Eric Mar

Mar really knows what he is talking about and shows his students all these different ways to try to help the Asian Community. The only problem is that the students are not listening. Don't take this class if you are not going to read the material. Becuase he doesn't force his students to read, many do not, thus the class can not have an open discussiona and Mar is left talking by himself. That is why the class is so boring. I admit I did not read most of the time either, but the poor guy gives students the pg#s where the answers are for the discussions, DURING class even though people were supposed to do it for hw, so for pete's sake people,just open the book and read it!!! Needs to somehow make sure his students are reading the material. Force the students to read. Yes, they are somtimes a lot of pages to read, but this is college people, you are supposed to be reading on your own time.

Mar does need to provide more information on how his students are doing though, becuase you never know what you have 'til the very end. You never receive an assignment back. He will try to help you if for some reason you cannot turn in an assignment though. Not always reachable by e-mail, so try calling his office. Usually late, but that means so can you, atleast he has a good excuse and if you take the class you will know too. Mar sometimes forgets that his students are not always so upto date in current affairs, so he needs to sometimes give background 411 on the issues he is presenting and if you don't know about the issue just ask and then you will have participated in class. Watching/reading the news will help you as a student in his class.

When a student does say something, he never disses it. He'll respect it and try to help others understand your idea as well. Say something. A lot of the stuff discussed in class is about your family, television, movies and you don't need to read a book to know about that. So say what you see around you and you will be surprised how relevent it is to the class.

He would be a great teacher if students participated and if he gave feedback to his students.

Eric has a lot to say, belive me, this man can talk for hours and a day. It's not that he's a bad teacher, it's just that no one ever speaks up in his class. IT's quite boring, I know it would be more interesting if he encouraged people to speak up and participate. He assigns readings like every class and they are long. He only assigns a couple of writing assigments which arent too difficult. Oh and one thing he doesn't do is tell you how you are doing in the class, it's quite irritating, b/c you don't know how well you did on his assignments till the final grade.

Professor Mar might be a bit monotoned but he can surely make you care about you're community. His class consists mostly of freshmen students who do not care about themselves or the community, so they think the class is boring and stupid. And that is why he gets the bad reviews. If you care about (asian/or asian pacific islander) issues take his class and learn. And for the love of God - the class is really easy. BY: Iceman

Although Professor Mar seems to know what he is talking about, he is not very interesting. He has a very monotone voice which makes it difficult to pay attention. More than half the class was asleep by the first 15 minutes. He was always late for class (which I guess is a good thing since I was always late for class). He takes a very long time to return homework assignments so it's hard to figure out how you're doing in the class. Your grade is mainly based on your homework assignments (500+ word essays). There were 2 tests that were open book. This was an "okay" class, I guess...I mean if you don't mind being extremely bored for an hour and a half...

he expected too much from us.AAS205 is just a GE requirement class, but he asked for too much from us. lots of assignments. only one thing good is no final test. i don't like his teaching style is all what i want to say.

Eric Mar made AAS 205 really really easy. Mar made his class probably the easiest AAS 205 class at SFSU. There are no exams, maybe 4-6 500 word assignments, 2-3 community participation projects, and one group project at the end of the semester. He grades really easy, but you really need to include your opinion in the assignments. He claims he takes attendance, I never see him writing anything down for it after two weeks into the semester. If you go to class and particpate a lot, your grade may boost a little. He was never available outside of class because you really don't benefit anything. The only possible reasons why you would want to see him outside class is to collect all the assignments he fails to give you, to talk about your grade, or to brown nose and talk to your "favorite" AAS teacher.

Though it is easy, it maybe the most boring class if no one participates in his lectures and debates. I took this class in the morning and it was really hard to pay attention since I was half asleep most of the time. Also his lectures really suck sometimes because no one really knows what he's talking about. He just goes on and on about something and when he asks a question you get confused because you're not sure if he was asking rhetorically or seriously. Even if I did get there on time, he would still show up like 10-15 min late. One time we had a guest speaker and he didn't show up until the last 10 min of class to hand back old assignments that we had completed the month before. His voice tends to be really monotone all the time. If he took a SPCH 150, he would learn a lot because he does not know much when it comes to his oral communication.

Something I really hated about him was that he has two cellphones that would go off in class. It was tremendously annoying and he never turns it off. He doesn't even put it on silent during his lectures.

There are only one reason why I took this class: I had to. If you want an easy teacher and can tolerate a boring lecturer take Mar for this course and any of his other courses.

He's an awesome teacher and knows what he is talking about though sometimes he asumes everyone in the class is in the same level. If you are an AAS major, he is great..take him. However, for GE, he's not for slackers because you have to work hard to earn a good grade.

It's hard to describe just how bored I was during Eric Mar's lectures. His lectures consisted of regurgitation of the book, then regurgitation of previous lectures, then a Q and A portion where pretty much no one in the class participated. Kinda sad, considering this is an Asian American class. Granted, Eric tries to get the students involved, but to be honest, he fails miserably. The only people who speak in class are the ones who already are confident enough to do so. The ones who are too shy end up just falling asleep, which is pathetic in a class like AAS 205, where you expect everyone to participate. Eric just doesn't draw his students into the material and the lecture enough to make the class interesting.

Course-wise, it's easy as sin. Just show up to class (or get someone to write your name when he takes role), write enough to satisfy his word quotas, slap together a presentation, and write a very basic final paper, and you've got your A.

In short, if you've taken an Asian American class before, and you want to really get engaged in the subject, pass on this prof. If you're just looking to satisfy a requirement, and you want an easy A, Eric's your guy.

he expected too much from us.AAS205 is just a GE requirement class, but he asked for too much from us. lots of assignments. only one thing good is no final test. i don't like his teaching style is all what i want to say.

I would have to say that the only good thing about Eric Mar is that he's a pretty easy grader. Just put enough effort into the assinments and you'll pass the class.

*His handwriting really sucks. The notes he writes on the projector is messy and unorganized.

*His homework/assignments are fairly easy. He doesn't assign amounts of pages; instead he assigns the amount of words you write. The questions he wants you to answer are too wordy (he tries to make it sound difficult when it's not)

*His lectures aren't that bad except he repeats the same thing over and over. Seems like after every class, the entire class feels dumber. He constantly lectures us about how important it is to take notes (like we don't know that already!) And the other things he tries to lecture us about are irrelevant to the class. The class doesn't answer his many number of questions and so he ends up answering them himself, while favoring the students who do answer questions

*It's a bit hard to tell what his personality is like. But I know that he does favor people, the students who highly participate in class. He'll try to remember your name and everything and you'll be his favorite.

*The projects are very simple. He assigns everyone into a group and the group has to do some kind of art work describing or explaining your family's process of immigration, etc. But He will only choose the projects with the best art work and point them out and compliment it. There goes his sense of favoritism.

Eric Mar doesn't take role everyday and some days, students just don't attend his boring, bad lecture class. And if or when he notices that his room is lacking students, THAT'S when he'll pass around a role sheet.

Eric is a great teacher and he explains the material very clear. He assigns a group project at the end of the semester which helps student be involve in a community based organization. He is also understanding of a student's effort in the class and is fair in grading.

Eric Mar is a great lecturer and he tries his best to get the students motivated in class. He is the type of teacher who looks at effort. His AAS 680 class is very interesting. The subject matter in AAS 205 is kinda dry but Eric tries many ways to make things more interesting.

Eric is a good teacher compared to the others I had in the past few years. He grades pretty easy although he is a lawyer and he also look to see how much effort you put in doing the assignments which most teachers failed to do so. The AAS 205 class he teaches consisted of 4 Journal assignments, 1 research paper (worth 10% more than the final), and a take home final. The bottomline is if you put enough efforts into doing all the homeworks and stuff you will get at least around a B in his class. Eric also encourages students to get help from the AAS tutoring lab. He makes me more aware of my place in the community and my political views. If you have a choice, take me instead of Robert Fung, I heard he is a REALLY hard teacher! Good luck in your classes. : )

Even though the subject can be quite dry and boring, Eric tried his best to make it interesting. His lectures were clear and concise and he ties in current issues with the lessons found in the book. If you're looking for an ez class, this is it; no midterms, & a take-home final. He also gives 4 essay assignments and a big research assignment. After taking this class, I realize how important it is to become more politcally active and to support my own ethnic community and equality issues.