Johnston, Liz  

Professor Johnston has been the absolute worst teacher i have ever had in my entire life. This was the biggest waste of my time to show up 4 hours a week learning absolutely nothing. I don't think she even touched on the actual class material that was on the midterm, but instead decided to 'lecture' us on the dumbest topics. She literally had a powerpoint on how to write an email and it gave an example email of what not to do which consisted of the use of emojis, slang, and abbreviations which she expanded on for 20 minutes as if we are stupid. Also you can't miss class or your grade drops which is complete BS considering it was the biggest waste of my time ever. Do whatever you can to avoid this teacher, she is absolutely awful.

WOW, definitely take this class as a GE. I am speaking honestly when I say that I have never taken an easier class here at Cal Poly. And I don't want to downgrade her teaching skills by saying it was easy, because trust me you will still walk out of that class with interesting and valuable knowledge relating sociology. I had her at night from 6-10 every Tuesday and she managed to keep the lecture SO interesting all 4 hours. This class required me to put in very minimal effort and I ended up with an A+. A very eye-opening class and a great GPA booster! TAKE IT!

Soc 110 was an easy GE. There was a guest speaker, powerpoint, and interesting movie in each class. Dr. Johnston is very kind and approachable and tries to make it easy for her students.

Johnson for SOC 110 is the easiest class in the world. No homework ever, 1 midterm, and 1 essay. No final and you don't do anything in class. The only downside is that you have to show up to every lecture or she seriously drops your grade. She gives out a lot of extra credit opportunities, but they're more work than they're worth. Absolutely would recommend if you need a GE

This is the easiest A you will ever get

SHE HAS CHANGED DON'T BELIEVE THE HIGH POLY RATING. She totally changed her class around from the easy years. Her tests are basically nothing from lecture, and the reading are dull and boring unless you actually enjoy sociology. Class is mandatory and even if you have two excused absences she marks you down a whole grade. You can not miss a single class even though the information she gives you in class is only 15-20% of whats on the test. She is a horrible lecturer also, she gives basic dull power points and leans on videos to teach. In the whole time I have taken this class I have had her lecture for maybe 45 min. All in all do not take this class!

The class was very relaxing, but the content and the structure of the class had nothing to do with the information on the tests. I wish I had actually learned something about sociology, so I recommend NOT to take this professor because you will do badly on the tests. Also her grading is extremely unfair.

This class was extremely frustrating. I studied very hard for the midterm and the final, and still received lower than average grades on both. Even my paper, I got a "C" on after hearing only good things previously about her paper grading. I'm not sure why she decided to make it so hard this quarter but if you ask me, it was a little too harsh. It's a GE that should be informative, not as stressful as it ended up being. Don't believe the earlier polyratings about how easy she is...

Professor Johnston, while a nice person, was not a great professor. All of the material on the test is from the textbook, not the lecture. She has a very strict attendance policy, which is the only way she can get students to come to class, because you literally learn nothing during the time you are there. The class is pretty easy if you do the two small papers and go to class. I didn't study much for the midterm and got a B+, and barely studied for the final and got a C+, but still ended up with an A- in the class.

Let me begin this review by saying that I am almost done with this class and expect to get an A so this does not come from a position of spite. With that being said, I think Johnston is one of the worst professors I have had. The lectures are pointless at best. She openly says that the tests are 95% out of the book, but attendance is mandatory(her syllabus says she drops you one letter grade for every absence). Her powerpoints are absolutely useless, she talks way more about herself and her life than about actual sociology, and although I have not personally dealt with it I know she can grade certain nit picky things extremely tough. I will not come out of this class feeling that I learned anything about sociology and there are much easier and more insightful teachers you could take.

TLDR: DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS...I REPEAT DO NOT TAKE HER CLASS! From one student to another let me be real honest here. I have never done a polyratings before since I felt no need too, but this time I feel like I must inform others of the truth. I picked this class with other students evaluation of her and it was a 100 level class which should be "Freshmen" level. I am about to finish the class and let me say that I regret taking this class. First of all, she does NOT teach anything! Here is how the class really is composed: 50% of what happens in class are movies, 20% are people coming in to talk, 20% she presents a power point, and the last 10% you meet up with your group to talk about the group report. Lets get into details here now. The movies in themselves are not too bad, they help pass the time. The only problem I see is that she drags the movies out for like 2 or 3 classes. She plays like 30-40 min of it and then stops the movie to go onto her power point which is a pointless power point. The reason I say pointless is that they really add no real value to the class in terms of studying for midterm and final which I will discuss later. All she does is regurgitate the words on the slides, but adds no extra meaning and/or value. Lets continue to having presenters come and talk to us. The main goal of SOC 110 is to inform students of how society interacts with each other in specific with homeless individuals. Let me be honest here, I do not have any negative feelings towards people who are homeless, I have personally done food banks and helped out at homeless shelters before this class. My problem is that most the presenters that came talked to us about volunteering at homeless shelters. There were a couple more that came, but only like 2 actually were interesting. There is 10% of your grade that requires you to "volunteer", but it is mainly aimed at homeless shelters. I feel that this class should have been aim at larger problems in society instead of just homeless people. Moving on, the reason why I did not like meeting with groups during class is that (at least for my group and a few others) had already planned out what we would do for the report, so spending like 20 min to "talk about it" was just a waste of time for a few classes. Finally, let me talk about the class as a whole. So she has a strict mandatory attendance in which you can only have 1 excused absence otherwise your grade drops a letter after every unexcused absence. The reason which that grinds my gears is that her class is POINTLESS!!! I'm being totally honest here ladies and gents, please do not think that I am just another pissed of student. Just like 2 Chainz says "No Lie" 99% of the midterm and the final (which I will take soon but can bet anything it will be like the midterm) need to be learned OUTSIDE class in the book! Like I previously stated her class is pointless, but she still makes it mandatory for you to attend since she knows if she did not then NO ONE would show up! All I want to do is say a real post for students to know. I have no negative feelings for Liz as a person, but as a professor she can do so much better. So it is up to you now to decide your fate: Take her class and feel like it was a waste of time or Be smart and NOT take her class.

All I can say is, just don't. Don't do it.

Despite what I feel was the majority of the class disliking Dr. Johnston and/or the class itself, I actually enjoyed coming to this class most days. It was sort of a nice brain break from all of my other classes, since the info wasn't hard to understand in the slightest. Granted, her lectures aren't the most effective since none of what she covers in class in on the midterm or final (do the study guide, kiddos). The videos were nice and the guest speakers were decent. I also really like the fact that volunteer work is required, it's a good experience for all of us. I like Dr. Johnston, and I feel like many of the students in the large lecture class were very disrespectful towards her and were close-minded about what she was trying to have us get out of this class. Also about the attendance thing, you/your parents are paying for you to be here. Don't be bitter about having to go to class. Have a better attitude towards it and don't fall in with the rest of the people that bash the class/professor.

Dear Mrs. Johnston, I will write directly to you, seeing as you openly admitted to our class that you read your own polyratings. I can honestly say I learned nothing from your daycare of a class. My time in class was spent daydreaming as you played one of your garbage movies, thinking about what I needed to accomplish for my other classes as you told stories during your "lecture", or talking about sports during the way too many hours you gave us to meet in our essay groups. The worst part is your fascist attendance policy (she drops your grade down a letter for each class you miss), which you clearly instituted so that people would actually show up to your class. Rethink your use of class time and keep it centered around what will be on the tests. Make us take your class seriously.

I was disappointed in this class because sociology is an intriguing topic in itself, but I didn't get what I wanted out of the course. Liz is a social worker, so it was nice having a professor in the field. The class consists of a group essay, a volunteer assignment, a midterm and a final. First, the group essay was poorly presented, and led to chaos and confusion. Luckily, each person was only responsible for two pages, so the assignment itself was not difficult. Second, the volunteer assignment required at least 8 hours of volunteering with signed proof, in addition to a reflection about the experience. Third, the midterm and final are difficult because 95% of the tests are straight out of the text whereas the class time was spent on guest speakers and movies, save the occasional irrelevant power point. As a result, the four hours spent in class each week was hard to sit through because time would be better spent reading the dense text. Attendance was mandatory however, and reflection note cards were to be turned in at the end of each class for a grade. Nonetheless, the material in the text was interesting, and the class was easy enough to pass. I was just disappointed in the lack of cohesion between the class and the text.

Dr. Johnston does not teach at all during the require class time then is disappointed when the average midterm grade is a D. The final was a little bit better (C average) but she still had to curve the entire class's grade just so people passed the course. This is a reflection of her ineffective teacher methods considering the concepts were relatively simple if you studied the book. The course is a huge waste of time and would be much better as an online course since going to class was a complete waste of time and did not benefit the student in anyway. Also if you want extra credit you must go to her office hours because she will not talk about extra credit opportunities during class time.

Attendance is mandatory, and all she talks about in class is her personal experience as a social worker and military kid. Try to take something else if you can, because if you miss just one class, you're at a B automatically.

I have generally had a great experience when it comes to GE classes throughout my four years at Poly so far, so I never understood why so many students hate on GE's. This class, and particularly this professor, finally made me understand. Dr. Johnston is by far the laziest and most incompetent professor I have ever taken. I do not take this kind of claim lightly, and I don't mean this to be a personal attack; however, the way she conducts a class is unacceptable. Despite the fact that this is a 120 person lecture, attendance is mandatory and is kept track by signing your name on an index card and turning it in at the end of class. Every missed class is a drop in a letter grade; which would be silly enough already. But it would at least make sense if lecture was important, which is isn't. At least half of the 2-hour lecture will be spent watching videos and clips of documentaries. And the other half will be spent on anecdotal oversimplifications of complex sociological concepts. Taking this class was like taking quarter long social studies high-school class taught by an apathetic substitute teacher. Avoid it if at all possible.

Dr. Johnston was a very average professor with some interesting activities and assignments. She seems to be very proud of the way she runs her SOC 110 class. The class is called comparative societies, but in all honesty it didn't seem like there was much comparing of societies. There was a lot of lecturing/discussion about social issues in the United States, but the class seemed to rarely touch on any other societies and not in very great detail. That said, Johnston isn't really responsible for that aspect of the class. Her lectures only covered some of the material that was on the tests, which she made clear, so it was a bit of a drag having to read the text in order to learn everything for the test because it seemed to take a lot of purpose out of her powerpoint presentations. Her lectures were very boring and I found it very hard to stay awake during them, despite how much sleep I got the night before. The other hours of class were spent either watching a movie, listening to a guest speaker, or meeting with our randomly assigned groups for the "changed society" paper. The movies were fun to watch, but were mostly irrelevant to the course material. The guest speakers were usually social workers from around SLO, each with their own story to tell. Her tests actually asked questions about the guest speakers so it's somewhat important to pay attention to them when they come to class. The "changed society" paper was an assignment that requires your group to choose one flaw in society and find a way to change it, even if you decide to make up some fictional way of fixing it. It was only partially relevant to the class because one of the requirements was to evaluate the change you made using social theory. However, only one member of your group will be writing that section of the paper. In total the paper was 2 pages per group member, so it wasn't that hard to write. The most time consuming part of this class was the mandatory volunteer assignment that is 10% of the grade where you must volunteer at a church that serves homeless people over night. I was lucky to sign up for a day where there was no class the next day so it didn't matter that I was up all night. Overall there are only a couple of assignments and tests in this class so you don't really have to pay too much attention, you can just read the textbook when you need to.

I will start by saying that this class is not insanely difficult and is easy to get a B or above in. But time spent in class is a complete waste. Class time is either spent listening to random speakers, watching videos (the only interesting aspect of this class), or listening to her vaguely and quickly read off powerpoint slides. Her attendance policy is ridiculous and absurd and the only reason she enforces it is because she recognizes that no one will show up if not. You have to teach yourself EVERYTHING that is on the midterms and final because its all from the textbook which she never references. The volunteering assignment is no big deal but I think it should be extra credit versus 10% of the grade because that would lead to a more fulfilling experience instead of feeling like you're "helping" others for your own benefit and a grade. Overall would not recommend this course, as a psych major I thought I would get more out of this course than I did.

Dr. Johnston is an amazing teacher. I struggled in the beginning with the content but then decided to attend her office hours and that helped me tremendously. She is so willing to help students succeed and is always there for you whether it be a problem in or out of school. She finds ways to keep her lecture very entertaining as she understands 2 hour lectures can be rough. Overall, I strongly recommend Dr. Johnston as your SOC 110 professor.

Dr. Johnston is a nice and somewhat fair professor, but the tests have nothing to do with what is said in class with the exception of a few questions. Just study the study guide she posts and read the book, and you should be fine.

Class is pointless, tests are nothing like class.

I loved johnston. i wish i took this class as my D ge but i already fulfilled tht with godforsaken anthropology. anyways i took this class cuz i was thinking of majoring in sociology. i deciided to major in psych instead but because of this class and how much i really loved it i am minoring in sociology. her class is so easy and i really emjoyed coming to class even though it was a morning class and i usually sleep in and dgaf about morning shit but nah. johnston has attendance grade-show up to class ery day which isnt hard to do. she has 1 midterm and final , a project, and participation grade, a a group paper. its all pr easy af. my group was pr decent too. she makes u submit ur paper into a cpr program website and its kinda confusing but after u figure it out-and its pr easy to figure out- is easy points. that was prolly the only thing i didnt like about the class. other than that, she has guest speakers that are so interesting and give u a brk from listening to her lecture and u learn so much from real world professionals wow. johnston has lots of professional experience of bein a social worker and a counselor and she shares some of her sotries sometimes. its suh interesting and really motivated me to go to lecture. shes also a really kinnd woman who really listens and trys to help u when u go up and talk to her. she really showed me that she cared if i needed help and did her best to help me. sit in the front even if ur not a front sitter cuz im not but shes rlly softspokn and u cant rlly hear her and youll awnna hear her if ur interested in behavior shit and all tht good stuf.. i told her about her quiet voice and so next classes she prolly gonna hav a mic. basically- go to every class-its not torturous i swear and its pr interesring and worth my money , every thing is easy points suh im not worried about you if u do all the work cuz ull basically get the points. study from quizlet for exams and i didnt red the book cuz it was confusing bleh avoid tht shit and go straight to quizlet and memorize tht shit bruh cuz like all that shit is on the exams like literally memorize it and really know it instead of kinda know it. yayyyyyy johnston and this clas rock my sock

This class is really easy for someone who will put in some type of effort. The paper and volunteering is super easy, as is showing up to class every day (15% of your grade). I did okay on the midterm and a final and still managed to get an A. If you don't mind attending class every day, you'll do fine. Her lectures are boring as hell and I felt like none of the material taught was on the tests, it was just from the books but overall it was fine.

The class was pointless. Everything on the tests were in the textbook, which she never clarifys to read. The class was a total waste of time and the ideology she pushes is disgusting Marxist hog wash.

She was not good at all! Lectures were pointless and she didn't tell you what were on the tests. Overall, it was a lot of work for a stupid GE class that was awful. I can't believe I got a B in a scrub GE sociology class.

A very easy class... perhaps too easy. The lectures weren't helpful and I truly felt like they were a waste of my time. The majority of the guest speakers were interesting, but only felt loosely relevant to the coursework. Your grades are based on three things: participation (attendance is mandatory), a midterm, and an easy 2-page final paper. Overall, it was very easy to pull an A with minimal effort. I barely opened the textbook and I got an B+ on the midterm and an A on the paper.

Dr. Johnston is an amazing professor! I took SOC 111 last spring and the work load wasn't very difficult at all. It was such an easy A that I decided to take SOC 301 with her, she has amped up her work load a little more this quarter but it's still not bad at all. There is relatively little homework and instead of tests she usually does essays. She also makes the class entertaining by bringing in guest speakers. Take her class if you can!

She seems slightly overextended. She has two other jobs besides being a professor and it shows. Somewhat disorganized and class was not always cohesive. Watch out for the midterm and the final. Around half of the material on each was not on the study guide provided. Make sure you do the reading and pay attention during lectures, particularly guest speakers. Also show up every single day because she does an attendance exercise. One group project which was a paper. Not bad considering each person's contribution was around two pages and you are graded individually. Not a bad class but the disorganization was irritating.

She is easily one of the worst professors I have ever had in my entire academic career. She is not remotely insightful or interesting in any way. Every single guest speaker she brought in was more knowledgeable than she was. She requires you to show up to class every day, but the tests are almost entirely based off of the reading, which is extremely dull. If I got her as a teacher at a low level community college I would still be disappointed, that's how bad she is.

This review is about a year over due, and I decided to write one after seeing how low her rating is. She is one the best professors I have ever had at Cal Poly! This class is not for people who are book smart, you really have to think about the topics discussed. I learned a lot from the speakers, but not that much from the powerpoint. I didn't buy the book because she had one on course reserve. Fairly easy workload, 100% would recommend.

she is awesome. she brings in awesome professors and she understands heavy work load students have. there are not tests and several small papers that make you go out and volunteer a couple hours.

Dr. Johnston is so nice and helpful. This class has mostly papers and off campus activities. She does a great job of presenting information and speakers that pertain to the covered topics. I can't wait to take her class next quarter.

I've had Dr. Johnston for SOC 111, SOC 301, and now SOC 306 and she is by far my favorite professor. These classes have been the easiest As I've ever gotten. Her teaching style is different than most, she normally does a little powerpoint, lots of videos, and group discussion. I really like how there are no tests, just essays and other assignments. All of the material is super interesting also. I've heard people who had her for SOC 110 don't like her, but honestly I think it's just a boring class. I had SOC 110 with a different professor and hated the class. The only negative comment I have about her is that attendance is mandatory.

Received an A. A very interesting class, I learn so much about how the social security system works and getting funds for welfare if I were to be in that situation. Everyday she brings in a bag filled with snacks like candies, granola bars, and fruity snacks. You will do some volunteering, or go to social causes for this class. I went to suicide prevention walk, and took the bus to the social services. Opened my eyes to this subject, as I am more informed of how hard being a social worker can be. The hardest part of this class was the final essay you have to submit, so go to office hours for help. Besides that have open ears, and regardless of your political stance just go in and have fun. P.S. There is a secret extra credit points if you go and do the social services assignment, so do that one lol!:)

Dr. Johnston is one of the nicest professors I have had at Cal Poly. She brings granola bars and gold fish to snack on during class. Also, she brings donuts on the first and last day of class. Anyways, enough about food, her class is very straightforward, and the assignments are very manageable. Your grade is made up of HW, Attendance/Participation, and Two Papers. She also offers extra credit. I learned a lot from the guest speakers, and really enjoyed the documentaries we watched in class. The one thing I didn't like is the mandatory attendance, I have no problem with going to class, but I think the attendance policy is way too strict. I can understand maybe a couple points being taken off, not complete letter grades.

I have taken several classes with Dr. Johnston and have enjoyed each one. Her writing assignments are very helpful, as they teach you how to write concisely. I feel that while the workload is lighter in her classes, she still provides meaningful assignments that leave an impact on you. The classes have been thought provoking and interesting, and I would definitely recommend her!

Dr. Johnston's class is a monumental waste of a sociology elective. To put it bluntly, this prof should not be a tenured faculty member and drags the name of Cal Poly's Sociology department through the mud. She attempts to incorporate rudimental perspectives on family life from racial, gendered, and socio-economic perspectives. But, she herself can only manage to provide surface level analysis of why these perspectives are significant! She is honestly better off just teaching the intro classes Soc. 110 and 111 and should refrain from even beginning to demonstrate her laughable knowledge of social theory. Her tests are unfair and her essay grading is more focused on grammar mistakes and syntax than actual content (significantly unprofessional for a college prof). While she knows a great deal about social work and contains strong people skills, she is a far cry from a real sociologist. Teachers like Seth Hannah, Ryan Alaniz, Robert Schaeffer, and Unique-Shaw Smith absolutely put her sociological knowledge to shame. Cal Poly's sociology department is in serious trouble enough as it is, but with people like Johnston and Downing who are PATHETICALLY lacking in application oh high level sociological theory to contemporary social issues I often times wonder if being a sociology major at Cal Poly is just a monumental waste of money; save falling into the saturated dichotomy of either being a sociology professor or a social worker. Change the entire god damn department and stop wasting mine and everyone else's time and money with these disgraceful professors.

Dr. Johnston is wonderful both as a professor and a person. She brings donuts to class on the first and last day, along with a bag a snacks to every class. She does her best to make the material interesting for both SOC majors and non-majors which isn't hard considering the material is so relevant to everyone. The class is graded entirely on attendance, participation (she isn't rough about it, as long as she knows your face and name you will get an A in that), and two papers (both VERY easy, basically telling an individual's life story). I thought it was an easy A and not boring to sit through despite the fact that I took it during the summer, four hours per day twice a week. She has speakers come in every week and you watch plenty of videos to demonstrate the class concepts, and there is even a "secret" extra credit assignment (just read the syllabus ALL the way through). Great class and would highly recommend Liz!

Easiest class I have ever taken! No tests and only 2 papers (which are graded very easily). Attendance is required and she’s pretty strict on that but I actually did learn some really useful stuff in this class that is applicable to people of all majors. Liz is amazing, and I highly highly recommend this class for your D5 if you want an easy and interesting class!

Dr. Johnston is a kind, knowledgeable, and understanding professor. She really wants to get students excited about social work. She also brings in lots of guest speakers, and there are no tests or quizzes.

During this entire quarter all I could think about was how this professor reminded me of that small little dog that runs through the back of scene 23 in The Incredibles by Pixar. Seriously, if you look it up you will only be able to see it...