Larson, John  

He is essentially an unsuccessful version of trump

Let me start by saying this isn't really a lab, it's more of an extended lecture, Larson blazes through a day of material asking you to fill in the blank of random ass words every other sentence. After cruising through the material in about an hour and the remaining time is left for you to work on homework, if you make a mistake or ask a "dumb" question, he calls you out and gives you shit for it while possibly not even answering your question. The only reason I learned a damn thing from this class is because the TA is excellent and I worked with fellow students to understand the 3-8 hours of homework each week.

Larson does not covey material well at all. The first day of class in ME 130 which is most people's first introduction to SolidWorks he goes straight into designing an entire part and goes very fast. The TAs in my class are not very helpful as they help you for a second then jump to the next person which in reality ends up helping nobody instead of taking time to help at least a few individuals. In ME 129 Larson explained the material very vaguely and used drafting terms without even explaining the meaning of them. Larson creates an environment in his classroom where students are scared to ask questions for fear of being scolded. Larson is very grumpy when someone asks for help and loves to make people feel stupid. He enjoys berating students and even picks a few students in each class to consistently bully for the entire course. Last quarter in ME 129 Larson always called out this one kid constant saying he "needed to get his shit together" and that he is "scared shitless of failing". He constantly tells everyone that if you can't get an A and B in his class you shouldn't be an engineer. He is very discouraging. ME 129 was a one unit class where most students devoted the majority of their time to because Larson doesn't understand that people are enrolled in other classes and one unit classes shouldn't be students top priority. Larson is terrible at understanding student difficulties because of course the material is easy for him since he teaches it. In summary, Larson is poor at explaining concepts, doesn't understand students who struggle, and talks down to people who ask for help. He also very opinionated and offensive sometimes making racist and sexist comments. The only reason I did not give him a terrible evaluation after ME 129 was because he did not leave the classroom while the students rated him which is a serious violation of Cal Polys rules. The only good about his courses is that he offers extra credit that goes to the homework portion of your grade.

Larson's lecture were basically useless, because he goes way too fast and just talks at you, but he sends out the powerpoint later that week, and that explains it really well. I was able to mostly teach myself from that, but you can usually find some amazing extra information online, and the textbook has some good explanations, too. Don't pay for it though. He is definitely an old grump, and he can be pretty racist and sexist, but I think for the most part it's unintentional and he is a decent person who just needs to realize that he isn't teaching in the 70s anymore. He has a pretty sarcastic and gruff sense of humor and he does surprisingly make an effort to learn everyone's name or give someone a nickname, even if you don't go to office hours or talk in class, and tries to make at least a small connection with most of the students. There is a lot of homework in this course and I highly recommend not saving it til the night before it's due, and don't skip the extra credit, because his grading system is pretty weird. Mostly though, this class goes way too in depth about hand drafting and could have easily just covered the basics of drafting before going into solidworks or CAD. I hated it while I was taking it because it was so much work, but it honestly wasn't that bad looking back. I recommend making friends you can check your work with - or just complain about the class. Overall, don't take this class unless you are prepared for a lot of busywork and don't half-ass it, and know that Larson can be a jerk, but he does mean well.

The guys hilarious. Overall, your grade will literally come down to the 35% final if your not a putz. There's an extra credit quiz at the end worth like the first four of nine quizzes combined so don't be stupid. There's also extra credit for homework every week which carries your grade at 30%. Essentially you will get full credit for quizzes and homework which is like 50% of your grade. It's incredibly easy to do well in this class and again Larson is hilarious and jokes about non engineering majors. Very good and chill class.

Larson is the GOAT. He tells it how it is. Go to office hours and do the work. Definitely doable to get an A and easily a B.

He is a bit of a dick but is very helpful if you actually ask for help. His sessions for students to work together are definitely helpful. I would recommend him for 129 and also for 130, although if you are easy to wound with words his class is a bit of a minefield. He really knows his stuff.

Larson is rude, patronizing, conceited and cannot stop himself from making inappropriate comments. He likes to target students and intentionally degrade them for no reason other than personal entertainment (one might say that he reflects his own flaws with his comments). I honestly don't know if its tenure or people are afraid that if fired he'll croak but he does not seem fit to be a teacher. Do not take the class with him, take a section with one of his TA's.

I don't know how to describe this class except as a meme. Larson is simultaneously amazing and awful. Many times this quarter he told us about how girls had complained that he called everyone "brother," so he decided to start calling everyone "comrade" instead, but then continued to call everyone "brother" the entire time. He is really just an old guy that loves to complain about everything. As a professor, he does a better job than most grad students. He knows what he's talking about, so if you pay attention then the homework will be manageable. And if you come to his office hours, he is very helpful. However, he is also extremely disrespectful of many students, especially those that do not come to office hours and make mistakes. Also, he makes an effort to learn every student's names. Anyway, the class itself is relatively easy, but there is a lot of homework. And there is so much extra credit that an A is basically expected. Every ME has to go through Larson at some point, so you might as well take him early to get used to him. Overall, this class is not too fun, but an A is guaranteed if you put in the time.

If you can't handle Larson, you might want to reconsider ME. The man tells it straight. Work hard and he will appreciate you.

hate this guy

Very cool and funny old guy. He's very approachable, helpful, and will know your name even if you never ask him any questions. His lectures, however, are not very clear so you will need so ask questions and go to office hours and he'll make sure everything is clear. He's one of my favorite teachers. Take him.

Larson is a good funny teacher. Not the best lecturer, but during lab he was extremely helpful. The class itself was not hard if you have had some prior drafting experience.

Larson is amazing. Fall quarter, the college of engineering decided to put all of the freshman AEROs and MatEs, who hadn't taken drafting into a drafting class called IME 130 (which was eliminated as a prereq halfway through the quarter). They borrowed Larson from the ME department to teach this and I am so glad they did. Larson is my favorite professor so far even though he spent most of the class trying to convince me to switch from AERO into ME. He is hilarious and teaches you everything you need to know about drafting. If you ask him for help, he will pretty much do the entire thing for you while you watch, which is what you want for drafting. He makes you turn in your first quiz to his office hours so he can get to know you and then he will proceed to either call everyone by their last name or give you a nickname. He gives some good and hilarious life advice to Freshmen, which was actually really helpful for us first quarter. This guy is awesome and if you ever need to take drafting, Larson is definitely the man!

Most people hate Larson and I totally get it. I took 129 with him and struggled and struggled. I didn't understand and he is really condescending. HOWEVER, it is not this that makes or breaks a teacher. His sense of humor is really dry and he's trying to drill the information into your head but once you're around him and understand that his sense of humor isn't the best, you realize he's a really nice guy. He's offered plenty of times to have me come in and he'd help me with the homework or a quiz or whatever. I understand he's hard to take but I have never learned more in a class than I have with Larson. You learn it the hard way sometimes but you do learn and he's nicer than he appears. Plus, if you try really hard and ask questions after class or do the extra credit, he'll take note of that and if you're really struggling, he won't be so hard on you. Just put the effort in and it'll pay off. No one knows drafting better than Larson. Trust me.

I completely agree that Larson is not for students who have no prior knowledge to SOLIDWORKS. He makes it far more difficult than how CAD really is and I noticed from many students that he is difficult to approach. You may get frustrated a number of times in lab, one girl actually broke down crying. He also makes it challenging by running through the lecture as fast as possible. I had to attend both 8AM labs, Mon. and Wed., to keep up. Ironically, I feel more confident in understanding the basics of SOLIDWORKS than any student who hasn't taken Larson, and about 80-90% of the students passed with a B or above. Tip: Attend office hours at the lab, not his office, if you need help with a part or drawing. Also, seek help from peers and be open to those who seek help from you.

If Larson likes you from the beginning then you'll have a decent time in that class, if he doesn't then you will receive essentially zero help from him. His way of "teaching" an intro to solidworks is to make a part at his normal speed despite how much the class is struggling, and to answer questions as vaguely as possible or not at all depending on how much he likes you. Once he finishes making the part he spends the rest of the period going through his emails or whatever it is he does behind his commuter while one or two TAs who don't fully understand the program themselves walk around and try and help out all 30 or so students. His final exam itself isn't too difficult but the extent to how tough he grades you on it also depends on how much he likes you once again. The way to get him to like you is to sit in one of the first two rows of seats and to laugh at as many jokes as possible and to agree with him that students our age are lazy and do not work as hard as he did "back in his day" because we rely too much on technology now. I should note that I am a bitter student who did not suck up to him early enough and he therefor didn't like me and despite going into the final exam with an A- was dropped down to a D+. The reason for this is that I received a mid-level concussion the day before the exam and despite having migraines and doctors notes saying I should not be looking at screens for extended periods of time, he told me that I either had to take the test with everyone else or fail the class. So I took the test and had to leave multiple times for extreme headaches making it so I was not even able to finish my project. So to sum it all up, do not take Larson. I am glad he's in Germany and I hope U.S. Customs doesn't let him back in the country.

Larson is one of the finest teachers you will ever be lucky enough to learn from. Yes he can be gruff, and he will call you out if you aren't making an effort, but hands down there is no better drafting and CAD teacher you will ever meet. Here's the thing with Lasron, he is trying to teach the discipline that it required of you if you are going to be a good designer. What I've learned from Larson and designing in the real world is that your modelling technique must be built on discipline! Don't let him catch you taking shortcuts, leaving sketches undefined, or trying to get too cute with the software. Do it the way he shows you, don't get offended if he calls you out in front of the class, learn the discipline. The guy worked for years at Sandia National Weapons Labs, there's a reason he's so particular. Behind that gruff demeanor and dry sense of humor is a great guy, and that veneer is only millimeters thick. There are lots of times I wish I could take his classes all over again. My absolute favorite teacher throughout my undergraduate and Masters.

Larson is unlike any other professor you will ever have. The thing is, every ME has to have him at one point, and it's probably better to get used to him earlier rather than later. He is very specific about the process of designing and how CAD drawings and models should look, but this is mainly because he did it in the industry for years. His class is certainly entertaining but his humor can go too far sometimes. The way to succeed in his class is to do everything like he does and exactly the way he tells you. There isn't as much extra credit as there was in ME 129, but still a fair amount. You don't need to stress too much about this course, just make sure to do all the assignments (even if you have to do them outside of class).

Larson is hilarious, his lecture can be a little unclear at times, but i found everything he said to be helpful. If you needed help he was glad to help you with whatever it was. He also likes to give you little tips about life. If you're a bit faint of heart i wouldn't recommend taking him, i can see how he can come off as a bit abrasive.

he helps and has a great sense of humor. Almost everyone in the class has %100.

Larson is by far my favorite professor here at Cal Poly. Though he can be unclear in his lecture, he is a great guy. He remembers names and always knows how to get a crack out of someone. The homework could get pretty hard but that's what office hours are for. Meet with him he is the professor to get!

Larson is awesome! If you're an ME major, he's got your back and will help you out with anything! In lab, he can go through the material really fast and act like it's all simple but it isn't. He makes up for this with fantastic one-on-one instruction in lab and office hours. He also gives more extra credit than homework points, so it's nearly impossible to go into the final without a 100%. Take this class seriously though - too many people didn't and got dominated on the final. Don't kid yourself with this stuff, you either know it or you don't. You cannot BS your way through this class. In Larson's own words: "I know the difference between those of you who are giving it a shot, and those of you who aren't giving a shit".

Larson is so funny and knowledgeable. Yes, he does go on rants often, but he does ensure that you know the information. He is kind of gruff, but if he picks on you more, that means he likes you.

I don't know why so many people like his teaching style. Sure he is cool and does the whole "badass teacher" thing pretty good, but his teaching is sub par. When asking for help, a lot of the time he tries to make you look like an idiot which isn't bad other than he doesn't answer your question. Part of it is that he has to be hard on the freshmen who don't understand college yet. And I get that.A

Larson is a boss. I've had him for ME 151, 152, and I'm taking him again for 251 next quarter. Basically if you're a freshman ME you get two choices for your teachers for 151 and 152, Larson or MacFarland for 151 and Larson or Bahringer for 152. Larson is the only one THAT KNOWS HIS SHIT. He been at Cal Poly forever and knows what's up. His classes were challenging but he is extremely helpful and he wants you to succeed. Take Larson you won't regret it.

Larson is that classic drafting teacher: the cranky old white guy who's been doing it forever and thinks his way is the only correct way to draft. That said, he knows his stuff and is pretty good at teaching it. Grading is a bit skiwampus: expect to get nailed hard on assignments and quizzes. Your grade will look terrible, but do the extra credit quiz, go to office hours to make sure you understand what went wrong on your assignments, and you will be fine in the end. He often doesn't really explain concepts well until you've already turned in the assignment, but if you talk to him, he will get to know you, and probably call you out in class. Very amusing in lecture.

Larson's a hard ass. Simple as that. He comes off as kind of a dick, and since he's been teaching at poly for 40+ years, he probably has earned that right. Don't get me wrong though, he knows his stuff and wants you to be the same. He's hilarious and very sociable in lab and lecture, and is very easy to get a hold of if you need help on anything. For 152 you can take other professors lab, but honestly you'll probably learn the most and do the best in Larson's lab. Not the best professor ever, but you don't really have a choice for the design communication courses and you'll learn to like him over time. Take him if you can

Yes, Larson does know a lot about drafting. That's not really saying much. He spent most of lecture rambling about random things and not really helping us learn. He is a cool guy that may be too cool for a teaching job. I spent probably 15 hours on this class total and got a B+.A

Taking this instructor is like being in a Twilight Zone episode. You just can

My main man John is the single greatest belly dancer of all time. His grace is matched by no one and the privilege of learning the ways from the god himself will be an immeasurable gift to my ballet career. 7.8/10 too much water

I'm not sure where this guy gets his good polyratings from. Maybe perhaps if you're a freshman and are used to being picked on by the student body, being referred to as "little shits" by your professor isn't so bad. Larson regularly talks condescendly to his students, sarcastically refers to them as "geniuses" and god forbid you ask him to repeat himself, he will question your intelligence all together and how you got to Cal Poly in the first place. Most professors are two things, good at teaching and fond of the younger generation. This guy is neither. He spends half of lab ranting, usually at the expense of his students, and the other half trying to figure out why he keeps getting error messages on his solid model. He blames all of his short comings on the wording of the lab manual, but smell the coffee Larson, you can't CAD better than any of us so-called "little shits".

Fucken asshole. Not helpful in both lec and lab. So cocky for someone who has no credibility. Inappropriate humor: makes rape jokes, racist jokes, etc. Waste of money and time. You ask him for help and he yells at you. I didn't pay his salary to be treated in that way. If I could, I would petition to have him fired. But the Me department likes to keep useless professors like him and lietzell.Both people who have very little industrial experience and lots of attitude.

I suppose if you look at the ratings, you'll think he is a great teacher. Note this: Most students that post on here have earned an A. This is not a reflection on the old hag. These students have had previous knowledge of the course material- drafting and solidworks. The teacher's performance should be evaluated by students who have had little experience with the material. And you know what? They don't get A's. This professor rants about budget cuts and says the GE classes should be cut and GE professors are useless and students who are non-engineering majors are stupid. IS THIS THE KIND OF TEACHERS AND ENVIRONMENT CAL POLY ADVERTISES TO PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS AND PARENTS? NO! So why are there professors like him who spends 2 hours of student's money and taxpayers money to rant on and on about irrelevant things. In addition, embarrassing your alma mater and your colleagues as well as students because you are some entitled old hag makes you look unprofessional and unqualified. THIS kind of behavior does not belong in a professional place. Keep your shit off the class time and damn teach!

He always say if you can't draft, you can't make it as an engineer. It's like, not all we do is draft. There's other things too you know, guess he doesn't know because he was a Business student back in his day (Engineering technology, not even engineering). Don't tell me we can't be engineers, what would you know?)

he feels entitled to say a lot of things. His behavior is disgusting to say the least. Just does not inspire or fit what cal poly is about. Can't teach, reads off powerpoints and then rants some more.

Larson is a good guy. He tells it to you straight, and he doesn't fuck around. I'll admit that he does move through the lab pretty quick, but he knows his stuff and can be a very helpful person when you don't understand. Just make sure you ask questions after he's done lecturing because he can't be bothered to slow down or answer "dumb" questions during class time. I enjoyed this class and he's actually a pretty guy. definitely keeps class interesting. I would recommend him

This is not a professor for the faint of heart. Most of his negative reviews are due to his strongly opinionated and standoffish nature. He will not baby you through your question. He may make you feel stupid, not because he is on a power trip, but because he is frank and will let you know if he expects you to come up with the answer on your own: "Come on, you got to think." If you're not a panzy, he is a great professor and is surprisingly lenient if you have a genuine reason for an extension. Very fair, good reality check for the personalities we will encounter in the real world. His lectures start off as heavy review from prior drafting courses, but don't fall asleep after week 3. He never expects you to finish a lab the same day. So don't stress if you can't keep up with his solidworks lab walkthroughs. He does walk you through them well though. If you are especially slow, he wont mind if you record the lectures. Ask first. The lab final is easy if you practice configurations, equations, and bill of materials beforehand. The lecture final is even easier. It's open note, and if you were conscious during the lecture, there is no reason you should not get a perfect score. An obscene amount of extra credit available. If you don't get an A in this class, you didn't put in the time. Simple as that.

Larson is the best and knows his shit. He comes off at first as a really angry old man that doesn't give a shit about you. Later you realize he still doesn't care about your problems but he actually does have a heart. It is just hidden deep under that wrinkly skin.

Larson is hilarious. He doesn't care about your feelings, he just wants you to understand how to do hole calcs and use GT&T properly. He knows what he's talking about and is definitely the most knowledgable on drafting at Poly. He a grumpy old man but he's great. The only reason I can wake up for the 7 A.M. lecture is because I know that I'll be entertained learning about Livermore Labs, how to save money, and how I should change majors if I can't use a damn chart. Homework is easy if you have some spacial intelligence and did well in 128/228, its never taken me more than 2 hours.

Larson is a legend.

Professor Larson was great. He is very good at making it clear what material is important and will be needed for the exam/each assignment. As long as you listen in class and taking the tie to do his assignments Larson's class is really easy.

Larson is an insensitive, sexist biggot who is the kind of old fart to blame the IT department because he can't figure out how to get the projector to duplicate his screen. He routinely called students idiots if they couldn't calculate fits, and then proceeds to get them wrong himself when doing them on the board. He's not exactly a professor you can avoid though, so if you're more of the sensitive type, be prepared to get your feelings hurt by proxy.

One of the best professors I've ever had. Genuinely cares about his students and will go out of his way to help them. Also super knowledgeable on the material and is clear about what he looks for in both lecture and lab. He also manages to make class interesting by cracking some of the most original jokes I've ever heard and manages to get laughs out of me every time I have his class. I'll miss having him as a professor in my future ME courses.

This class is honestly such a big meme. The lecture is at 7am, but you never really learn anything. He just kinda waves his arms at the powerpoint slides he made and no one can ever see what he's pointing at. The lecture final is super easy and should not be a problem. For the lab, he is just like he was in ME 129 if you had him for that. You don't learn many new CAD tools, you mainly just do more advanced parts and assemblies. The lab final is somewhat difficult, so make sure to pay attention all quarter. Overall, Larson is just an experience you have to have to understand it.

I don't quite agree with the ratings here. He might seem like "that badass professor" at first glance but when you've had him for three quarters straight, you start to realize his personality issues are genuine and not an act. Seeing how he interacts with other professors and Larry (god help him) and the lack of respect for his colleagues is somewhat sickening. Larson makes one unit courses seem like four units and is very unforgiving when it comes to grading. Additionally, he goes too fast in lab; it is somewhat difficult to follow him, and he does not do an adequate job explaining the material. You learn from fearing the consequences of not learning the material, which is a horrible way to learn something as simple as drafting and CAD. Larson is a total hardhead: you cannot negotiate with him, he will deny he is wrong when you correct him, and he never takes student suggestions. His final for ME 251 was disastrous: the test format was scantrons but the questions were on a small, fast moving overhead projector in a large lecture hall. Again, when numerous students expressed their complaints, Larson blamed the students for being inadequate. The only way Larson seems to be able to unite his class is by constantly shit talking about other colleges and majors. Worst of all, he has very obvious teachers pets in every class (usually a female suck up student). Avoid when other options are available.

Larson is definitely one of my favorite professors. I had him for ME 151, 152, and 271 and I learned a lot. He knows his stuff amazingly well. He is a really cool guy and I love that he takes the time to learn everyones name. He is very approachable and really good at answering questions and making sure you know what he wants. He likes to make fun and argue with the students which is hilarious and I don't see why people don't like him for that. If you want to learn how to use SolidWorks and how to do hand drafting correctly he is the only reasonable choice.

Bomb. Even wrote up a master flowchart. Really hoping Cal Poly retains him.