Zeuschner, Raymond  

After being brutally attacked in many ways by a member of the President's Cabinet - Russell Bik, I reported the harassment, abuse and bullying to Mr. Z as Director of the International Students. Mr. Z not only ignored my request but he redefined that no one from Cal Poly had done anything to me. He also unilaterally decided that I am under distress and amazingly immediately my phone rang from a Hospital in Santa Barbara. Mr. Z. cooperated with the bully trying to put my pain caused by the bully on mental problems. I consider this a lowly act proper of people with no morals.

This is a lame site. The comments are statistically insignificant. Most comments lack basic grammar and spelling skills.

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Very good guy with a good sense of humor. Extremely reasonable workload, and very fair grader.

Ray was a very chill teacher who was always upbeat and glad to hear all the speeches. He's pretty sarcastic and funny at times, and he just creates a very laid-back environment which is good for many people's first speaking class. He also focuses primarily on the positives, but does seem like he grades kinda hard. Overall though, an excellent person to take speech from.

Though I know Prof. Z only had the best intentions of reaching younger students, I felt like I was back in 6th grade. The in-class group work is elementary and drawn out. He wrote the book, so much of the lecture comes straight from the chapters. He is a nice guy and not intimidating for a speech prof. but his class will take you back a few years.

First off i would recommend taking coms 102 over 101 because in this class we just did two speeches on our own (informative and persuasive) and then a third "group speech" which was presenting a game to the class that taught a chapter from the book. In class Zeuschner pretty much just repeats what is written in the textbook, which he wrote. There are two midterms and a final (multiple choice) which are kinda tricky because of the way he words the problems and the answers. Speeches are videotaped but you get the tape for self critiquing purposes and no one else sees it.

To be honest, the class was dreadfully boring at times, but the workload was reasonable for a GE. I felt that his grading system was unclear, and did not fully understand what he wanted from our speeches. He cares more about nonverbal communication ( eye contact, pacing around the room) rather than content, so do not worry too much about the content of your speeches. I hated his midterms becasue they were based on the chapters from the book, which he wrote, and which was also really dry and boring. some of the questions were also worded in a way thay was difficult to answer the question. But to give him the benefit of the doubt, Prof. Z has good intentions and wants you to succeed.

This guy is a joke. I felt like I was in a Rec class "everybody into groups!" If you like teaching yourself and playing games the entire hour, well this is your teacher. If you want to learn something, take someone else.

Well, what can one say about this teacher. Avoid him. We all have to take this course anyway so why not take it from someone who actually teaches you something?

Dr. Z was really funny, and even though I was dreading this class (as most of us do), I ended up enjoying it. You only have to give two real, graded speeches, and the final project is a group project that isn't very hard. There are two midterms and a final that are all multiple-choice. They can be a little tricky but I don't think it was very hard to pull a B+ in the class. You do a lot of work in groups, which is cool because you get to know everybody in the class. He helps you a lot with your speeches and organization, and I learned a lot. He is also really flexible if you need to change the date of a speech, final, etc. Take him for Speech 202...not too much work, but you'll learn and have some fun, too.

I really liked Dr. Z. I didn't overly enjoy public speaking, but luckily you only have to do 3 speeches for his class that are graded. You do a lot of group work, which I found made me more comfortable in giving speeches. Dr. Z is also really funny, a pretty dry sense of humor, but if you get it, he's a cool teacher. If you don't, well, I guess your evaluation would look like some of the other ones on this page. I would recommend this teacher to anyone, especially if you're apprehensive about taking public speaking.

You dudes at the bottom are lame. There's always one or two of you guys. "I came to Cal Poly to learn. If you want to learn, take someone else." Dude, shut up. So for once you had an innovative teacher who actually had a sense of humor and didn't assign pages and pages of reading material. So, how many of those pages and pages you've read in all your other classes do you have memorized? At the same time, the purpose of this class was not to make you read a bunch of speeches and discourses and whatnot. It was supposed to help you be better at public speaking. So, the only way to judge this professor is, "Did he successfully accomplish the course objective?" Well, for me, it was yes!! You will be better after this class. If you allow yourself to.

At first it was difficult to keep up, but the tests are pretty easy. Just make sure you do three things when defining the vocab: define the word, give an example, and explain why it is important to the performance. The readings are difficult to find so don't wait until the last moment to find a piece.

I am currently taking this class and just want to warn people how much work it is. There are 3, minmum of 5 pages, essays due every other week, along with a long tedious test to fulfill the other weeks. You have to find your own material, which is incredibly hard since you need to find something that relates to you. You then have to rehearse the material till you know it well since he wants at least 80% eye contact. His grading is obscure. You don't know why you're getting docked points for stuff and when you ask him about it, he'll just give you some snide remark to make you feel dumb in front of the whole class. He is however, a very enjoyable lecturer. Energetic and always on top of his game. That being said though, don't take the class unless you have to.

I took this class expecting it to be a lot like a theater class, but boy was I wrong. You have to write three papers, do three performances, and take four tests. Zeuschner claims that the class is so "writing intensive" because it is in a general ed section with other "writing intensive" classes, but I don't know what he's talking about, because it's listed in the arts section with other classes like sculpture. I think he needs to check the catalog. Your performances have some of the same principles as acting, such as projection, but it is really quite different. You have selections of prose, drama, and poetry, and all you do is stand at the lectern and read them to the class. Sometimes I felt like it was storytime in kindergarten or something. I guess it sounds like reading to the class should be easy, but he grades you on stuff like muscle tension, and I never really understood why I would get 5 out of 5 points on one thing and 3 out of 5 points on another. Most people who take this class are taking it for their major, so you can't really get out of it, but if you're considering taking it for general ed, I would suggest going with Intro to Theater instead.

I took this class (Performance of literature) as my fine art, and honestly, the first day I was so scared because it sounded like so much work. Yes, there is either a test, paper, or performance due almost every week, but I can honestly say that this is by far my favorite class and teacher at Cal Poly so far. Dr. Z is an AMAZING teacher. He makes you feel so comfortable and is such a nice and funny guy that you can't help but pay attention in class. He truly cares about his students, and the result of that was my class became like a close knit little family! I was actually sad for the quarter to end. There's a lot of work, but it's not dull or tedious and you really do learn a lot. By the end of the quarter I was not nervous one bit to speak in front of the class. HE'S THE BEST!

Zeuschner's Performance Literature class is wonderful! I relished the opportunity to choose and perform pieces that I preferred, and most of my presentations were well-received. The class atmosphere was relaxed and everyone was encouraged to have a sense of humor--take this class if you still need the G.E., because it will actually be fun.

worst teacher ive had at cal poly hands down completely obscure grading standards

Professor Zeuschner was an excellent teacher! He is funny, helpful, and understanding. He lays out his expectations very clearly, and gets the class talking to each other. There is alot of group work, so it makes the time go so much more quickly than just straight lecture. The workload is very manageable, and his tests are straight multiple choice that aren't trying to trick you. I highly recommend this professor and would definitely take him again!

Dr. Zeuschner in my opinion, was an excellent professor. He intriged me with the way he really new how human beings worked. He was very organized and structured, so it was easy to follow along. You do have to complete online quizes once a week(which are easy). They are on;y to help YOU keep updated on the reading. The tests aren't easy, but they make you think . I absolutely loved this class and recommend it to everyone!

Dr. Zeuschner made SCOM 212 an extremely enjoyable class altogether. We watched movies (real movies, not educational films), both in class and outside of it, and related the interpersonal communication concepts to them. He gives 4 journal assignments with questions you answer about yourself and the films you watch and weekly (online, which should give you an easy 100%) quizzes for each chapter. With a little bit of studying, the multiple choice midterms and finals aren't too hard either. The best parts of the class are the group work projects, which can basically be fun and games, and the way the class changes the way you view communication between people. Awesome teacher/class overall!

This man is a master at his craft. Every class was jam-packed with fun ways to approach material. He made himself very available to students and answered all questions. I've had him for 3 classes and if I could take him for more, I would, he's that fun.

Dr. Zeuschner is definitely a fun teacher and shows a lot of enthuiaism. However, his quizes and tests sometimes have questions that seem straight from left field. He also seems to have a Stalin like attitude and won't reconsider dropping bad questions for anything. I went into the class thinking I'd ace it easily, but didn't do as well as I thought. Best advice--read the material, listen to his lectures, and take the group work seriously.

he didn't really give us enough instruction to really know what you are suppost to do, so the first project is very confusing (but no one knows how to do it) he is overall not really the teacher in the class. He sits back and does a couple exercises with you while you and your groups learn for yourself. Its overall a good course you get to know the people in your class very well!

Dr. Z is a neat guy. You get little guidance in the material because he wants you to learn how to work in groups but thats hard when you have no instruction on how to do it. Although, It is a really fun class. All SCOM majors must take it... so have fun and pray you have good group members!

2 midterms, a final, 3 group presentations, and 1 easy final paper. Presentations: He starts off being very clear about his expectations for the first presentation, the second one he gives a few clues, and the third one he gives no help. He wants us to learn to communicate in small groups (duh, it's the course title) and he does this really well as he weens you off to figure out how to do things on your own. Best thing to do is BE CREATIVE-- he rewards creativity really well. Also, he really rewards you when you know your presentation so well that you don't need to be reading your paper. Exams: you can get a C if you don't study at all but come to class, a B if you read the chapters, and an A if you study the chapters-- pretty simple depending on what grade you'd like to get. Overall, it's not a class that I had to really stress over, but I feel that i learned the material... good stuff i guess

I took 208 AND 217 from him last quarter. His lectures are very enjoyable, and he is pretty easy to talk to. 208: This class is a decent ammount of work, so I would not reccommend if for a GE, unless you want to learn. You will learn, but if you are looking for a filler 4th class, just know it's a lot of work. 217: This is a great class, as it is very hands on and you really get to practice what is learned in the book. I would highly reccommend this class to anybody, because it is so essential in life. I got two B's, and I think that is pretty standard. You have to work REALLY hard to get an A... and you have to not try hard at all to get a C. I would take Dr. Z though, he is a great teacher with a lot of passion. Hint: If you want extra credit, ASK in the middle of the quarter after class if he offers any. He does not publically announce it, but for both 208 and 217 it is possible to earn some.

Dr. Z is great! He really brings out the fun in Speech Communication and his classes are always enjoyable. I especially appreciate his love for music (any professor who plays Janis Joplin in class is fine by me!)

I am reading this site, and graduated from Cal Poly in 1980. Took Dr Z's speech class in 1980 (yes, 26nyrs ago), and was on debate/forensics team that competed at Cal Berkeley and UOP among others. Cannot believe the "original DrZ" (before Daimler Chrysler) is still there. He is a talented man, and I attribute a lot of my success in life to him and other profs at Cal Poly like him who actually love what they do.