John P. Elia

You won't regret it if you take this class!! Professor Elia is a great instructor that understands the subject he teaches. More so, Professor Elia communicates the subject manner in a realistic manner that helps the student learn the material.

There are 2 essays and 2 multiple choice exams, as well as a health related workshop you must attend.

Here is how to get an "A". 1)FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS when writing the paper!! The TAs give workshops on how to succeed in the class. Go to them!! 2)Class attendance is optional but the majority of the exams are based on the lecture. Attend class daily if you want an "A". 3)Skim through the reading materials. Don't spend too much time on them.

Professor Elia is great, the TAs were super helpful for tips in doing well in the class, and that makes this class EASY AS HELL. Only lazy-ass retards that do not attend class and cannot follow instructions will get poor grades.

Take this class for an easy "A" in segment III.

Professor Elia exemplifies what can go right in education if you have all the proper elements in place:

1. A good and thorough understanding of the subject matter. 2. Clarity of thought and expression. 3. Ability to clarify ambiguous material. 4. A willingness to abnegate one's personal time and ambitions for the benefit of others -(the students). 5. Conscientiousness with regard to educational quality. 6. Fairness 7. Enthusiasm 8. Great sense of humor and the ability not to take oneself too seriously. 9. Basic human kindness

There are two multiple choice exams and two essays to write in the class. It is also mandatory to attend a health-related workshop. The essays are easy, but his test questions are quite tricky. As added bonuses for taking his class, you'll learn how to stay healthier, enjoy his captivating lectures and videos and have a teacher who has a profound interest in your success.

While I agree that Dr. Elia is a dynamic speaker, able to capture the attention of his audience (in this case a lecture hall containing 100+ students) - I found the content too general and redundant.

If you know 'nothing' about personal/social health issues, this class is good strictly as an "overview" of such topics as personal relationships, diet, smoking, etc. But if you don't have to take the class and already know the basics, I would not recommend it.

I found the exams to be in direct conflict to the professor's message, "I don't believe in merely opening up your heads to pour in information only to have you regurgitate it later on exams." That is exactly what was required of students on exams.....(to pick out minute details from the reading/lectures and be able to answer questions on two multiple choice exams.

I am disturbed by the fact that a cadre of undergraduate teaching assistant's were responsible for grading the two required writing projects. I do not pay college tuition to be graded by my peers. [I'm pretty sure part of the job description for college professors (regardless of the size class they teach) is showing up for lectures and grading papers "themselves".]

Overall I was very disappointed in this class.

This class was 2 hours long, but time passes quickly because the instructor and co-instructor had a great sense of humor. Once in awhile, we have guest speakers in different areas of the health department come and lecture for about 1/2 an hour or so. Overall, this is a great class to be in.

J.Elia knows his stuff. He's very knowledgable in his field and can be very helpful if utilized by students. I enjoyed his class and it's unfortunate that he is no longer teaching HMSX 320.

I took this class only to complete a segment III requirement. This was the only class this semester that I actually enjoyed attending.

John Elias is extremely knowledgeable, a great lecturer and relates very well to his students. Each week he would start class with a guest speaker from the health department who would lecture about a subject relating to the topic of the day. While a couple of these speakers were less than enthralling, most were very interesting. John himself rarely goes off on unrelated tangents and delivers lectured information in an easy to understand manner. He is very open to class discussion and takes time to answer any questions. He can also tell when he’s loosing the class to which he either allows a 10-minute break or tells a joke to regain everyone’s attention.

The course material for this semester consisted of a textbook and a reader. Readings from both books were assigned each week, but most of the questions on the tests consisted of material covered in his lecture and the lectures of his guest speakers.

Grades were based on a midterm, the final and two research papers on health topics of your own choosing. An added bonus is that before the midterm and final he handed out a study guide that gives you the answers to 50% of the questions and lists the topics for the other 50% of the questions, you just have to take the time to learn the information.

I highly recommend this teacher.

I loved Dr. Elia's course. He is competent and full of knowledge. Dr. Elia is a wonderful speaker and has the ability to capture the entire audience with his words. One minor disappoinment would be that the course felt a little rushed; in other words, he left me wanting more. He has a passion for what he does and I fully enjoyed his course to the fullest. My only complaint are his TA's (which seems to be everyone's complaint). They are cocky, know nothing about what they're yammering about, and are a complete waste of space and time as far as I'm concerned. I was nothing less than frustrated at the fact that they bombarded Dr. Elia with their uselessness, disabling every other student the opportunity to speak with Dr. Elia themselves. His "entourage" has got to go. Overall, Dr. Elia was one of my best instructors at State thus far. Keep up the good work, John!

The assignments and topics covered were appropriate, interesting, and reasonable. The aspect of Elia's teaching that he needs to work on is how he treats female students in class, particularly women who are unconventional in some way (i.e., butch, punk rock, etc.). He responds in a discouraging, often disdainful manner when they contribute to class discussions, while responding warmly to men (and occasionally, to femme women). I am not the only one from the class to observe this. I've taken numerous humanities/social science-type courses, and this is the only one where I would routinely feel discouraged by the end of the hour. To alternative-looking and -acting women considering one of his smaller classes (where there's frequent in-class discussion), I'd advise you to listen to your instincts and speak to him during his office hours if you find him following a double standard. I believe that if enough people bring this to his attention, he may eventually become aware and change it. Otherwise, more formal action should be taken if this sort of classroom environment continues.

This class was my greatest disappointment in this school. I will not talk about Elia's TA's. Eveyone knows how incompetent they are. I want to talk about him as a professor. Here are the following reasons why I would't recommend you not to take his class: 1. He does not lecture enough. Instead he has guest speakers. Most of his guest speakers are neither experts in their field, nor an authority. Some of them just come to advertise the business that they're doing. 2. His tests are mainly based on the topics that the guest speakers talked about. As I said they're no authority in sexual variation field. They're just representatives of that field, people that just practice some kind of different lifestyle. And how many of the you need to listen before you get bored? Sorry but I don't see the point of making me to overburden my memory with their bablat. I feel like I wasted my time. We could'e learned so much instead. The saddest part for me is the fact that Elia thinks that he is the most progressive, daring teacher in this school, and "that's why some of my collegues don't even talk to me"(Elia's words). Sorry, but I can't be sympathetic to that self-fullfilling prophacy.

Elia is a great instructor who not only is well-mastered in his field but also truly loves teaching. He does digress from the lecture a lot, but the stories do help to clarify his point. He also encourages students to speak up which is great, but this often goes on for too long. All of his classes are very similar with slight variations,so if you're looking for an easy segment III cluster, take this one. There isn't really any studying necessary either--just start looking over your notes a few days before the exam (do attend class! almost everything on the exams comes from the lectures.)The only serious complaint I have are his TA's. There doesn't seem to be an agreed upon way to grade the papers so it's like Russian Roulette. (one TA gave me a B than Elia regraded it with an A). Plus, the head TA (yes, there's a hierarchy) changed one of the "rules" about turning papers in late without making this absolutely clear to everyone in class. Unfortunately, for the most part Elia believes this person is a God and doesn't go against this person's decisions.

Elia is a decent lecturor and a hell of a nice guy, but can be a little neurotic at times and tends to "toot his own horn" about his work in the field......remember folks, it's human sexuality, not nuclear science or molecular biology - - it doesn't take a genious to be an "expert" in sexuality. His material overlaps quite a bit between all his courses, so if you've had him for one, you've heard it all before. Without a doubt, the worst thing about his classes are his pretentous, obnoxious, pseudo "teaching assistants". Talk about a waste of space. Anyone who gets an "A" or "B" in his class can be a TA for him - - again, keep the subject matter in mind....not difficult material to ace. They strut around and try to look important running a microphone around the theater like gophers and ATTEMPT to grade essay papers. They are flagrantly bad and anything but impressive. Pay them no mind, - - humor these poor, egotistic souls. I may sound bitter, but I have no reason to be, I got an "A" in both courses; he's just an average professor teaching common-sense material with the help of some self-inflated 19-year-olds who think they're something they're not.

Elia knows his stuff but can be a bit to full of himself. The class is easy, but make sure to talk with him directly if you need anything because his TAs are so full of themselves they've become worthless. The material he covers is informative but some of the videos could be better. The paper subjects are painfully boring, but he will let you come up with your own topic if you go to see him.

the ta's can kiss my ass, however, dr. elia is a pretty funny guy and the class passes really fast. the guest speakers were good , and many questions on the exams are based on what they say in class so pay attention kiddies. i would recommend this class to other people but the problem of ta's with ego trips must be addressed.

It was great to take a class from a Professor who really knows and cares about his/her topic. Elia clearly knows his material and is very entertaining. The work load is very lite - some reading each week and 2 exams and 2 four page papers. He also graded some things on a curve. He stated his goal is to have half of his student get an A. The materail is interesting and I think valuable for people to learn. On the other hand the TA's are not very competent, but enough so not to take the class.

Dr. Elia is so entertaining! I took his class in the Fall of '97 at 8am and I actually stayed awake. He shows so much enthusiasm and he's not afraid to poke fun at himself, which I admire a lot. He was very approachable and helpful. His only down side is his TA's! Please Dr. Elia, be careful in choosing them. WORTHLESS is what they were, for the most part.

HE WAS THE REASON AS TO WHY I EVEN GO TO SCHOOL!!! Though it's not even my major class- I looked forward to his lectures and classes. He is outstandingly fair in grading, and his tests are extremely straight-forward. He has 2 papers and 2 tests- all 25% each. That is waaay cool! Attending his office hours was so helpful, cuz he actually WANTS you to understand and will go the extra mile making sure you're not confused when you leave. Though he at times is very abrupt and rushing, it's typical cuz he's very busy. But he will try is ultimate best in providing exceptional education since he, himself, is very knowledgeable in what he teaches. NO B.S., NO UNFAIRNESS, NO CONFUSION--I've seen him teach other courses and I've been wanting to be in one in his classes, just by seeing that he's a dynamic speaker and professor. He has total passsion in his teaching, making you WANT to learn. So don't think twice about taking him-- I guarantee you won't regret it!

have a sense of humor, but fair enough to grade student. very responsible for preparing lecture materials and promoting students' learning. A rational, reasonable, and considerate professor. have great enthusiasium of teaching and great respect to students!

funny and enterataining. not too nice when comeing to office for help. can be but can be grouchy too. cusses too much (does it for effect but got carried away.) but all in all a god class. interesting subject. constantly sighting names and years. knows it well. so far not too bad. but lets see after we get our papaers and back and do the final.

This was a very good class and I learned a lot. We did 2 papers, a midterm, and final. All were not hard just as long as you studied, attended the lectures, and followed the guidelines for the paper. This semester he co-instruced with Albert Angelo and it seemed as though Albert taught the class more than John did. Other than that I thought it was a great class

Dr. Elia is, without a doubt, qualified in his subject. His sense of humor, and straight-forward manner are refreshing, especially when dealing with sensitive issues. Unfortunately, his TA's have a misconstrued idea that they are the instructors. I have experienced their ineptitude in all three of the classes I am currently enrolled in. There is apparently no grading guidelines for the papers, and, as a result, your grade rests on the russian roulette method of which TA ends up with your paper. There seems to be a rampant power trip enveloping his TA's, who are incompetent and underqualified. Wake up, Dr. Elia-there's a problem here...

Great sense of humor. Get rid of the TA's. They were not helpful at all.The class was very informative and the touchy subject matter was covered in a very mature fashion.There were a couple of issues covered in this class I was not comfortable with but he was cool about it. When it was time to watch the movie, I left the room and came back in when it was over (after the discussion). The speakers he brought in were good also. Not a stressful class at all.

Dr. Elia knows his stuff and he makes the class fun but his TA's are total idiots!!! They grade our paper unfairly and uses their own biases on our opinion. Take his class for lots of info on human sex, very interesting. If you are someone who gets grossed out easily, this class is not for you.

I have Dr. Elia for HMSX 320 on MWF. On Wed., and Friday, this is my only class. Many might say I should cut class since I live in the East Bay (1 hr.drive), and this class is only one hour. But, it is because he is such a funny guy that I love coming to his class, even if its for one hour. He is knowledge and witty.

In this course, there are two written papers, a midterm, and a final exam. Dr. Elia is very fair in his grading policy and gives very liberal curves on the test grades. He is very knowledgeable in his field and often calls guest speakers in to discuss topics from their own first hand experience. This class has really given me a much more open mind about various sexual lifestyles and relationships, which I believe will also translate to my having more tolerance in other areas as well. Dr. Elia always answers questions students have politely, even if the question seems stupid. This is very important in a subject like human sexuality. I highly recommend this instructor.

Almost everything is discussed in lecture. A lot of information is redundant from the other HMSX courses. His TAs are the idiots. He talks about this open door policy and how he grew up from a working class family but when you have a gripe about his TAs, he doesn't want to hear it. The guy has a very good sense of humor.

Dr.Elia is a good instructor who is very enthusiastic about the subject he teaches. The book is somewhat difficult to really follow because it doesn't seem to go with the rest of the course. The tests are not very difficult and there are never any surprises. The only drawback to the class is that there are hundreds of people and no special attention or one on one relationship with the teacher.

He is a wonderful lecturer. He's kind, funny, and makes class fun.

His tests are very straight-forward. If you take notes and pay attention in class, there's no reason why you can't get at least a "B".

I recommend him to anyone who wants to learn about sexuality. He really knows his stuff.