Cushing, Jim  

Every student should experience Dr. Cushing at least once. His lectures are great and they go deep into the subject. He'll explain something, then explain it again in a different point of view and then explain it again. It's phenomenal. He does get a little shady when it comes to speaking about grades. He thinks grades don't mean much, but to me they mean everything. I Aced every single one of my english courses except this one. I aced my previous english courses and the ones I took after this class. He gave me a C. He likes certain writing styles and mine was not one of them. English comes relatively easy for me, but boy did I struggle in this class. I really reccomend having him as a teacher. He tells such great stories.

An eccentric and interesting guy. We only wrote three essays and only had class about half of the time. If you make an effort he will notice and you grade will reflect it

This is one crazy dude. He\'s one of those teachers who comes in and sits cross-legged on the desk and starts the quarter off with a great first lecture. He\'s a totally liberal hippie who was always laughing at his own jokes and just doing his best to make the class more enjoyable. And for that reason, I think Cushing has kind of become the go-to guy for \"non-english\" people who want an easy pass. And there is probably a pretty good reason for that. He sometimes comes in late, lets us out early 75% of classes, and our only work is the three essays throughout the quarter. It was a breeze. He\'s a great guy, he stutters alot, and I\'d pick him again if I had the chance.

Dr. Cushing was a really nice man, but I would not call him a great teacher. He never really taught us how to write a good essay, nor was he able to explain his expectations for the three essays. Overall, the class was easy, and his essay prompts were fun and interesting to research and write about. My only complaint is that he was not very helpful in class of office hours.

I got a b- in the class. Pretty much we rarely have class for more than 30 minutes. You really don't learn anything, and for people who don't give a crap about english its a good class. The prompts are pretty easy. I am a decent writer would have rather gotten a B but it didn't happen. If you want an A, its no easy from what i've heard from other writers who cared in my class. We only have 3 essays longest one 1600-1800 words, so if you want a class with minimal work i'd take it AGAIN

This is a class to take if you dont want to do a lot of work and want to get your A3 GE out of the way. There is no midterm or final and you only have to write 3 essays. The longest of the 3 is only 1500 words and you have a chance to revise all three of them. He never makes you stay the entire class and he doesn't grade based on attendance. Only thing is he stutters almost every other word but once you get used to it its not bad.

I am definitely not an English person, and I really liked the class. It was very easy, the workload was almost nonexistent compared to other english classes, and he is a really helpful and nice guy. It was a 2 hour class that barely lasted longer than 45 minutes, and there was no homework, tests, or finals, and only 3 essays, all of which were fairly short (500, 1000, and 2000 words) where you get to write on basically whatever you want. If you are an English person, don't take him because you don't do anything. If you simply want an easy GE, take him it was great!

Definitely a character to have in the classroom. Cushing presents things in an eccentric way, which is a "nice" change for a GE. There are essays and a lot of editing but it can be done given the amount of time. Going to each class isn't always the best thing to look forward to but it gets done. Overall, decent class.

I learned nothing in this class even though I went almost ever meeting. super interesting (weird) dude and it was funny at first how different it was ut by the end of the quarter it was just annoying. Your grade is completely based on 3 essays you turn in during finals week and you kindof / not really work on throughout the quarter. extremely easy to get a B in this class and I would probably take him again just for that reason. We would literally sit in the classroom sometimes while he rambled on about completely irrelevant stuff for 2 entire hours. it honestly felt like a joke in class. dont take him if u actually want to learn

ok, so the first day he is this really interesting guy with his crazy white hair,funny socks and energy for the old age. I chose his class because i dont like doing essays and it seemed like a good idea. BUT!!! This mofo doesnt tell you what he expects, what you write is on you but if he doesnt like it he will kill your grade and refuse to find your topic interesting. if he is not the most anal person on the use of commas,periods and other punctuation marks idk who is. he scolded me once on my punctuation. but screw you man! This class is boring and he will never pay attention to you,unless you are a girl. during class he would always talk to one group of girls, so i would just leave because he was a waste of time. this class will suck but its literally NO WORK.

Okay, Dr. Cushing is a nice guy and you can tell that he really wants all of his students to be great, and that he truly believes in them, but it's impossible to tell what he really wants from his students... He is very disorganized and unclear. When you present to him what you are going to write about or actually give him your essay to read, he will say things like "Yes!" or "Oh this is great" and it makes you feel like you just wrote an A paper, but then you get it back and it's a C... Also, he barely writes any feedback on the actual essays, just basic corrections to grammatical errors, and when you ask him what you should do to improve, he will NEVER ANSWER DIRECTLY– he just goes off on some unrelated tangent and rants for 20 minutes, and then you leave feeling completely lost and confused. I think he has a very hard time giving A's on essays. One time he gave me a B, and when asked why, he said that he only gives A's to papers that are exceptional and above average, and that there was nothing wrong with my paper, in fact it was very good, it just wasn't above average... Also, it's pointless to discuss grades with him because he went to UCSC when they used the pass/fail system, so he doesn't understand the importance of grades. The only good part about this CLASS is that he allows you to revise your essays at the end of the quarter, so don't stress too much! It's definitely possible to receive a good grade in this class, just avoid asking Dr. Cushing for help, because he will just confuse and frustrate you. The only good thing about DR. CUSHING is that he is understanding when you come to him with an issue or if you need an extension, but remember, understanding ? helpful!

Oh Cushing. First of all, he's extremely entertaining. He recognizes that the class is a GE and therefore makes the class extremely easy on you. The whole class is based off 3 essays. One is worth half your grade, one is worth 1/3, and the other worth 1/6. He's not super clear about what he wants for each essay, but once you talk to him one-on-one he's much more helpful when it comes to specific points and ideas. He's not the easiest of graders, but each time you turn in one of your essays, it's only a rough draft. You turn in a final "portfolio" at the end of the quarter with all your revised essays for the final grade. Overall I would highly recommend Cushing. He's a great professor and a great guy to spend 4 hours a week with. Plus, he rarely keeps you for the whole time. I think our class only spent the full 2 hours in class once this entire quarter. Usually it's a 30-40 minute class.

If you can take this class in a huge lecture hall, DO IT! You don't have to write any essays and the class is based on three reading comprehension midterms, no final. He gives you a list of books to read for the class, but I haven't bought a single one of them. You can get As on the tests by reading his class notes that he sends out in an email after the class and reading sparknotes. His lectures are interesting, not for learning anything about the books, but for hearing how excited he is about anything and everything, I go just to laugh and sit on my computer the whole time because his notes he sends you after class make more sense. Take him if you want an essay A/B.

See my review of him for 350... He's COOL!!! I liked 251 more than 350, even if we did have weekly quizzes. He's a total ex-hippie (and not so ex-)--he's got all of these funky posters in his office and it comes through in his lectures. But that just adds to the wonderful uniquenes s of the class. The theme he put to the class was cool--"Lovers and Beloved in Ancient Literature". Oh yeah, one thing about Dr. Jimm... If you try to talk to him about your grade or something, a lot of the time he'll cut you off and reply with an answer to the question he thinks you were going to ask. But that's just him. You gotta work with that. He also stutters more than anyone I have ever met, but the funny thing is that you don't really notice it... When he's lecturing in class he'll start going really fast, talking about what he's trying to explain, then it's like he'll trip over a word and kinda verbally hop to try to regain his footing. Most of the time youd don't even notice it. Dr. Jimm is COOL!!!!!!! Take him for at least one class--it's worth it!!!

Cushing definitely illustrates the characteristics that make a good teacher. He knows the material backwards and forwards, he can adapt the subject matter to the class as necessary, AND he creates life and motivation to learn. I would definitely consider Cushing a bit eccentric, but it enhances the experience. He is very personable and approachable, being very willing to talk with students after class or in office hours about any number of topics. Grading is done very fairly, if not even on the light side. The underlying goal he has is to foster motivation in students for the material beyond getting a certain grade. Oh, and for the person who commented on Cushing's dissections of Christianity and the Bible.....you need to do some serious research on myths and religion that existed long before the Bible. Unless you blindly pick faith over rationality and critical thinking, you'd be amazed how little Christianity has going for it.

Cushing is probably one of the weirdest professors I have taken. The first day of class he told us about fingers in our seats that are going to give us pleasure. I had him for an experimental lecture class. I could hardly sit through the 2 hour class because he has a hard time staying on track. If you are really into english take his class but if you are there to learn avoid taking him. He never gives out letter grades until the end and his tests can be pretty easy as long as you are good at analysing literature.

This guy was totally random. He would spend the whole time lecturing and never let anyone else say anything. After giving us a reading assignment, he would spend the whole time just talking about what we just read, as if we hadn't read that the night before. He hardly ever brought any new information to the books we were reading. I would have learned just as much staying home and reading the assignments. This class was a real disappointment. Considering how great the books we read were, we should have learned a lot more.

Prof Cushing actually made an English class interesting and entertaining! The grading was based on 2 essays and group presentation. The lectures were always interesting and filled with some unique interpretations and analysis of the material. He is a bit scattered, but not to the point where it detracts from the material. I highly recommend him for anyone who is interested in English but has never had it presented well. Take him if you have the chance.

The negative evaluation below misses the point of an English class. The professor has read the subject more than you, has read more about the subject than you, and probably likes the subject matter more than you. Cushing brought all sorts of new insight to books (Plato's Symposium, Odyssey, Oedipus trilogy, 2 of Aristophanes' plays), some of which I had read before. One group presentation offers you a chance to introduce new ideas or interpretations, or a synthesis of multiple topics. Being a capable writer is very helpful, since the midterm and final are both out-of-class essays. He divided the material in half for the "exams." Each is one 1000-word and one 500-word paper. He gives several prompts for each book/author; you pick one prompt for each. Some prompts are designed for the longer essay. If your paper is fantastic, he won

Jimm Cushing has more personality than 3/4 of the entire student body. His hair is wild, he says, "Rock On" with his fingers a-la Ozzy. His poetry is superb, and any professor who walks the Poly road openly talking to himself is not only the signs of genius, but one who is not afraid of being themselves. YES HE GRADES HARD! He should, you idiots! It's called college, if you want any easy teacher, go back to DeVry. He grades hard because he wants you to learn. WOW? Learning? In college? But I thought it was all about the Century Club. Jimm was always extremely supportive of me, because I asked him to. Talking to him outside of class, asking about what he thinks of the world, and where he stands on any topic, then you can see that this is a man who is passionate, hard-working, and very very special to the people of Cal Poly. I'm glad he grades hard, I'm glad that I had to study my ass off. I still feel his presence years after graduation. The only thing he SHOULD get is TENURE. Trust me, I'm doing every spell in the voodoo book for that one. Jimm...ROCK ON!

James cushing is a really smart guy who has dedicated his life to philosophy and literature, and he defenitely took some drugs during the sixties (and I'm sure he lights up a doobie from time to time). His lectures are always fascinating, the language and metaphores he uses are vivid, accurate depictions of ideas that always have good relevance to the subject matter. The literature is very well chosen. The assignments are not excessive, and they really challenge you to think. He is an extremely laid back teacher in the sense of missing class and having problems that interfere with your course work. Very understanding. I would suggest this class to somebody who is looking for interesting course material and a great teacher.

Cushing is a chump. Cushings class is a joke. Not in the sense that it is easy but it is about as much fun as a car crash. Cushing is an idiot and it is funny to see other studeents buying into his crap. He is just another example of a professor who couldn't hack it in the real world so he hides out in the land of acedemia and tells others what to do because it makes him feel good. Don't take him, he is bitter and boring.

I have Cushing right now and the class isn't horrible but if you can take someone else. He is just not very helpful. Going to his office will do nothing. I think Cushing wrote the good evals on this page because the English is too good, and no one likes him that much in my class and I doubt we were just unlucky.

Dr. Cushing makes you believe in the beginning that the class would be awesome and a chance to open up your mind, but really he just wants you to open up your mind to his hippie point of view. If you have a different opinion about what the great books meant, he will attack you and give you a bad grade. He has a temper problem with some people, or atleast people that thinks independently. He wouldn't make it in the real world if he wasn't a teacher. Putting all this aside, he does have valuable points of view on the Odyssey, but he's a dissapointment in the other books. Overall, this is a boring class, and if you have good religious morals, don't take this guy.

I got a B+ in this class. First off, let me say that Cushing is a really weird guy. He lives for Greek literature, and he does know the subject very well. However, his lectures are long and he doesn't get the students involved well enough. There is no homework...the class is made up of a midterm, final (both are short essays), a 15 min. student presentation, and five question weekly quizzes on the reading. Write what he wants on the essays, make him think that you think the books are great too, and you should be fine. He's kind of a hard grader, which sucks, but you will learn from him.

Pretty fun class. He's very excited about the material, and often times explains concepts or ideas through entertaining stories. If the weather is nice, he prefers to lecture outside on the grass. There are weekly reading quizzes and 4 essays (2 at midterm and 2 at final), but no tests! One presentation, which can be done in small groups, is also required, but don't take it lightly. I did and got a C for the presentation.

I just started this class, but I wanted to just let other people know in general that this quarter in 251 there are 2 midterms and final, multiple choice, and no essays. Final is not cumulative. Seems he's changed his grading a bit. Already it's been one of the funnest classes I've taken so far (though I'd have to reevaluate at the end of the quarter to know for sure.)

Really entertaining guy, makes the subject funny. Hes crazy sometimes, but it's really fun to watch. I had him for the large lecture class. The tests are mainly based on the book, so if you read you'll do well anyway. My only gripe about him was about his comments on Christianity. Of course this wouldn't affect everyone, but he made some statements that he presented like "undeniable truth" that were nothing other than his attitude about Christian beliefs. If you're Christian, be prepared to be slightly offended, but not nearly enough to justify not taking him. Hes good.

Dr. Cushing is one of those people whose brilliance and philosophy is far above and beyond the heads of us "normal" people. At the beginning of the quarter I was engrossed and fascinated in his lectures-- Greek antiquity is amazingly interesting; however towards the end I found myself drifting most of the time. It's amazing how this man can lecture for two hours straight and have more and more to say. Cushing is without a doubt an intelligent man, but he should step it down and get his students actually involved in the class, even if it is a 200+ lecture in the Business Silo. Classwork: relatively easy, nothing except for the reading, midterms and final. Overall: good class, I don't regard it as having been a waste of time, but I wish I could have been more involved in my own education about Greek history.

Prof. Cushing is an interesting professor. He has lots of energy and lots of information to lecture on. The class consisted of 3 multiple choice tests on the books we read and the lectures. He doesn't take many questions, but drills some of the Greek terms into your head. He is funny at times, but the lectures sometimes get boring.

This guy is a total tool. He has you read the books, then he spends the entire class period summarizing everything you've read. Lectures are useless, I've stopped going. I do not know why they make us take these pointless classes. This guy needs to get a clue and realize that the sixties are over and being a hippie is not cool. If you hate hippies and hippie ideals, stay away from this guy. I can't stand him.

Do not take cushing if it is a small class. This is way too much work for a general ed class. He makes you do a presentation, an essay, daily quizzes, and a hard mc final. He sometimes had class outside since he is such a hippie. Don't take him unless you love english and want to work really hard to only get a B because he doesn't like to give out A's. Go back to the 70s where you belong cushing!

If you can take Cushing in a large lecture, TAKE HIM! I know some people had problems with him in a small class, but I had him in a 200 person lecture and it was great. There's really no discussion, it's just him lecturing for two hours. Just show up to every class and read the books and you'll do fine. There's no work except for reading, just 3 tests, and he gives you most of the answers in class. He's a little crazy, but he gives you a different perspective on the books you read. The only downside to taking him is that he's not very easy to get help from if you're having trouble. But I didn't think the material was too hard so I didn't really need help from him anyway. If you're looking for an interesting class with not too much work involved, take Cushing.

This guy is an absolute joke. Horrible person and teacher.

If your a decent writer, I would take this class. There are no in-class essays or exams (except reading quizzes). He offers a wide variety of topics to write out-of-class essays on, and he is very helpful in office hours as well. He is eccentric, but passionate about literature. If you like out of the box thinking towards literature, you'll enjoy this class. It's a pretty easy B, and mildly difficult A. If you don't enjoy reading, you can always get by on cliff notes.

Cushing is a briliant man and an amazing teacher. His insight into the texts allowed me to understand the literature to a degree I could not have achieved on my own. If you have the opportunity to take any class with him, do so. You will be rewarded.

I can't even imagine all the drugs this cr cr crazy, stu stu stu stuttering fool has done...knows a lot about literature...but I've seen him around campus walking around hunched over, making various over-exaggerated hand motions and seemingly carrying on a conversation...with himself. Kinda scares me sometimes

A first impression of Cushing will tell you he's not quite ordinary. He likes to have class outside under a tree. You can tell his mind works much faster than his mouth so he studders a bit, except when reading out loud. He's very smart and knows his stuff. He becomes visibly excited when talking about literature that interests him. He's a great teacher for honors 251. Almost the whole class period was a discussion of the text. He gives a simple quiz about once a week, a couple of essay assignments and a group oral presentation. Each essay assignment is made up of a 500 word and a 1000 word essay. You get to pick the topics from a list. He expects good work and will grade accordingly.

DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic Disorders. Go to this reliable Clinician manual and look up 295.70 Schizoaffective Disorder, and you will understand what we just experiened.

Cushing is a pretty good teacher and super enthusiastic, but I found the class pretty difficult (Could just be because I

This guy is a tool. His grading is based on how well he likes you. In other words, if you go to his office or wait after class and talk about irrelevant, nonsensical ideologies, you'll get an A. If you are like me and a few other people in the class, it doesn't matter if you turn in stellar papers, ace the quizzes, and give an awesome presentation. If you are quiet or he doesn't like the arguments you make (regardless of how plausible), you'll get a C. Avoid this dude.

Cushing is crazy! He mumbles and says "um" about 50 times per minute (Seriously, we timed him) He gives reading quizes every day, and while they aren't very hard, he grades them extremely harsh. There is a LOT of reading to do!....but if you don't read, like me, you can just wiki/sparknote the books. Upside is there's only 2 writing assignments (each consist of a 500 word essay, and 1000 word essay), and one 10 minutes/person presentation. I'm a fairly competent essay writer, and while a 500 word essay isn't long, just be sure to include quotations from the reading!!!

Dr. Cushing is entertaining. He is very passionate about the material and really cares about how it affects his student\'s lives. He expects a lot from students however. He graded pretty hard on his papers, and daily quizzes force you to keep up on the reading. Overall, I enjoyed this class.

Dr.Cushing is a badass. The class comprised of him sitting on the front table and lecturing for 1 to 2 hours. There are weekly quizzes, half of which are group short answer type, and half of which are individual 1-word answers. The grading is straightforward - 25% quizzes, 25% per essay, 25% presentation. The essays are from a list of several prompts you can choose from, and the presentation is pretty much anything you want. He is one of the craziest and most entertaining professors here at Poly. I highly recommend him for a relaxed class and a new outlook on life (really, I\'m not joking about that).

GREAT PROFESSOR. Super engaging and insightful. Highly recommend reading all the books, taking lecture notes, and printing out his notes. Only problem is getting past the stutter.

Cushing is a really funny teacher. He stutters and is kinda hard to follow during lecture, but you can tell he is extremely passionate about english and books. This is the kind of class that you learn what you have to for the tests, and then forget everything the second you're done with the class. I would really recommend taking him in a big lecture hall or else you will have to write essays. If you take the big lecture, then the class consists of 2 midterms and one non-cumulative final. This is a good class to get your C1 GE out of the way, since they all suck.

I do not at all mean this as an insult, but rather feel that this is an apt description of him and for anyone who know what I'm talking about, it will help them decide on taking the class: Cushing very much acts like and has the same mannerisms as all my friends who have eaten too much LSD.

If you get him for the big lecture, spark-notes will be your best friend along with casually glancing through the book. But if you got him for the essays like myself, go to his office hours. He'll write your essay for you. As a teacher, he is the typical guy from the 60s who did a little too much acid and is on the come down. He's really friendly and will banter with the babes in the class room. But other than that, he's a really cool teacher and I'd recommend him. He tries really hard to make it interesting so if you give him a little bit of your time, it'll be worth it.

He is not helpful at all when it comes to getting a good grade. He looked over one of my essays and said that it was good and then changed my title. Then gave me a C on that essay and said the title did not reflect the overall message. You can not make that up. He is not clear at all what he want from the students.

This dude is one of the coolest people I've ever met. Go to his office hours and he will tell you exactly what to write for the essay. He is also just a cool person to talk to. His class has daily reading quizzes that are easy for the most part, 2 essays, and a presentation.

I've really enjoyed having Dr. Cushing as a professor. However, at first I did not enjoy his class. It often felt like it took him two hours to say what could be wrapped into 10 minutes. However, as a person Dr. Cushing is truly great. I've gone to his office hours multiple times, and each time he has been tremendously helpful. I always felt like he cared about me as a student and obviously loved the material he was teaching. Though lectures can sometimes be dull, I would still recommend taking this course with Dr. Cushing.

Cushing will tell you your essay is amazing and then give you a B-. Do not believe him when he says your work is perfect. Ask for the rubric before the essay is due and follow the rubric. His advice on your works are meaningless.

This was a really frustrating class for me. I went to Professor Cushing's office hours many times and each time I went he told me that I was doing exceptionally well. Whenever I brought him my essays, he would read them and give me very positive feedback. He never once had any constructive criticism which is why I was surprised when I kept getting B's on my papers. It's not that his class was bad or particularly difficult, I just never felt like I was being fairly graded based off of his misleading comments. If you end up with Dr. Cushing as a professor, it is not the end of the world, but I would be prepared to receive scores that do not meet your expectations.

Dr. Cushing honestly is awful. His essays are crazy prompts, and his presentation is extremely hard to do well on. He is a super harsh grader and it sucks especially if your taking it as a GE. Honestly i would avoid if you can. It was way more work than it should have been and it was graded like we are in grad school. He stutters a lot to so its hard to keep up with his thoughts.

Dr. Cushing is very eccentric. He clearly is very passionate about literature. However, when you're taking this class from 8-10pm, it gets hard to pay attention. His lectures can be very boring, where he straight lectures for an hour and a half straight. There are 4 papers for this class, 2 midterm papers and 2 final papers. I found that his feedback was not very helpful on papers. He would give you advice in person, and then when you made those changes to your paper and he graded it, he would say something different or disagree with his own feedback that you used. There is A LOT of reading in this class, and it is very easy to get behind. However, I found that SparkNotes was very helpful in understanding the Greek literature. There are quizzes everyday, so you pretty much have to do the reading. In addition to the final paper, there is a final presentation (speech) on the topic of your choosing, pertaining to an of the readings you did. Dr. Cushing's grading isn't the most fair I've seen. I'm not surprised he doesn't give out a lot of A's on papers, but this class is a GE, so I feel like grading shouldn't be as intense as it was. I wrote some pretty good papers and could only muster up a B. I deserved and A in this class. If you want an A, don't take Cushing.

Don't take Cushing. He doesn't care about your difficulties and doesn't want you to learn anything or at least doesn't make you learn anything. He is the worst professor I had in CalPoly. You will have quizzes everyday and 2 papers and 1 presentation. None of the materials is clearly explained and his grading makes no sense. He can tell you that your work is very good during the office hours and still give you a C- after. Same things for the presentation. Avoid him at all costs

Cushing is annoying. He will tell you your essay is great or your project is great and give you a B, okay fine. But then he doesn't even tell you what's wrong with it. Really stupid. His class is interesting but overall ugh. When a GE brings down your GPA it's pretty annoying.

I would be a liar if I said this class didn't change my life. Jim Cushing (James Cushing to his most ardent supporters) is the only professor who I have ever learned anything from on this campus. As a 7th year kinesiology student, it is safe to say that I've taken quite a few classes on this campus. At the beginning of my 6th year I was just about ready to quit, having spent 5 years on this campus already and literally thousands of dollars, I didn't think I could take anymore. I racked up literally thousands of dollars in student loans, I was working 18 hours a week as a kinesiology tutor, I was struggling in the dating world (it's tough out there) and I had not learned a single thing about kinesiology in my time on campus. Needless to say, I was between a rock and a hard place, struggling to make ends meet and survive on campus. I was about to hit my breaking point. I was swimming upstream without a paddle. And then Jim Cushing came in and saved me, forever changing my life on this campus. I won't get into details or reveal any of the specifics of the class because I don't care to spoil it for you guys, but Cushing's class definitely changed my life on campus. I WILL tell you about what happened in my life on this campus after I took Cushing's class though. I changed my major from kinesiology to English and now I am on track to graduate in only 4 additional years (what a relief) instead of the 1 additional year it was going to take for me to complete my kinesiology degree on this campus. A bunch of other great stuff happened but I have a kinesiology midterm tomorrow so I need to stop typing this review and start studying, and I don't want to spoil anything for the first years by getting into the details and specifics of what happened to me on this campus after I took Cushing's class. Needless to say, I cannot recommend this class or Cushing as a person enough. This class is awesome and will definitely change your life on this campus.

Grading: Short quizzes every class period (total 25% of grade), 2 papers (each 25% of grade), 1 presentation (25% of grade) To do well: -Read, read, read. (quizzes on quizzes on quizzes) -Start your essays in advance -Go to his office hours (he will edit your papers and give you tips for the class plus he's fun to talk to) Overall, good class for the GE requirement and great professor. The Odyssey is not as daunting as it sounds.

I really liked Prof Cushings. He is a wacky guy with hair-brained ideas. He does however talk a bit to much about christianity and basically implies that christ was just written into the christian religion. He tries to relate the bible to Oedipus and they really are drastically different. If you take him, have no qualms about speaking out for your beliefs. He is however very interesting and a great teacher.

Dr. Cushing is a pretty funny guy & really knows what he's talking about... Downfalls to the course are: 1) Reading quizzes every FRIDAY (but he's cool about making them up if you miss), 2) Your whole grade is on 2 essays and a presentation (& the quizzes), and 3) he's a super hard grader!!!! Very concerned with length requirements, etc.

Cushing is an awesome professor. You don't even need to go to class because all he does is lecture the whole time, but his lectures are intelligent and interesting. He's an incredibly smart man and has great passion for the authors and books he teaches. There are about three essays but the topics are so well covered in class that they're pretty easy to write. He even has two assignments where you get to pick the topic and get creative. His quizzes are pretty hard, but if you do the reading or check on pinkmonkey.com for book summaries you won't do that bad. Cushing is a great teacher- definately take him.

Cushing is AMAZING!! Yes, he's an ex-hippie, yes he studders a lot, but PPLLEEAASSEE give him a chance!! He has amazing insites about Shelley, Kafka, Blake, Woodsworth, etc. Take the class especially if you really enjoy reading. He explains the material VERY well, but you can even get away with not reading a book or poem. His first test was hard, but he started taking questions from us, and I got and A and a B on the last two tests! This guy knows an incredible amount of information on all the authors we read, and made every class interesting.

He is a very interesting professor at the least! He knows all the information about authors, books, facts etc. like the back of his hand. The lectures are pretty jumbled and somewhat unorganized. I was in the trial class with 200 students and this wasn't a great idea. The class was based on 3 multiple choice tests. I felt this didn't really show if you had really read and understand the books. Maybe he will change the layout a little. Overall recommended but not with a huge lecture.

cushing is one crazy bastard, no doubt. but he's eccentric, smart, and pretty entertaining. he talks of jim morison and 'the doors' music and explains, remarkably well, how it feels to be on shrooms. the class is no joke but it's cool, just read the books if you're into poetry and frankenstein you'll enjoy it. the tests aren't too bad, most of the questions are answered in lecture

I had cushing for great books in a small classroom (28 students) and I wish I wouldn't have taken him. His lectures consisted of him talking/stuttering for 2 straight hours (with no class participation) about nothing that was really important to listen to. Each class started with a reading quiz (easy if you read) but if you leave after it you won't get credit for it aka you have to come to every class. He is an EXTREMELY HARD GRADER. I found him to be very unclear what his expectations were. I worked extremely hard and produced a well thought out essay, which he gave me a B on with comments like "great arguments" and "good data!" The group presentation seems to also be impossible to get an A on and I got my first C in college and as far as a remember high school, on it, with NO real explanation. I do not understand this teacher! He seems to grade simply on if he likes you or your style. Do not take him if you want to work extremely hard for B's and C's. He comes off as an easygoing teacher but he doesn't like to give A's and it's simply just too work intensive for a GE.

I thought Cushing grades way to hard on the essays. I usually get B+ or A-'s on English essays but I got B's on his essays and in this class. Class is a waste of time because he goes on tangents and loves to hear himself talk. The only reason I went to class was to take the daily quizes. Midterm, quizes, final, and group presentation are all a quarter of your grade. I would not recommend taking him.

avoid this professor at all costs!!! he is the most annoying lecturer your will ever have (he stutters on every word) , and is the absolute hardest grader in the world. He grades this 200 level GE like a masters english course. i got my worst grade ever in school in this class. i put in a lot of effort for a shitty C. there are four papers, quizes every day on the readings, and a presentation. i put 4 hours into each of my papers, 10 into my presentation, and got a C on all of them. DO NOT TAKE THIS GUY.

Cushing is an eccentric personality and loves to talk about books. I know other 253 classes have to read around 6 or 7 books, but in his class we only had to read 3 books, Frankenstein, The Metamorphosis, Madame Bovary, and about 30 pages from an English Poetry Anthology (poems like Rime of the Ancient Mariner). He has daily reading quizzes which, if you read, are extremely easy to get full points in. SparkNotes may get you by, but the books are very easy to understand. You have two midterm essays (one due week 5, other due finals week), each comprised of two essays, one that's 500 words, another that's 1,000 words, based on prompts he emails you. He understands that this might be the first essay you've written since high school, and the day the midterm is due usually becomes a "switch with a peer and evaluate/edit" day. Week 9 and 10 is devoted to individual or group presentations on the material you've read. It's very open ended, so you talk about almost anything. Some of the worst presentations I saw got B-s, so he's not a hard grader. He might seem crazy, but he's understanding and a fair grader, and you read far less than other 253 sections.

Cushings tricks you into thinking the class would be a piece of cake during the entire course of the class, but it really isn't. Sure it sounds like an easy class, 25% midterm essays about 1500 words total, 25% in class reading quizzes, 25% on a presentaion topic of your choice, and 25% final essay, same guidelines as the midterm. What you don't know is that he's an extremely unfair grader. My essays had no marks or negatives comments on them other than a typo and he didn't think my titles "fit" very well. He basically knocked me down a grade because he didn't like my title, seriously. As for the presentaion, he shouldn't be so hard on people with poor presentaion skills. His assessment of my speech was that it was clearly well prepared, but he couldn't understand what I was saying. OPEN YOUR EARS OLD MAN! I understand taking points off for being quiet and such, but this man took off two whole letter grades! I wish I knew to take this class pass/not pass. I don't think he'll give anyone a decent grade unless you kiss his ass and grovel at his feet. This is a C1 class, give the srudents a break and don't grade so hard, geez!

He isn't very good at communicating with the students. He told one of the guys in my class that the thesis for his entire paper was wrong, and gave him an automatic fail. Essays are supposed to be representative of what the author thinks, but if your thoughts differ from those of Cushings, expect to do poorly in this class. He's a really hard grader, pretty much points out all your faults and doesn't give any constructive criticism at all. People just like him because all he does in class is ramble on and on and on with his stuttering speeches. I grew very weary of him by the end of the quarter, and he made me hate english.

This teacher is a homosexual hippy (not being vulgar, its the truth). He is a nutcase and does not present the material well, doesn't give feedback on why grades were given, and doesnt return graded papers until near the end of the quarter so you don't know what you are getting until nearly week nine. Cushing treats the class as if everyone who takes it is majoring in english. He cannot speak clearly, cannot explain what we are reading clearly, and is often an asshole during class. He has been known to laugh at students if they have issues writing or understanding the material. After you have his class you will undoubtedly pray that he gets hit by a train.

Cushing's classes are rediculous. You sit there and fall asleep as he presents the most boring material while studdering his way through the readings. On the bright side there were no tests or homework to speak of. Good luck learning anything or having him appreciate your writing, no matter how good you think your essays are.

I liked Dr. Jimm. He is weird and wacky and wild, and you'll get into discussions on everything from religion to masturbation. It's great. The books were good--started off bad, and then got better. I don't really like post-modernism--lots of wacky philosophy. But I still enjoyed the class. I also had him for 251--same thing. He's an awesome teacher, albeit a Luddite. Definitely worth taking for at least one class--he's great!!!

Jim Cushing is a fascinating man with some very interesting beliefs. He could talk for hours about a million subjects that are so interesting you wish the class didn't have to end. And when he reads poetry aloud, especially Sappho, its so intoxicating!! I love books and reading and so does he, and he loves to talk to his students about anything and everything. Dont ever go to his office with only a little time to spare--he'll talk your ear off and make you late to your next class!

Professor Cushings class I thought could have been better. You have to read a book a week, which is not bad, then take a quiz on it which if you actually read you should have no trouble passing. He sits up there and talks all period long with little class interaction. Listening to all his crap gets old fast. He tries to be so into the arts its ridiculous. Bottom line is he isn't that cultured and needs to get off the hippie beads. There are a few reasons I did not like Cushing and remember this is my opinion. First off he is completely full of himself because he wrote a couple of books that no one ever read. Second, he speaks to students as if they are beneath him, he is really not smarter than anyone in the class so who is he to tell you your take on the meaning of a book and what you got out of it is inaccurate. How you feel about a particular story is subjective. Lastly, he has a short fuse that almost got him peter panned out of the second story of a building. He can't just loose it on people and expect there to be no repercussions. Where he grew up in hippieville where everyone was pacificists you can probably talk to people that way but if he wasn't a professor it would have been different and I am not just saying that. Just because he is a professor doesn't make him better than anyone, the bottom line is you can't treat people the way he does. I am sure he would not like to be talked to in a condescending fashion so he shouldn't talk to students in that way. On a side note I think he developed his little stutter to sound more inteligent because he never uses it unless he is cultivating one of his shitty thoughts. This guy is weak and if you listen to these other reviews you are going to get into his class and hate it.

Cushing is crazy, but in a good way. He grades hard and those who rip him on that are only bitter because Cushing won't let you squeak by regurgitating the same mindless drivel that may have earned you an A in AP English in high school. If you want to think, do yourself a favor and take one of Cushing's class before you graduate. Rock on Cushing!

Weird, check... temper problem, check... egotism, check. The Modern Novel was a horrible class, and I love to read! However, it wasn't so much Cushing that was unbearable, even though he was a lot of the time, but the books he chose were so strange and boring I couldn't even figure out what the hell we were supposed to be taking from them. If you can write an essay well, take this class because that's all it consists of (besides some really easy quizzes every week on the book you were supposed to have read). Word of warning: Don't get the hiccups in class! He gets really pissed and asks if you are having problems and need to leave class for the day.

Awesome professor, highly recommended. Makes you a better reader, and writer.

I'm surprised by some of the very harsh critiques. Yes, he is very eccentric (he growled at me the first day of class) but keep in mind he is a poetry instructor and many members of the English department are a bit odd. Also, I would note that I think he makes show of trying to be really nuts the first week of class to encourage the "weak willed" to drop and allow the class to be smaller and better suited for discussions. Frankly I found his eccentricities fun, and while the class has a style of it's own it works well in the realm of poetry. It's largely discussion based, and you write a certain number of poems at home, usually themed around something specific. He is a tough grader, and is very honest with a student when he thinks you could do better. That was a wake up call at first, but I made tremendous improvements in my poetry writing because of his frank, honest feedback. His style is very abstract, which was an adjustment for me, but a great learning experience. GO TO HIS OFFICE HOURS. It won't be as scary as you think, in fact you'll probably enjoy it. He can talk to you about almost anything, especially music, but more importantly he will be very helpful in terms of what he thinks you need to improve upon with your writing. I would take this again, any day!

I loved Cushing. I am surprised by the less than stellar reviews, as i feel he truly cares about each student, as tries to really express what poetry is to him. He is unique, and a fresh change from most poly profs. I would definitely recommend him.

He is a one-of-a-kind professor and human being. You will not meet anyone like him. If you give him a chance and ignore his quirky (sometimes over eccentric) mannerisms, he can teach you a lot about writing, poetry, and life in general. Go to his office hours...you will be intrigued with this very interesting and extremely passionate man.

This guy is crazy beyond all belief. On the first day of class her scared someone right out of the room by laughing in their face in front of the whole class. He offers no help with assignments, no constructive feedback, and his ideas of the way things should be leave the student with no argument or justification for the reasons why you decided to take the paper the direction you as the writer chose. Avoid this guy at all costs unless you want to play suck up and go to his office hours and royally kiss his ass for his new books and poetry readings. Teacher should be fired for diminishing the English department!

If your not really into writing don't take this class. His instructions are all presented in the syllabus and he expects you to remember and understand those directions without ever mentioning them again. His syllabus was 4 pages long, it looked like a straight essay. Also, you think you can be creative but I felt singled out when if I said something about someones writing he didn't agree with. I for sure felt like an idiot in his Poetry writing class. It was insane. I was in pure shock when he told me I misunderstood his directions because well they werent clear to begin with.

One day I saw this professor speaking to FBI agents near Mustang Stadium. He was wearing those old-people sunglasses that nearly cover your whole face. Another time I was in a Hell's Angels' bar up North and they knew this guy. Be careful, he's hot stuff. Good handouts on aphorisms, though he sputters and may be trying to weird himself off the planet earth.

Extra! Extra! This Guy Blows. I didn't show up to class at all, didn't do any of the group projects, didn't give a single speech, didn't take a single note, didn't participate in any discussions, didn't do any of the readings, spent all of my time watching the King of Queens, and this guy has the audacity to faile mee? After all of the hard work I did? I trieed too geet Nustang News to do a stinkpiece on him but they told me to stop writing them such wet letters! This guy is a baboon in mans clothes, don't tryst a word of theis rat's mouth! He said

I learned that if I were to take up hunting, I should shoot deer, not bears, because a bear will hunt me back if I successfully wound it. Fascinating! I didnt know that the key to production and operations management was so brutally simple!