2.4
Quality3.4
Difficulty40%
Would Retake127
Reviews40%
Would Retake
127
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
13
4
25
3
20
2
25
1
44
What Students Say
“Off topic, 10mins of silence per class due to bad jokes/awkward pauses, no direction for midterm/spoke the whole time/created a lazy, 3 question exam that covered almost nothing we were told to study”
ASIA2250 - 1.0 rating“I took this class as an elective as a gpa booster, boy was I wrong, this was the hardest course I ever taken, not because of the material but because of the way he teaches, first quiz i did horrible, second one i just studied myself, didnt pay attention to the lectures, did online research and read the chapter a couple times and i got a decent mark”
1120 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
63%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.12 avg changeRatings by Course
RELIGION
5.0
(1)PACR1170
5.0
(1)THEOLOGY
5.0
(1)RELS1210
5.0
(1)RELST1115
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
REAL1120
5.0
HSTY
5.0
PACRIM1100
5.0
PARC
5.0
PACFRIM1100
5.0
Reviews (127)
No Comments
Great prof. Dynamic classes and incredibly interesting, smart man.
No Comments
Interesting class, seems like a weird guy. Text is worth the $.
No Comments
The guy is so funny! Classes are interesting, a really good instructor
Lectures a waste of time. But prob the easiest marks ive ever gotten at Langara!
thinks hes funny... but hes not
Very knowledgeable teacher - South Asia, but treats you like a child at times. Systematic approach to teaching. Stick exactly with it and you are fine. Didn't find him very helpful, but good and fair marker.
Nice guy . . . Kinda Strange. The subject is really interesting, but the lectures and classwork are often boring and irrelevent. Doesn't really allow for alot of in-depth discussion but HE goes off topic alot. Easy class, fair exams. Overall a good class.
Very easy in some respects. Lectures and group activities are sometimes irrelevant. No surprises on midterms and final. Very heavy on memorizing religious terms. Good mythology story teller -- he teaches religion from an unbias point of view.
No Comments
Easy to learn from, however you may feel like an elementary student at times. No suprises quizzes and exams straight out of the notes.
Very unclear. Nice, funny.
good guy, nice, class can get boring but overall he was fun and a good teacher.
sometimes,confused about south asia..anyway...he is a nice guy
Is an effective teacher that makes things really simple although sometimes too simply. Fair marker that CAN explain why he gave you the mark unlike some teachers. Treats the class like elementary school. Often runs off topic and gives irrelevant info.
ok, I also had him for e/rel and he is very well educated but not cocky. His jokes aren't funny and he knows it, which is why he's funny! He hands out all the notes you need to take, and preps everyone well for a test, just don't ask him for an extension.
very animated. a really nice man. his lectures can be confusing, but his reviews at the end of every unit are very good that everything comes together nicely in the end. gives all the info you need to know for exams, which makes life so much easier.
I like his ability to laugh at himself. He doesn't answer questions properly, expects too much on the tests, does not prepare you for them. another prof could make course more interesting, marks tests too hard.
I really enjoyed the course material but.. this teacher stinks!! He is very rude to students and unapproachable.He treats the class as if we were in elementary school..he even takes attendance for gods sake! dont take this course.
He is totally unorganized!!! His lectures are boring to hell and only cares about his point of view, not others at all
Very Bias teacher. Plays favourites. As long as he likes you and he thinks you are trying hard, you can get an EASY EASY high grade. If you get on his bad side, you will struggle. Marking VERY VERY subjective, nothing but essays.
I think he does play favourites for sure, I do find his approach to teaching very refreshing and he is easy to understand, but... it is too obvious he plays favourites, and it can get pretty frustrating.
Extremely smart guy, makes you think for yourself.Hard to be clear about religion but he does a good job.You have to be able to think for yourself in his class.Too much review though.Strange tests.DONT buy the book, everything in it he disagrees with!
larry is awesome! he's funny and makes learning religions of the world interesting. his tests are very easy...as long as you study the handouts :)
dont take this class
dont ake this class to hard he is a horriable hard teacher
Don't take his course!!! His teaching is like a random, disordered thought flow and his tests are completely subjective...he'll look at your essay and make up a mark. This course requires structure to organize the abstract concepts and he provides none.
BIAS! A VERY subjective marker. If you want to take his course, prepare to do some major sucking up.
Although he had repeatedly insisted he was an atheist himself, he wrote his latest book on Japanese Buddhism which was fully biased. He wouldn't hear his students' voices. He just pushes them for his own ways. Don't take his course or book. Suck !!
ok, not too good, not too bad. i agree about the comments that he's biased and plays favorites. pretty easy to get a good mark though if you just participate.
this guy is ignorant and cannot teach. his monotoned, robotic voice is completely boring and his jokes are lame. the first day i noticed he plays favourites based onthe way he kept looking at the people who laugh at his jokes. do not take him EVER
extremely unhelpful. when i went for help he contradicted his own essay outline! very unclear.. i will not take another class of his again. the textbook was 1000 times more interesting than him!!
he has lame jokes, flip flopper, can't teach at all and hella monotoned! is not clear on what he expects on tests. Seems like a good guy for the first 3 weeks, then after its a major dissapointment. WARNING don't take him ever!
DeVries is the only teacher I've had that ever TAUGHT. He's an awesome teacher and encourages "active learning". Yeah, it sounds lame, but it works. He's hard but good and his jokes are lame but funny. Highy recommended.
do not take a class with this teacher, very BORING
i liked mr. devries. he is a very friendly teacher. his lectures are a bit boring sometimes, but his class discussions are super helpful in underdstanding course content. a class can only be as interesting as the student makes it. if you participate in discussion, you will enjoy the class
Very very CHEAP on marks.. marks really hard in test and paper
Nothing but boring, Exams are really hard. a friendly person.
I cannot even explain how bad this teacher is. Makes the material very boring...
I agree, very cheap on marks, and very boring
Great guy, very knowledgable, quite helpful, but classes can be boring! Two words: "active learning!"
Yep, he's quirky and quite shy, I think, but he has an unbelieveable amount of information in his head. More of a researcher than a teacher.
Devries is like Marmite on Toast...those who like it, really really like it. Those who don't, don't. Personally I had a great time in this class. My only suggestion would be to link themes between religions, instead of studying each one in a separate "chunk".
Once he finds you're not his favorites, it's over. Some say it's easy to get good marks as long as you copy his handouts. But you know, your self-assertiveness is a key to success in your future career. Then, who's willing to lose it? If u wanna make a big hit, Never take his course!
Love his lame jokes.
very bad teacher class average is C- mostly D. dont take it.
teachers are hired to teach.. but him.. what a waste of money.. active learning.. what the heck! we are forced to laugh when he make his lame jokes~ DON'T TAKE IT!! I WARN YOU~
seriously, he sucks! i really dun get the point of attending his lectures when he keeps telling us "active learning" & "go find the information in your book", so UNHELPFUL and apparently he should learn how to TEACH before saying those crap! he thinks he's funny but he's NOT. his lame jokes are so not FUNNY AT ALL...DUN EVER EVER TAKE HIS CLASS!!
Halarious. Hard marker. Boring at times but he tries to recover for it, it's just the material.
Crapy teacher! stop that crap about active learning!SUPER hard marker..i thought the chinese teacher was a harder marker.. but apparently someone else is-_-'' his exams are horrible! u thought he would ask about the indian kings.. but he end up askin' about religious stuff .. what the heck! he could have asked those questions in his religious class
He is very knowledgeable, and his method ofteaching is unique. You can learn everything in the class if you pay attention.His hadouts made it realy easy for me to get prepared forthe exams. priore to each exam, he reviews the material with students, and he even gives away the exam question.
Personally, I liked him. If you're nice, he's nice. If you're rude, of course he'll be rude back. His class notes help A LOT,textbook's ok, reviews help, tests are paragraph/essay but they're not bad. As horrid as "active learning" was, they do kind of help. But, he does tend to be extremely vague at times =/ Not super good, not super bad
Only class I've ever regretted at Langara.He's nice but extremely unhelpful, confusing and vague. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get a good mark in this class. He treats students as if we were in grade 1. Talks very slowly and gets us to repeat stuff. Do Not Recommend Him AT ALL!!!
If your GPA matters, never take this course. Even the A students got B's or less. His approach to teaching is tedious, and he butchers a potentially fascinating subject. I was thoroughly disappointed. However, he is a nice enough man. Read the text but study his notes.
Dreadful. He expects complicated analysis of sophisticated religious theology without first giving the students a foundation of knowledge to build upon. His insistence on 'active learning' is asinine and he treated us like idiot children and refused to answer requests for clarification. I'm surprised I made it through this frustrating class.
he makes this class boring and this guy ****ing failed me, he doesnt know how to teach at all, and give us the notes every class and memorize it and test on those. total= 20 pages + to look up. tough marker too, his essay marking standard is 5 in a scale of 6, **** man, if i were be able to get 5, why the **** would i attend college for.
People who are interested in Religion, don't take this class! despite being I guess a nice guy, he is the worst teacher I have ever come across. His lessons are unclear, and he's fixed on this active learning crap like your in grade two. Also,the guy is a hard marker on information that he does a terrible job of teaching.
Well, another friend loved him. I think my friend is crazy. His rude attempts at masked "humour." Wastes so much time on 'Active Learning' it's depressing. Don't bother asking questions. He'll belittle you, b/c it's funny for him to do that, see? Assumes everyone is an idiot and has no knowledge of religion, which is highly irritating. Never again.
He's a good guy, but has a tendency to go off-topic, or mix-up different ideas or concepts. I wrote an entire paper on a subject, then months later when I was flipping through the book just for fun, I found out that he had taught us the wrong info! Take his classes if you want to put equal energy into both studying and sifting thru incorrect info.
Want to learn about religion and not fall asleep?Don't take this class. Although he knows alot about the topic he refuses to present any information in a coherent line. He is boring and counterproductive. I don't want to draw pictures about poems I want to read the poems! Don't talk to me about active learning, please. I can't take it anymore.
he seems a nice guy but...he cannot teach at all. very hard to learn from. very disorganized
Larry is awesome and hilarious. Lots of class discussions. He's one of my favourite teachers.
Misunderstood by the ratings, Dr. Larry is great. He's pretty hard to follow in an everyday class, but his goal is mainly to get you to think and to develop your brain, and maybe learn about what he's teaching. His exams are usually pretty simple and easy too. No tricks up his sleves for those. And the reviews always provide clarity. Good guy.
Some have trouble with his style of teaching, but I find his command of material is incredible. One can always get responses that clarify questions, its just a matter of asking the right ones.
I think he should retire soon. Boring teachings, too much cold jokes(he's the only one who laughs when he said the "joke"), not organized at all.
No Comments
horrible teacher....nice man
Terrible teacher. Very unclear about what it is he wants from you, or is even trying to teach you. Tests you on material you haven't even covered, is extremely unhelpful when you ask questions, and doesn't allow for different styles of learning. Rather, expects you to conform to his style of teaching, which is unconventional. Nice guy, bad teacher.
No Comments
the course is really dull. i found no interest at all. and i dun think i can meet my average B grade like other courses. but he's a very easy marker, go to his class occasionally, get the notes. quizzes and exams are extremely easy. just finish the course, u will get a big surprise at the end of the semester.
Larry is a great guy.. likes to joke around alot, although his jokes were sometimes lame, they help you remember the things u need to know for exams.. his exams are simple, usually definition questions, however you need to be really really clear.. explain.. Clarify.. all your anwsers and you'll do fine
I had him for Religion 1210 and 1215. He's not that bad of a teacher. He's a pretty easy professor. He takes attendance at random times so make sure you attend his class. He's a nice man, and his jokes are lame but he's still cool =]
Dr. Larry makes you THINK! Plus, you'll have fun with his partisan jokes (so long as you are NOT a conservative!!) Dr. Larry doesn't care about Administration or College Politics so he's a bit of a free spirit. Relax, and enjoy his classes for the eye-opening and mind-expanding prof that he is. I took 4 classes with him and would take 4 more.
unclear and unorganized lectures. all he did is to joke around when he is lecturing. he never answer u ?'s, not at all, he only ask u (for wut he called as "ACTIVE LEARING"). READ THE BOOK is the ONLY way. u need to be highly logical in order to attend his class, otherwise u would be confused btw king ashoka and george bush...also, steven harper.
Devries is useless. Although I attended all classes, it is quite possible that I would have gotten the same grade by staying at home & reading the txt book. His lectures are confusing - & he refuses to clarify - & he rarely tests what he teaches. A very frustrating course...& one which could otherwise be very interesting.
No Comments
Larry is a useless teacher. Claims he is trying to make you think, but really he's just lazy. He prepares very little for his lectures and his exams are a joke! Poorly written and very subjective. Waffles between a factual course and philosophy on a whim. He should just retire & spare future students... could've been a very interesting course.
I thought Buddhism would be very interesting but Larry refused to clarify what he was teaching, answer with cheesy jokes, and avoid the whole question... it probably also would have better if he told us the mid term and final exam formats just a little sooner than a few days before!!!!
DO NOT TAKE THIS PROF! I was warned and i read here, i thought 'how bad can he be?' well- VERY!rather take rels at a uni instead of Langara. He's boring, incomprehensible-when you ask for clarification he says you should 'think' for yourself. Exams are a joke. Completely arbitrary info is asked and very subjective. half the class dropped the course
TERRIBLE! AWEFUL! NEVER AGAIN! makes no sense at all in class, wastes class time, won't clarify anything, marks hard and tells you to elaborate and explain things that HE WONT EXPLAIN TO YOU!! expects you to know way to much and teaches too little, he expects you to figure out the answers to his questions within groups, NO ONE KNOWS WHATS GOING ON!
Such a nicce teacher ! If you are a person who are interesting in Religions or Indian Culture you should take his class! If you have any questions he will let you think first! and if you still can't get it, he will explain to you, till you understand! In the exam, spelling and grammer doesn't matter! you just need to show your points!
THIS IS THE WORST TEACHER I HAVE EVER HAD!!! hE IS OLD, AND IS CLUELESS. HE GIVES YOU ONEHUNDRED HANDOUTS TO TRY TO FILL CLASS TIME BECASUE HE DOESNT EVEN HAVE ENOUGH TO TEACH. HE MAKES GROUP WORK THROUGHOUT THE ENITRE CLASS. hE WILL LOOK OUT THE WINDOW AND ME DISTRACTED AND DISMISS CLASS.HE IS VERY BORING!I REGRET TAKEING THIS CLASS B/C OF HIM.BOO
He is by far the worst teacher that I have ever experienced. I am a very hardworking student and I get excellent grades but I found little point in trying because his tests are so random and subjective and he leaves no room for alternate opinions. Take his class if you must but you have been warned.
Rateyour classmates: this prof. has a broad perspective. He understands that education is not just a fact. To the rude "girl" you know who you are, who persisted in being a juvenile delinquent, being a bully, disrupting the class, being a drama queen-including your chair throwing exit. I feel sorry for anyone who has to try to teach you. Grow up!
If you want the answers put in front of you to memorize you won't like Larry's teaching style. He believes in helping you learn and RETAIN. He believes the way to do that is to help you THINK for yourself!!!! It can be hard, but if you're totally stumped he is EXTREMELY approachable and will give you the answer eventually. Also he grades EASY!!!
The class is extremely hard to sit through. It seems as if he knows so much and wants to explain everything to us, but some how gets mix up as he explains things and jumps around. Good intentions, sweet guy, but very hard to follow
If you want to take religion to learn facts Larry is not for you. He is more about free thinking, analysis, and opinions. He constantly goes off topic and says that "freedom through knowledge" (Langara's motto) is stupid. Nice guy though. just know what you are getting into first.
THIS GUY IS A JOKE! Never take a course with him. His lectures are boring and gives us false information for the exam. Won't respond to emails
HA!It makes me laugh to read comments that claim Larry is a wonderful prof and its the student's fault. I came to him many times for help and he flat out refused to help me. Half the class dropped the course. I tried filing a complaint to the school and when I told them it was against Larry they laughed and told me to get in line.WORST PROF EVER
awesome teacher who knows how to make class actually fun for once
Good luck on the tests, they are completely random and don't focus on concepts, instead he ask questions like how many words are in each religious texts! Dont buy the book its a waste of your money.
He seems like a sweetie, and is very enthusiastic about the material, but his non-linear, random association teaching style, his inability to engage any kind of discussion, and his constant inappropriate remarks about the dean and various political figures make his class absolutely awful. Tests focus on minute details, not on overall comprehension.
Interesting class, awful teacher. He seems like a nice person, but that doesn't help me learn. Tests are in the same category as his teaching style: completely random and non-sensical. My GPA took a hit because of this class, and if anyone else taught it, I'd retake it; but there's no way I'd take another one of his classes again.
Excellent sence of humor... Makes class funny. A little hard to understand sometimes and can be nit picky on tests but he likes students and if you know his name, he'll learn yours.
I've had Larry for several Asian Studies classes at Langara and he's probably one of the best teacher's I've had. He engages the class, encourages critical thinking, and has one of the best senses of humour ever. I highly recommend him as a professor.
I really like Larry, I have taken two of his classes and would take him again. If you go to class there is no way you can do poorly, he tells you what he wants to see on the midterms and final. His papers are very straight forward
Am I ever glad this class is finished. He is a nice man, dont get me wrong, but the other comments about his randomness and unclarity are dead-on.. it makes studying traditional India tedious. Not to mention the awkward silences throughout every class. I found it extremely uncomfortable, and I felt for the guy.. Li Yu is a much better asia teacher.
The most painfully boring lectures I have ever had the misery of suffering through.
Painful. His disjointed teaching style makes the lectures very difficult to follow, I went into tests unsure if I had even learned anything about the subject matter. I was also bothered by the fact that he often refused to answer questions that were outside the lectures perimeters even if they could have helped give some clarity on the subject.
Simply the worst teacher I have ever had. I ignored the ratings on here and thought how bad could it be? It's bad. He's impossible to follow and there is assigned seating as well as forced participation. I'm shocked this guy has a job as a teacher. You've been warned.
its really hard to follow his lectures if u speak English as ur second language. i tried to read the textbook before each his class, but it doesn't work at all.
Makes the class fun! If you come to every class and make notes (more important than txt book) you will do fine. Engage in class work. Do not fall behind
His class isn't easy. If you attend every class and take good notes, you will be ok. His lectures are always interesting and entertaining. He gave great reviews before the mid-terms and the final.
Dr. DeVries isn't for everyone, but he's certainly one of my favorite professors. I found his lectures fun and enlightening! The key to success in his class: Pay attention, attend, and always go to the pre-test reviews (they're immensely helpful.) I highly recommend his course to anyone who's taken prehistoric art history.
Normally I dislike publicly criticizing any professor despite my tiffs with them, but this professor is by far the worst teacher I've encountered since I enrolled in College. Unstructured (and useless) lectures, lack of notice regarding exam dates, and continuously leaves the entire class clueless every time. Avoid him at all costs.
Pointless, confusing lectures. You are better off reading the textbook and the handouts rather than listening to his lectures that often go off-track. He constantly diverts off topic to talk about the government or the politics at Langara, and what makes it worse is that he is a poor speaker ("Um... Anyway!..."), and doesn't plan ahead for class,
simply the worst, most confusing, irrelevant prof ever. DO NOT take any of his classes - it will kill your GPA.
He's the nicest man, but so, so awkward. Which makes his class so, so, uncomfortable-like, craw out of your skin uncomfortable. By the end of term only about 5 of us were showing up.
Get used to his signature phrase "Oh well, I'm just goofing around." after every corny joke he recites. Irrelevant lectures, filled with jokes that are even more irrelevant. If you need help, he has a knack for rambling about something irrelevant. His tests cover the absolute opposite of what you review in class for. Avoid his class at all costs.
Sure he makes a lot of lame jokes. But his lecture notes are very clear and as long as you pay attention in his class and write down your notes clearly, it will be an easy class. There is a lot of stuff to memorize because you are learning Rel' of the East, but the class itself is not hard.
He is nice, but tends to go off topic which makes the material difficult to understand. Quizzes are difficult not because the material itself is difficult, but because the questions are unclear. You must wait at least 2 weeks to get a quiz back (also keep in mind that half the class stopped showing up once we got our first quiz back). READ THE TEXT
Here's the terrible dilemma: he knows his subject like the back of his hand, can make you understand it with depth and subtlety, and brings in very interesting and engaging myths, texts, and images to supplement learning. However, he isn't capable of just teaching; he must turn every lecture into a failed stand-up show that is painful to watch.
It was difficult to grasp at first. Read the textbook if your notes are not helping! Midterm was pretty straight forward... 3 essaySA questions and you can't really go wrong. His reviews are pretty much served on a silver platter.
I took this class as an elective as a gpa booster, boy was I wrong, this was the hardest course I ever taken, not because of the material but because of the way he teaches, first quiz i did horrible, second one i just studied myself, didnt pay attention to the lectures, did online research and read the chapter a couple times and i got a decent mark
Horrible teacher! Do not take this class, most likely you will not understand the lecture nor improve your GPA in any way. He is not helpful.
I think he is relatively easy going professor. Eventhough I did not go through the textbooks much, as long as you stick with the notes and discussion article, you will be fine. One of the good review strategy he used is to organize term maps and charts. He is easy in terms of making exams and marking papers, just show your efforts.
larry is a good teacher and a great human being he is very helpful and also has good sense of humor which makes his class intresting and he s also very fair grader
The trick to getting through this class: doodling! At first I'd tune out when he goes off topic and get lost later but it keeps me aware of when the talk is relevant again. When people can't answer his very indirect Q's in class he kinda makes us feel bad. awwkward pauses after bad jokes. TALKING IN EXAM!! gah.
The WORST! I was so interested in Buddhism, now I need a break from the subject. Off topic, 10mins of silence per class due to bad jokes/awkward pauses, no direction for midterm/spoke the whole time/created a lazy, 3 question exam that covered almost nothing we were told to study. Don't take his class, it's a GPA killer. I wish I dropped the class!
I have a deep hatred for this teacher. Hes unclear & incredibly vague. His outlines are completely useless, his jokes are painful, and he makes the class read out loud but interrupts at the end of LITERALLY every sentence to make irrelevant comments. He obviously knows what hes talking about and maybe hes a nice person but dont waste your time
Obviously knows what he's talking about but is so, so, insanely awkward. After every (horrible) joke he stands there for 50 seconds looking at all of us for recognition. The class was all right, material was easy to read, the only thing I hated was actually going to class because I hated feeling my own body cringe. This class is not worth it.
Larry is such a good teacher. LITERALLY everything he talks about is on the quizzes and final. Lectures are long but he definitely makes it interesting. I just wrote down what he said during lectures, reviewed it once before the quiz and final, BOOM, an A+. He even ends classes 30 min early. I would definitely recommend him.
If you attend his lectures, you will do fine.
The Quiz worth 20% and its a lot. If you are not the type of the person who love write papers then you may consider it. His lecture is very boring. Even I don't speak English as first language, I can tell his jokes are terrible. Overall he's a nice guy, but will NEVER take him again.
I have nothing to say but awful.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
63%
Textbook Required
83%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Stable
+0.12 avg changeRatings by Course
RELIGION
5.0
(1)PACR1170
5.0
(1)THEOLOGY
5.0
(1)RELS1210
5.0
(1)RELST1115
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
REAL1120
5.0
HSTY
5.0
PACRIM1100
5.0
PARC
5.0
PACFRIM1100
5.0