Mariano, Michael Ner E. teaches at Ateneo de Manila University. Across 22 comments from students, they hold a rating of 3.5 out of 5. Students score them 3.3 out of 5 on workload. Of those comments, 11 read positive, 5 read mixed, 4 read neutral and 2 read negative. They are listed for 5 sections this term.
Mariano, Michael Ner E.
Ateneo de Manila University · 22 comments
What students said
positive 11
neutral 4
mixed 5
negative 2
Mariano, Michael Ner E.3.5
Background
Depends on youEducation · Career · Courses · PublicationsShowHide
Depends on youread from published reviews and public records · low confidence
Take Mariano if you will do the readings, speak even with imperfect Filipino, and can live with a B / B+ unless effort is obvious. Lean away if you need an easy A, cannot attempt Filipino in the room, or will not read. Sample is two comments, so this is context_dependent rather than lean_take.
Suits
students willing to read and show effort
students comfortable, or at least willing to try, conversational Filipino
students who want coaching when stuck rather than a silent room
Look elsewhere if
students hunting a no-effort A
Mariano, Michael Ner E. | Ateneo de Manila
students who will not attempt Filipino in class
students who skip readings
Assistant Professor · MA
Philosophy (philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, philosophy of the city)
Education
MA Philosophy, Ateneo de Manila University
Career
Assistant Professor, Ateneo de Manila University · Department of Philosophy · current
Scary rep, but technical lectures I actually enjoyed
CoursePHILO11
Retake?Yes
WorkloadHeavy
Had him last Sem and as a Philo Major I gotta say I’ve heard a fair few stories about how scary he is. Especially compared to some of the kinder more easygoing Philosophy Profs I have had. So I was scared going in.
But I must admit I enjoyed his class quite a lot. Very technical man, and if you’re having Philo11 with him like me and my blockmates did, he uses a lot of readings to dictate his lectures. So make sure to read the readings thoroughly before each class. Even the syllabus it’s best you know well as he did conduct a quiz about it early in the sem.
I can see how he has a tough reputation, but by no means does he come off like a bad, unreasonable, or difficult Prof in my opinion.
His lectures are really something worth listening to if you ask me. Again he’s a very technical man, not life changing but very insightful.
He told us we were to take 10 quizzes throughout the duration of the semester, but we weren’t able to complete this due to time constraints. So he had these turned into other assignments at the end of the semester, and some were turned to bonus points for us.
Very strict in class as well, no gadgets, and strictly use Tagalog in his Philo11 class. He isn’t afraid to challenge you or chastise you in front of the class too. Not in a way to be condescending or demeaning, but just in a way that is firm and articulate. Very intense though I must say. Again not a Prof to take lightly.
If you are ever late, you must enter and address him directly so that he may mark you down as such. If you ever have to take a phone call or even use the restroom, you must raise your hand and ask him first before you do.
Last but not least, he’s actually brutal in the Oral Tests. Be careful with your words as he is quick to catch you on any holes in your statements. His comments and words may cut deep at times as he’s a man with a sharp tongue in my opinion. Also avoid using the phrase “sa pananaw ko” when you answer his Oral Tests. He says that students who use this phrase, did not actually understand or learn anything at all. I learned this the hard way.
Overall, take him seriously as a Prof. Some may develop the opinion that he is rude or too demanding or something, but as a Philo major I personally think he’s a Prof who demands excellence, which is never a bad thing. It just so happens he is more intense about it.
He’s a difficult class to fail, as I’m certain he does not wish to fail anyone. But he can also be very hard to get an A with. Some may disagree with me on this, but I had some difficulties and still passed just fine. Goodluck and God speed for when you have him!more
Quiet Koala
Read in advance; he discusses the text a lot
positive
had him last sem and here's what to expect:
readings - he mainly uses primary texts along with essays from the professor's of the philosophy department so stuff like Plato's Politeia, Apologia ni Sokrates, several essays of Fr. Ferriols including memoir of six years, and a Tagalog translation of the epictetus' encheiridion
Class dynamic- He takes attendance seriously and works on the 9 cuts system (late = .5 | absent = 1.5). He discusses the text a lot so its better to read it in advance to understand it despite it being broken down in class. For me the modules are paced slowly, so we didn't really touched some of the lessons in the syllabus. He will ask for recitations in class but it's fine if u understand the reading.
Requirements-
Q-CAR: He has this thing called a Q-CAR where u must breakdown each reading into its fundamental Question, the author's claim and arguments he used and ur response/reaction to the author's work. One sentence for each will suffice but be critical about it.
Quizzes: Sometimes he will do quizzes about a topic in advance. That's also another reason to read in advance. It's usually an essay but it can be an enumeration based quiz
Midterms: He has both a written and oral midterm exam. For the written one, its usually a synthesis of the lessons discussed by midterms. For the orals, I advice to practice a lot and layout your recitation in a clear and critical manner. He urges to use the Feynman technique and use aristotelian definition (An idea's genus and differentia). Stick to the readings as much as possible and don't attempt to discuss things you are not sure of cause he will ask for a source or proof. Same goes for the final orals. I don't know if he generally has a final written exam but last sem, he did not.
Overall, I enjoy the lectures cause he adds bg info on the readings and relates ancient texts from plato to our contemporary context. His requirements a bit tricky but its not super difficult. As far as I know, he doesn't give As but Bs and B+ are deffo possible with effort.more
Anonymous
mixed
i agree classmate! hahaha heavy on the trauma bonding fr. he uses your id index card, shuffles it with everyone else’s and picks one index for the recit! kinda scary ngl ahahha he also makes u stand if he’s not yet satisfied w ur answer wahahah.
quizzes are pretty easy as long as you read the required readings. the 15 questions essay for midterm exam was krazy ngl but it was like an active recall exam and he graded us pretty generously too (most of us thought we failed but whatta surprise we got gud scores wagahha). he also has a graded presentation by group and he assigns the groups himself iirc.
tip is to read/make notes for his required readings and pray to god he doesn’t pick u if u went to class w/o preparing. also u need to watch the news relavant to politics, religion, etc. cause he asks about that every start of the class.
i’m weak at philo readings cause they use too much flowery words wahaha but i like politics and religion topics so all the assigned readings were 1/2 fun 1/2 daming sabi pwede naman masabi in 4 sentences ganon.
he lowkey fear-mongers tbh i think u need resilience for this class. would i take him again for the first time? yes cause i actually learned a lot from him and his assigned readings!
not an easy prof pwede B-B+, u need a little more effort than ordinary effort (if u get it) to get an A (if you’re grade conscious, don’t take him)more
All comments
Anonymous
mixed
agree! He doesn’t really try lend a hand to those who struggles in Filipino too, so I’d say he’s a big no if you’re not fluent in Filipino! Though I’d say I enjoyed his class while I was there because he’s really great at teaching and his readings are digest-able and interesting, but he’s just really strict with grammar for some reasons…. I had to withdraw from his class asap after learning about his rubrics:')more
Rapid Lynx
Not as scary as they say; I loved his class
positive
LeniencyYes
(2) i vouch! i got a C+ but I was expecting a D… HE IS NOT AS SCARY AS PROFS TO PICK SAYS TO BE!!! He teaches so well (like discussion the reading sentence by sentence so that we can all follow and understand). I def loved his classmore
Anonymous
mixed
NGL the onsite lessons were most of the time all over the place, so reading the given readings would really help lalo na sa orals 🙉 Makwento si sir and marami mapupuntahan yung kwento HAHAHAHA Not sure if may quizzes kayo pero it's 5 min at the start (if late, zero) of the class then short essay questions lang about the reading. For orals, mahirap makuha want ni sir na timpla for the answer and iikutin ka niya talaga, magtatanong siya after mo magsalita or in the middle if may want lang siya iclarify. He'll give a set of Qs naman then magddice kayo sa scheduled date. B+ able talaga, there are better profs if want niyo enlightening pero I think having him is alright:)) + Maganda talaga if marunong ka magFilipino kasi quiz essays are in Filipino. Let me know if may specific inquiries ka pa ^^more
Earnest Osprey
positive
omg nalimutan ko yung presentation blocked it out of my mind fr 😭 but yes!! it's a 50 minute presentation on a topic he assigns with random groupmates. manifest that you get good groupmates + it's a topic you really like, in our case it was on the war in gaza (at the time, very recent issue) so we were v passionate about it. discourages reading from a script/cues, so it can be a challenge for people who are scared of public speaking.
echoing that definitely sir's strength is how he applies a legal and political frame to religious ideas. if current events + political issues are smth that interests you, i really say go for it!!more
Golden Panda
Lively but moody, high standards
positive
Okay naman siya. Lively magturo, madameng anecdotes. Medyo moody nga lang. May mga araw na nakikipag joke siya sa mga students, may mga araw na straightforward seryosong turo lang. Madaming hand gestures, lalo kapag nag kukuwento. Gradewise, medyo mataas yung standards, kailangan talaga intindihin yung readings at makinig sa mga sinasabe niya. Mahirap mag self-study kasi kapag orals/LT, gusto niya na nagbabanggit ka ng mga stuff na sinabe niya sa class. Kapag napansin niyang tahimik yung class during discussion, nag-cacall out siya ng recitation randomly, yare ka kapag nahuli kang hindi nagbasa ng readings... Pero I think nagbibigay naman siya ng warning (well sa case ng class namen) bago magpalabas... Strict siya sa rules ng syllabus niya; tulad nung sinabe ko kanina, minsan masaya siya magturo sa class pero kapag may nahuli sa class na nagviolate ng rules ng syllabus: Beastmodemore
Happy Lynx
Mariano + conversational Filipino helps, B+/A-able with effort
positive
4.0 attainableYes
Mariano + if you are confident in conversational Filipino the better B+ with effort/A/B+-able
Noble Seal
he grades mysteriously high for some reason!
positive
he grades mysteriously high for some reason! my classmates and I expected a lower grade (because of our scores from his assessments including orals 🙂↕️) than what we received from him.more
Anonymous
Better if you're confident in conversational Filipino
positive
4.0 attainableYes
Mariano + if you are confident in conversational Filipino the better <3 B+ with effort/A/B+-able
Earnest Badger
op u’re not the only one who did terribly in orals 🤣 (i am afraid for my grade)
u’re not the only one who did terribly in orals 🤣 (i am afraid for my grade)
Mellow Ibis
easiest D of my life
negative
easiest D of my life
Gentle Badger
Wants Filipino in recits, no Taglish
neutral
He wants students to, as much as possible, speak in Filipino, especially during recitations... But if you can't fully communicate in Filipino, you can speak in English instead... But just don't speak in Taglish. That's his pet peevemore
Daring Moth
Not as impossible as they say, B is doable
negative
Retake?Yes
4.0 attainableNo
LeniencyYes
Took Sir Mariano last sem as someone who grew up with English as my first language and tbh, he isn't so bad. I think ProfsToPick paints him as this insane prof with impossible standards. I will say it is hard to get anything above a B, but if you show him that you're really trying and read the readings, he's pretty forgiving.
Even if you're not good in Filipino, just try speaking (bad grammar and all), and if he can tell that you're really struggling, he'll guide you with the right words and even to the right answer most of the time.more
Jolly Alpaca
Fair lolo-vibe prof who recits in Filipino
mixed
LeniencyYes
WorkloadMedium
grading wise, i’d say he’s a fair prof. although during recit, he really leans toward the filipino language. also not sure if still applicable but he doesn’t allow gadgets before so u have to write everything.
lesson wise, he has a tendency to repeat his lessons every meeting and dwells too much on one part so he doesn’t finish the lesson in a day. readings are so-so, can be lengthy but not that hard to interpret. but be prepared during recitation because he randomly calls people.
tbh he is kind and has a lolo vibes. it’s just that sometimes he comes off as strict but at the end of the day, he just really wants u to understand the lesson. he looks really happy and satisfied when students learn to convey philo in filipino language so pls try!!more
Rapid Seal
The goat
positive
Retake?Yes
the goat, need nothing less to say
Fancy Koala
Not that bad if you actually try Filipino
positive
he's not that bad but will definitely grill you for being born and raised in the philippines and not being able to speak filipino (it's 100% deserved.)
he brought this up several times with our batch because a lot of my classmates were the conyo type who blame their parents on their own linguistic incompetence.
just try a little harder. he gives out all his readings day 1 palang so you have infinite prep time no excuses.more
Anonymous
Off-tangent but nicer on the bulky grades
mixed
CoursePH101
LeniencyYes
WorkloadHeavy
I had him for PH101. He has a tendency to go off tangent a lot (arguably, his off-tangent discussions are actually more interesting than the actual discussion) but when he does tackle the readings, he tends to read into each line. He expects for you to do the same in order for you to do well on his quizzes. It makes for a thorough, but also very slow discussion.
I generally liked him. He has a lot of personality when he teaches, and he was much nicer in grading for the requirements that had bulky grade percentages.
Still, expect to struggle through the whole semestermore
Fancy Bison
Ganito siya magturo sa class
Ganito siya magturo sa class
Mellow Hare
Not an easy A, B-able with max effort, high standards
positive
WorkloadHeavy
[COPY PASTING FROM MY COMMENT ON A SIMILAR POST]
took him during 1st sem—he is not as scary as profs to pick say imo
he is a nice dude, just high standards—pray he likes ur class too bc he is nicer
NOT AN EASY A, but B-able w/ MAX EFFORT
Expect quizzes every reading (including syllabus) but all r unannounced so read the readings and watch the videos b4 going to class
NO GADGETS ALLOWED, only pen, notebook, and printed readings—survivable bc sir makes the class interesting imo and he is rlly passionate abt what he’s teaching
be VERY SPECIFIC during orals/quizzes/LTs—always follow his instructions (not following = automatic F for that assessment)
- TIP FOR ORALS: be straight to the point and explain properly (genus+differentia)
id say to not cut any of his classes bc i think if u have perfect attendance u have an advantage bc sir will remember u AHHAHAHA
doesn’t have required recit BUT PARTICIPATE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE in answering his questions to the class bc id say that’ll help pull up ur grade also
U’LL SURVIVE! Just do the work (do not mema it)more
