To My Students
Teaching Philosophy
Language Arts
Journalism and School Media
Speech and Debate
Social Studies (U.S. History)
Academic Activities ««
Classwork and Homework:
Assignments are to be completed as directed. Late work will be penalized and may result in the student being required to stay after school in order to complete the assignment. Missed homework will not affect a student’s academic grade, but it will negatively affect his or her citizenship and work habits grades.
One other very important note: Homework and other assignments that are incomplete or messy, illegible, torn, soiled, folded, wrinkled, tagged, decorated or otherwise less than neat will not be accepted. (Yes, this absolutely and most definitely includes tearing pages out of notebooks or pads of paper and leaving messy, ragged, or torn edges or holes.) In addition, all letters and numbers must be correctly written or the assignment will not be accepted
Summative Assessments — Tests:
These tests are given after a topic has been studied, and they will affect students' grades. Study guides will be provided for most summative assessments; some tests, particularly quizzes, will be given without prior notice, which means students need to develop and maintain good work habits. Those who receive an unsatisfactory grade or who want to improve their scores may re-take unit tests as long as it is done on a timely basis; students may not, however, re-take quizzes.
Summative Assessments — Projects:
Projects will be varied in terms of content, size, and complexity. This simply means that projects will come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the subject and specific topic. Projects will be accepted past the due date, but a penalty will be applied.
Speaking Assignments:
Although the exact nature of each assignment will vary from class to class, Language Arts, Speech and Debate, and Social Studies classes will have, as part of the regular curriculum, speaking assignments.
For example, Language Arts students will be expected to memorize and recite at least one poem, and members of the Speech and Debate team will have as their primary objective the development and presentation of various forms of speech. Students will be expected to complete these assignments — without exception.
Language Arts Writing Assignments:
Writing assignments will be graded; however, as a student's writing improves — his or her grade will also improve. This means that if, for example, a student wrote poorly at the beginning of the trimester but improved by the end of the trimester, the writing grade will be based on the improved writing. But be aware that the reverse is also true: A student cannot write an outstanding essay in the beginning of the trimester and then slack off ... unless he or she wants his or her grade to slack off as well. Writing will include both "process" papers and quickwrites.
Other Writing Assignments:
Writing assignments for other classes will be graded primarily on content, although the teacher does reserve the right to take into account writing proficiency along with content. Writing will include both "process" papers and quickwrites.
Formative Assessments:
Students will take a pre-test (formative assessment) at the beginning of each unit to be covered; however, these scores will not affect students' grades. Formative assessments are given in order to show teachers what students already know. Most of the time students will know when a formative assessment is coming, although they may not know the exact date until they arrive in class and are given the actual test. For Language Arts students, formative assessments are exactly like summative assessments. And, yes, that means they are the exact same tests!
One note of caution: Because formative tests will not affect students' grades, you might be tempted to do less your best: DO NOT FALL INTO THAT TRAP. To begin with, scores are posted in class. Second, if you choose not to do your best, you will be stuck with being taught information you already know — which is not much fun.
