Mr. Pond is simply the BEST prof. I've had at this University. His lectures are a breeze; but that doesn't mean you don't learn anything. I've learned SOO much during his class and I'm very interested in switching majors to do a career in politics. Thanks to Mr. Pond! (the T.A, Cheryl A. rocks too!)

POND IS AMAZING. His courses are informative, engaging and overall, the BEST UTM EXPERIENCE. I have had him for 3 classes now, and i have learnt more from him than I have learnt from LIFE! If every prof were like him at UTM, it would be an even greater school. Keep up the good work Prof. Pond!

Awesome Prof. He's a person who truly enjoys his work as being a Professor for a Great University (UofT). That's all I can say.

Awsome Prof. Although Course Material is hard, it is worth it.. You learn alot from him. Tests are a bit hard, but if you study you should be fine.

Prof. Pond is amazing. Amazing personality and clear, concise lectures with good examples. I find this course complements my economics studies. His lectures are engaging and interesting, I find myself discussing these topics outside of class and referring to things I picked up in class. Will take other courses taught by Pond, for sure. Go Prof.Pond

I had Pond in my last year (2001) and he was great! He gives you the course notes in these handy photocopied packages. He's very clear and enthusiastic, and he makes you look at ontario politics in new ways.

I've had Prof. Pond for both POL 100 and POL 250, and in both courses he was excellent. He is very witty and tells many jokes. Despite his humor, his lectures are informative and interesting. The tests and essay assignments are fair as well, if you put the work in you will do fine. An excellent professor overall.

Prof. Pond is great! I had him for 214,490,and 455 and they were all great courses. He cares about students and their quality of learning. His jokes are not that funny but he tries and that's what is great about him. His notes are organized and he provides appropriate examples.He doesn't mind answering questions from students during or after class

Amazing prof. A lot of people don't find his jokes funny but I did. He made a topic such as politics (only took it for my SSc credit) very enjoyable. I'm actually thinking about taking some extra politics courses provided that he teaches them of course. His course was one of the better course experiences I've had. I recommend taking POL214 with him

One of my favourite professors at UofT. He was invaluably helpful to me during a very difficult time of my life. That aside, I enjoyed his lectures, they were clear, concise and taught you to focus on important parts of the textbook. I did quite well thanks to his guidance. Highly recommended.

This man is crazy in the very best of ways. His lectures may go off-topic, and attending class might be completely unnecessary - but he really loves what he's teaching, and his Harper jokes are fantastic. You won't find a more animated professor on campus. I'm going out of my way to have him as a prof for as many politics courses as possible.

Best professor at UTM, He is passionate about what he's teaching and so funny you can tell he loves what he does. attending is not mandatory but his class is always upbeat and fun. If you don't do well its because you just didn't study, easy class!

Extremely well-spoken and funny. Somehow, he succeeds at being super entertaining while still transmitting knowledge. Perfect teacher, very approachable.

love him! such a fantastic professor. extremely passionate and approachable! best professor ive ever had in my life!

Professor David Pond is definitely one of the best Professors on the UTM Campus. Not only does he make Canadian politics interesting but his delivery and teaching style is memorable. I highly suggest this course no matter what your major or minor is. As your knowledge about our governance here in Canada will rapidly improve.

Best professor at UTM. Had him for POL214 & POL353, he makes Canadian politics fun

Highly intelligent man who presents the material in a detached, flippant way, for better or for worse. His humor sometimes got in the way of the substance, but his knowledge of the material is excellent.

charming and handsome man. love the course

Best prof I ever had especially considering I don't care for politics. I'd take all his courses cause he makes Canadian politics fun,,,,

great enthusiastic lecturer and funny too

Professor Pond is hands down the best political science professor at UTM. I have now gone on to graduate school and can honestly say he is probably the best professor I will ever have. He's hilarious, only class I ever had that I was excited to go to and SO SMART! he really knows his stuff !!

Jokes so bad I was laughing at how unfunny they were. But the rest of the class seemed to enjoy them. Decent lecturer. Way too many slides (in, for some odd reason, Word Doc turned PDF format) without much information on each. On the plus side, clear lecturer with straightforward expectations. If you pay attention and study, you'll do well.

Best professor I have ever had. He makes Canadian politics interesting.

Attending lectures are key! However, there is an assigned textbook but to be honest not really necessary. Lectures are clearly understood, not boring as the Professor is quite humorous. At the end of the day you will take him some important and also good information about Canada's Political System

He teaches well

Great Prof whom knows how to effectively deliver content to students. Funny most of the times and overall seems like a really chilled guy.

He's very enthusiastic and makes the class interesting, however his way of marking is really hard. You really have to put in your all, and work really hard in order to get a decent grade. Would recommend the course but maybe with a different, easy marking prof.

Talented lecturer, supported by a quirky personality and more practical work experience than most academics.

Dr. Pond had a lot of experience working in Canadian government which helped in making the lectures interesting and making the material understandable. The class is set up so that you can succeed if you go to lectures and read the slides he posts. He's also very approachable and makes his expectations clear. Overall, he's a charismatic/helpful prof

Awesome prof. He made the lectures very intriguing and easy to understand. We also had breaks in between the lectures. He was very approachable and also was very laid-back. The material of this course was also interesting and straight forward.

Professor Pond is entertaining. He cracks good-hearted jokes, and his passion for the subject is clear. His lecture slides are extremely detailed; they're basically all you need to get past the course. Lectures were interesting, but sometimes just dragged on for too long.

He is inspirational as well as hilarious when giving lectures!

Pond has to be one of the funniest professors I have ever taken. However, his grading criteria for tests and essays is unclear because it is difficult to get an A.

His lectures are easily understandable in the sense that he gets his point across clearly.

The best professor UofT has to offer. Overall just a great individual. His lectures are online and for essays he provides you with sources. The topics on the essays however tend to get difficult so be prepared to do heavy research on them.

This man GIVES you study notes! He's hilarious in lectures, he is very direct and specific. Honestly, I'm so sure this prof is the best I'll ever have in my 4 years.

He was amazing. By far one of my favourite professors here! He is so clear with his work, gives many examples to ensure you understand the content and is overall a great teacher! If you simply study the lectures and slightly add on to whatever you don't understand with his book you will be fine for both the test and exam.

Amazing Prof, #NuffSaid

This class was ridiculously easy and I wondered why I didn't take advantage of that by the end of the semester. He posted all of his lecture slides in word format. Everything on the midterms is straight from his powerpoint. He tells you exactly what to expect and the concepts are very easy. Pay attention in class and make notes and you'll do well.

I have had Pond 3 times throughout my university career. He is by far the best professor I have had. He is caring and is always willing to help his students. His essays are a bit difficult so get ready to do research!

He is very funny. If you pay attention to everything he says in lectures you will do fine. Do not waste your time reading the whole book it has a lot of jargon. He does mark hard for the essay tho, just be sure to visit his office hours to make sure you understand the topic(essay). He knows most students names. Pol 111 214 would recommend.

The best part about this guy is he gives thou the sources for the essay so you just have to ready and apply to the topic you do not need to waste time to do reasearch. The essay marking is a bit harder than the midterm. With that being said if you read his slides you shall be fine for the final.

If you are looking for an easy 3.3-4.0, this is NOT the course to take. However, it is impossible to fail this class. The content is very easy to understand, but the test, exam and essay are marked hard. Pond makes boring subjects enjoyable, and literally types up notes for his lectures. Good prof, but avoid if you want a GPA booster

Great guy funny

Best Prof in Politics. If you put the work in, you will receive a good grade. If you don't, you will fail. He gives you every piece of information you need to succeed.

This class is tough, don't get me wrong, but I'm happy I took it. I may not have gotten the best marks but I learnt a lot. The prof kept the early morning classes interesting for everyone. He was funny an very kind. Tests are difficult but if you work really hard on the essay you can make up for some poor marks. Overall, happy with this class!

One of the best profs at utm. You don't have to go to classes because his lectures are online. As long as you read them you should be good. The essay is the hardest component of this course because no one gets 100%. His test is really easy if you have memorized the slides online.

His lectures were amazing! All his lectures were very detailed and the slides were great sources to study. Also, the essay assignment is the assignment that the professor would give your sources(it saves a lot of time!)

easy class and even easier if you know a bit about the Canadian and British system of government. repeats a lot of useful information that's on the tests. repetition can get annoying but know his tests are harder so he repeats good info.

He's such a funny guy, i went to his hours once and it was a lit time, mega recommend

Can I just take a moment to say.. BEST PROFESSOR EVERRRRRRRRRRR. TAKE HIS CLASS.

Easiest Pol Sci class ever. You can do really well without going to class or doing the readings since he summarizes each lecture for the test.

Amazing Prof, very knowledgable and makes boring content interesting. You do have to work in the class but it is pretty easy to get a good grade if you go to class and study pretty hard.

Participate in tutorial, and pay attention in class so that you dont have to cram the lectures before the midterm, just keeping up by paying attention guarantees a solid mark, really great professor!

THE BEST PROF AT UTM HAND DOWN!!!!!!! HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND. i have no interest in politics but this guy made it my fav class. he's funny and puts memes in all his pp.

Extremely organized. Gives you everything you need to do well and hints of what will be on the tests. Most importantly his lectures are enjoyable. Doesn't have a superiority complex like a lot of professors. Super down to earth and really funny. Only way to fail is to not show up or read anything.

A very liberal Professor who is constantly off topic. He does not teach very hard courses but the lectures are hard to attend because he talks about his family or other random things all lecture.

Super chill, easy going and approachable. Lectures often go off topic but there's really no need to show up or even open the book as he types out lecture slides in full sentence form and posts them online. POL111 may as well be the birdiest course at UofT since its just a review of grade 10 civics with some additional material. Highly recommend!

Dr. Pond is quirky and his lectures are amusing, to say the least. The content is made simple to understand, however, it's easy to do poorly in his class because there's only a midterm, essay and exam. He posts his slides online and they're pretty detailed, but it's best to attend lectures as he clarifies important points.

Prof. Pond is extremely funny and a good guy. He really cares about his students and is passionate about politics. On the other hand, the TA's are rude and difficult markers. You mark is easy to drop since the course consists of 1 test, 1 essay, and 1 final exam. Be cautious of your TA. Overall, this was an enjoyable course

best prof at utm no questions asked, extremely funny makes all the lectures worth going to, every lecture he just focuses on one topic best Politics course at utm, if you hate him, your a evil person on earth because there aint nothin to hate about the mandem. the tests and exam super easy just practice old exams/tests and your blessedd

it's not an easy 4.0 but his course was great

I took Prof. Pond's environmental policy in Canada course and he is now one of my favourite profs at UTM. His lectures are engaging and informative. He gets off topic sometimes, but it's always funny and somehow still helpful in learning the material. I purchased the textbook, but I only needed it for one assignment - could've done without.

If Pond is teaching a course, take it, he is THE best and by far easiest prof I have had. He makes its very clear what to study for! He is a very nice guy and has a good sense of humour! Things are marked good, not to easily nor too harshly!

best prof you could have for canadian politics if you're like me (have no idea what's going on). really helpful and has great presentations so that if you miss a class, you'll be fine. has great stories and jokes, but be patient he tends to go off on tangents and talk a lot.

Good lectures, is upfront about test material and the essay instructions were very straightforward. Going to his lectures is just plain fun.

Amazing proffessor, one of the best I had in university. He makes you start seeing and thinking of the environment in a new way, where you actually think about your daily life, and the actions you will take. Played a big role in my life, helped me internalize my my actions and the negative externalities associated with them. Would 100% reccomend.

I have taken a few courses with Professor Pond and absolutely love his classes. He is engaging and hilarious. You do need to put in the effort to do well, however, his lecture slides are very detailed and there are no surprises on his tests! By far one of the best profs at UTM.

You can afford to miss lectures, but definitely attend the one before the midterm and give yourself a couple of weeks to research your essay. Otherwise, Pond's lectures are funny and light, and his lecture slides are extremely useful and contain everything you need to know.

The prof is nice, and he posted all the important points on Powerpoint that you even do not need to go to the lecture. If you good at memorizing, you will get a good grade.

He was a great professor, his tests and essays were very precise and if you just put a bit of effort into his class, you will do well

I have taken both POL 337 and POL 316 with Professor Pond in the past. There are three things that really stood out about him: he is extremely well versed in Canadian politics, he is funny and engaging, and his lecture slides are helpful when studying for exams. However, his marking is extremely hard. No room for extra credit, and very critical.

He's the funniest and kindest prof you'll ever meet at UofT

Not an easy prof, he marks everything extremely hard so don't expect a high mark. But he's one of the funniest and nicest profs EVER. The class content itself was very dry but he made it so interesting and funny, that I always looked forward to coming to class

Prof. Pond is easily one of my favourite profs I've taken at UofT so far. his lectures are actually enjoyable and hilarious. He makes the content more relatable and interesting. Don't need to attend the class to get a good mark as his slides are very detailed (and pretty much all the notes you'll need), but his lectures are super entertaining

I LOVE prof Pond. I have taken every class he teaches at UTM, POL111, POL214, POL336. He is super funny and genuinly wants his students to do well. He values lecture attendance the most and grading is heavily weighted lecture based. All you have to do is go to class and you will do very well. Reading are not mandatory!

the goat prof of all time. no cap shorty take this class if u wanna pass

I took his class in the summer a couple of years ago. He is a great professor: great at teaching, keeps class entertaining, is approachable, grades fairly, and has a hilarious sense of humour. One of my favourite classes for sure!

This guy's hilarious. His lectures were pre-recorded so attendance is not mandatory. You will eventually need the lectures for the tutorial exercises that are graded by the TA's. It was my first Pol class and I didn't regret taking it.

Great prof, marks very hard. Not an easy 4.0, but definitely worth taking for his lectures.

Good prof, amazing lectures, HARSH grader. It's nearly impossible to fail his classes, although anything above an A- is absolute hell to get. If you want to genuinely learn, take his class. If you're gunning for grad school/law, skip it.

This is NOT a bird course like a lot of people might say. Professor is a very tough grader and TA's aren' easy either. I think our midterm average was around 60-70%. He gives clear instructions in-depth several times, gives answers to essay questions, etc. He's helpful but if you don't do the work, it's nearly impossible to get a grade over 70%.

I've taken 2 courses with Professor Pond and I absolutely love him. He makes class very enjoyable especially with his little jokes. Very accommodating in terms of COVID and very approachable outside of class. He's very helpful with sources and conversations on essays. I highly recommend his classes and respect his treatment of students.

prof is a good lecturer and a good person. hilarious too. hes also a very very harsh and picky grader

GREAT lectures. He made boring topics in Canadian politics more interesting to learn about and has a lot of stories and knowledge on the topic. He is super approachable and gave us a bunch of different ways to contact him. As long as you take notes on his slides, its an easy pass but doing the readings does help for context and an A.

Absolutely love Professor Pond! He is generally really considerate towards his students (for example, he posts slides in two different formats for students who want to print them but don't have a lot of money). He puts a lot of effort into essay assignments, and you can tell he genuinely cares about his students. Lectures are super fun too!

Pond is a great prof, super informative lectures and pretty funny too. But the marking was based off of such few things, and TAs are pretty strict with not great guidelines/rubrics

Amazing professor. But tough grader. Take this course if you want something chill but you won't get an excellent grade. The max he gives out is like a 90.

Pond is a legend. First off, you can contact him at any time via text, which is cool His lectures are pretty interesting (he makes quite a lot of jokes) but I ended up attending only a couple cause its at 9 am. However, even if you miss lectures, he posts presentations that contains all info needed for tests. Tests are fair but don't expect 90s

A well-respected, understanding prof but you have to work VERY hard in his class to earn your grade. The way his class is structured made me learn the content so well and beyond the scope of the course similar to that of my second year classes later on, eventually allowing me to succeed in those classes because of it.

Great lecturer and accessible to students. Always answering questions or talking to students before or after class. Makes the most boring topics bearable to learn.

did pol111 with him in the summer, he is so funny and all the lecture material is posted. He tells so many side stories that are still somehow relevant to the material they help remember the content and make the lectures fun and interesting. The tests are seriously very similar to the review questions just do those and this class is an easy A.

As a non-native speaker of English, Prof. Pond's lecture is fantastic. Easy to understand. You need to work hard to get a good grade but you will not suffer when learning his course.

Really funny and puts in effort in responding to communication for students. Attending office hours for him is a must because he's good at explaining his materials again. Just wish his lectures were less heavy.

Prof. Pond taught my POL111 in a hilarious and understanding way. He was able to give clear explanations on difficult concepts and would make even the most dry political content funny and interesting. His tests and essay were not the easiest but he only includes content from the lectures themselves, so you know exactly what to study for.

Professor Pond is in my opinion the best professor. All of his lectures were interesting and each of them was a joy to attend. Professor Pond allows students to text him for the purpose of asking questions and always responds to texts. Professor Pond has a great sense of humor and he is great at explaining complicated concepts in lectures.

Professor Pond is by far one of the best profs I've had. extremely nice and approachable. class is interesting and lectures are fun to listen to, though he makes everything accessible online and easy to follow if you miss lectures. 10/10 prof

Professor Pond is a type of prof that uses jokes and stories to lighten the mood of the lecture, which are funny but also, relatable to the stereotypical Canadian. The lectures are easy to follow but, for people that might find stories distracting, at the end of each lecture, he posts a lecture summery. READ THEM- useful for last minute review

Professor Pond honestly makes political science fun to learn. He jokes to lighten the mood and applies current events in his lectures so they're never boring. Great prof!

Prof Pond is one of the best at UTM. It's possible to do well in his class, just put in the work. Attend lectures, tutorials, and be sure to meet with him during office hours for clarification. Only downside is that I wish there were more time for tests. We had only an hour to complete 3 long answer questions.

He's a funny guy. Makes the subject enjoyable. Always look forward to attending his lectures. Everyone in my class seems to like him as well. Course work load is not bad either.

The most amazing professor I have had, and he makes so many complicated concepts simple to understand.

Amazing professor, he always talks about his family so in the end we didn't finish the course as he planned, so he removed it from the exam, exam questions were straightforward, he will summarize all the important readings for u in the slides.

Professor Pond is an energetic man with a background in Canadian politics. Had him for POL215 & POL216. Although he often rambles and jokes, his lectures are still the best to learn the material. Be sure to attend office hours for VERY detailed assignment advice (he literally read my essay draft and talked with me about it for over an hour)

if you think this is a bird course, you're wrong!! there are lots of readings, and I believed that you should read most of them if you want to receive a good grade. Only 2 essays and a midterm and a final. it is extremely difficult if you don't know any about politics(like me) and is a English second language learner(me again).

David Pond is amazing. I have never seen a professor go so out of his way to help students. The only professor in existence you can video call for help -- at almost anytime you need it too (obviously not during sleeping hours)! highly, highly recommend!

Dr. Pond makes boring topics interesting and makes everyone laugh. He completely changed my perspective on PS and by far is the best teacher at UTM. Anyone who has anything bad to say about him either plagiarized on his assignments and got caught or they just don't like teachers who try to crack jokes and make a boring topic engaging and fun.

very good

Extremely energetic guy but he is extraordinarily tough on marking so good luck on that

He is really good and fun to learn with, his jokes are actually hilarious. He is in fact a tough grader, but I still managed to get a relatively ok final grade, so if you pay attention to lectures you will be chill

I spoke to him about some issues I was having during the mid-term. Some professors are heartless, but Professor Pond cares about his students. I will be taking any class offered my him not just because he is a great Professor with lots of knowledge to share, but because he is a great overall person.

Professor Pond makes the material engaging, though his humor can be hit or miss. The workload is manageable, and Unstuck AI proved helpful for exam prep. Overall, a solid course if you're willing to put in the effort.

He makes the lectures more fun by incorporating jokes. The class is very interesting and he's really good at explaining things. The only thing is that he's kinda disorganized, which makes it hard to find the material sometimes and doesn't use the classic modules on quercus. However, if u get Neekoo as ur TA, good luck. Extremely extra.

The class was completely offline meaning not even a quercus page. At first this caught me off guard and made me think how this was possible. There were no powerpoint slides she just spoke and I took notes. This made me focus on her lectures more. The lectures were very entertaining and she is a really good professor and am now taking JPE252 withher

He's a really chill prof, he tried making lectures as lively as possible and was pretty funny, made comments on politics and provided his takes on certain politicians, he also gave us the opportunity to send rough drafts of our papers. overall I liked his class but he is a tough marker when it comes to mid-terms and finals.