Kirk, Daniel  

Daniel Kirk is an excellent instructor. His class is demanding, but his lectures are well constructed. We had to write one essay a week, but in the process, we learned how to write effectively. Mr. Kirk took time to get to know his students. I appreciated that greatly.

Professor Kirk took English, a subject I normally show no interst in, and turned it into a much more gramattically correct subject I show no interest in. His Major Mechanical Errors will stick with you. At the start of most lectures, he'll tell jokes as a quick icebreaker, and it really helps wake up the class. One essay every week, students get to choose two or three they want graded. Get the Major Mechanical Errors down pat, or you'll be sorry.

Kirk is awesome! His funny personality makes the class enjoyable. However, he does demand a lot, not to mention the best, out of you. He stresses the importance of making writing interesting and to the point, not wordy and boring. He also stresses mechanical errors in sentences and reading. The quiz questions are taken from the textbook and are not hard. An essay a week is also the norm. During the first class he made it seem that this class was going to be HELL. But, in all honesty, it was enjoyable, and I came out with much better writing skills.

Mr. Kirk is awesome. He demands a lot out of the student, but I actually learned something. He stresses reading and his test are a little tricky because he ask for meticulous things. Also, the cool part of his class is that he only grades the last two of three essays.

If you are a psychology major, I suggest Kirk as a professor just so you can see how arrogant a person can get. If you are anyone else, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! This man (and I use the word man loosely) loves himself more than anyone else possibly could. Prepare for a lesson in nitpicking and in the destruction of your own writing. He hates

I don't know how Kirk got the first few people to sign off on him, but maybe that explains why he doesn't have a soul: he sold it to Satan for positive evaluations. The last person had it right on. This guy only cares about what he thinks is good writing. He doesn't care if the essay is good, he only cares about his precious to be verbs. Don't take him.

He warned us on the first day of class that he was the hardest teacherat CP.... and he is. Everyone I talked to said that their class did basically nothing. But in my class we worte essay after essay and took pop quiz after pop quiz. It was an evening nightmare. I also hated all the kiss a$$ people in my class that took up to much time and prevented us from getting out early. He was was pissed off about our writing that he would insult us outright. He got annoyed at the smallest thing in the common language. I made friends with the girl behind me and we just basically sat in the back and stared. Kirk is also a high school teacher and treats us like we are that age too. He is always sipping on a water bottle and you can hear the suction after he is done. YUCK! Take a different teacher for this GE... he is too much work expecially if you have a full load of credits.

This fat jackass talks more about his ex-wife than material of substance. He demeans people in the middle of class if they don't write in exactly his style. He doesn't seem to understand that there is more to writing than eliminating "to be" verbs from your text. Avoid him like the plague.

I HATED THIS CLASS.....I have never, ever had a problem in any english class ever and for some reason bairly passed this class with a C-. If you write in the exact way that he feels is the only way then by all means take his class.....but if you write in any other style, avoid him. He has no understanding of the fact that not everyone writes the same way and downgrades you based on that, not the actual content of the essay. Plus in this class you write about 7 essays that have stupid prompts like "division and classification". Who the hell can write something interesting on that??? All other classes that I talked to did nothing in their classes and got B's. All in all a horrible class to be avoided!!!!!

This guy is awesome. He warned us on the 1st day of class that he was going to be demanding, and he was. But, he was funny, energetic, and had plenty of stories to tell. He was very interesting and knew English like the back of his hand. The 7 essays we wrote in class were demanding, but necessary to improve out writing skills. Bottome line, great teacher.

DO NOT TAKE HIS CLASS!!!! He is arrogant. He is boring. He wastes time with meaningless work. I do not object to the amount of work we had to do. What was frusterating for me was that all of my work counted for nothing. Despite multiple visits to his office hours I had no idea what to do to make him like my writings. I feet that regardless of all of my effort I still would have received a B if I had written each essay in 15 minutes.

At first, Professor Kirk makes it seem like the class is going to be really difficult, but it actually isn't that bad. Major mechanical errors kinda suck, but they really helped my writing. I found that going to his office hours occationally, especially before a test, really helped. Not only did he tell me specific questions that would be on the test, but he recognized the fact that I was interested- a big plus with Kirk. Get to know him, do the work, study the reading for the tests and the class is cake. I definitely recommend Kirk.

This was a really hard class. It has the most essays of any 134 class and Kirk is a very hard guy to please. Kirk gives a lot of work and also gives fairly difficult reading quizes. But if you're like me and ride the curve you'll be ok.

THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS KIRK TOLD US THIS WOULD BE THE HARDEST ENGLISH 134 CLASS ON CAMPUS AND THAT WE SHOULD LEAVE NOW. BELIEVE HIM. HE WAS A REALLY COOL GUY BUT THAT WAS THE HARDEST B I'VE EVER EARNED. HE HAS READING QUIZZES OVER TONS OF READING FROM THE BOOK AND ASKS QUESTIONS LIKE TO COMPLETE A SENTENCE WHICH IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. HE DOESN'T GRADE YOUR ESSAYS UNTIL THE VERY END OF THE COURSE WHEN YOU PUT THEM IN A PORTFOLIO. HE IS VERY PICKY ABOUT YOUR WRITING AND GIVES YOU TESTS ON GRAMMER AND MAJOR MECHANICAL ERRORS. THE CLASS INVOLVES A LOT OF READING AND WRITING AND YOU WILL DEFINATLY LEARN SOMETHING FROM HIM. UNLESS YOU LOVE ENGLISH I WOULD RECOMMEND FINDING ANOTHER CLASS.

I really liked Professor Kirks class! He's a fun professor and doesn't put you to sleep ever. He really helped me with my writing, and I am more conifident now when writing essays. You have to be willing to give up some old habits, but he doesnt grade any essays until the end of the quarter, so you have plenty of time. I would highly recommend Kirk for Eng. 134!

He is really hard and demands a lot from the student. You have to do the reading and homework, along with attending class every day or you could get screwed. I fyou go to his office hours once or twice, he appreciates it and takes that into consideration when grading your essays. I guarantee that he will teach you more in his class than any other prof at cal poly for english. his classes are not boring, and he is quite entertaining. three reading and grammar quizes which equal fifty percent of the grade, two graded essays (you still have to write all 8) are another forty and tehn class paricipation is ten percent.

Do not be scared of Prof. Kirk! He was such a great teacher. Granted he does give a lot of work and you have to write many essays, but it is worth it in the end. We are suppossed to go to college to learn something, not just get through a class with an easy A. I learned SO much in this class. I actually improved my writing and learned about different styles of writing. And i am NOT exagerating when i say TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIS OFFICE HOURS! He is not a scary man and is totally and completely willng to help you. Take Kirk if you can... you just have to put in a little more effort than other classes. He is wonderful.

Kirk is a very tough grader, and most people are scared of him. He will tear your essays apart and then stomp on them. However, he is a GREAT teacher and you will learn A LOT. You will definitely come out of it a much better writer. This class is not an easy A by any means, but if you want to drastically improve your writing, he is the prof for you.

This class was sooooo easy and plus I learned so much. This professor is soooo soooo funny. He's the most understanding professor. There are just 6 essays you have to write and 2 portfolios to turn in and some midterms. Just go to every class and sometimes he'll give bonus points jus for showing up. He believes that everyone deserves an A. Everytime a paper is due there is jus peer editing and then you're out. We always get outta class early. U have to take MR KIRK .. he's the best english professor and u'll be sure to get the grade u deserve.

THIS TEACHERS SUCKED ROYALLY. IT'S HIS WAY OR THE HIGHWAY AND HE ASSIGNS A SHITLOAD OF READING AND GIVES WACKED TESTS. BASICALLY HE PLAYS FAVORITES SO IF YOU LIKE SUCKING UP THEN GO FOR IT. HE READS SOME OF THE PAPERS BEFORE HE GIVES THE FINAL GRADE AND IF HE DOESN'T LIKE YOU HE WILL READ THE FIRST PARAGRAPH AND TELL YOU TO REWRITE IT. ALL OF MY FRIENDS DID NOTHING IN THEIR ENGLISH CLASSES AND GOT A'S.

Mr. Kirk is an awesome teacher. He is really funny and teaches well. He is fairly tough and will require you to pretty much change a lot of how you normally write essays. Just for example, he doesn't let you use the words "am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been" in your writing. It takes some extra effort but his was my favorite class all quarter, and I'm trying to take him for english 145 also. He really likes teaching and always makes the lectures interesting.

This IS a very fun class, you learn a lot more than YOU would in an ordianry english class, Kirk is a great guy.

Fcuk this guy. I have never worked so hard in my life. The class consists of a fat ass book, which you read the whole thing and take several quizzes on. In your essays you cannot write any to be ver b or he will get on your ass. I never had a teacher as lazy as this dooshbag. No one ever knew their grade in the class until it shows up in the web portal. Basically, do not take his class; do whatever you can to get another teacher.

I learned so much in this class! I'm not a huge fan of writing and we did have to write six essays, but it wasn't so bad. My confidence in my writing and the writing itself both improved. I also enjoyed going to class. Kirk always tried to lighten the class up with jokes and his sarcastic sense of humor, and he let us out early almost every class. He can be a really anal about the way you write, but he only does that because he wants you to leave his class a better writer, and you will (as long as you follow what he says). Just pay close attention to all the tips he gives you (like the "no to-be verb" rule) and follow them. You'll do fine.

fuck this fatass. Do not take Kirk because he is a jackass. I got a decent grade in the class but he was a fucking homosexual.

KIRK SAID IT WASNT GOING TO BE BAD IF U DID ALL YOUR WORK WELL HE'S A ... LIAR. I DID ALL MY WORK AND DID IT WELL, BUT HE NEVER LIKED ANYTHING. THIS WAS TRUE FOR SEVERAL PEOPLE IN MY CLASS. PLEASE DONT TAKE HIM, HE'S THE WORST TEACHER IVE EVER HAD.

Everyone that liked kirk : PISS OFF, kirk is a shitty teacher. Dont take him, no matter what people say he is horrible. hey kirk suck my DICK. Yea I didnt do too bad, but it wasnt worth the time it took. I bet you, yea you kirk wrote the good reviews so dont pay attention to them. oh yea, kirk: EAT SHIT AND DIE.

No matter what the other ratings say, Kirk was a good teacher. He came to class on the first day with a list of everything you will do in the quarter. He is VERY fair and gives you the grade that you deserve. He also gives you lots of time if you want to improve your writing. He was very funny and entertaining. If you do your readings carefully, you should get A's on your reading quizzes, and if you follow the outline for your papers, you should get an easy A.

An excellent teacher... so funny! He really explains the material well and helped me with my writing. I WOULD REALLY RECOMMEND HIM!!! if you take anyone for 134 it better be him!!

Kirk is a great teacher. If you don't want to write, simply don't take this class, if you want to become a better writer and don't mind putting a little effort into your education, take this class. Fun teacher, he claims that he will tear your writing apart, but he gives you a chance to edit your essays like 3-4 times before you turn them in, if you follow all of his guidlines you should do fine.

If you have the opportunity to take a class with Kirk, DO!!! He presents his information in a fun way that keeps you interested. He teaches aspects to writing you have never been taught before. In addition, Kirk genuinely cares about the success of his students. If you make an effort, he'll make an effort. Yes, his class requires you to work hard, but TRUST ME

The class is pointless. I came out of it with the same level of writing, and a whole lot of disrespect for the teacher. He does play favorites, but the part that bothered me was that I wasted time learning things with the intention to forget them right after the test.

He's a really nice guy but don't take him if you don't want to work. Also, he plays favorites so watch out. Easy reading quizzes but tests cover alot of information. 6 essays, 2 portfolios, 2 tests, 1 midterm, 6 quizzes, reading every night

Kirk's class is totally tolerable.....yes he makes you read every day but honestly i hate english and i dont read but these essays u read r really interesting. Hes also a "to be" verb maniac and it makes u wanna slit ur wrists but hes always there to help you if u cant do it. i like the guy, any one who says hes too much work is a lazy peice of shit cuz i am only a freshman and i've had way more work than him, he really helps your writing alot.

Kirk is an awesome teacher. He is hilarious and his class is not too bad. He asks in terms of writing; i.e. no "to be" verbs and using the paramedic method. Kirk really does want to improve your writing and is actually a great professor. There were like 6 essays and two quizzes. Nothing is surprising. Just study the essays of each chapters and its a sure A.

Kirk dog seemed funny at first, i thought everything would be cool. But i didnt like the way he graded the class. Only about 30 percent or so was on your writing, and the other was based on the quizzes and tests on the hundreds of short stories out of the book that you were supposed to know all the little details of. All he did was complain about the classroom. He helped my writing overall but not my GPA. I Award him no points, and may god have mercy on his soul.

If you don't want to fix your writing dont take the class. It is hard work but he is a good teacher.

on the first day of class he tries to scare you by saying that his 134 class is not going to be a breeze like the other teachers. he says he expects more and will be very picky with his grading. his biggest thing was that we could not use "to be" forms in our writing... every time you did, you got marked off. at first this seems impossible, but as long as you do it, thats all he cares. i think he cared more about that than the actul content of your writing... just do what he asks and youll do just fine

Basically, Kirk is the man. At first his sence of humor is a bit harsh, but once you get to know him you will realize that it is all just a part of his character. The first day he told everyone to come to his office hours. he said he always gets a keg and by the time his students get to his office, hes already dusted the whole thing. The more you go see him, the more he will like you...the better the grade you will get. read the book because he has weekly quizzes that will effect your grade. If i did better on the quizzes i would have gotten an A. you write about 6 short papers but they are on easy topics of your choice. if youre a bad writer, go to office hours because his advice is very helpful. I will miss having kirk as my teacher and strongly recommend him-hes a good guy. Oh and...due to the fact that.

Kirk is a nice teacher, he helped me improve my writting incredibly but he has an obession with our book. We read 500 pages throughout the quarter that were about the different types of essay. 500 pages isn't bad to read, but he expected us to MEMORIZE the whole damn thing. He quizes us on the reading and the questions he asks are sometimes IMPOSSIBLE to answer unless you have an excellent memory. The questions aren't even on important information about english, they are about the essays/stories that we read as examples for the types of essays,. It is POINTLESS information to have to remember. However if you reread the chapters the night before the quizes you can do alright but even then some questions are still impossible to answer! We wrote 8 essays througout the quarter but he graded only two (each 20% of our grade). When i first heard he only graded two i was worried but it turned out to be better because he looks for your strongest essay and assigns the grade to that. Class usually got out early, and he is old and has health problems so class was cancled a few times. Class was fun to go to because he usually just talked about his life, kinda a waste of time but better than talking about english. Basicly, if you have a good memory take Kirk.

Kirk is such a good teacher!!! He teaches English at SLO High so he is very undertsanding and fatherly-like. He truly cares about how you write!! All you have to make SURE you do is read because even though the quizzes are about 5 questions, they can increase your grade by a whole letter!! The quizzes are every class but they are SOOOO easy because theyre broad. The reading is so interesting and is extremely helpful for reference when writing your essays. He hates "to be" verbs but who cares because it improves your writing by ALOT! DEF take Kirk he is amazing!!

ok, so he told us about his horrible ratings on polyratings. that scared me. but then he told the class that if we tried our best, we would get a C. That helped me out a little. He may seem mean and scary,but talk to him in his office hours. it helps! Definately a hard grader, but I think it's fair in the end.

I've had Kirk for ENG 134 and 145. This class is only as rewarding as people want it to be. If you're willing to put the time in, you'll not only learn a lot, you'll grow a lot. This class forces you to think on your own. Assignments generally do challenge you, but that's the point of college classes; they're not easy, they're supposed to help you grow. As for workload... Kirk assigns a lot of reading. For 134, read it! The book encorporates some of the best stories I've read in a long time. For 145, the book gets repetitious, but it does teach you things along the way. He assigns a lot of writing, especially at the end-be prepared. All I can say is that he's worth it. Take English 134 and 145 from Kirk, you won't regret it.

Professor Kirk is really cool and very helpful. The class is hard mainly because you cannot use to be verbs in essays, which is a huge pain and very pointless. But, he is helpful in office hours and the class is easy enough to get through. There is two 2 page papers, a 7 minute speech, and a 7-10 page paper in place of the final. Although the last paper is long it is still capable of being done. Not a horrible guy to take for 145.

Dr. Kirk is a very good teacher. His "get rid of bureaucratic, to-be style" actually helps your writing, making it a lot more concise and lot less boring to read. The group panels were also pretty interesting as you debated on controversial topics today. The only thing that sucked about this class was the fat, boring textbook that you had to read for the one midterm you had. I didn't find his essay grading to be that difficult. Just make sure that your reasons back up your thesis. I'd recommend him.

Kirk is sweet. He is going to rip your writing around - so what - all English teachers do. Just play the game and study what he tells you and write how he wants you to. This class is very basic - if you do all the work you will get a good grade, like most classes at Poly.

Kirk was awesome! He's a super liberal guy, so if you're really conservative you might have a hard time listening to what he has to say. He's very understanding and doesn't have too much problem accepting late work. I didn't do too hot in the class because I'm not a strong writer, but many people did well. We had to write 2 2-3 page essays, a research paper for the final and worked in gorups on a presentation. If you don't like to do too much work, TAKE THIS CLASS.

What the guy/gal below said. Amen. I too took this class and have long since graduated from Poly, but I was cruising Poly Ratings for a kick and thought that I should pipe in and let you know how much of a joke this prof is.