Herb Green

Herb Green is a compassionate and dedicated teacher that will challenge you to rise to new levels of writing ability. Herb can be demanding, in a good way. If you just want an easy class please look elsewhere. Mr. Green prepared class with an intensity that clues you in right away to the fact that he is a teacher that expects your A game. The material is well thought out, and presented via film, poetry, novels, and class discussion. He was available, approachable, encouraged individual thought, and truly inspired individual voice. Had you told me that I would write as well as I did by the end of Herb's class, I wouldn't have believed you. My new writing skillsets will take me anywhere I wish to go confidently. Prof. Green was agile enough to direct us to new ideas and material. He had both passion and command of the material. If you truly desire to write well, and are willing to work for it, Herb is an inspiration.

Mr Green apparently is too busy outside of the colledge to really seriously aproach teaching. He has relatively high expectations from students, but he is not nearly as devoted to teaching as he expects students be devoted to learning. My class was mostely waste of time and many other students in the the class expressed the same opinion that we were not really taught anything.

I have just completed ENG 1A with Herb Green and after reading all of the reviews currently available, felt it was important to share my view. My greatest concern about some of these reviews is that prospective students will read them and miss the opportunity of taking a class with a great and inspiring teacher.

This was, by far, one of the most interesting, exciting, and thought provoking classes Ive ever taken. You will be challenged to produce your best work possible and judged against your own abilities. Herb goes to great pains to give individual attention to each and every student in order for them to be the best that they can be. That is what teaching is about. If you are looking for a teacher that hands you a syllabus and sticks to it, come hell or high water, spoon feeds you information and asks that you simply regurgitate it, and treats you like a child, then I suggest you look elsewhere. If you are looking for a teacher that will make you think for yourself, is eager to know your opinions, and encourages you to discover your own voice, then this is your man. Not once did Herb ever suggest any of us had to agree with his opinions but what he did insist on, and rightly so, is that each of us substantiated ours with clear arguments.

Herb Green has created a syllabus that is varied, incredibly well thought out, and dynamic. Yes, he does change it, occasionally. So what? You, as a student, will only benefit from the changes, as he has only the best interests of the class in mind. The fact that he does this only proves that this is a teacher who is continuously thinking of how to get the most out of his students and tailors his courses accordingly. Where is it written that teachers cant adapt, change, or modify the syllabus to deliver a better class?

Herb uses an interdisciplinary approach to organize his class. Books, handouts, and films have been carefully chosen to interweave together to form a beautifully structured course that introduces students to writers and artists they would probably never encounter otherwise. Even if you have read some of the authors before, like I have, I assure you it is a unique experience to read them actively, critically, and with focus. We were asked not only to examine the works but also to analyze them, dialogue with them, and verbalize our own ideas. The material is current and varied. The authors you will be asked to read are academics, artists, and scholars: authors such as Toni Morrison and James Baldwin.

Herb Green creates a high standard of teaching by which you will judge other teachers in the future. He is flexible, spontaneous, approachable, and creates an open all-inclusive atmosphere in the classroom. You will be treated respectfully and given every opportunity possible to shine. This is a teacher who wants you to excel and pushes you not to settle for mediocrity. You have to ask yourself if you are ready for this challenge. For those that are, you will never regret taking a class with Herb Green. Many of his students choose to have him again and again as their teacher. That, to me, says it all.

OH, MY GOODNESS, I don not understand why anyone would grade this teacher any lower than a B? He is a great teacher. Out of all the teachers I've had, he is the only one, who took time out of his private schedule to set up meetings with the students & go over class work. The only way I would figure anyone giving this teacher a low grade is if they had a hard time in the class for personal reasons. He was thorough, clear and concise in his teachings, and generallly a kind hearted human being. This class was hard for me, but I did pass. I would definitly reccommend this teacher. He is hecka cool!!!

YES, GREAT PERSONALITY, BUT CONFUSING! DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW; UNABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE SAYS; POOR READER.

I don't care if Herb was the first black tenured professor at CCSf (which I don't think is true, I have an African American history teacher who's been at CCSF for 30+years), I don't care if he's gay, and I don't care what he does outside of the class. I am paying the college to learn reading and composition skills, not to hear Herb Green's political and social ideology lessons.

The fact of the matter is that he expects more from his students than he is willing to devote to the class, a poor example to set for students. His refusal to communicate via email (an excellent way for students who also WORK for a living and can't make the limited office hours at Cafe Flor to communicate) is a great example.

I am not threatened by his "tough" class. I am annoyed by his pompous attitude.

English 1A my A$%$#! This was an Ethic Studies class. Noone could understand the assignments because they were so wordy and convaluded...Herb is more concerned with showing off his vocabulary than he is with his students learning anything. He showed up 30 mins late for class. He missed several counseling sessions and was unapologetic to the 10+ students waiting hours for him. He would send everyone home early because he "had a dinner date." There were constant, last-minute changes to the syllabus. Grading was inconsistant. He just didn't make any sense! You could tell he just didn't want to be there.

I thought I was taking Eng1A University Reading and Composition--wrong! Herb Green hijacked the class and it was now Black Studies. Fine, I thought I would take a zen attitude about it, I didn't know that much about black authorship (outside of Toni Morrison). But the fact is, Green can't teach. It was a summer class so, granted, expectations were lowered, but we were generally ushered out 20-45 minutes early with the complaint "I'm tired! I've got a dinner date," etc. "Herb" was so uncomfortable speaking before the class, so disorganized, that all around me were mumbles of, "What'd he say?" or "What does he want?" From the first class, the dropout rate was noticeable. Now I wish that I, too, had dropped. I could not get above a B-. Especially frustrating was seeing people with basic grammar issues getting A's. And I can't accuse the teacher of bias-I don't think it's that simple. He was just confused, subjective, inconsistent and mispronounced some of the bigger words! He never kept to the syllabus, assigned essays that were never collected (oh, well, I wouldn't have gotten an "A" anyway!), sprang new last minute essays, you name it, he did it all. As a side note, Herb Green mentioned that he was the first tenured Black professor at City College. A poor first...

The above grades are based on the difficulty of Herb's 1B class rather than his teaching ability; he's a great teacher. If you want to be a writer or expect to write a thesis someday, take him. If you want to improve (through practice and hard work), take him. Looking for an easy A, back away.

Herb Green is an overly fair teacher. Students are given so many chances to do well in his class. He allowed me and several others to extend paper deadlines and he even allowed me to rewrite an in class essay outside of class. He does all this because he wants students to produce excellent work. His standards are high but he really believes each student is capable of reaching, if not exceeding his standards. Overview of class: Lectures: Interesting, expects participation. Books: Great choices, we read 2 plays (orignally assigned 3), 1 novel, plus one other (chosen by student for last paper). Papers: Many and challanging (they require thought): 3 (5-7pg), 1 (8-10pg), plus two in class essays (replaced the final (an additional in class) with a 5 min oral). All, save the first essay, required outside research.

For someone who dislikes writing (me), Herb's class is very challanging. There are a lot of writing assignments and they require you to think (you will definitely exercise your critical thinking skills). You may have trouble at first but if you stick it out you will definitely become a better writer and probably get a decent grade. Herb's one downfall is he often strays from the syllabus and some classes were cancelled. (Depending on how you look at it, these might be attributes).

One way to tell how great Herb is: several of his students have taken lower level English classes with him and chose to take him again.

There are several things I would like to mention about Mr. Green. 1) My biggest concern in the class was that after submitting multiple papers at the beginning of the course ( 4 to be exact ) my midterm grade was based on only first 2 graded papers. I didn't get any of my work back until the last class. I was clueless about my progress in class pretty much all semester. 2) I think grading was a little hard.. all semester long we were preparing for that dumb "common exam" and apparently anything below 4 was nonpassing in exam.. in most of the papers I turned in to be graded, I got just about a 4, which had me worried, but my common exam grade was WAY higher. I think that Mr. Green's grading requirements were higher then needed for English 94 3) Although Mr. Green tries to plan his class with great detail, he rarely sticks to his schedule.. Its usually changed withing the first 15 min of class

now, that being said.. overall his is a good teacher. On multiple occasions he had some after hours time setup to make sure we had our chance to do well in class. I think he is fair, and tries to stick to his requirenments in class.

Would I recommend him to others? thats a tough question. Overall it was a stressful class and I would suggest to see if another class can be chosen before regestering for Mr. Green's class. He's not that bad.. I've had worst :)

Mr. Green certainly is not easy, but if you attend class every week and pay attention you will do well. I agree that this class is not for the "faint of heart". There is a lot of writing, as well as reading. I agree with the other reviewer-there's no place for homophobia in Mr. Green's class or anywhere else for that matter.

I hate to disagree with the other review, but I think that it is due to not passing his class, and not to a deficiency in the teacher. I haven't had him for eng. 96, but it can't be impossible to pass seeing as how there are at least 10 people (in my class alone) that did, and took 1a from him on purpose. He definately isn't the easiest teacher I've had, but he's very up-front the first day of class about what he expects from you. I'm glad that he isn't just another burnt out, jaded teacher who just wastes your time and money boring you to death with a subject they've long tired of. As for his sexual orientation; if you have a problem with gay people, maybe you shouldn't live in San Francisco. No one will miss you, believe me.