Fred Ladon "Don" Taylor

Don is a GREAT teacher! He makes his class fun and interesting. From doing group activities to being very likable and personable with his students. He is always available for any questions and uses powerpoint for his lectures. The one problem that I did have was that he liked to move quickly through his slides, even though people were scrambling to write the information down. However, if you ask him to slow down or go back to the previous slide, he will without a problem.

If you have the opportunity to take him as a teacher, do it! It's a great learning experience and you get to meet a great teacher!

Don, if you're reading this, DON'T GET INTO ANYMORE ACCIDENTS!

Rec 230 is a great class! I would recommend this class to everyone who is enrolled at SFSU. Sign up early bec. it is impacted. It will change your life. Don Taylor was a great teacher bec. he is so into the subject and very wise. If you do decide to take this class be sure to get into his lectures and listen to them bec. they are great even though they can get boring to the average person. Most people are only interested in the trips which is sad. Study for the exams. They are no joke and can be difficult and somewhat terrifying if you are not a recreation major. However, they definately can be done and if you study you can do quite well. Treat the trips not only as fun but as a spiritual experience. When you are on the trip constantly think and evaluate your experience. Write your paper in your head as you are rock climbing or skiing. Read the papers on John Muir, he was a great writer and his words will benefit your experience in the class. Don was a great teacher but I kinda felt as though he acted like a jerk at times, but that doesn't make him a bad person. That was just my experience. Do the spring semester class where you go rafting instead of x-country skiing/backpacking/whatever. It is a lot easier. Remember to be honest on your papers about your experience and study study study!! Have fun and enjoy!

This class was great! It gave me lots of useful information. Information that helps in the advancement of my own leadership style. I took this class as elective and was very surprised that the class was so helpful, afterall I am a business student and this is a rec class. I did very well and I assure anyone taking this class that Don is a great guy. He is not a racist and he doesn't cast aside the ideas of others. As an African American student I felt very comfortable in the class. If I needed help I simply went to his office and he was more than willing to help me. For those looking for an easy A; I would say take another class because there is alot of reading and class participation .

I would have to say that Don is what on the best teachers that i have ever studied under. Personality wise, his is kind, funny, interesting, and always willing to lend a hand. While I would not recommend his class to anyone that doesn't want to work for their grade, I believe that his grading is quite fair. There is no curve present in any of his classes, rather a sink or swim. While this tends to piss off a lot of students who do poorly, he is only looking out for the people that want a real education. All his classes are seperated into lectures, reading, and a number of activities that can be played outside. Pretty much forget about the reading unless you are interested in recreation, but take good notes because the tests are primarily on that. Go to class and take notes and you should do fine. Make sure to talk to Don about any problems as he is quite easy going and make sure to enjoy POWERPOINT!!!!! I heartily recommend Don, especially his REC 230 class to everyone.

Don is an excellent instrucutor who takes genuine pride in his profession and is extremely happy when his students succeed. He is not an easy grader and his tests are hard. Some students mistake his easy going nature to be reflected in his grading style. I find it particularly funny when business students, with their snauty arrogance and pompus attitudes towards recreation as a major, routinely fail Don's first test. The so-called "easy Rec. A" does not exist. Don takes the material seriously and so should his students. The classes are fun and educational and Don is readily available to help his students. The textbooks are very reasonable and any problem can be solved by remebering, "the solution is in the process!!"