Testimonials for the Greece Seminars
You continue to inspire me to always do my best and succeed in my education. I love how you introduce different ways of teaching by following the learning pyramid. I believe your teaching style is very beneficial to the students and more professors should adopt this way of thinking. The quizzes were interesting, and the option of winning prizes made it even better. I can see why you are recognized as an award-winning professor and speaker. You go above and beyond in your career and you are appreciated. I am so glad I was able to select your class again for my final government credit.
I also continue to recommend you as a professor for government classes. It is evident that you love what you do which makes your students want to succeed in our college journey. Thank you for your continued service to all your students. You most definitely will be remembered as a favorite professor for me; I am confident most of your students feel the same way.
Nancy Lucas 2019
What I liked most about this seminar is the fact that Dr. K was very informational about the topic at hand. He did not just pick a country or subject and decide that he was going to give the most basic seminar there was. He is one of the few teachers that dived into what they know and love and try and share that information, in an enlightening way, to his class.
Kristen Cruz Ramos 2019
My biggest impressions I took from the seminar itself involved mostly the professionalism of how everything was setup and presented, and how fun and interesting Dr. K made his presentation. I think the lecture itself wouldn’t have been the same without the power point setup and the worksheets that kept everyone engaged and constantly learning in different ways. The seminar never felt like it was dragging on because of all the questions and interesting activities that were spaced throughout the duration of the lecture. The breaks every hour helped everyone stretch their legs and use the restroom, and then for the rest of the time not in the classroom, it was nice to be able to take in all the displays outside that held many hours worth of Greek content on them. Overall, everything was presented very nicely, and I learned more than I thought I would have over the course of just a few hours. I will take advantage of future opportunities similar to this one to enhance my overall knowledge.
Caleb Wood 2019
Learning Greece: A Poem
As most students will tell you, sometimes school is a chore.
Why would I want to spend my Saturday indoors!
Yet today I’m meeting a friend
And our class is about to begin.
The tables outside exhibit paintings and sculptures
I’m not feeling interested in all this culture.
My knowledge of Greek mythology and art is zero.
Someone please rescue me, I need a hero.
Then suddenly a teacher is here
And just like that my boredom disappears.
Like Santa Claus with a toy laden sleigh
He expounded on fascinating facts and brightened my day.
My class time became joyful, interesting and fun
Increasing my knowledge while bringing the sun.
A teacher with surprises and facts about Greek goddesses
Kept everyone laughing and learning of the Odyssey.
Ancient history, philosophers and the like
Mathematicians and heroes loaded with might.
I forgot my desire to be outdoors
Instead I found myself visiting Greece’s golden shores.
How was I to know such delight in learning was at hand?
Time flew by so fast like windblown grains of sand.
Belly dancers and old VHS tapes, the Iliad and Greek flash mobs
Our professor made teaching much more than a job.
Poseidon, Aphrodite, Aries, and Zeus;
Like characters in a play began to unloose.
The world of Greek mythology opened wide,
And I found myself enjoying the ride.
The Hippocratic Oath that our doctors take today,
Was used first in this land so far away.
Even our alphabet is mostly Greek,
Many of our word endings come from the way they speak.
Saint Paul was there to spread the gospel,
So Christianity became the religion most possible.
The God of all Gods became savior to them,
Greece looked to Christ instead of mere men.
Master builders, skilled sailors, and sages of old,
The people of Greece helped art to unfold.
With the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin,
The Greeks were open to trade to all nations.
At the Tepidarium, the Parthenon,
And even the Theatron Greeks would gather,
Their Desire to foster friendships
Brought strangers together.
My day is now ending, our class is now finished.
The information we’ve been given has created and image.
Islands of Greece have poured out their arts and their culture,
Through the word of a man, our professor, our sculpture.
Today I went to school with trepidation,
I’m returning home with inspiration.
My knowledge increased, my mind full but still hungry.
For the golden shores of Greece, and their amazing bounty.
Angelica McGreger 10/10/2017
What I liked most about the seminar was the way it was organized and flowed so smoothly. To some (not me, of course) the title may have screamed boredom, but the day was far from boring. I enjoyed the interactive games, audience participation, videos, and who can forget the awesome prizes us losers won! The varied topics were great and discussed for the perfect amount of time. Never too short, but also not drug out too long. I also liked the fact that our crowd was so diverse. The performance towards the end, by both Dr. K and the two dancers, were the perfect finale to a Saturday well spent.
Alexis Norman 10/10/2017
The part of the seminar I enjoyed most was Dr. K demonstrating his knowledge of Greek music by demonstrating the drum. Much learning experience and enjoyment was received throughout many other aspects of the seminar as well. The enjoyment I experienced from the visuals, including the pictures and videos used to provide a visual experience of Greek culture.
The Greek culture artifacts and photos from previous trips to Greece were inspiring and exciting to experience as well. Also, student interaction was impressive throughout the entire seminar.
Shelly Lutz October 8, 2017
My impression of the seminar was a fine line between overwhelmed and completely amazed by how much I was able to learn in one short day. Seven hours may seem like a long time to many people, but to me, the time flew by and there were not enough hours in the day. Between the humor, learning, and fun that we were able to have in this seminar, I was able to learn so much more and felt like I could hop on a plane the next day and go to Greece. It was overwhelming to me only because there was so much that I did not know about the Greeks and how they relate back to us, and when I absorbed the information that was being given to us it was almost hard to wrap my head around everything (in a good way).
Ashleigh Wages 11/7/2017
I had the pleasure of attending the Seminar on Greece: Archeological and Biblical Treasures of Ancient Civilizations. This is the first seminar that I have taken with Dr. K as the instructor, and boy was it a treat. Dr. K presented the content matter in a way that did not overload the at-tendees with information and facts. My knowledge of Greece before the seminar was minimal. Afterwards, I am so intrigued with Greece and its ancient Civilizations. I am completely jealous of all the travelers who are getting to go and experience this amazing place.
Heather Welch 2/4/2017
I am so glad that I got the chance to go to this Greek seminar. It is just amazing to me how many things we have in the American culture today, that we have Greece to thank for. My eyes have been opened wide to the vast history of Greek culture and I’m going to be constantly reading to learn more!
Leah Orr 2/5/2017
I learned various facts about Greece in a short amount of time that day. I hope I can learn more and prepare for the future if I ever decide to visit Greece. I learned a lot from Mr. K and I enjoyed it even more because he shows the love he has for Greece and their culture. Excitement and humor of Mr. K made the seminar fun.
Lindsey Sanchez
I love Dr. K’s animation and his zest for life. You can really tell he loves the things that he talks about. He doesn’t make you feel stupid and everything is a learning experience. He can bring a room full of people with nothing in common and make them interact in some way.
Miriam Maxie Nov. 2016
What I enjoyed most about the seminar was your vast knowledge of Greece as well as your enthusiasm for the subject. I appreciated the interactive games, and questions. That kind of interaction enhances the learning experience and makes it a fun environment, and you forget about it being something that is required, and just focus on the enjoyment of learning something new. The exhibit that was presented for us also showed the passion that you have for the subject and the travel. This took a lot of time and preparation, and it was very much appreciated. The artifacts and the food were just great. My favorite part of the exhibit was the Trojan horse. Troy is one of my favorite movies, so when I see that, I was just excited. I could relate and actually felt like a knew a little bit more about Greece that previously thought, because I had something that I could relate to. I also enjoyed the two dancers. It was awesome to see how every culture has their own dance, and attire. There was not one thing that I did not like about the seminar. It was educational and informative from beginning to the end. Greece is a part of us all. OPA!!!!
Beasley_LaMetriss 2016
I never thought I could retain so much information in such a short amount of time. This seminar showed me that I was wrong. I knew a lot of the things that were talked about but my brain just needed a refresher to recall where I had first learned them. The linguistics that western civilization has adopted, the Greek mythology, and the mathematics that originated in Greece are all things I indeed had stored in my brain but have just been overlooked for quite some time.
April Bass Nov. 2016
What I really enjoyed about the seminar was the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” themed game. It kept my interest. For most people, sitting in a classroom on a Saturday is not the ideal place to be after a long week of work and/or school, but keeping a lecture interesting the way Dr. K did really kept the classroom involved. It was hilarious and kept the mood light when someone would miss a question and he'd say, “Congratulations, we have another loser in the room”. We knew it was all for fun, but we actually were not that savvy when it came to Greece. I feel that now after this lecture, we would definitely be able to answer the questions correctly. I also really enjoyed the special guests who took time out of their day to come and show us the style of Greek dancing. It broke the class-time up and gave us something to look forward to as the day progressed. The Greece exhibit proved to be wonderful and enlightening for anyone who was interested in seeing who things actually work. The thing I liked the least were the crossword puzzles. It just made me feel incompetent after feeling dumb enough for not knowing more information especially when it came to our government.
Shannon Bedsole 2016
As soon as I arrived to the seminar, I felt very welcomed and I really enjoyed the traditional Greek music playing in the background, it made for a very relaxing and exciting atmosphere. I have always longed to travel abroad since I was a teenager and have since been fascinated by different cultures and countries. Greece has been in my travel wishlist for as long as I can remember and the seminar provided me with a greater knowledge of the culture and customs of the country. The way in which the seminar was presented through PowerPoint was also easy to understand, visual and fun.
The exhibition outside of the classroom was fantastic, the display consisted of busts and models of the Greek Mythological gods, Greek artifacts, a wooden Trojan horse, beautiful and colorful framed posters of islands in Greece that transported you right in. The literature describing the exhibition was the most informant and provided additional knowledge into the Grecian culture.
My most favorite part of the seminar was the sampling of Greek food. I had heard of Baklava before but I had never tried it until this seminar, and I must say Wow!, what have I been missing? It is absolutely a most delicious dessert. I also got to try lamb, which again, I had never tried before and it was absolutely delicious as well. During the sampling of the food, we were able to mingle with other seminar participants and talk about what we had learnt; pictures with yoga poses were also taken, which was quite entertaining. In addition, I enjoyed the approach taken by the professor in presenting this seminar, as we would get a 10-minute break every hour to refresh and restart which really made a difference in retaining and enjoying what was being presented to us. In the second portion of the seminar, we got to see a dance performance/presentation which was most enjoyable as we got to see dances traditional to the Grecian culture. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the seminar, everything was very well presented, organized and fascinating. It enhanced my knowledge in Grecian culture and I hope that I can travel to Greece in a near future.
Emma Hagen 2016
It was very fascinating and interesting during this wonderful seminar as it adds a lot in my learning and critical thinking ability. Coming to attend this seminar was like a headache to me as I was thinking about the length of the seminar. However, the introduction and turnout of my fellow students were the remedy of the headache I came with as it was a surprise seeing a huge turnout. In addition to it was seeing the famous Dr K. I am taking online classes and I never met him, thus this seminar made me seeing him and most surprisingly hearing him with accent which was amazing to me with motivation to learn different languages.
Jobe Basiru 2016
I enjoyed attending the Greece seminar. Although my initial feelings were those of trepidation about a seven-hour lecture, I was pleasantly astonished at how fascinating it was to study Greece. It was refreshing learning about a culture that I was fairly ignorant about.
Rachel Lacy 2016
I enjoyed the thorough nature in which the class was conducted. It was fun, engaging, and educational. The expected 7-hour lecture was instead, a lively discussion that kept me alert and learning for the entire period. I appreciate greatly when professor’s tailor their teaching style to have the most impact on their students. Many teachers prefer to remain rigid in methods that have been proven ineffective. The seminar chose methods such as breaks, games, and physical stimulation to ensure the most learning happened for each student. The unique setup took more work on the part of Dr. K, but was well worth it in bringing quality education to the students. This was my favorite attribute of the seminar. I would have enjoyed a faster pace so that we could have gotten to even more information, but that would probably negate the excellent use of breaks and games, so this idea isn’t necessarily practical.
There is obviously a deep bond held by those who have traveled with Dr. K. Traveling together and making these once-in-a-lifetime memories has brought them closer as a team which brings a sense of community to the rest of the class.
Sophie Lerich 2016
This was the second seminar that I have attended for extra credit this year. I am
always happy to learn something new about a different country. The seminar over
Greece was even better than the first seminar that I attended. So I am going to go over
my first impression, what I liked and learned about the Greece seminar.
My first impression of the Greece seminar I was pleased to see all the posters
and artifacts you had out. I was not sure how much you were going to tell us about
Greece but you seemed to hit all the important points. What I really liked the most about
the seminar is that you let us try some Greek food. Well honesty anything involving food
makes me happy but since it had something to do with Greek culture this made it even
better. I also liked the Greek dancers they did a very good job and we did learn the
beauty of some Greek dance. Also I did realize I knew a little about Greece by filling out
the crossword puzzles, not everything though. So overall you did a very good job with
this seminar I feel like you went above and beyond and I enjoyed the seminar.
Alexia Shackelford 2016
All in all this seminar was a great experience for me to further my knowledge about Greece. I walked into the room not knowing much, but I left with a whole new understanding and now I have the urge to go and see the beauty of Greece and also get to be able to see the awesome culture and rituals that they perform. I know have new information, a better understanding of Greece and things that will always leave a impression on me.
Chance Souter 2016
As I sat in my chair listening to the fascinating seminar on Greece I could not help but feel drawn to know more. I walked into the classroom on Saturday morning with an attitude of just trying to get through the day. However, after the first-hour session my attitude changed completely. The way the seminar was presented was outstanding, and it left me with tons of new knowledge, one important impression, and the ability to take away some good things, and one bad thing, at the end of the day.
The entire day was full of continuous learning. The knowledge I obtained from this seminar I personally separated into two different categories. First, the knowledge that was factual about the country
This seminar was a huge surprise to me. I never thought that I would have enjoyed myself sitting in a classroom on a Saturday for that amount of time. However, I completely enjoyed myself and had a blast getting to learn about a new place, and try new things. I walked away thinking that I need to learn more about the country, and if I am fortunate enough one day, make the trip to Greece myself. My mind was racing at the end of the day, and I truly can say I have a newfound admiration for the people of Greece, as well as the country itself. What Greece has gone through, and what the people have endured makes me really appreciate how great we have it in the United States. I truly am glad I chose this seminar to attend, and thank you for teaching me invaluable new material.
Kyle Webb 2016
I was impressed at how much detail the professor put onto this seminar. It was a fun experience. There are many who only talk without interest but it was obvious how important this meant to the professor. I was impressed at how the professor initially set this seminar for those people who were going to travel with him. It honestly helps the traveler have a better experience when they leave with information about the place they will be spending time in. The fact that we were being engaged in other activities was also fun. The breaks and participation activities helped me remain focus and grasp the information better. What I liked the most about the seminar were the activities and comical comments made by the professor after playing games and receiving prices. It is important to communicate with your audience and get them involved. The sense of humor helped time go by faster.
Zavala_Lizeth_2016
But I didn’t just learn about Greece, I learned a lot about what you as a teacher are trying to teach. You’re not trying to get us ready for tests or homework, you’re trying to get us ready for the real world with assignments like this. We’re going to have to think for ourselves, and do our own studying at home to help apply ourselves to the task at hand and for that I thank you. Putting this whole class together is a major feat to ask of anyone assuming all the other responsibilities you have. This seminar really helped me enhance many skills such as personal responsibility as well as critical thinking by small things like the puzzles in between segments.
Benjamin Savallo 2016
1. I liked the way the seminar was set up overall. The seminar was made to be very informative in a short period of time but also be able to keep your attention. The way you worked the little puzzles and the short breaks that are just enough to get ready for the next session but not long enough to let the mind wander was great. Being able to firsthand experience the food from another country was great as well, I personally had never had lamb from a true Greek place before the only place I had tried it was at a Brazilian steakhouse but it was very gamy when I tried it. when I had the baklava and the lamb it really got me into the mindset of what the Greeks traditionally eat. Having the dancers come in and perform traditional Greek dances was amazing I had never seen Greek belly dancing in person so it really opened my eyes to that dance form and all the work that has to go into the dances to make them look just perfect. I loved overall that the seminar not only had a lecture portion but also a hands on portion with the exhibit outside and the food and we really not only got to learn a whole lot about Greece but also about their culture first hand. So for a day I almost felt that I was in Greece.
Hunter Swain 2016