RJO’s Course Reviews

So you’re a student. Should you take one of my courses if you haven’t already? As with most important questions in life, there are arguments for and arguments against.

Arguments For Taking My Courses

These are some things that students have said about my courses:

“This class is one of the best of my undergraduate experience.”

“Mr. O’Hara is the best science teacher I’ve ever had.”

“Dr. O’Hara was very knowledgeable on the subject and very eager to share his knowledge with us!”

“Dr. O’Hara is awesome! His enthusiasm for the topic is indispensable and a rare quality in most instructors. I thank him for a great course and hope to be in more classes of his.”

“I love Dr. O’Hara. I was never a huge science person, but he made me consider a bio major. He’s so passionate and knowledgeable—he ties evolution to other disciplines & truly makes you see the big picture. He was incredibly interesting and inspiring. It was clear that he put a lot of thought into his lectures. He is very involved and wants to get students involved, too.”

“Great class! Great and knowledgeable prof!!”

“Dr. O’Hara is an excellent professor.”

“Dr. O’Hara is the bomb!”

“Best damn professor I’ve had!!”

“This class has dramatically changed my view of the world. I now have an appreciation for our environment that wasn’t there before this class.”

“R.J. O’Hara was one of the best teachers I have ever had. He loves his information & cares about the students. He is always accessible. He is truly a liberal arts teacher, incorporating literature & culture into the class. Thank you, professor!”

“I have never felt such a strong understanding and appreciation for science.”

“This was the first time I’ve totally enjoyed biology.”

“The instructor was incredibly effective. His teaching style was dynamic and thought-provoking, and made the lectures interesting to attend. There was not a single thing wrong with his instruction; I wish it was more prevalent in school.”

“This class made me love science, biology, and nature. Dr. O’Hara opened my eyes!”

“Although he is very modest about it, he can make realistic bird calls.”

“Dr. O’Hara was a great teacher.”

“I hate science a little less now after this class.”

“I hope to have the good fortune of being your student again.”

“Thank you for contributing to my future. It was an honor to have you as an instructor.”

“RJO is my new hero. He should have an action figure, or at least trading cards! He is the best teacher I’ve ever had, and I’ll never forget some of the things from this class … like the dead groundhog.

“Dr. O kicks ass!”

Arguments Against Taking My Courses

These are some things that I apparently taught my students:

Charles Darwin “believed that selection acted only by conglomeration of variations, no matter how intense, caused by external conditions was not always similar to its parent.”

“Darwin sailed on the M.H.S. Begal for 5 years.”

Darwin studied, among other things, “that special bond that only pigeons can form.”

He studied pigeons because of “the ease and longitude of the reproductive cycle.”

Charles Darwin’s wife’s name? “Mary.”

Charles Darwin’s wife’s name? “Rachel.”

Charles Darwin’s wife’s name? “Elizabeth.”

Asa Gray? “Darwin’s wife.”

Asa Gray? “An island.”

Year in which The Origin of Species was published? “1930.”

Year in which The Origin of Species was published? “1835.”

Year in which The Origin of Species was published? “1684.”

Author of the allegory of the cave? “Linnaeus.”

How did Pliny die? “Taking pictures of the volcano that covered Pompeii.”

A prominent naturalist from the 1600s? “Aerostotle.”

Latitude of the Antarctic Circle? “90°C”

Thomas Malthus? “Malthus was the creationist who believed in the ‘Allegory of the Cave.’ This was the idea that shadows on the wall in caves were named by early humans.”

Thomas Malthus? “I believe he stapled something on a church door.”

“Some animals are better adapted to creating a super race, such as pigeons.”

“In speaking of habitat, the grey squirrel’s consists of a thick group of hard words.”

“The theory of descent says that there is one parent species that is what all the offspring strive to look like.”

“The theory of descent is organisms originate from descendants.”

“Icebergs brought boulders in which foxes may have travelled on.”

“It is interesting to contemplate a freshman biology class…”

“Thus from the war of nature, from famine and death, our exam must come to a sad close.”