Swearingen, Don  

Don is an excellent instructor. He takes a 4 and 1/2 hour class and makes it entertaining so that it seems much shorter. He relates well with the students and is more than willing to repeat the instruction 4 or 5 times without really getting upset. I have only seen him mad once and it wasn't for very long. He managed to get over his bad mood and move on. I suggest taking him for all 111-113. He's also a great guy to top it all off.

Don does an alright job of teaching and I learned quite a bit in his ARCH 111 and 113 classes. One of the only problems I had with him is he has his favorites in his classes and if you are not one of them you can tell. You also have no clue how you are doing in the class until you recieve your final grade. I would still recommend him as a first year professor because he prepares you for second year design.

It's obvious that Swearingen is one of the best first year ARCH professors. He's the funniest teacher I've ever had, and he really does TEACH. You'll enjoy and learn a lot in his class, even if you've never had a drafting/drawing class before. There are only a few small things about Swearingen though. His instruction frequently conflicts with the sylibus, which makes doing some of the assignments confusing. Also, he's not very clear on what he expects you to have on your assignments, and when you turn something in, he'll critize the work for not having something you didn't even know you were suppost to have. He's rarely in a bad mood though, and when he is, it doesn't affect the constructivness of his critiques. I'd definately recommend this instructor to any first-year student.

What more can I say about Don, hes just simply one of the best profs in Poly. I learned so much in his class. His lecture sometimes were very long but hey hes funny so its not that bad. He gives out alot of assignments but they are interesting. You will be very busy takin his class.

Very easy-going, personal guy. The one problem I had with him was I thought he talked too much during class when I felt we could have been using the time more effectively to work on improving our drawing techniques. This class was twice a week for 4.5 hours. We never stayed that long. Usually only 3.5 hours or so. Yet, we did not draw IN CLASS once all quarter. AND IT WAS A LAB CLASS!!! We just listened to him talk and review the drawings we turned in. The class ended up being more work than it should have been because we had to do every drawing at home. Although the project we spent most the quarter on was very fun, and I learned a lot from it. Anyways, enough bagging on the guy, cause he doesn't deserve that. He is an awesome guy in EVERY other aspect, and if you're an ARCE you have to take this class anyways. I would recommend either Combrink (if he is teaching it) or Swearingen.

Don is a great guy. He helps everyone as much as he can and gives very good constructive criticism. He doesn't say anything is wrong until you can't fix something. Be careful though, he asks for copies of drawings along with originals and he gets very excited with his red pen. So if you want to keep your originals clean turn in copies. Also, keep all your work organized for the end of the quarter.

Don is the most entertaining teacher I've ever had. While all the other classes are working on projects at Halloween, we were carving pumpkins while Don (dressed as the grim reaper) hands out candy and orders us pizza. He loves what he teaches and it shows - his passion for architecture rubs off on his students and he's never critical, only supportive and encouraging. Do everything you can to get his class!

Don is a great professor who understands the material he is teaching and always attempts to make the class environment a positive one. Make sure to turn in all assignments as soon as possible, he usually understands if it's a day or so late. It's hard to get Don mad at you, as long as you stay on the ball and put forth the effort. Alot of work, but a great teacher. Make sure not to integrate anything that may even be slightly seen as a religious view into any project, even if it's not. Trust me.

Don has a gift. Almost all of the material presented in Arch 121 was new to me (ie. there were no drafting classes available at my high school and I did not have any "on-the-side" experience either upon commencement), and yet, Don made everything I needed to know readily accessible. Whether you're a predominantly visual or theoretical learner/thinker, he tends to automatically provide lessons in both formats, which only helps to solidify what is being taught into memory. I confidently stand by recommending him. Not just because he happens to have an unparalleled sense of humor that seems to put the entire class at ease (even if he happens to simultaneously have a red marker in hand to "critique" the homework), but because he understands what we need to know as students and what type of feedback helps bring out the best in first-year students. The only warning I give is to come to class prepared to give it your best, because that's how he shows up for class. A little reciprocity can go a long way, not to mention, that it'll start your Arch 120 series off on the right track. If you do happen to find yourself wondering about something though, by all means, don't refrain from asking him. He'll be more than willing to help you understand. He, like I suspect other professors of his understanding would do, is going to do whatever he can to see that you succeed. All you need to do is be present for class.

Don is the man. He is very willing to help out anyone, and he really knows his stuff. He's not really strict about deadlines, so if you need to turn something in late, don't worry about it. Swearingen has been my favorite professor so far her at Poly.

BEST 1st year ARCH teacher ever! this man is amazing. he knows so much, he is helpful, he is funny, and you love going to class every day. DON ROCKS!!!

Don has a great deal of experience and knowledge in architecture. He is never negative, and his attitude creates a positive environment each day in the studio. He is a thoughtful critic and is very concerned with you learning from your own work. I would/will take him again.

Don is really passionate about what he's teaching, and that passion rubs off on the class. He explains things very clearly, and will talk the class through step by step if people are confused. He's very friendly, and makes the class very comfortable. Overall, he's a great teacher!

Great teacher for beginners. He is a really nice, understanding, funny guy and his class is entertaining as well as educational. It is obvious that he is extremely tallented in architecture, and he will teach you many tricks and methods of doing things that other teachers are oblivious to. He will work with you after hours on anything you need. He assigns a lot of work, but it does take a lot of practice to get good at architecture. He has very high standards regarding grading, and is a little subjective. One of my perspectives was marked down for a tree that was about a foot out of place. Sometimes he is unclear with his assignments, and his grading of weekly art reflects more personal taste than appreciation of talent. TIPS: be very inquisitive and make sure you know EXACTLY what he wants before you turn something in, make use of his tallent he will be happy to help you do your hmwk, be on time, and turn things in on time. He is a good guy, and a good teacher to choose.

He is a very easy going professor and teaches a fairly easy class. He takes up much more time than is necessary when speaking to the class, but other than that, no complaints.

Don Swearingen is by far the most influencial and memorable professor I have ever had. I don't care about what I learned, or what my grade was... Don Swearingen made my Cal Poly experience complete. I took more from him by far than any other professor. In terms of learning to become an architect, Curt Illingworth taught me to do that best in his 3rd year design studio. In terms of having a professor that I will look back on much later in life and smile, and realize that choosing Cal Poly was a good choice, Don Swearingen has this honor. Thanks Don.

Being a student of Don made me a better person. Seriously. Good Man. Thanks Don!

While Swearingen is an all around nice guy and has a decent teaching curriculum, I felt the class itself was a waste of time. He tends to go on random tangents and will talk about the simplest of things for overly drawn out periods of time. Asides the actual class being a drag, I managed to come out with a decent grade and a far better understanding of different drawing methods than I went in with.

Don was a very sweet man. He is likable, however..he tends to go through material either too quickly because he was getting off topic in the beginning of class or he goes to slow which is hard to stay focused during. He taught me a lot about drawing! I was not the best drawer and he helped me to become better and he believed in me. I never went to his office hours, not really sure when he even had them. He is all about drawing and you do not do any projects involving models. His grading policy is easy, its all about effort, deadlines, and if you improve. So I guess I would say I recommend Don, I wish there was other stuff to do other than drawing.

Don is an awesome guy and he really cares about each of his students. Don's classes requires a lot of drawing. He does not require a lot of useless expensive materials, just the basics. One bad thing about the class is it tends to get boring. Don explains everything drawing in very thorough detail and then he usually repeats everything again in the next class. However, we did get let out of class early almost every time. Overall, Don taught me a great foundation for studying architecture and I definitely recommend him to others!

Don's one of the good ones. He's personable and friendly. His critiques are detailed and in front of the whole class, but there are professors with worse techniques. He is very through in his explanations, but he likes to review the WHOLE assignment right before it's collected, which is kind of a waste of time. He focuses almost solely on drawings; we made ONE study model the whole quarter and no real models. Take him if you need to refine your drawing skills.

Don is a fantastic teacher! He goes over things very slowly and concisely. He is visual with his instruction, he doesn't just say, draw this incredibly complex series of buildings, he walks you through it, step by step, so you can see what works and what doesn't. He is very kind and understanding, and he will praise any and all accomplishments you do. His criticism is never too harsh, he does it as a group with the entire class, so you see what everyone else is doing too. All in all he is a great teacher and I would recommend him to any incoming student who doesn't have an artistic background. If you do have some sort of an idea how to draw, take someone else, he basically will teach you what you already know.

don is a great teacher, any first year arch student should look for his name when registering, and if you can't register, then crash the class, he will let you in no matter what, even if there are 50 students crashing, he will find a way to let them all in. he presents the material clearly and if you still don't understand, he will explain it to you again one-on-one. he helped me a lot and i'm glad i'm taking him again in 123. its a lot of work but you'll learn a lot and benefit greatly.

Don chooses to teach first year design because he wants to help you get of to the right start. If you can get in his class take him at least one quarter or you'll be missing out.

Don is a great teacher if u wish to learn skills that were used in the 1970-80s. while drawing skills may be useful, he limits the class to drafting related coursework. while learning tools such as the tracing wheel or blue printing may be good to know about, they are no longer appropriate to teach. don is a nice guy, but he often repeats himself to hair pulling lengths and causes the class to stay for the full classtime. EVERYtime. take grover or illingsworth if you wish to advance your skills.

Don often times talked for long periods of time about the same things over and over again. These talks were boring, but he then cut class early once he was done talking. Pretty much all of the work was busy work, but if you do it, you'll be sure to get an A or B. I wasn't really fond of the class, but cant complain because I got an A-.

Don is by far the most easy-going, personable professor I have ever had. He is a great person, and a great teacher. I learned more during the first day of class with him than I did during the entire previous quarter. Take Don if you can, you won't regret it.

Don is overrated. His personality is like the grandpa that everyone loves, but as a teacher it gets old. Once he teaches you a technique, he goes over the technique again and again. And he talks WAY too much. His class just seems to go on and on, with no real progress or challenge. It's not hard. A lot of coloring and a bit of drawing. He doesn't really help improve your drawing skills, so really, you only feel like you got something out of his class if you were already excellent at drawing. So realy, it's honestly like taking an elementary school class.

Don knows his stuff. That's all I have to say. He is a great man in and out of the classroom. My quarter was filled with many mishaps unrelated to school and he was there to understand and help me cope with each situation. I was really glad to have him as a teacher and would recommend him to any student.

You should definately take Don's class. He's helpful, understanding, clear, and i must say he's also entertaining. (I had him for 3 design labs and he tends to do and say some random things.) He's very knowledgable-you'll learn a lot about graphic skills as well as the profession. He'll spend the time to really individually critique the projects and you can get a lot out of that. Don is one of those professors that you can tell really cares about his students. He's a great teacher and a great person all around.

attention to everyone who is registering for the first time, or taking an arch class for the first time: this is the man to take! i took him for my entire freshman year of architectural design and i haven't regretted a minute of it. he is a interesting person who challenges you to expand your abilities on a daily basis. his projects are always interesting and will definitely help you in the future as you progress through the different series. he is reasonable in his demands on your time and has a good repoire with the students. you don't pay too much extra on supplies and he is full of good little bits of useful knowledge. the only draw back to don was how long it took him to return assignments during the quarter, but that was just a personal preference on my part. definitely take him for at least a quarter. you will definitely be glad you did.

I had Don all throughout my first year at Poly, and it was what kept me from transferring out of Cal Poly, when I got homesick. He taught me techniques that I apply to every single project that I've had. Don is one of the few professors that give our program its good name.

Don really presents the material but at times can be somewhat missleading on what he wants done! Be sure to speak up and ask questions. Over all his class is really relaxed and the only reason I got a B was because I didn't do one of the projects

awesome professor. he made me feel like my work was actually good. he'll never insult your projects, he will truly give you constructive criticism. just make sure to say something or anything when he asks for input otherwise he'll get kinda irritated. great teacher who i'll never forget and who i will always think of as an inspiration for my future projects.

don is really great. He lives up to the expectations. He presents clearly, gives constructive critisism, and once you see your project at the end of the quarter (third quarter atleast) you will be utterly satisfied, especially compared to other 123 classes. It's a lot more work, but architecture is about work. IF YOU ARE IN ARCHITECTURE AND TRY TO TAKE LAID BACK CLASSES, YOU ARE IN THE WRONG MAJOR. If you want to learn, work is the way to get there. The work load i did with don prepared me for second year, which is completely different. If you take, say Curt Illingworth, Be ready for a surprise. Don's great.

Don is probably the best 120 series professor to take. Unfortunately, Cal Poly's first year program is extremely unchallenging and easy, and I felt that he could have taught a lot more in the time we had. Don't get me wrong, I can draw a great perspective in a flash thanks to him, but I wish he pushed us more in advanced drawing now that I look back. Doing more challenging drawing excercises instead of the BS folly project would be much more beneficial to any architectural student. Take Don whenever possible, and try and push him to teach more about drawing- make the first year program better for everyone.

Swearingen was a really great instructor. I had three years of architectural drafting courses in high school in which I learned a ton of information (not to mention I worked for an Architect drawing plans)...so a lot of the info he taught I already knew. But I still found Swearingen to be very informative. He made me think about the techniques in a whole different way than I was used to. He also showed me some new ways to approach these techniques. The only thing wrong was that I enrolled in a COMPUTER-based course and found myself not having to use my computer at all throughout the quarter, unless it was on my own personal decision. However, I recommend to anyone who wants to learn a large amount of TRADITIONAL drafting skills to take Swearingen's class.

Don is a really nice guy, unfortunately he seemed to be unable to communicate any of his architectural design ideas to his students. I don't know if this means that he doesn't know much about design, to his credit he is good at graphics and presentation. Everything is "so fine" to Don, and he won't critique your work until it is too late to incorporate his suggestions. I think DOn is fine for Arch 111-113, but any real design class you should take with someone else.