Rutherford, Robert  

This man is the Sheep NAZI Leader !!! He knows his sheep, and to him thats all that matters in the world. His quizes are difficult and if you dont put his awnser down, he will mark it wrong. You cant even put down "lamens terms" because that is incorrect. EVIL MAN !!!

Mr. Rutherford may not be the best lecturer, but his class is pretty painless. Learn your sheep breeds and you'll do fine. He deserves a lot of respect however. He is one of the most foresited professors in the Animal Science Department. I wish more ASCI professors would teach students to use their ingenuity and break the mold. Also, we would have a brighter-looking future if more teachers taught a holistic approach to agriculture.

i hate sheep, the class is stuid but as asci you have to take it. go to lecture. study 10 min before the quizs and youll do fine. he knows his stuff and has great views on ag.

Mr. Rutherford is awesome. Though he may seem a little crazy there is great wisdom behind his words. I loved the class and I hate sheep. His quizes are not necessarily hard, but make sure you study. He is very fair and will help you in anyway.

Mr. Rutherford is bit arrogant and a bit knotheaded, like most professors. However, he is very bright, knows his stuff, and has a unique way of looking at things. I have alot of respect for him, partially because of his excellent animal handling skills and partially because cares about what he is teaching. While he can be confrontational, I learned much about sheep because I just decided to keep my mouth shut. His tests are not easy and require some studying. His grading is fair, on the other hand. He, in my class, was more than willing to help his students out.

Rutherford is a very interesting man. Very involved in his sheep, he misses a couple of days here and there which makes everyone happy. He is crazy about the preservation of Ag and rsource management. Overall he is a very insightful man about the future of the sheep industry. His tests are hard. Study your butt off for breed tests, do it anyway possible memorize background objects if you have to, but realize that you do have to study.

Mr. Rutherford is demanding and expects you to know the littliest details but if you study and pay attention in lab you will at least pass. He knows a lot about agriculture and is one of my favorite professors at Cal Poly so far, you'll either love him or hate him.

I actually enjoyed being in Professor Rutherford's class. He most definitely has a good understanding of the subject matter. He loves sheep, and i came out of the class liking them as well. If you make the best of it, you can have some fun. His labs can be long and boring, and almost always take the full three hours. If you take good notes (do not just copy down what is on the power point, he will expect you to know what he SAYS as well) and study, you will get a good grade. He has a good curve system, so it's not too hard to get a good grade.

Really nice guy, funny but can get very serious when it is about something important. Easy to get an A if you try. You write your own questions for the tests and can study them ahead of time. Lab is really fun and interactive. There is a project that you have to defend in small groups but as long as you worked hard on your project you should be fine.

I really liked Mr. Rutherford.. He likes to talk a lot but if you take him for an enterprise like Ram enterprise it is a lot of fun. He doesn't have a manager to boss you around and you actually get to make decisions for the project. He has a lot of knowledge about land management and is very set in his ways, but I really liked him. His sheep class was not a hard class just get in a good group for your project and make sure he likes your idea!! Give him a chance he is very nice and friendly during office hours.

I am not saying this because he failed me, but in all honesty. He is a hard professor with many hangups. I mean, we had a presentation, and because he never told us when to have it online for him to read by, we got it online balut two hours late. Therefore we were not able to present that day, but had to come to his office at 6 in the morning in order to present it. HE NEVER TOLD US WHEN TO HAVE IT ONLINE BY!!! I found him to be very unfair, and he doesnt like to answer questions. He always makes it seem as though you are bothering him, when he is supposed to be helping students. I hate this professor!

I didnt like him whatsoever. He seems to think himself to be god, and i pray that someone will knock him down a few pegs soon. the class is low demad, and the midterm questions are ones that the students write, but he makes it much harder than the class needs to be. He is almost always late, and likes his sheep more than his students. I dont understand how he can have him class herd sheep for three hours. Plus, he hates to answer questions, and favors those who already know about sheep. If you dont know anything, then he acts as though you are wasting his time. If you have to take him for lecture, then dont take him for lab!!

READ THIS THERE IS GOOD INFO ON THE CLASS!!! Rutherford gets a lot of crap for being arrogant but I had a really similar teacher in high school so I'm used to the I know everything you don't attitude. BUT don't worry he does know a lot and the class will be fine, just get into the mindset that the world revolves around sheep and grazing and you'll do great. If you can avoid it do NOT take him for lab. His labs go forever and Pettey is a great teacher. Keep in mind for the tests he will pull info strait from your boring lab handouts. He lets the students write the tests but be prepared for about 10 hard questions of his own and I can't emphasis this more write HIS answer if you can. You may know another right answer, he doesn't care if it's right, he wants his answer. Also THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT: Do not expect him to tell you what you need to do at all. If you don't know the due date for something and plan on waiting for him to tell you, DON'T, ask him about everything. His syllabus is crap so ask him for exact dates for everything. One really good tip on studying for the tests, on bkackboard have everybody email you their Q's and A's they submitted, put them all together and email them back to everyone. Also, do all the lab reports, I would have gotten an A if I had done them all, and be warned he grades VERY harshly on the final report evaluations, so just know your stuff and have a good poker face.

This guy is so frustrating. You have to sit through a boring lecture, and then if you take him for lab, you are going to be there the entire time. I do not understand how he would have us come to lab just to walk in the hills and evaluate grass. I wanted to take a bullet to the head. His testing method is deranged. studying hard does you no good. On the first midterm I thought that I did well, and I recieved an F. When he gave us the answer sheet to the exam, I noticed that I had his answers, but they were marked wrong. When I went to his office and tried to discuss it with him, he said that he was looking for a different answer. WTF?? the why not put the REAL answer on the sheet, and I didnt get any points back even when I showed him in the class notes where his "wanted" answer was never discussed. I know that he is the only one that teaches the class, but jeez. You would think that it might be possible to have a proffesor that actually might want his students to do well. P.S. check your grade on blackboard constantly. When grades came out, he had me on blackboard with a C+, and my transcript showed a D. You really have to watch his grading, or your screwed. Good luck

Rutherford has turned into my least favorite professor quick at Cal Poly. I think my friends at work nailed it on the head when they said he wants to be a professor of Animal Science philosophy. Im not saying hes unintelligent, I find his 'completely unrealted to sheep' commentary as pretty interesting from time to time, but the fact of the matter is I came to learn about sheep, not hear him run his mouth for the first 20 minutes every lecture, highlighting the fine points of life as he sees them. He wants you to engage in your own education, which means he isnt going to present you with shit for information, instead it is 'up to you' to find the information. Hey asshole, Ive got news for you, If i want to use google and the library to learn about something on my own time , in not going to pay the school 500 bucks to have you not teach me about it. Also fuck his group projects. GET YOUR PROJECT DONE EARLY AND HAVE HIM REVIEW IT. thats my word of advice. Ive gotten screwed in TWO of his classes because of group projects and ive never had any problems with other professors. Those two group projects have been, lierally, the worst experiences I have had at Cal Poly.

Basically this guy is a bully pulpit. He loves the sound of his voice. I really dont know what to say about taking this class because obviously I didnt do well. I guess you should find a group that will really get things done. We waited to the last minute and I felt really left out of the entire project. God help ya. Bring something entertaining to do during lecture...zzzzz....

Rutherford sucks!! He goes off on wild tangents, bullshitting about nothing and makes lecture and lab really boring. He requires a lot of work outside of class and does a lot of group work. I missed lecture a lot but it really didn't matter because all the questions for the tests are posted online and thats all you really have to study for.

Mr. Rutherford (he does not have a PHD) makes a student want to tranfer from Animal Science. He is a poor teacher, very difficult and weird. In my opinion, he is one of the loser profs at Cal Poly who can't get another job. Make sure you pick a group topic that he likes or you will have to study extra hard just to get a C. You are stuck, however, because there is no one else to take. Good Luck!!!

Okay, I took this class in the fall of 2006. Mr. Rutherford definitely does have a more "Socratic" method to his teaching style but it is only because he is passionate about teaching us what is really out there after the schooling environment. And yes, he does so in a way that would benefit us most if we had intentions of going into the sheep/goat business but above all, he just wants us to think "outside the box". He is really down to earth and a nice guy. As far as the exams are concerned, he has everyone in the class email him possible test questions. All of the questions he receives, he posts on Blackboard for everyone to look at and print out. And once he has received around 150 questions, then your exam will come soon after. Caution: Keep track of how many questions are there because if no one in the class ever sends him questions, then you will only have one test as your lecture grade. Really now, if you study the questions and can answer all of them (MANY of which are repeats) you will receive a high grade. I studied the night before for both of the exams we had and I got and

Basically all Rutherford cares about is land management and "living sustainably". He doesn't really care about sheep, he told us himself. This is by far the worst species class because of Rutherford. I don't even know where to start...The first 2 weeks of class he doesn't even lecture on sheep; he "teaches" you what education really means. All the labs were way boring, only the marking lab was interesting. You have to do a group project on flock management. He doesn't set any real guidlines as to what he wants, he just basically tells you what type of flock you own and you're on your own from there. This was the same for our lab report. He tells you what he wants, but there are no real guidlines or hard copy of what he wants from your paper. Also, he has no set grading. He tells you at the beginning that he decides who gets the As, Bs, Cs, and so on and that they are not dependent on percentages. You also have to show him you can heard sheep and analyze pastures on your own time. And the book was completely useless, I used it maybe once to look up definitions of words he posts that you're supposed to know, and Cal Poly doesn't buy back this text book-comeplete waste of my money! Anyways the only good thing about this class is you choose the test questions, you write them and submit them and he picks about 40 for the test. So basically you have the test. Ironically this way of "learning" (memorizing answers from the posted test questions) is completely the opposite to what he describes learning should be. hah.

I have no idea why Mr. Rutherford has such a low polyrating. He is a really nice, easy to approach professor, he just wants you to think for yourself a little. The class is an easy A if you show up and care at all about learning. He gives you an outline for the group project and even lets you pick your group members if you want to. Take this class in winter when the ewes are lambing. This might be the best species class of them all, so don't miss it!

He knows what he's talking about. Presents his material clearly but for the project, it can get pretty confusing. When you present it to him, he likes to ask off the wall questions to see if you know or not but he's not too harsh of a grader. Sometimes when you ask him a question he'll go on and one.. since he's so full of knowledge but in the end, you could be still confused. If he likes you, great. If he doesn't, then you'll probably hate his guts. Very patient guy. True teacher (professional teacher). He really cares about what he teaches and if you think it's boring, then you probably don't like his class.

Rutherford gets a lot of flack about his teaching style, and especially about how he teaches Holistic Management. My best recommendation is to go into the class with an open mind. The grading system is not straight-forward, but it is in an attempt to reflect the subject matter. Participating in discussions and creating an office-hours/after-class dialogue with him will help him understand where you're coming from and where you're struggling, and will help you for the non-traditional grading. Also, be prepared for a confusing group project, but it won't take THAT much time.

I got three things to say to Rutherford: 1. Get off your fucking soap box, no one cares how much you preach, your ideas are worthless. 2. Allan Savory is a overrated piece of shit, he "took" the idea that too many animals on the land for too long is bad, well no shit...wow if anybody knows a cow from their ass they would know that. 3. Holistic Managment is the biggest load of crap I have ever seen. Why we don't rename the class common sense 101, because that is all it is.

Rutherford constantly reminded us that points don't matter. He prided himself on this fact, yet he constantly graded students lower than expected. This class should be common sense, but some how he makes this class a pain the ass. The tests were not too hard. (The class average ended up being a 68%.) But remember points don't matter - or something like that. We had a role-playing event and a learning portfolio. They were supposed to be "easy points". Yah, they weren't. I hated this class and couldn't wait for it to be over. Overall, the material was great, but the teachers made this class unbearable.

I have never had a class that I hated so much, nor have I ever disliked a teacher as much as Rutherford. AG 360 is an absolute waste of time. Rutherford keeps you in his class for the whole entire time just so that he can hear the own sound of his voice. He clearly has his favorites and if you're not one of his favorites, you're basically treated unfairly. He is condescending in the way he communicates with you, says that points don't matter in his class, and then grades you way below what you actually deserve. I would not recommend this course to anybody, even if it double counts. There were a couple of times where I just wanted to shoot myself in the head listening to his lectures. I learned absolutely nothing except for the fact that he is a complete ass.

Rutherford is a moron. This is the worst class I have ever taken at Cal Poly. I do not recomend taking rutherford regardless of the class. His teaching style is retarded. He fails everyone. He gives shitty projects and doesnt teach anything. He only tells you his opinion which is stupid. Do not take him he is the worst teacher i have ever had. He gives two group projects and one doesnt even get graded. Dont take him or his class.

Rutherford is the crappiest teacher i have ever had. i did not learn anything in his class and i cant stand to listen to his stupid ideas. this class has the potential to be very helpful but do not take it from Rutherford. He always says that points dont matter but he has no problem failing someone. He enjoys hearing himself talk and he gives ideas how to operate a ranch or farm however he has no idea how a real ranch or farm really opperates. DO NOT TAKE RUTHERFORD FOR ANY CLASS.

FUCK THIS CLASS! Seriously I wish someone forewarned me.. it is NOT worth double counting, just take 2 other classes. He will never answer a question directly and he clearly has his favorites. I am almost positive he grades off of simply who you are and if you do poorly and ask, he will have no answer for you. This class' material wasn't even that bad, ITS HIM. WORST 10 WEEKS OF MY LIFE

While Mr. Rutherford is a very nice person he fails miserably as a teacher. I was excited to take this class and learn about holistic management, however while the subject matter was intriguing, I found the class lacking in factual evidence and abundant in skewed rhetoric. Rutherford's teaching style is outdated, his thoughts and teaching style are unorganized and more confusing than organized. I found myself having to read the book in order to comprehend what the man was trying to relate. Overall, I do not recommend this class, even if I double counts, the amount of ambiguous busy work and projects every week make the class not worth it. I was sorely disappointed in the class and in Rutherford. Also, his organizational skills make it possible for him to lose projects and points and good luck trying to argue your case with him because you will always be wrong.

I personally believe that I learned more in this one class than I did in all of my other classes combined this year. It is introspective and interesting to read and discuss and even though the in class lectures may be dry at times, you leave, applying those holistic ideas in your own life throughout the rest of the week. I would recommend this class to everyone, especially outside of the animal science major. The issues discussed in class are things that all educated thinkers of the future must understand, and this class provides you some beginning tools to make positive changes in environmental economics in the future.

This is a really great class - honestly, the only downside is the teacher. Rutherford presents some really good information on how to holistically manage your land and your life. It may sound like naturey-crap but it's not that bad. Rutherford is an old sarcastic guy who hates the people he works for. He knows a ton but he doesn't know how to correctly answer student questions without going in circles. Some tips for this class: first, suck it up and get to know Rutherford. If he knows you're putting in effort, you may save yourself. Second, you pretty much have to teach this stuff to yourself, Rutherford will summarize your readings in class but he'll quiz you about the reading before going into it. (Speaking of quizzes, he quizzes daily with a lottery system aka your whole class's names are in the jar and he picks randomly - so GO to class.) Third, on the 2 midterms I highly suggest spewing as much detail as you can. He likes a lot of writing and honestly you may be able to argue some points back. Do the same on your final portfolio and final...oh, and btw that's a take home final, so hooray for that. And lastly, don't argue with this guy. He will always be right - save yourself the trouble and don't even try unless you want your words twisted and time wasted.

Interesting Class and no one better for teaching this class - Rutherford has a strong love for agriculture and the issues surrounding it - He does a great job

He asks his students to be responsible (i.e. show up on time, be prepared), but he doesn't not show by example. He was late for class several times and delayed the entire layout of the class by not being prepared. I agree with what he asks of students in a 400 level class, but don't appreciate that he doesn't give what he expects!

This is a pretty good seminar. I really enjoyed the speakers that Rutherford had come to the class. He chose speakers that really gets a rise out of the students. Plus, the discussion board that he has on Blackboard for students to post what they thought of the speakers and issues is really good, and fun. The grade is based on very few things...a partner paper on a very specific topic that you chose, a group debate on a general topic that the class talks about, and a take home final that is essays. It's pretty easy.

I Had Mr. Rutherford for intro to sheep, advanced sheep mgmt, as well as issues. He is a great instructor if you actively participate in your own education. He puts the material out there for you all you need to do it connect the dots. He puts alot of empahsis on test and quizes on knowing the big picture. How all the parts he presented to you fit together. He won't give you that you have to think. He figures we are all adults so its up to the individual to keep tarck of due dates, information etc. He never fails to answer questions so when in doubt ask. He is always welcoming to students during office hours and its a great time to pick his brain, he loves sharing with anyone who is open. Many students think he is hard headed and close minded but my guess is those are people who just sat in class and never really got involved. So my best advice is show up to class take notes and always ask questions if your at all unsure. I didn't know anything about sheep when I started now as I graduate I not only know plenty about sheep but I also know alot about grazing and holistice management and its all information that I will use in the future.

First of all, for all the kids whining about Dr. Rutherford's teaching style, college is about more than simply memorizing the material put in front of you. College is about learning to think for yourself, not just regurgitating information. If a teacher is willing to teach you how to do this, in addition to teaching you information about a given topic, take full advantage of it. While Rutherford's classes are not easy, they provide much more to the students than a simple species course. Pay attention in class, some of the points Rutherford makes are pretty interesting.

Mr. Rutherford is opinionated and shares his opinions often but is good at listening and respecting yours as long as you are willing to think about why you believe what you do. His way of looking at the world are pretty different than a lot of the other ASCI teachers, so it can seem offensive if you can't handle your beliefs being challenged or just don't care to think about issues. The class has a variety of meetings with lecture, guest lecture, and debates. The debates can be frustrating due to the large group of people that you are supposed to work with, but even that can be a good learning experience. The term paper isn't too bad, especially if you start on it before the week it is due. Like any of Rutherford's classes, you can learn as much or as little as you want to, but it is up to you as the student.

This teacher is a dumbass... he tells you what he wants for an assignment after it is due, so your grade is really low. I haven't taken sheep yet, so I plan on taking beef instead, just to avoid rutherford. Also this class should teach you about the issues that are out there and allow you to form your own opinions, instead it is about this is the issue and here is the correct position to have...not what I wanted to get from the course!!

I am sitting in the last lecture of Asci 476 and more than happy to be rid of this class. The class itself is great, but the class is WAY to big to get a lot out of the class. The debate is not a debate, it is another way for Rutherford to show his likes and dislikes for students. He is a decent professor, but a long with a few other ASci professors a bit of an ass. Don't ask him a direct question, you will not get a straight answer. I did take him for Holistic Management too. He is not a great professor but a decent man. He is trying to make students think, but really does not know how to go about doing that. You will get a good deal of info in his classes, but make sure he likes you!