Nakamura, Ray  

Physical Education and Kinesiology

3.17/4.00

68 evaluations


BIO 111


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Nov 2002
Horrible scattered lectures. The tests were off information out of the book, with minimal attention given to the material covered in class. I took this class at 8AM, and if you have to as well, be prepared to fight sleep, as he turns out the lights and lectures from an overhead projecter. The main ideas of his notes and all of the overheads are on the internet via blackboard.com, but they are useless. His quarter is divided into three lecture blocks. The first block covered six chapters, the second block covered 15, and the third covered 5. Try studying for an exam on FIFTEEN CHAPTERS. It's bloody impossible. After the first exam, he left the graded scantrons in a pile outside his office door; we looked through them and the highest grade was a 66%.

BIO 153


Freshman
A
Required (Support)
Aug 2005
Oh boy this teacher was enthusiastic about his work. He was there to answer qestions and had all the right answers. Wrong this guy did not have clue about what he was doing. it honestly upset me to see that old Naki was getting paid for what he was doing. He does nothing.

KINE 250


Junior
B
General Ed
Aug 2001
I took him for Health. Very interesting lectures, with enough comic turns to keep you interested. The class wasn't as easy as I hoped. With a fair amount of study you should get a C at least. Its just straight up memorization. But memorize it, or you'll get squashed.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2006
I loved going to Mr. Nakamuras class even though it was at 7 in the morning. his lectures were always intereting and funny. he knows his stuff and knows how to teach it. i loved having him as a teacher and definately would have him again. his tests were pretty hard to handle just because they were all multiple choice and had those questions like a & b or all of the above and stuff like that so you really needed to know your info. in the end i would definately recommend him as a great professor to have.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Mar 2010
Prof. Nakamura definitely made the lectures interesting, and usually easy to stay awake in at 8am. The test questions come out of left field and have way too many possible answers: like the a and b or a and c or all or none, etc etc. Also, he went on and on about racism, but in the sense of how white people aren\'t vulnerable enough to what minorities have to go through. He makes white people feel like crap so much you wanna punch him! Take this class if you need a G.E., it\'s not bad to just get through it, it is just a little community service and a few midterms.

KINE 255


Sophomore
B
Elective
Aug 2001
Ray is very interesting, although much is required from you. Many tests, a research paper, and a project.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2001
He is in touch with the student body and you could go to him as a friend. Yet his class was not easy. If you study about an hour a day, you can easily get a high B or better in the class.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Mar 2000
Now don't get Ray mixed up with Royden Nakamura who teaches in the Biology department. Anyway Dr. Nakamura is awesome. If there was ever a proffesor who had more interest in his subject, this is the guy. I recommend his KINE 255 class that is Health on a Multicultural Approach if you're looking to fullfill your USCP requirement. His tests are right out of the reading and lectures. His lectures are very powerful and make you reconsider what you eat and what you do to keep your body healthy. It opens your eyes to so many new ways to enjoy living well. He's very likeable and designs the class to be hands on so that everyone gets to participate whether its making posters or describing the uniqueness of an orange as a symbolic way to show that even people, although from the same ethnic background have vast differences. I give him my highest recommendation to anyone looking for a genuine teacher as well as a genuine character.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Nov 2001
Nakamura presented his information well, and really understands students. He really makes you think about the choices that you make and how they will affect you. A very enthusiastic teacher. Lot's of memorization for tests, but it's all on lecture and book material.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Major)
Nov 2001
Nakamura is not only an excellent teacher, but he's a teacher you can consider as a friend. He presents the course material with enthusiasm and uses different methods to teach. He cares about his students and makes the class fun. You can buy the test questions for a dollar and memorize the answers. 10 hours of community service is required, but he cancels his recitation class a lot because of it. Not a lot of homework at all besides a project at the end. Overall, best teacher I've had so far here.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Nov 2001
Dr. Nakamura is excellent. The material is very interesting and he does a great job at presenting it. I highly recommend this course, even if it is just a GER.


Senior
Credit
General Ed
Dec 2001
Kine 255 is an easy class if you're looking for that pesky Cultural Pluralism requirement. But watch out, there is a 10 hour community service requirement attached to this one. He really knows his stuff, and doesn't talk down to you like a high school health teacher might. But it's a real shame that gay people are almost totally ignored on a campus that has more gay students than African Americans and Native Americans combined. For example, the chapter explaining alternatives to the nuclear family totally ignores the one type of family students know the least about, same sex partnerships. But enough on that... For the tests, memorize the study packet questions and you're set. Only pay attention to the videos in class, since his tests have two types of questions 1) those taken from the study packet which covers the same things as lecture and 2) questions on the videos/exercises.


Junior
A
General Ed
Feb 2002
Dr. Nakamura is a great teacher! He tells you exactly what he expects from you, and he is always available if you have any questions. Make sure to by the little quiz study guide that he offers becasue the tests are taken directly from that! I recommend Transitions for your service learning part and it's a lot funner than it sounds. Take this class!


Freshman
A
Elective
Mar 2002
Cool guy. interesting class. He is VERY nice. You have to do 10 hours of comm. service but its not that bad. Not the easiest class I've ever taken cause there are 2 projects and 4 quizes including the final but not REAL challenging and sorta fun.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Aug 2002
Dr. nakamura is very kind and nice man. He seemed to truly want every student to do well. his lectures were kind of dry and heavy of statistics which need to be memorized for the tests. No hw, 4 tests all scantron. He wrote the book so you know he knows what he is talking about. you have to do community service for the class which was fun but i didnt see a real connection to the course itself. an interesting topic but he goes into a great deal of detail, so be prepared. lots of notes from his lectures. he does make study guides with sample test questions.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Aug 2002
Nakamura is an excellent professor that provides the opportunity to future your knowledge of cultures. He is an approachable guy. He is very easygoing and is always willing to make time for you. KINE 255 is a very interesting class that I would recommend to everyone and anyone, even if it


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Jan 2003
Nakamura made a boring subject interesting. I couldn't believe that I was actually looking forward to his classes. He gives you a VERY helpful study guide for the midterms (3 midterms and a final) and he does NOT put any surprises on the tests. This guy actually cares about his students. He acts more like a nice uncle than a proffessor when it comes to his personality. Great teacher.


Sophomore
B
Required (Major)
Feb 2003
If you don't have Dr. Naknamura once before you leave Cal Poly you have missed out. He is quite possibly the sweetest man and he genuinly cares about his students. The lectures are all interesting and his tests are easy if you read and look up the answers in the study guide provided. He would have 4 stars if someone didn't think he was a bio teacher with the same man. He was my favorite teacher here so far.


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Feb 2003
Take HIME! This guy is one of the best professors at Cal Poly.


Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Dec 2003
I recommend taking this class with Nakamura. He's really nice and he sincerely cares about the class and his students. He's a little quirky, for example he talks about giving his wife breast examinations (for her sake and not his of course ;)) It's a health class so it should be easy, but you need to put some time into studying to get a good grade. His tests are super detailed so you probably want to read unless you are some naturally great test-taker. He wrote the book so that should tell you something.


Freshman
N/A
Required (Major)
Dec 2003
Dr. Nakamura is an awesome teacher. He teaches with such enthusiasm and energy that you cat't help but stay alert during his classes. He's funny, thorough, caring, and knows his stuff. The tests were kinda hard bc they require a lot of memorization on statistics and crap. Definetly take him if it fits your schedule


Junior
C
General Ed
Jan 2004
The lectures were very cool! I learned some interesting things and he was quite engaging in class. You do some activities and learn more about yourself in other minorities. There was some shocking information, but a lot of the information was helpful, and not just for the class but for life. I learned a lot and have changed my habits since this class. Although I'm still trying to motivate myself to exercise more. Basically, just study the text and listen in class. Ask questions, he's very good at answering and he's willing to talk to you for hours if you need it. He does send you replies to his e-mail and he is a very friendly professor. I felt extremely comfortable with him. BEWARE- his tests are TOUGH. He tries to warn you with reviews and talk...but it's still hard. It's good to get in a study group then, if you can. You will learn a lot, no matter WHAT grade you get. And if that's what you're interested in- TAKE HIM!! Nakamura ROCKS!


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Jan 2004
The one thing that I did not like about this class was that the tests were hard. The tests were all memorizing stats, like what percent of native american women are at high risk for stroke (really stupid useless questions like that). The class itself was not bad. Parts of it were interesting. If you take it though, Nakamura's alright.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Jan 2004
great teacher, hard to do well on tests but youll learn a lot more than it shows on your grade


Sophomore
A
Required (Major)
Mar 2004
this class is SO easy. Nakamura is an awesome professor who gives you ALL the test questions on a study guide. if you answer them (or find someone who took the class before to pass them down) the tests are NOT hard. i hardly studied, and most of the statistic type questions were pretty easy to guess if you had even just glanced at the study guide or book. since he wrote the book, all the of answers are word for word from the book, and will be the same on the test. the only hard part about the test is sometimes he gives the multiple choice option of choosing more than one answer. he's a funny little man too, his lectures can be quite entertaining


Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2005
nakamura is an awesome teacher! ive never learned as much as i have for any class here. its definitely information i can use in the real world. his lectures are really interesting so you won't be able to fall asleep and hes a really nice person. but beware..his tests are HARD! i read the book and did the study guide and still couldn't ace the tests. remember, even though he calls his exams, "quizzes", theyre worth quite a bit. the tests are really tedious and in depth, so study hard!! even if you don't get the grade you wished for, taking this class is definitely worth it


Sophomore
N/A
General Ed
Jun 2005
Prof. Nakamura was an excellent professor and obviously in love with what he does. The stuff we were learning was hard to listen to just cuz it is reminiscent of high school health class and we've heard it all before, but Nakamura really gets into his lectures and makes the stuff interesting. I highly recommend him, if anything, he's entertaining.


Junior
A
General Ed
Jun 2005
Let's be realistic here: You're taking Kine 255 as a GE and you want an easy A. Well, my friend, you can get one here. I didn't attend every single class session; I had more pressing demands. But, I went to most of them, and they were usually quite entertaining. The tests are quite easy, if you take the time to do the study guides (e.g. read the book and answer the questions as you go, because usually they're in order of the reading). Granted, the test questions are generally memorization of trivial statistics, but some of them are intuitively obvious. Something I learned while taking Nakamura's tests: I never met an "all of the above" that I didn't like, but I never met a "B and C only" (and its variations) that I didn't like _even more_. I honestly believe--although I didn't have the guts to actually TRY--that one could take those tests without studying at all and still get about 50-60% correct, just by reading the questions carefully. But the important thing is that you learn valuable, real-life lessons about your health, and that's what you take with you. And hey, if you can be in half the shape that this man is when you reach 65, you'll know who to thank for it. Bottom line: Take him. Period.


Junior
B
General Ed
Dec 2005
Nakamura is a really nice guy. However, don't expect much help from him in his office hour and don't don't expect an easy A. If you are great at memorizing trivial facts (and hundreds of them), then sure you can get an A no problem. My problem is that his tests are written so that you must know every single pointless fact in his poorly written book and lecture. As someone already mentioned, every single question seems as though the correct answer is "all of the above." However, there is always another choice that says "b and c only" and you want to wad the test up and throw it in his face because the questions are ridiculous. And on the subject of ridiculous, try reading his book. The chapters are so garbled with percentages, ratios, numbers, and facts about insignificant crap, the points are lost and it's a chore to read. Some paragraphs have more numbers than words and you're reading the thing wondering why anyone would care that white women are 2.51% more likely to fart than black women. The book is filled with stuff like that, just not as useful. Despite my distaste for his tests and his book, I really enjoyed most of the topics he talked about and most of the lectures were worthwhile (well, 88.54% of them were anyways).


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2005
Nakamura is a great guy. The class is really interesting and you can really tell that he really cares about the students. The lectures are all really enjoyable and you watch a lot of funny videos. He is very approachable and always has a smile on his face. His quizes/tests are very hard and specific, but if you study you will at least get a B. I would definitley take him again!


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2005
I thought Dr. Nakamura was a very nice guy but I think he could do better as a teacher. He isn't bad to have at all but the one thing that bugged me was that his tests never really covered what he told you to study. I read the chapters in detail, I did the study guide and knew it very well, and I went to class everyday but the tests often didnt test on the materials we learned. There would be tricky questions that make you think.. "what the hell?" and then there would be a question that he didnt even talk about. Be prepared for his tests because all of the questions have a "all of these" answer.. that made things difficult too. I just wish that he tested on what we learned more directly. Just study and don't miss class! He shows a lot of videos to make his lectures not so boring.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2005
I did not agree with all of his ideas but he was a very good lecturer. His tests were difficult and some questions were ridiculous. In order to get an A on a test you must know the exact percentages of what minority groups contracted certain diseases and how likely they are to die from them etc... Your grade is based on 4 tests and one 10 hour community service project. Overall he was a good teacher and I would take him again if I had a chance to do so.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2006
Nakamura is a real stand up guy that is there to help. The class basically consists of 3 test one of which is the final(not cum.) There are a few homework assignment which include 2 one page papers on your 10HR community service which really isnt that bad(i worked with pre-school kids) Other than that you basically need to study the guides that are provided for you and memorize basic percentages. Overall this class was interesting enough to keep my attention. Nakamura is a good teacher however i would definately say his tests are "tricky". I earned a B with about 3-5 hrs of study for each test.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Dec 2006
Makes the material very interesting. Tests, however, are difficult both because he designs difficult questions, and much of the material is not covered in the lectures.


Junior
B
General Ed
Dec 2006
ray is a cool guy. he looks like hes 40 but hes old enough to be my grandfather. he presents the material well, haves fun with it, and makes it interesting as possible. tests are your whole grade, so do well on them. he asks a lot of vague questions so know your shit with the study guides, and pay attention in class because he'll ask questions on that too. fun community service too


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2006
great guy/teacher....Overall learned tons in this class...actually interested in lectures.....make sure you know study guides in detail for tests...they are tricky..other than that I would take this class again in a heartbeat


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Jan 2007
first off, any professor who makes you buy his book is an asshole. he spends 2 hours a day telling you statistics which he sources from himself. i heard so much about how black people have all kinds of health problems and are poor uneducated that after taking his class i have become a devote racist. he is overly politically correct, his tests have the most ridiculously specific questions i have ever seen, and overall, he drove me insane. if you like fruity hippie talk, youll love him. if you dont, GTFO!


Freshman
B
General Ed
Apr 2007
Nakamura is a likeable guy and the lectures were interesting for awhile. After he started emailing the quiz questions out a week or two beforehand and only making us fill in the blanks, however, is when I quit going. Even with going through the book and studying the test questions he gave out it is still hard to do well because all of the quiz questions are structured very confusingly. Kinda one of those classes where if you study a lot you will get a B and if you study a little, you will still get a B. The class subject matter itself was very compelling however and it satisfies USCP so if you need that and the general ed requirement, it isn't a bad class to take.


Freshman
A
Required (Major)
Dec 2007
the class is really interesting and dr nakamura is really knowledgable. he makes the class more entertaining with videos and cool exercises. he gives a study guide for every test and if you do the whole thing and study it a couple times you will do well on the tests. theres only 4 tests and one of them is a non comprehensive final. i would definitely have him as a teacher again


Senior
Credit
Elective
Dec 2007
Dr. Nakamura is a nice retired man. He is very knowledgable, but I would not recommend his class. His material is severely outdated with most of the information from 10 or 20 years ago which is a life time in health. His book his horribly written with ambigious, repetitive and contradicting material. His tests are very unfair in the sense that they make completely no sense. I am a very good test taker and I found his test to be filled with horrribly worded and misleading questions. You will most likely not be able to get an A. I would recommmend this class for someone who did not want to go to class because you would probably get a C or B regardless if you went to class or not.


Freshman
C
General Ed
Dec 2007
Nakamura was very understanding. He let me turn in my paper late for personal reasons and he was really chill. i actualy got out of bed to go to his class because it was pretty amusing. his tests are difficult but only becasue they are very literal and specific. you have to know all the dumb statistics and a lot of them are from a long time ago but it's easy to do well on if you just memorize them. he also gives study guides that are incredibly helpful. also if you read the book after the lecture, everything onthe test comes directly from the book (which he wrote). his class is hilarious and a nice alternative to the standard helth classes that all of your friends who didn't know any better will probably be taking. most of what he teachers, he teaches in a way that you can apply it directly to your life which is pretty cool too.


Freshman
B
Required (Major)
Jan 2008
Basically you go to pretty interesting lectures, he makes you laugh pretty often, includes some fun/interesting activities then you go home and read the textbook. thats when you realize he pretty much just reads out of his book for his lecture, except his textbook is VERY POORLY written (typos and terrible grammar). Now for tests, they are written to confuse you. you'll mark either "all of the above" or "a, c, and d" as an answer at least a third of the time which is what makes it so confusing. and then he'll ask really dumb questions like "on the video that i showed last week, what was the male's name who suffered from prostate cancer?" and your thoughts will be like, "how in the hell is knowing that Jim suffered from prostate cancer going to help me pass the MCAT?". my personal experience, i went to every lecture, took notes, made flashcards (he sends you a study guide)and no matter how well i knew the answers, i still got c's on tests. so my advice, take the class, its interesting and he is an understanding guy, but either go all the way and memorize the book or just cram the night before.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Feb 2008
he is a bitchin dude. he talks about cool stuff like masterbation and how to check yourself for cancer. Never missed a lecture. They are amazing always interesting and you pretty much watch moives at least half of the time. Tests are a little deceptive and can be tricky but overall take this class for an easy A or B


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2008
I really enjoyed his class. Your grade consist of 4 80 pt test and 10 hrs of community service or going to multicultural events. The tests are multiple choice and he gives a study guide. Go to the lectures because he will ask questions from there too.. If you can memorize things good then this class will be fine for you. Mr. Nakamura is a great teacher and kept my attention throughout the whole class


Freshman
C
General Ed
Dec 2008
Nakamura was a cool guy...his tests are pretty straitforward if you went to class and at least skimmed the reading. You have to either do 10 hours of community service or 10 hours of multicultural events. i dreaded going to the multicultural events but they actually ended up being really enjoyable. the only reason i got a C was that i had this class at 7 am so i accidently slept through it alot, including the day the 1 paper we had was due. i highly recommend this class


Sophomore
C
General Ed
Jan 2009
What an interesting class! I had him at 7am in the morning 2 times a week but I really didn't mind waking up for them. So yeah the course covers health differences among races/genders/cultures. Because of this be prepared for some awkward lectures; we watched parts of a film called The Color of Fear where a black man yelled at a white guy full of colorful language about all race issues the black man has suffered over the years in the US. Imagine watching this partially awake at 7am in a lecture hall filled with 100 students. Then of course there's the sex ed portion of the class. Ray has some old yet graphic slides in store for anyone who's taking the class. They helped me wake up, lol. I decided to attend the evening cultural presentations instead of the volunteer work (this is in place of an essay, which I liked), and I found them to very worthwhile and interesting. In fact I'll say that I really enjoyed the MCC (Multicultural Center) presentations. The reason why I earned a C was because of the tests; they were by far the most difficult multiple choice test questions I've ever had. Usually when you hear of a multiple choice test your first though is that it's easy, right? Well if you're really good at remembering the precise answers/facts, then you'll do fine. What got me were those questions where the answer was like a 3 word phrase, and he would simply flip the words around to make the phrase be in different orders for the different answers, etc. Those questions drove me nuts and was most likely my downfall. So yeah if you're a good multiple choice test taker and want this class to be worthwhile take Nakamura!


Freshman
C
General Ed
Feb 2009
Great teacher. Made class enjoyable. His book is funny and interesting which makes studying easy. His test are kind of hard. I didn't study on the first one so that's why I got a C. If you study you'll do fine. You get what you put in to.


Junior
A
General Ed
Mar 2009
Cool guy. Lectures are interesting. He gives out study guides for the test that cover most of the material, some stuff on the tests is from lecture or from videos in class. Its pretty coo class tho.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Mar 2009
I would highly recommend Nakamura. His lectures were interesting and I learned a ton. He is very friendly and entertaining. If you go to class and study the outlines he gives for the 5 quizzes you should get an A in the class.


Freshman
B
Elective
Mar 2009
Dr. Nakamura was by far the best teacher I have had here at Poly, if not the best I have ever had. He had me excited to go to class every tuesday and thursday of the week and truly made class a fun learning experience. He keeps you interested in the material by providing entertaining activities and he is also just a funny guy. Im so glad i took this class and got the chance to have him as a teacher. Hes the best


5th Year Senior
C
General Ed
Mar 2009
His book is rife with poor grammar, sentence fragments and just plain bad writing. His tests are written just as poorly. This is a class where you have to memorize inane and trivial factoids from his book and lecture. If you like classes where you're expected to memorize a large list of facts, then take him. If you've been through several years of engineering/math/science coursework and want to learn the underlying concepts and structure of a subject, RUN from this class.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2009
I think Dr. Nakamura does a great job. He takes you through the material pretty quickly in-class, but breaks up the lecture with plenty of short activities and movies. His tests are just like what people on this website say: they focus on small details from the lecture and his book. What the reviews don't tend to say is that you'll know exactly which of these details to look out for. Whenever he says, "I want you to know this," the material is on the next test. If a question is on the study guide, the answer is on the next test. Also, be prepared to mark "E" on your Scantron for "all of the above" about half of the time. There is an excess of those types of questions. And be prepared: there are three midterms plus a final, and you'll have to do ten hours of multicultural events or community service. In the end, I am glad I took this class. I learned a lot and I recommend it to anybody.


Freshman
A
General Ed
Apr 2009
Health in America BOOK FOR SALE 805-215-8467 much cheaper than book store


Junior
A
General Ed
Apr 2009
First off, as a person, Nakamura is a nice guy and I have nothing personal against him. That said, the aging Dr Nakamura is perhaps the most incompetent professor at Cal Poly. He is categorically incapable of interpreting statistics in any meaningful way (he admitted that he didn't know how they work, but used them to support his agenda regardless); his textbook (that he wrote) shows this lack of critical thinking ability and inability to spell (or use English grammar properly). He also cannot accept when he is shown wrong (In class he BS-ed us with his definition of love/spirituality, people called him on it; they were immediately brushed off). If you are a fan of skeptical thought and reason, run for the hills!!! (we spent three weeks talking about many aspects of Chinese medicine which have been disproven in blind studies). Moreover, his class consists of nothing but rote memorization. His class is easy, but is an A really worth listening to this man's inane ramblings?


Freshman
B
General Ed
Apr 2009
I loved this class. Nakamura is such a cute old man. He really cares about his students. Some of the movies were boring though and some of the informations seems elementary, but I learned a lot from this class and it was actually interesting. I would highly recommend taking him!


Freshman
A
General Ed
Apr 2009
this man will teach you alot more than just the required material, he will teach you about life itself. listen to him


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2009
The lectures were informative and interesting. If you have an early morning class, it\'ll be tough to go twice a week (I\'m proud of myself for not missing one class). Although he\'ll never tell you to, DO YOUR READING, because more than half of the info on the midterms comes from it. As long as you get stuff done, a B should be relatively easy to pull.


Freshman
B
General Ed
Dec 2009
Nakamura is easily one of the best teachers I\'ve ever had. He knows just about everything there is to know about his subject. Afterall, he did write the textbook himself. There\'s never any homework but you should do your reading because a lot of the material on the tests comes from it. Theres 3 tests and no comprehensive final which is nice. Itll be pretty easy to pull a B if you go to class and do the reading. Nakamura\'s the man


Freshman
C
General Ed
Jan 2010
The class is fun, and full of common sense. However, all the tests were ridiculous cause nearly every question was asking for a specific statistic. This was annoying because the topic of the class is really common sense, and you\'d think the tests would be easy but they aren\'t. The lecture is fun, the teacher is great, the tests were just stupid.


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Feb 2010
I LOVED THIS CLASS AND RAY! This was probably one of my favorite classes that I have ever taken at Poly, and Nakamura taught more than just what he was required to for the subject. I mean, he talked about simple ways to make your life better and happier. He really made me want to be a better, healthier, happier person. I actually wanted to get up in the morning to go to his class just to hear what he had to say. The class material is very interesting and you can tell that he has been teaching it a long time and knows his stuff. You HAVE to read and study for the tests, because for some reason the tests are tricky although the lectures seem like common sense. Know your statistics and numbers! I think he may have retired after this winter quarter, but if not, DEFINITELY TAKE THIS CLASS!


Freshman
B
General Ed
Mar 2010
Nakamura may know what he is talking about but he poorly applies the material on tests. I put in a ton of hours to study for his exams yet they seem impossible to get an A on. He gives us a study guide which seems very helpful but sometimes he gives different percentages and statistics in his lecture than what appear on his book. His textbook... i couldv\'e proofread better in junior high than he did his book. He wrote it. It is full of grammatical errors and some facts are downright false... like a usual ounce of weed costs $80... we all wish. LSD is called booms? shrooms from what i hear but these are just a few of his ridiculous errors. Also psych is an easy class and kine 250 is a joke... Nakamura gives out 10% A\'s. Why would the other 3 D4 GE classes be easy and kine 255 be ridiculously hard???


Freshman
N/A
General Ed
Apr 2010
Dropped the class in the very beginning after I bought the book, so I have Health in America if anyone needs to buy it cheap!! amurabit@calpoly.edu


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Jul 2011
It's easy to get a B in this class, but difficult to get an A. Now, Dr. Nakamura does tell this to the class at the beginning of the quarter. However, I don't think it's something to be proud of. The tests ask really specific questions, such as how many cases of heart disease occurred in people of Native American descent in 1996. So you have to memorize a ton of statistics if you want to get enough questions right for an A. He also asks questions that don't appear on the study guide, even though he says that knowing the study guide should be enough. In terms of teaching, however, Dr. Nakamura is competent. He keeps the lectures interesting and the material teaches practical advice for your everyday life. If you want a relatively easy GE, this is not a bad course to take.

PE 255


Sophomore
B
General Ed
Nov 2003
To the person who complained about Nakamura, sorry this isn't for the bio teacher. The rest of these rankers have said it all. Great guy, awesome lectures, reasonable but challenging tests. The project you do is a life influencing one. The class is very interactive and consists of you making friends with your classmates while learning the material. TAKE THIS CLASS, I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

KINE 305


Junior
B
Required (Major)
Jun 1999
Ray is a very educated man. he know what he is talking about. He is also really funny and does stuff for the students to help them try to understand concepts . . . but one thing. He requires a lot for a 2 unit class. I mean A LOT. more work than a 4 unit class. it is a tough class, and even thought you can "buy" the answers- via the study guide with potential questions on the tests0 don't be fooled. The questions on the study guide are very vague and there are about 300 questions per a test. Lots of work. Be careful and study hard. But besides this, good class with lots of interesting information


Sophomore
C
Elective
May 2001
I thought this would be a good 2 unit class to raise my GPA a little. I was wrong. It was interesting but a hard class. Too much work for 2 units!!! There are 3 multiple choice "quizes" with 150 questions or so. And that's all the class is based on. Good teacher but wouldn't recommend the class unless you could take it for a support course or something.


Sophomore
B
Elective
Feb 2002
He's too good!! Best teacher at Cal Poly. He kept me interested for the whole 2 hours, especially because the topic was on drugs. He knows his shit!! Take him and you will not be dissapointetd. No homework. No quizzes. Just easy tests that are basically all taken from the study guide.

BIO 758


5th Year Senior
C
Required (Support)
Nov 2016
Taking this instructor is like being in a Twilight Zone episode. You just can