2.9
Quality4.0
Difficulty27%
Would Retake86
Reviews27%
Would Retake
86
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
23
4
14
3
13
2
10
1
26
What Students Say
“have to read 3 chps+ before quizzes and never talk about quiz material before quiz”
REL101 - 2.0 rating“absolute worst teacher i've ever had”
THEOINTR - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.40 avg changeRatings by Course
INTNEWTES
5.0
(1)HONINTRONT
5.0
(1)WOMINANCREL
5.0
(1)WOMENINANCIEN
5.0
(1)LETTERSOFPAUL
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
THE
5.0
INTRONEWTES
5.0
THE101
5.0
NWT
5.0
INTROTONEWTEST
5.0
Reviews (86)
eccentric, no doubt about that. but very nice guy and entertaining, i looked forward to going to his class. participation and quizzes = 70% of grade, so if u do good on those, ur set. papers are hard and obscure
One of the worst classes I've ever taken. He makes random accusations about people with little basis, assumes that students won't know anything, and focuses the class on anything****erse/obscene.
His rants sometimes border on downright weird. You gotta do the reading (Sometimes alot and very boring) to have success in the class.
nice guy! doesn't deserve the rep he has around here!! lots of reading but not complicated, quiz on it every week, two papers, no midterm, no final, no tests. willing to help very nice...if you do the reading its an easy A
The class does require a lot of reading and he is a really tough grader of the papers. However, if you read and do well on the quizzes you will be ok. He doesn't deserve such a bad wrap, he's a good guy...a little nutty but a good guy and willing to help.
Dr. K is a bit wierd, but a great teacher who is always willing to help. He doesn't deserve such negative comments. Just do the readings and its an easy A, even for the honors course.
very modest & eccentric man; just a great person all togeter.hard grader for the 2 papers, but the quizzes are easy if u read. if u do well on the quizzes, guaranteed A. if u go to all the classes, he adds 5 pts to ur final % grade. very entertaining!
alot of reading but if you read you will do well on quizzess. Papers were hard but if you go to him for help he will be very helpful and willing to work on your paper with you.
honestly, one of the worst classes ive ever had...lots of readings...some interesting, most tedious and boring...tough quizzes and a professor who doesnt care no matter how hard you study..big disappointment
No Comments
I'm not going to lie, the reading can be long and tedious, but as long as you do it, you're guaranteed a good grade. The papers can be more difficult, so get a head start. He'll help you out, you just have to ask him, he won't come to you.
The class is a lot harder than most intro GER classes. If you are looking for easy, look elsewhere, but you would learn alot. He does tend to be political and in your face.
This guy is entertaining in a BIZARRE way, but its' not worth it to take the class with the hardest papers you'll ever write. you have like 100 pages of reading a week with a detailed quiz after each reading. He has a twisted sense of humor that many found WRONG. don't take it!
DO NOT EVER EVER I REPEAT TAKE THIS TEACHER EVERYONE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT IT IS LIVING HELL, UNLESS YOU LIKE A D ON PAPERS AND READING 200 PAGES OF THE BIBLE A WEEK FOR A 5 QUESTION QUIZ THAT COVERS DETAILS OF 200 PAGES--PEOPLE HAVE CRIED AFTER PAPERS WERE HANDED BACK
Worst teacher i've ever had
Worst class ever. He tells you to "make up history" for your paper, then gives you a 30 on it because it is made up. He makes no sense, I dread his class and his assignments, and he goes off on political tangents. He makes you read 100 pages a week and asks ridiculous questions on the quizzes.
tough weekly quizzes on 80 boring pages of biblical stuff. hard papers. "Alan" has an incredibly blatant political agenda against gw bush, and he spreads inane conspiracy theories. I strongly suggest you avoid this class, unless you're very interested in jesus and the bible.
although the readings are quite extensive, I've learned the most in this class than any other class i had this semester. He is very clear on quiz content and the quizzes are easy if you read CAREFULLY and take notes. you just have to work hard. if you dont want to learn, then don't take the class.
if u feel like analyzing ancient hebrew and the dead sea scrolls, TIHS CLASS IS FOR YOU!
VERY crazy but he's a good guy. The readings are annoying but quizzes aren't hard if you have read. Don't think too hard and spend a lot on the papers- his grading system makes no sense anyway. Class is boring, but I learned a lot.
Alan has strongly leftist political opinions Imagine a high-strung hippie in a suit. If you can stomach that, he's not a bad guy. He assigns a LUDICROUS amount of work, though: SHOULD NOT be an Into course. This is not a theology class - it's a history class, so don't take it if you want Theology.
I was worried about taking a professor with such horrible ratings, but I ended up loving Allen K. His quizzes are easy and there are no tests. He's a tough grader but if you hand in a rough draft, you shouldn't have a problem. Attendance is mandatory but he's a nice, caring man. Recommended.
Very nice man but gives impossible quizzes. You have to read about 100 pages for his class from the Bible and various ancient texts and his papers are very hard. He hates Bush and makes it known during his classes. Very hard class.
He's really not as bad as everyone's making him sound. He does have a political agenda, but it doesn't interfere with his grading. If you do the reading he assigns every week, you're guaranteed 100 on all quizzes & u can skip the final if you take all quizzes. The papers are hard but there's only 2.
AWFUL!
Lots of reading, but not ridiculous since it is a college class after all. It was my hardest class 1st semester but not bad in comparison to classes since. Quizzes are hard if you don't read, otherwise they're fine. Papers are confusing, but email it ahead of time and he is incredibly helpful.
He is not as bad as everyone makes him sound. There is alot of reading, but if you do read you are almost guaranteed a 100. He is kinda funny in a wierd way too. He is a tough grader when it comes to papers, but if you get good quiz grades you should get a B.
this guy sucks horribly , never take him for he is a Nazi and definitely should do something with his life instead of give kids "F"s on papers - DO NOT TAKE
he sucks plain and simple, one of the professors to stay away from at St. Joes, I wish I had been warned
very helpful, so many opportunities for extra credit. quiz every week on readings but u can get a 100+ on them very easily! 2 papers-1 is kinda difficult. if u do well on the quizzes, u dont have to take the final. great teacher but be prepared for very left-winged comments. interesting class.
This teacher was the worse! He is so hard. Gives you readings every wk for a quiz. Papers are ridiculous...he tells u its a good paper...but then gives you a 40. Ridiculous! Also, final is impossible. Avoid takin him if possible. And he makes scary voices and his veins pop out of his head. He makes the class very awkward.
Anyone bashing Dr. Kerkeslager is afraid of working and looking to take the easy way out. Yes, he is a difficult professor. But his class is not difficult to understand. Just do the readings and follow his instructions on the papers to a tee; then you will get an A. He will teach you work ethic and prepare you for the rigors of grad school.
THis man just sucks. he's rude, annoying, and no help what so ever. I HATED going to his class, so much reading, impossible stupid quizes EVERY week, his stupid voices and he jumped around the room like a friggin' hobbit. and his papers? yeah right. he sucks. DO NOT TAKE HIM
Awful Awful Awful. He said something was good in my papers and a good argument was presented, but still gave me below a 70. You have to bust your ass for the weekly readings. Even if you get 100's on half your quizzes, you can still wind up with a grade in the D range. Very unfair!
I'm an atheist and i was spellbound. he is VERY hard, runs class on the grad level. but if you work you'll be rewarded. it's not impossible to pass... it's only impossible if you dont do the work.
well he's hard and mean, sometimes very mean, but interesting. he teaches theology for people who dont like theology. i got to know the bible intimatly because of this man, but using a completely different way to process the material in it. look out if you plagerize cause he'll catch you its happened to students in both classes i had with him. the readings are as bad as everyone says but hey there is no final exam.
such a good teacher, i can honestly say i learned so much from that class. he is hard, but very helpful.
He is lucifer teaching this class. It sucks hardcore.
One of the worst teachers I have ever taken at SJU. Beware he is extremely tough and so much reading is required.
He is so not hard at all you just have to readlike 10 pages a day and take notes and the class is easy, if you do well on quizzes the papers don't even affect your grade
prepare to sign your life away to the weekly readings he gives you. quizzes are fairly difficult. oh, and don't let his sly compliments on your papers trick you because apparently, "not doing bad" and "a paper with a strong backbone" is a D. hes the devil himself. hes rude and picks on kids in class. DO NOT EVER take him as a teacher.
avoid him at ALL costs. weekly readings that take a good two hours to complete.hes a psycho and constantly jumps around the room, hes weird and rude. his lectures are painfully boring, so they wont even help you either. and he's an ass grader on papers. theology majors wont even excell in this class. do yourself a favor: DONT TAKE HIM, EVER.
Dr. Kerkeslager is the WORST TEACHER I HAVE EVER HAD! He assigns to much reading, and is not willing to help his students. His quizes are not hard if you do the absurd amounts of reading. He is the toughest grader when it comes to his papers, and he is very Liberal and makes offensive comments throughout his class.
his quizzes aren't bad- if you have the time to drop your entire life to read massive amounts for them. he said my 9 page paper was "decent" and gave me a D meanwhile i thought it was the best paper i'd ever written. i enjoy challenging classes but this is rediculous.
I dont believe this class is hard, it is just time consuming. If you do the readings, take notes and spend days on your paper you should do fine-the problem is finding all that time. But overall besides the workload I enjoyed going to class. He is a great teacher and really knows his stuff.
he is absolutely psycho. ive never stuggled so much in a class. his quizzes are insane and require over 80 pages of reading a week. you might as well not even do the papers because you will fail them. oh, but dont worry because if you do want extra credit, all you have to do is copy the an entire gospel word for word by hand. hes psycho
Easily the worst teacher at St. Joe's. I have never tried harder in any class and he gave me worst grade I have ever recieved. His papers are graded so rediculously it makes me want to punch him in the face. I am serious; DO NOT TAKE DR. KERKESLAGER.
Waaaay too much reading. Very tough grader on the papers, avoid his classes if at all possible.
HE SUCKS< NO HEART
Super strict attendance policies, too Liberal for our school, readings took at least 3 hrs and questions were too specific, I don't think he could even write a paper that desserved an A. He told me my paper was good but still gave me a D.
made me question my sanity. I worked my ass off and learned NOTHING. Got in an A in the class but that was at the sacrifice of way too many precious hours of sleep. Do yourself a favor and don't take him!!!
:-( i hate him
Dr. K is a nice man. I think people are being too harsh. If you do the readings, ur quiz average should be way more than 100%. The papers are tough, bc he wants you to think critically. if you go to his office hours and he knows you, then you will get an A. if you fall to sleep in his class and never ask any questions you will do poorly.
suuckkkssssss
Sure you have to read a lot but come on its college! It takes one night a week to read for the quiz which is not big deal. He is a fun teacher, and its well worth getting up for the 8:30 class.
nice man, will help if you ask. just give him a chance. also he is very smart,
LOTS AND LOTS OF WORK!!!!! Most people had a hard time...but my average was over 100. Quizzes every week...if you do the reading and take notes on it you'll do fine. Being in class is pointless you're not tested on it. 2 papers...only way to pass is come up with really really good ****
Great teacher, brilliant guy. You will need to read a lot but the exams are pretty easy (only if you read). Gives a lot of extra credit. You will learn a lot. Definitely worth it.
Some say this prof is hard--but basically he expects you to think like an adult and write like one, not like a high school kid. Genuinely nice man, if you have any amount of intellect you will do well, i loved the class although have no interest in religion whatsoever.
No Comments
absolute worst teacher i've ever had. he is a very mean man. stay away from his class.
Legitimately a good teacher. Participate alot, read the material, and study for the quizzes. He drops a single quiz grade and if you do well all semester then use the drop for the final. Offers extra credit. If you work in this class you will do well.
He gave us a course-packet, the bible, and a from jesus to christianity book to read from. We had a quiz every single week. If you're one of those kids that can't to save his life keep up with the readings you'll fail this class because 60 percent of his grading comes from these weekly quizzes. Not my kind of teacher. I would never take him again.
These people are ridiculous, as long as your not f#$kin retarded hes the easiest teacher for theology, just do your work and read and its impossible to get below a b+
funny guy and a great teacher. lots of reading but if you keep up you'll do fine. this man is constantly moving around the classroom getting the students involved in discussion. ties things from thousands of years ago and applies them to today. really interesting topics.
No tests, just quizzes every week. Must read to do well. If you do well on all, you don't have to take the final quiz. Boring class!
Use the word legitimate and he will blow you...or you will get an A....
If you're willing to do a lot of reading then you'll do fine. My average was over 100, but this class pretty much owned my life all semester. He gives a 6 question quiz every week and they're 60% of your grade. Do good on them and you can skip the final
Hes hard if you dont do the reading. His classes though are interesting and he actually makes theology interesting. Just 2 tests and 2 essays but for the essays dont just write your notes just tke thepassage for what it is
He's not bad. He goes over the material every week so there's a lot of repetition. It's hard to not know what's going on. Every class feels almost the same just cause he constantly reviews. The exams aren't too tough if you pay attention and try to do the readings.
hes nice he really is. but he has very little time available for help, he grades hard and uses a difficult weighted grade system, and hes a nerd. however, with my grades and attendance i straight up failed and he gave me a C. id go another way.
Check his Facebook tribute page. That's all you need to know. You have been warned
If you like talking about things irrelevant to what the course is about than you will like this course. have to read 3 chps+ before quizzes and never talk about quiz material before quiz. have to go to a museum or other religious sights to write an essay. it wasn't worth going to class because i would just read about it in book thats why i did wel
Do not take.
Not bad at all. Do the readings and you will pass with flying colors. No worries if you are willing to put a normal amount of work in.
DO NOT TAKE LETTERS OF PAUL. he's a great professor and an even better person. but the class is too much. if you're looking to get the "faith and reason" requirement out of the way, it's just too much work. at the end of the class you're assigned a paper that is a massive undertaking and will take away from the other studies you care more about.
His Letters of Paul class - He's extremely tough and hard to follow during his lectures. He is a very smart man, but has zero uniformity when he is teaching. Almost impossible to read his notes on the board. Grades hard on the two papers we have. 55% of grade is based off 6 quizzes. But, he is very accessible to students + offers extra credit.
There is WAY too much reading to handle for his class. Majority of your grade are 6 bi-weekly quizzes that are very heavily weighted. If you pull those off you will be fine, but be warned they are difficult and if you don't read at all they are impossible. I find it best to do what you can and try to participate. You will pass, just be careful.
Take Kerk for African/Carribbean. Quiz every 2 weeks 60% of your grade (7 quizzes), drops lowest one. You can get 6/5's. I spent 2-4 hours before class every 2 weeks reading/taking notes on the course pack before the quiz, never got below 5/5. He gives you benefit of the doubt if sounds like you read. Boring but do the readings you will get an A!
This man is nuts. Never take him its the worst hour and fifteen minutes of your life. Absolute psycho.
Do not take this class. Super disorganized its about archeology when its not supposed to be. DO the readings for the quizzes and you'll be fine. HUGE research paper. Awful class. do not take
Dr. K is a nice guy but a terrible professor. He is passionate about Letters of Paul and is extremely knowledgable. Despite this he has no clue how to teach. Lectures are filled with tangent after tangent of useless information that isn't on tests. Is very vague about what he wants. Avoid, avoid, avoid
At the beginning of the class, I HATED him. But over time, I came to like the man. He does go on tangents and like to intertwine the course with his own life... but when he is on his game, he is getting you to think about a bigger picture. My critical thinking improved dramatically. Do not take if you want to breeze through but good for learning
Allen is actually the boy if you give him the chance. Even though the readings are a pain the quizzes take directly from the reading and if you can bs a lil your straight. His grading policy is really in your favor as he drops the lowest quiz and its pretty easy to get extra point on the quizzes also. Hes mad weird but funny
REL 101 with Dr. K is a test heavy class and requires ALOT of reading. Some of the readings are interesting, however, the tests require a lot of studying and memorizing large amounts of weird info. All exams are very long write out questions with no multiple choice. If you are looking to take an easy religion course I would NOT recommend it.
He did not teach much and everything I learned was through readings. It is literally impossible to pass the class and his exams if you don't read the material which are usually interesting. He talks and repeats himself a lot and talks sometimes about things that have nothing to do with what we are learning.
Class Info
Attendance Mandatory
100%
Textbook Required
67%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.40 avg changeRatings by Course
INTNEWTES
5.0
(1)HONINTRONT
5.0
(1)WOMINANCREL
5.0
(1)WOMENINANCIEN
5.0
(1)LETTERSOFPAUL
5.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
THE
5.0
INTRONEWTES
5.0
THE101
5.0
NWT
5.0
INTROTONEWTEST
5.0