currently have him as my prof for socsci12 and he’s a chill and kind prof! his long and many readings in canvas are quite intimidating and he expects that we read it beforehand to have an engaging discussion in class. with that said, active participation is highly encouraged by him + for mini-activities, had presentations, round table discussions, etc.
some of the major requirements are: a webinar organizing project which holds a big portion of our grade (this is a class project!), and 2 papers were made: for midterms (indiv) and finals (group) + both of these heavily focus on the readings. so far with the midterms paper, he gives high scores!
in terms of his discussions, medyo magulo siya magsalita and sometimes not really that audible so i focus more on the PPTs he present.
probably B+ with effort (because his A is 96…)more
mixed
hi! had a completely different (and thankfully fruitful) experience in sir jojo’s class. yes, his A is a 96 and that’s definitely intimidating, but most of the time his expectations for requirements are clear and simple naman!
some takeaways from my time w/ him this sem:
- for every topic, he had ppts w/ the outline and his main points. the only times he didn’t have a visual aid is when we experienced technical difficulties :”(
- while it’s true that he really does just talk and talk, the topics and questions tackled in class were pretty open-ended and impossible to completely answer even through countless readings or lectures
- thus, this means that sir is super excited to hear the class engage with him when talking about these big questions. everything he says (aside from his anecdotes) also comes straight from the reading naman, so his points and insights don’t come from nowhere. it’s kind of just up to us to take the discussion where we want it.
ex: we talked about the different conceptions of homosexuality across nations, specifically between the US and the PH. was this a part of the syllabus? no, not exactly. but did he hear all four of my classmates’ and i’s points out? yes, even if it took 30 minutes.
- it’s true that he does talk in tagalog despite it being an english class. personally speaking this wasn’t a problem for me, but i can see how this can turn some people off
overall:
- sir jojo cares about his students and knows a lot of us by name. napansin ko nga kapag nag-se-second attendance siya after the end of the class, he will nod to himself when he sees you there, instantly marking u as present. that stood out to me. ang dami kong nadaanang profs na hindi ka kilala at the end of the year. pero si sir jojo one month pa lang kilala ka na 🥹
- he was also super lenient w deadlines and was okay with holding online classes on days he was our only onsite class
tldr: sir jojo’s approach to socsci12 is unconventional and that’s why it may appear messy at times, but i’d say give him a chance and approach the course with an open mind :>> marami akong natutunan from him. it’s very rare to talk to someone w/ a background like his in ateneo.
Sir Jojo’s teaching style is definitely unconventional. Class felt more like an FGD than an actual class. Learning will have to come from your end, especially if you’re not the type to verbally participate in class. Seconding the comments here, his teaching style and effectiveness rely on the personality of the student which makes learning in his class very hit or miss. While his powerpoints were based off the readings, the discussions felt spontaneous and at times, messy. Again, he relies on the energy of the class which makes it difficult when the class does not take the initiative in offering up discussion points. He does like to hear students’ thoughts, I’ll give him that, but I will also say that you won’t get much traditional learning done in his class. It’s more airing out of thoughts than anything which is, again, hit or miss depending on your learning style.
As his beadle, I found it was very easy to talk to him especially with regards to switching to the online modality on certain occasions. He’s considerate in that regard. However, I also experienced receiving messages from him beyond work hours (often at times close to midnight + most of the time on Sundays, though perhaps that’s because our schedule was M-TH 08:00).
Overall, I think what he looks for is hearing how you understand the lessons. In my personal experience, he grades fairly high as long as you show critical understanding of the lessons. Whether you choose to engage/participate in his class or not is up to you because he doesn’t necessarily call on students to participate.
Don’t worry too much about the 96 grade requirement. A-able siya.more
negative
sir jojo is easily one of my fave profs. his wokeness might come off as too radical for some (if you listen closely to his lectures), but he’s just a progressive thinker who knows what’s up. he likes to frame his lectures as open discussions for the class so it does tend to get boring and repetitive when no one else participates. i personally wouldn’t say he’s boring per se, i think he just carefully words his ideas to avoid making it sound like he’s imposing his opinions on his students. after all, with the topics of western modernity, capitalism, and the global south, it’s easy to regard him as a radical oppositionist. at least that’s how he was to our class (predominantly polsci majors).
overall, sir jojo isn’t the type to give a clear-cut answer to all questions you’d encounter throughout the course, rather he stimulates your own way of meaning-making, which i thoroughly appreciated. that’s how he is too with paper requirements: he wants to see your own processing of the modules/readings, so simply summarizing all the ideas he shared in class won’t cut it.
also, don’t get intimidated with the grade requirement for an A; it’s doable!more
mixed
GOAT! had him for socsci 12 and he's very a-able! especially if you're into marxist readings and socialist thought, his readings and lectures are v useful. he grades high and does not call out on students for recit but clearly appreciates it when students participate in class. i dont have much recollection of his requirements but they weren't heavy and he's flexible on deadlines also. i must say, his teaching is very student-friendly.
on a personal note, i really enjoy conversations with him as well. he actively seeks activities and spaces for marxist discourse. he's a staunch supporter of trade unions, esp aewu and would try his best to attend labor issue-related events/activities you invite him to.
his lectures might be boring for some because they mostly sound common sensical (esp since it's socsci 12) but he has some really great political insights too. take him for some real personal development!more