I was raised in a Ukrainian immigrant family that stressed faith and education.  Saturday mornings, while my friends were watching cartoons or building snow forts, I was carted off to a parish school for classes in Ukrainian language, literature, history, geography and Orthodox religion.  I didn't like giving up my Saturdays, but I was turned onto history in those parish school classes, where I learned about the accomplishments of the Princes of Kievan Rus.

My grandfather was the parish priest (Orthodox priests can marry); and I spent the rest of my Saturday at the rectory, watching Star Trek, Grizzly Adams, and throwing the football around with my kid brother.  I enjoyed serving at the altar with Grandpa for evening Vespers.  When I got older, I listened to my Grandparents' stories about life in the Soviet Ukraine.  I just couldn't believe what they had survived and experienced.  I learned about village life, education, family and customs in Ukraine in the 1930s.  I also heard horror stories about the Soviet engineered famine of 1933 (my grandfather lost a lot of family members), the purges of 1937 (my great-grandfather was arrested and sent to a gulag, never to return), and finally, the horrors of the Nazi invasion of 1941 and its aftermath.

I never lost my interest in history, and I studied Russian language, literature and history as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota.  I went on to get my Master's Degree in Teaching at Mankato State in 1994.  The highlight of these experiences was my trip to Ukraine in 1993.  Communism had only collapsed 2 years earlier, and I got a glimpse of a society that was emerging from decades of totalitarian rule.  I had been raised in a Ukrainian emigre community, but I was not prepared for what I saw and I experienced culture shock anyway.  It was the trip of a lifetime, but I plan on going back in a few years.

I think the very best way to learn history is to travel.  Without travel, I fall back on the work ethic I learned from my parents and my teachers.  I remember the words of my football coach:  "you have to sit in the chair and do the work."  Academics is no different from athletics, spiritual pursuits, music or any other worthy endeavor:  good things come to those who are patient and willing to do the hard work.  You can learn history by talking to older people and you can learn it by traveling and visiting historical sites.  Just as important, however, is sitting in a chair and digesting a few good books.  I look forward to sharing books and experiences with my students.

"There are worse crimes than burning books.  One of them is not reading them."  -- Ray Bradbury

Visit this web page to obtain important class information, class handouts, and assignment due dates.

Email:  Greg.Denysenko@mpls.k12.mn.us