Johnetta G. Richards

Without exageration, the worst instructor I have ever had. Rambling, non-sensical lectures. Talked trash about other instructors and university employees by name during class. Arbitrary grading. (I got an A in the class so this isn't just sour grapes.) Made wild allegations about all manner of things and then refused to back down when confronted with evidence to the contrary. Uses magazine articles and newspaper clippings that are 10-20 years old. And I'm not alone in my assessment. Was discussing the class with a friend and somebody came up and asked if we were talking about Richards, solely based on a snippet of overheard conversation. They said they had taken a study abroad trip with her and it was the worst experience of their lives.

Dr. Richards is a great teacher overall, except her lectures need to be tighten more and less scattered. She makes us read three books and only test on her lectures that are bias in her opinions. She a nice person, but she lacks any real enthusiasm for teaching. I think she would be happiest traveling somewhere in a distant land rather than to sit in a classroom and lecture for an hour. Take her class if you don't mind an absent-minded approach to lectures and an essay final that doesn't cover anything in the book. Also, it's difficult to get an A unless you demand to speak up in her class.

Prof. Richards is a good hearted person in my opinion. The only problem that I saw people really having with her is her grading. I think that she should have made clear what her expectations were. When you can find her in her office hours, She is very maternal. She is always concerened with my well being, and my standing in other classes. I believe she is practical and realistic. She can be compassionate if you are sincere with her. I enjoyed her lectures, and the movies she showed. For anyone who is thinking of enrolling in her Bls 304 class, the best advice I can give you is to make use of any knowledge you have. On her tests, she wants facts, outside facts and facts given in class...just make them relate to yur topics. Write as much as you know. It makes her happy to know that you know anything. I got a 62% on her midterm but I managed to pass the class with a reasonable grade because she knew that i was concerned about my grade, and I did very well on my final. She is not as bad as everyone tries to make her seem, you just need to know what she expects of you and do your best to meet those expectations.

Dr. Richards has an excellent grasp of black history especially that of black women's history. Dr. Richards lays down the foundations of understanding black history by going back to its African roots and how the diaspora has impacted people of African descent in the US. In spite of her expertise, her class is problematic for several reasons. Dr. Richards is extraordinarily unorganized. She gave us the class syllabus 4 weeks into the semester and when asked directly where we should be at in the syllabus she could never give students a clear answer. We recieved our midterms back the second to last week of the semester. In addition, as a 3hour class, the format of viewing films, which were anywhere from 25-60minutes, became annoying. Although 2books are required for the class, they were never used in class discussions because the class revolved around the films. The set up of the class lulls students into an academic laziness until the midterm or papers become due. It is at that point that one learns that Dr. Richards, like any other instuctor, requires university level work from you as a student. When she says critical thought, she means just that. So in sum, I think that the level of scholarship from student would improve by not relying so heavily on films and lecturing more in order that students are able to get more of a base in black feminist theory which is inadequately conveyed when using films from the 1980's.

This class was taken as part of my Segment 3 requiremen. Dr. Richards was a delight as a professor. She encouraged participation and accepted viewpoints that may have differed from her own.

If there was one distracting thing it was probably the way she allowed students to go off on extremem tangents. Often the discussion would end up in left field and it would take great effort to pull it back on track.

Being a summer class of three weeks duration, the class can be said to have been fast moving. Our text book reading was supplemented by in-class films and class discussions about the main themes of those films. We were graded on class participation, two short papers about three to four pages, a midterm and a final. The tests were essay type. To help focus our study for the tests we were handed six questions of which three would end up on our test and we would choose exclusively two out of three questions to answer. I was very glad to have this choice of two out of three questions, and without the choice I think I would not have been able to show my understanding of the material as well on the tests. I felt that the test questions were worded in such a way to incite and stimulate thinking and this helped me too for the essay test taking, which I find difficult.

Dr. Richards is the most outstanding instructor in the black studies department. Instructors such as Dr. Aaron and Dr.Head can really learn a lot from Dr. Richards in instructing a class. She is truly a woman of humility and encourages everyone to participate in discussions. She don't believe in "dumb answers". EVERYONE has a right to speak in her class;she encourages it. I've learned a lot in black studies and wish she there were more instructors like her. SHE IS THE IDEAL INSTRUCTOR FOR SFSU. Too bad others can't have the professional and quality instructional skills that she has. She is truly an intellectual; non-biased and willing to listen regardless.

The experience that I had in her class that inspite of diversity everyone was equal. I will always remember Dr. Richards throughout my education at SFSU.

If you are looking to breeze through a class, then don't take Dr. Richards. But, if you are planning on learning valuable information from an excellent teacher, then enroll now. She is a rather tough grader, but sometimes it becomes necessary to take a lower grade from a good teacher than taking a higher grade from a teacher that doesn't stimulate the thought processes. Dr. Richards provides some of the most deep intellectual lectures and she knows the subject very well. To me, that is the sign of a good teacher.....

She sparks very emotional and intellectual discussions about the historical context of African-American women and their struggle. She creates an environment which is very condusive to learning to all people and encourages opinions and intellectual discussions. We view many different films about Black females which many of us have never seen before.

This teacher was so fun to work with. She taught a lot of information that was useful to us as students. She also tried to teach us things about the real world and current applications of the class material. She had a great sense of humor and made herself accessible to students. I loved this class.