small bit of reading and use common sense about issues. He gives you practice test/quizes in his book, and its almost identical to it when taking. Writing/Journal: Not bad, just takes time. He leisurely reads them, so you don't have to much depth into it, but it is advised that you actually don't do it the day before because its a lot of work. (he assigns 8 newspaper articles and 2 journals (which are like 8 topics in each journal) Material: All about sustainable ethics and somewhat interesting if you have any concern about the Earth. Bias: yes! he pushes most of his views onto the students, but he knows almost TOO much information, which is sick... so I give him credit on what he talking about Take or not: TAKE !!! easy class, and at least an important topic to learn at school or to be informed about. Overall not bad, and no attendance is required, but he will know your name. I missed a lot of class and got by just fine

WAY too much work for a G.E. class.

Mr. John Harris.... He knows “his” stuff up one side and down the other... and let me tell you, YOU WILL HEAR IT. Lucky for you about week six in, he runs out of things to say so he starts repeating himself. It is quite irritating to say the least. I recommend Sudoku. So if you are taking this class be prepared to DO WORK (AKA busy work) There are a ton of assignments that are not hard, but extremely time consuming. You are graded on speaking in class 10% of your grade, but he won't let you get a word in. Every time I would try and say something he would cut me off mid sentence to ramble about what HE KNOWS. I was frustrated with a lot of his views, so I spoke all the time in his class and only got a low B in speaking. If you challenge what he says he gets super nervous rambles for the next couple minutes and gives you the stare down to regain control (I recommend doing so, it is quite entertaining). ONE THING YOU SHOULD KNOW.... Harris is not looking for quality, he is looking for quantity. He is always talking about people going above and beyond and doing 4 pages instead of 3 and getting an A. If there is a 3 page assignment and you write 3, this will get you a C (one would think since you did the assignment to his standards you would have a chance at an A... but NO a C “cuz you did the minimum") John Harris is looking for that extra page of BS that every teacher tells you not to do! I feel like this Harris informs you of issues in pollution and resources...but never talks about solutions. You could tell him you walk to school, use candles for light, grow your own food and recycle all your waste... and he would still tell you, you are wrong. No student can do or say anything right. It was frustrating to me because he never saw THE HAPPY MEDIUM... all he wanted to talk about was what we do wrong and how people that think they are doing it right are still doing it wrong. No solutions No instructions. This guy thinks he is SO INTELLIGENT TO THE POINT OF MAKING HIMSELF SOUND REALLY UNINTELLIGENT AND ARROGANT. He considers only his opinion! And yes he lectures the entire 2 hour class, no walking around, no power points, no writing on the board, no nothing! He occasionally hands out a piece a paper you can add to his course book... Which is mostly plagiarized if you take a close look at it. John Harris is a highly informed guy, but his arrogance and failure to credit anyone else’s word make me loose most all of my respect for him. I hope he reads this… but I know he doesn’t because he is too arrogant and stubborn! Can’t believe he calls him self a republican... I still cannot figure that one out! Enjoy… Just remember write lengthy papers (BS), ask meaningless questions during class so you get credit and bring sudoku!!!

Just find out exactly what he want to hear and commit it to memory. Hopefully they can find another professor for this class in the future who is not so full of himself.

Prof Harris is not a bad guy it just happens he gets to teach the most pointless classes that deal with nothing, but it is not his fault, he actually is a nice guy just a little different with the teaching style, although if I could take another teacher besides him I probably would, but he really isn't that bad, just boring, but teaching conflict management is going to be boring no matter what.

The worst Professor at Cal Poly by far. An embarassment to Cal Poly. The class is a complete joke.

At first I did not think the class was that bad. Then you get back papers that are assigned a random grade that has nothing to do with the quality of the paper. This professor is by far the worst professor I have had a Cal Poly. Thanks again Cal Poly Forestry for another spectacular class with an even better professor! Retire.

Harris is very unclear about what is expected of students. He spends a lot of time trying to justify the things he does (like teaching the class), probably because he knows he is making a mockery of himself, the department, and the subject matter, which has hardly been updated in 30 years. If you take his class, you will not learn anything useful. The idea behind the class is sound- it's important to be able to resolve conflicts, but he does a horrible job of teaching the class, and doesn't teach what the class is intended to teach. He is truly the worst professor at Cal Poly and should be fired immediately. If you can avoid it, don't take a class from him!

This guy needs to learn to shut the hell up when students are having legitimate, intelligent discussions on projects/labs they are working on in class (when he has clearly provided time for you to do so) instead of listening in on everyone's conversations and butting in whenever the hell he feels like it! He has a love for talking and being heard by everyone, but when it's the student's turn to speak and make progress on the assignments that they need to accomplish, he NEVER stops saying what he thinks, and it's the most frustrating experience trying to work near him. If he hears something you say to another student about your thoughts on a project, he'll butt in and go on FOREVER on what HE thinks. Even if you don't ask for his opinion, you're gonna get it, so get used to it, and don't expect to make much progress if you work next to him because you're just gonna get an earful the whole time!!!

Harris is an alright professor. The class is actually very time consuming. The grading criteria is as follows. 4 groups projects, 2 journals, 1 speech, 1 class discussion, and many other miscellaneous tasks. Harris is probably the most annoying professor I have ever encountered. He will never SHUT UP! Don't bother going to lab after the first day because he will just constantly annoy you. Like someone else said, do not sit near the front of the lab. He will only create conflict with you. How he is still teaching here is anyone's guess...Please Dr.Doug get rid of him. I don't know how this class still exists. It's way too outdated and could be replaced by many other important classes. Please get rid of the class or professor. One or both have got to go!

Harris your a fuckin douche who lies constantly. you have short man syndrome and need to get the fuck outta here! thank god your retiring you old fuckin cocky short shit

This class was poorly organized and Harris is very unclear. He caused a lot of conflict in my life. I am not sure why there is a lab for it; the lab was another three hours of my life wasted every week. Classes are spent listening to Harris ramble on about mushrooms and shit in dark rooms. This might seem bizarre to you; it was. Harris is nonsensical and basically all he did was ask us to pick things about leadership or listening from a list and he would ramble on about it. We had to lead the class on a discussion topic too. I would suggest signing up early so you get something interesting. Talk in class at least once so you can write your name down for participation points. Lab time was intended to work on group projects. Pick a good group and stay until you finish the assignments so you don't have to meet later. Follow the structure he gives for each assignment and have him review it; you should get a good grade if you do these things. Don't try to BS the tests; you probably won't do well. Good luck to you.

The wackest most pathetic class Cal Poly has to offer. I literally did not learn one fucking thing all quarter. NOT ONE! So much stupid ass easy work i could have done it in sixth grade. Stay on top of your shit throughout the quarter or piles of pointless work will add up. Harris is an old coot who blabbers for 90 minutes a class while sniping anyone who dares to talk when he is talking. Summary of the class: Q. What should you do to solve conflict A. Communicate better

Harris is a nice guy, but the way he runs his class is just completely unorthodox. He will ramble on, so be wary of that, but the hardest part for me was just keeping some form of interest in this class. I think there is so much potential for this class to propel students and give them an edge when they graduate, but Harris basically shits on that ideal by presenting ideas in a bland and almost entirely useless way. It is all common sense with no real application. On the plus side, he does make this class easy and the alternative (Verma) will bring a special kind of pain from this 4 unit class. With Harris, it is more like a 3 unit class, and for that I am very thankful. Conclusion? Easy course but a ton of busy work.