Western Kentucky University / F / Jeff Fearnside

Mr. Fearnside was my favorite teacher this semester. He is absolutely wonderful. Be careful, though, because this class has made me want to major in English!! The entire class is the discussion of literature, ranging from Shakespeare to Sylvia Plath to World War One poets. For homework, you read the selection you are to discuss the following class, which is usually only a few pages. He gives at least one pop quiz over the material just to see if you actually read the assignment (It's only, like, 10 points so even if you don't read it, it's not a big deal). There are no tests or announced quizzes -- rather, he expects you to write literary criticisms about every 2-3 weeks. This semester, I wrote four 1-2 page papers, three 3-4 page papers, and the final, which was one 6-8 page paper. The catchy thing about the papers is this: he does not want you to recite the notes covered in class dealing with the topic. To make an A, you must create a new viewpoint about the topic. For example, if he discussed Shakespeare in class but never mentioned his questionable sexuality, using one of Shakespeare's works to explain why he may or may not be gay would more than likely be worthy of an A. If you merely recite the notes he discussed in class over the work, you will get at least a C, probably a B because he grades very leniently.

Mr. Fearnside does public poetry readings and such, so when he reads outloud in class it is a real treat. He thoroughly explains everything -- you can walk into class hating a certain poem, and an hour later, you leave loving it. He encourages his students to think creatively and originally. Discussion is encouraged and he really wants to hear your opinion on the issues represented in the literature, even if he doesn't agree.

I absolutely loved this class and adore Mr. Fearnside. I very much hope he sticks around for a while longer because I will take every class he offers -- and I think everyone should do the same!

Mr Fearnside is a fairly decent teacher. This is an english calss, so of course your going to write papers but they were short (1-2pgs) and they were due about every 3 weeks. He does not give any tests or quizes and he does accept late work occasionally. We dont take notes in his class hardly ever. He does give homework almost every night, but its simple 1-2 page readings that he gives in the form of a handout. He is extremely nice. I would take him if you dont like the subject. Great teacher!

Mr. Fearnside had to have been one of the best professors I had ever had. He was very understanding, enthusiastic about his subject, and entertaining as well. All we did in this class was write short response and long response papers over genres that we read (short story, poetry, fiction, non fiction, plays, drama, etc.). I received A's on all of my papers except for 2. The final was writing a 6-8 page paper and you could easily do that by expanding on one of your short response or long response papers. He only had a one year contract so he might not be able to teach this upcoming fall. But I really hope he does because he was a great teacher and really taught you how to think. I was the only black person in his class and not once did he make me feel insecure about that or single me out about that. I was quiet and never really spoke in his class but he had told me once "you don't talk much but when you did speak, it was always something worth listening to, and you always had good things to say." I never had anyone tell me that before so that made me feel like I was doing a good job. I thank him for having such a great class and I wish everyone else could experience that as well!

Fearnside is the best english prof. I have ever had because he honestly cares about what you have to say and doesnt penalize you if he doesnt agree with it- he just wants you to back you beliefs up with facts etc. he has taught all over the world and has a broad mindset- his papers are easy graded and even fun to write- I dont know if he will be back next year but he was a great teacher

Don't pay any attention to anything bad said about Mr. Fearnside. He is an outstanding teacher who really goes out of his way to teach literature. Writing isn't everyone's thing but lets face it we have to take it don't we? Why not take it with a teacher who does care about you as a student? There are not tests in his class, only reader response papers and a few quizzes. The only request he makes is for you to use your own ideas and expand them. I would highly recommend him as a teacher. If you want a teacher that is fair and might I mention didn't penalize several of his students for plagiarizing because he didn't want to flunk them then I would suggest taking him because he does care about his job and his students.

Do not take this class unless your daily passion is writing. This teacher is an overkill. And is a published writer so he expects all of his students to be at the same level as he is. Don't get me wrong, he is a nice guy but he assigns an overkilling amount of work to do. And he keeps you the entire class plus a few minutes more. Also if something is due X date, don't expect to get it back anytime soon. Apparently too much work for us is too much work for him. Maybe if he would lighten the load on his students, it would lighten the load for himself. Now thats a thought I bet he hasn't discovered.