smart guy,made it fun,rushed last 4 classes due to mildly poor time management

Makes philosophy easy to understand and enjoyable

don't ever understand he's notes, but a easy class to get a good mark on

Very intelligent man, he's enthusiastic about people who want to learn

smart guy, engages class in interesting discussions. easy quizes. overall, leads an interesting and informative class. he is just an all-around good prof.

He is a great teacher. Tests are fair. He is a hard grader on the essays though. Make sure you understand what he wants. I really enjoyed his class.

I like the way he teaching, and you don't have to work to much to get good mark. Essays and qiuzes doesn't need to much effort. He is the best phil. in the college.

great teacher...make u love philosophy

Lots drop the class but he was a good teacher and I liked hid notes much better then the textbook.

Great teacher

I think he is a great teacher. I never thought I was going to enjoy philosophy. He likes to help students and ecourages you to participate. Classes are fun.

Russell prepares you extremely well for tests. He lectures right from extensive overhead notes, that are posted online for your printing convenience. Print these off right away and just take your notes in the margins! No final. Two thumbs up, Russell.

sometimes confusing but has a really good sense of humour

awsome teacher!so nice,really cares that you understand the concepts,not just for tests but for life.you hardly take any notes cause u get them from his website so you can actually pay attention in class.totally encourages any discussion.loved him!

very good teaching abilities

Good prof. Likes to hear himself talk and enjoys going overkill on student's arguments occasionally (did you really expect much different from a philosophy prof?). Main drawback is that he has trouble explaining certain things at a student's level.

Russel is a great prof. He will give you a good grade if you show up, pay attention, and do the readings. There's no final and review questions are great study guides. NO PROBLEM!!!

Great prof. Make sure you take good notes and you can ace his course. Provides question key before all exams - very approachable but likes to talk a lot on tangents when ur one-on-one with him. I got an A+

Course material can be difficult to understand , however well taught and if you do the work , will likely do well. Helpful, considerate prof - in a challenging field of study

I think Dr Russell is a great teacher, his essays and midterms should be straightforward if you follow the questions he gives beforehand. I was getting a C- from his first midterm but got B- final, he will grade the bestmark.

THE ABSOLUTE ONLY TEACHER AT LANGARA TO TAKE PHILOSOPHY FROM! I have taken many philosophy courses, and only Dr Russell taught one where I mangaed to comprehend all of the concepts. He is fantastic!

Great sense of humour. Involves the class. Small course load. Very clear.

Concepts which are often difficult seem to make sense when they come from him. I like that when he is asserting he is right, he says "I believe I'm right". It leaves room for fallibility but still implies confidence. Attractive too. Very good in

good teacher. he makes the class interesting.

I was scared to take philosophy at first. Dr. Russell has inspired me to look much deeper into a zillion questions. If you can TAKE HIS COURSE! He is helpful, clear, concise, and supplies good resources on difficult material. THANKS!!!!!

Best philosophy teacher I ever had, Lessons are very interesting, can be confusing sometimes but he tries his best to explain, just make sure you patricipate in class and ask questions if you're not clear with something. I'm taking him again next semester .

very nice guy

first off, he's not bad on the eyes. (whistle, whistle) VERY GOOD TEACHER. He actually wants his students to do good unlike other professors.

Dr. Russell is the best instructor at Langara. If you do not tacke any of his classes you are missing an excellent oppertunity!!! He inspires people to ask more. Thanks John!!

He understand well the subject he's teaching,he explains it quite well, but well, I think philosophy is a hard to understand. He's first quiz is easy but on his second exam is just too hard. But it looks like that he "update" his teaching material every semester.

He is successful at teaching a very vauge subject. Through his notes and ramblings and irrelevant and relevant class input he manages to expose the student to a broad range of ideas and knowledge.

Great prof! super-easy. Helps with essays if you go see him beforehand, great lecturer, comes in 10 minutes late so you don't have to rush to class, MAKES PHILOSOPHY INTERESTING! Makes you want to learn more, ask questions and debate the heck out of a topic!

this class is hard. Not because of Dr. Russell, who is an awesome instructor that really cares, but because the material is really difficult to understand. I feel like I need to take this class like two more times.. there's a lot of info, and even though i left the clas with a good grade, i still don't feel like I get it.

Enjoys his work, and that makes it easy to learn from him. Very helpful, fair marker, interested in the success of his students.

Very good and knowledgeable teacher. Tries to articulate every idea and present it so that the students can understand. Notes are good and precise. Exams are fair.

very nice teacher. very helpful. replies your emails right away.

this man is good.

Great course. This teacher is even better in smaller class sizes, but he really does a great job of communicating complex ideas in an easy-to-understand fashion, especially in a course where many of the students are not Philosophy majors.

good teacher, explains material well. Pretty good looking for an older man. Got a B in the class without having to study a whole lot.

I took both Phil 1101 and 2203 with John because I really enjoyed his class.

Awesome prof! Clear + interesting lectures. Very fair tests + assignments. Warns students studing is mandatory. Holds review class before exam + how to write a phil essay. Helpful with quesitons. Good sense of humour too!

Really intelligent guy, sometimes a little "over-confident". But I understand why.

He's a great guy. The material is very abstract, so sometimes he comes off sounding unclear, but it's only because the material is unclear. He appreciates intellect, and if he sees that you want to learn, he will work hard to help you understand. The class is not easy, as the material is difficult, but John is a good teacher.

Took the philosophy of sport class, it was more interesting then I expected. Class discussions is interesting and relevant to current sports. He is a nice guy though sometimes he is difficult to understand. His tests are based on overhead notes and he gives out the questions for the test to prepare for. Overall recommended.

He is tough, but fair. If you want to earn top marks, you're gonna have to work your butt off. But you can also learn something this way... Totally your call...

Dr. Russell is a lovely and articulate instructor. His lectures are poetic and his voice is smooth. He was helpful in office hours, and very understanding. He's also a total dreamboat, which doesn't hurt.

I really like Mr.Russel, He is a good teacher and easy to get along with. He explains everything as thoroughly as he can and he is just a cool guy all around.

John is a great instructor. I completely enjoyed his class. He really makes the material engaging and has a great sense of humor. The course load was manageable and he is a fair marker. Also, he is really, really hot. Wow.

Very approachable teacher. Never makes anyone feel stupid for asking questions, which is great as the subject matter can be a little intimidating. He uses lots of powerpoints, but make sure you take notes as well. You will do good on the exams as long as you you study the review questions he hands out.

John is a wonderful professor! He's a very nice guy, helpful during office hours and encourages class discussion. He's a fair marker; if you study and put in a fair amount of effort then you can get an A. I agree with the post below - he's very approachable. Take him if you're interested in philosophy & will work for a good grade.

Biomedical ethics was a great course with John. His lectures are interesting, but do feel long on a Friday afternoon. Studying for his midterms are easy because he provides study guide! Just show up to class and put your time in to study and you'll get your A.

great teacher. great results. overall been a pleasure being in his class. Recommend people taking his class. YOu must study though. He gives you a study guide to prepare for your exam. Awesome.

Awesome professor. Probably the most helpful and patient I've had throughout my time at Langara. Gives you a study guide for the tests, so you're not left guessing about what to study. If you need extra help, don't hesitate to ask. :D

This course in not easy. Make sure you write lots of notes, all exams are based off his powerpoints. He is very picky with wording, use his definitions. John makes the class interesting and even bought the entire class cake to demonstrate allocation of scarce resources!

Awesome instructor, super approachable. Interesting lectures on moral theories, and engages the class in discussions about moral theory where we debate about whether we run one of our family members over with a train as opposed to running over six. The cake he brought in for the class was also a bonus. I suggest this class for all who need PHIL1105

Tests are based off the lecture slides. Readings on d2l is helpful to emphasize ideas but he wont test you on them. Don't worry about reading the textbook. He seems to be quite generous with marking but make sure to still study. Heard he is one of the better biomedical profs so try to get him if you can.

JR is very knowledgeable about biomedical ethics and is able to introduce ethics in a clear way. Mark is based off of a case study, 6-page term paper and 2 exams (15 short answers x 2 marks each). He is a generous marker and will answer any questions thoroughly. The class itself can feel long , as it is a 3 hour lecture, but JR makes it interesting

JR is really interested in what he talks about. He loves to talk about baseball and golf as well as using his sport experiences as examples. He is understanding about your concerns and will go through exams/essays with the whole class to keep everyone on the same page, he also likes to end lecture about 20 minutes early. Overall, great prof!

Great Prof. Gives students room to express their thoughts, even in an intro course. A welcome change if you're bored of the memorization that most first year courses seem to be focussed on. Gives great study guidelines for exams, but be sure to be thorough. Textbook is cheap. I felt excited about philosophy after taking his class.

Excellent instructor; funny, engaging, and knows his stuff. Study your midterm practice problems and you will ace the exams. However You better attend to his lectures or you will miss out on things. He is one of the best profs I've ever seen, would totally recommend.

He is a very nice person, and very intelligent teacher. He gives chances to students who are failing to take another correction, so they can stabilize their marks. Yet, the major problem is that once he gave a 5 page essay homework due in 1 week. That is insane. If you were taking 1-2 courses per semester, then I would recommend you this class.

John is a remarkable philosophy instructor. He turns boring topics into interesting class discussions. You do have to do quite a bit of work though, including two 5-page essays and two exams, but do your readings, show up to class and you'll be fine.

Hiring this person is one of the best things Langara has ever done. Hes a good human being.

John is a great prof for Philo; he really wants students to succeed, provides ample chance for you to improve your mark and is generally very understanding. He really likes students that participate in class discussions/ ask questions. You will easily succeed if you follow his clear grading criteria and like writing essays. Difficulty 2.5

He's a great prof! Really knowledgeable and makes 3 hour lectures interesting. Although, the last half of the semester seemed a bit disorganized and rushed. Exams are based on lecture notes and he provides practice questions a week or two before. If you show up to class and study the material, you'll do fine.

John was an amazing prof who is obviously very passionate about philosophy. His lectures are very important to attend to pass the class, and if you are interested in philosophy then this class will be easy to get a good mark in. He cares a lot about his students and will give good feedback on how to make your work better every time.

I find John very funny. He is a very knowledgable instructor. He will tell you exactly what you need to know for your exams. make sure you attend class because he talks about things beyond the lecture notes. He also brought cake for us one day! Very nice guy.