Greg Johnson - Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA

Professor: Greg Johnson

Department: Philosophy

College: Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PHIL238
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

The class decided not to use a syllabus. Was scary but made students more accountable. Tested our commitment to learning. Johnson was great. The students who will complain never showed up. Those who came got lots. He's super intelligent but always willing to help. Forced me to look at what I bring to classes. No one has ever done that.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PHIL238
• Grade Received: B-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Anyone who doesn't get Dr Johnson are one of two kinds. One, they want to be hand held and have the professor do it all for them. Two, they think they know more than professors like honors kids. Johnson is not typical. He's throwback and this means you can actually learn something from him and not just have a prof agree with you. Love him.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PHIL190
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Johnson liberates his students to actively engage in lectures. His expectations around papers are open ended enough that a person can engage the texts, and concepts learned in class in ways that resonate with them. If you're only comfortable with canned answers to tricky questions Philosophy may be a struggle for you, but Johnson is approachable.

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PHIL121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr. Johnson is awesome. I was worried about the online version. He was online everyday, evenings, and weekends. He made it clear he had grading rubric that was general and if we wanted more he would give it. I asked and he gave great feedback. There were sakai issues but he fixed all of them. He's super caring. If you want help, ask him.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PHIL125
• Grade Received: B+
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 2.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Do not take this class online from Prof Johnson. He does not understand sakai. There was one assignment in particular he tells you to reference for the final paper, but has removed it from the sakai page and we can no longer access it. Pretty sure he doesn't read any of the responses, and has an attitude when called out for not following through.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PHIL128
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Johnson is one of the best professor that I had! Very knowledgeable, and funny which makes his lecture content more interesting. Best tip if you are taking him is stay top of your readings before and make sure you attend class.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PHIL128
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Johnson is an incredibly entertaining and intellectual professor. Yes, this is a challenging class, but Johnson makes his expectations clear at the beginning of the course. My best advice is to stay on top of the reading, and write your papers in a clear and concise manner. I'm no philosophy pro, but still manage to keep up and get good grades.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PHIL125
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Love his classes. His lectures are great, and he gets us to ask things we've never asked. Plus, he's always available.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PHIL125
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Johnson is a great prof. The people who complain about him want everything done for them. He makes it clear he want the student to learn something. I've never had a professor do more to help students succeed. Remember, this is philosophy not English.

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PHIL125
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Johnson is awesome. He's truly helpful if you get your work don. Take drafts. Ask questions. He will take the time. If you're looking for someone to tell you everything and make it easy take someone else.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PHIL125
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

His expectations for assignments are a mess, and his feedback for said assignments is even messier. I'm an English Writing major and I have never gotten a C on a paper until this class. He grades WAY too hard for a 100 level class full of students who have never learned philosophy before. He is funny, but his lectures are unstructured and useless.

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PHIL228
• Grade Received: A-
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

This was a great class and a great professor. I took Dr. Johnson's J-term Social and Political Philosophy class. It was the first phil. class I had ever taken and he was great at explaining concepts and viewpoints. Highly recommend him as a prof. It takes hard work to succeed in his class, just fyi. Send in drafts of papers as early as you can!!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PHIL228
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Worst class I've ever taken. Super vague about definitions and assignments. Too many papers. Confusing and unstructured lectures. If you aren't already familiar with phil. DON'T TAKE THIS CLASS! Says he will give feedback on drafts -- gave me feedback on grammar and then gave me a C. Only good point is he's kind of funny. 2/10 would not recommend.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PHIL 121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Greg is probably the worst professor I have had an experience with in my many years of education and multiple colleges. Unfortunately, Greg is unwilling to structure his classes and is just straight up vague about what he wants. If you value your education you will go elsewhere to study philosophy. Do it online! He is a nice guy though!

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PHIL200
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

If you are passionate about philosophy and love discussing it, you will thrive in any of Greg's classes. If this is your first experience with philosophy and you are just exploring it, it can be a bit daunting. He is hilarious and personable, but definitely has his favourites in the class and grades accordingly.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PHIL121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

lectures not structured, often off topic, confusing, and students did a lot of the "teaching" One of our final assignments was to memorize 300 words from a primary philosophy source which in my opinion was terrible teaching practice as he was assessing us on memorization and not our understanding of the content. Do not, Do not take a class from him

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PHIL228
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He is incredibly confusing. I really was interested in this class, but the class time is a waste of time. I literally have learned nothing from the class periods. Its 100% unstructured which I just can't learn from it. I want to like him but I'm a 3.8 GPA student who is struggling to pass a 200 level philosophy class. Thats not right.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PHIL228
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

A wonderful teacher and person. His class isn't easy and you have to read the textbooks a lot, but there hasn't ever been a time that he hasn't offered unwavering help. He wants to help, especially if you are confused about his lessons. He's funny and I thoroughly enjoy him and his class.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PHIL121
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

This is a 100 level class and his grading is a bit too intense for non-philosophy majors. I'm having to juggle his class, with 300 level work and my 400 level classes. It's too much work and his grading is inconsistent. Interesting guy, personality-wise and enjoyable most of the time. But difficult professor, and inconsistent.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PHIL338
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Things to know about Johnson before you take his class. 1. He is hilarious. 2. He is incredibly intelligent. 3. Stay on top of your readings 4. Go into his office hours or send in drafts of your papers early. He will help revise them and it will improve your grade, no matter what. 5. Work your ass off, this isn't a business class.