Max C. Kirkeberg

I tend to disagree with previous statements that tend to either overtly glorify or denigrate this teacher. M.C. Kirkeberg is a character, indeed. His lectures are not dull, but are not entirely related to the assigned chapters. His map assignments seem childish (coloring, etc.), but actually is a good way to remember geographical placement, believe it or not. His tests are absurdly complicated for the lectures that he gives. That is, most of his lectures center on what M.C. Kirkeberg finds most interesting. However, I tend to think that he is a good "eye-opener" for many high school kids that come into his class for g.e. units, since he is liberal, educated and not North american-centered in his class presentation. For one, you will learn a heck of a lot of neat info about Mormons, Methodists and such, but for the rest just read the chapters. All in all, if you put the effort, it pays off in a good grade (though you don't learn much of what's written about in the related textbook). And yeah, raise your hands and challenge him, not many people did that and it's good to keep teachers on their toes...Peace, one love

Max was one of the most prepared, thorough teachers I had at SFSU. I'm not a Geography major, but I sure learned a lot about the entire world from Max. I didn't mind sitting in my assigned seat. Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do, even if we're adults/college students. More teachers should have Max's enthusiasm toward teaching.

The only reason why I took his class, was for GE reasons. At first I thought this guy was gonna be an asshole, but he turns out to be a pretty cool guy. (so that's why I choosen a CR/NoCR option) As a GE student for this class, I found his lectures to be VERY boring, at times I won't even show up for class. But I can't argue against the students who major into GEOG. He only gives two mid-terms (80%) and other stuff like, classwork, participation (20%). Personally, I thought the test were pretty hard (consider I don't pay attention in class at all). I paid for the book, and I never use it one bit, only the Atlus for the Maps as assignments. And the book by the way in my opinion doesn't included anything on the test.

I probably wouldn't have passed his classes without the help of one of my classmates (who majors into GEOG).

But hey, he hooked us up with some Donuts during the final week on his 2nd mid-term. So that was kinda nice of him to do that. =)

The reviewer who gave Max a D is correct in stating that the class had assigned seats, that we had to color maps, and that Max is opinionated. However, had s/he stuck around, s/he would have learned that there is a method to this madness. Coloring in maps is an excellent way to learn where places are, and in my entire time in Geography, Max was the only professor who seemed to care if students knew any rivers or capitals or even which continent a country is to be found upon. The assigned seats allowed Max to learn the names of every student in a 70-person class, which is more than can be said for most professors with 25 people in a class. More importantly, Max is intellectually rigorous. He does not allow incorrect facts to survive, nor does he allow weakly constructed opinions. However, he will work with a person to create a strong opinion and to discover accurate facts. He welcomes questions and responds to them brilliantly, especially considering that he is lecturing to such large groups. Most importantly of all, Max is able to bring every aspect of human experience into the geographic framework. He is able to show how spatial relationships and human-environmental interactions and migrations and climate (&c.) have combined throughout human history in a constant interplay with everything we are or do. Max cares about his subject and his students. Too bad the text was childish full-color stuff with few multisyllabic words.

I took Prof. Kirkeberg's class so long ago that I can hardly remember taking it, but he is one of the most memorable teachers that I have ever had at SFSU. He is warm and caring towards his students, even though he may have as many as 80 or more in one class alone. He brings a human element to Geography, something that is difficult to do especially when the majority of the students are only interested in his class for GE credit, or if they couldn't bring themselves to enroll in Geog 101. His lectures are funny, and he uses current events to keep the class grounded in the present, and his interest in family histories and foreign cultures reminds his students that our earth's geography is closely linked with who and what we are. Stick around long enough and you may even get a chance to vote on which necktie was the worst that he has worn that semester.

This instructor can take a large chunk of the credit for driving me away from the Geography department, although Crawford certainly helped. Treating college students like kindegarteners (sit in your assigned seat, color in your maps with your nice crayons, work with your probably unreliable assigned neighbors to acquire some of the grades...)really doesn't cut it in my book. His thought processes are not only vapid but opinionated such that you dare not disagree with him lest your grade suffer. He spouts facts which are just plain WRONG (such as humans not having an impact on the environment prior to the advent of agriculture) and expects you to regurgitate the info later. All in all, this guy is pretty awful, and really made me appreciate the Biology department. Of the four Geography instructors I have experienced, only Meihofer was not terrible. I dropped this class at the last minute after holding out, hoping it would get better. If you have to take 102, take it from somebody else!