Course Syllabus
School Information
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Bridge To College English A
Mr. Taylor
Contact Information
Room: 129
Phone: 425-204-4245
Email: jeff.taylor@rentonschools.us
DISTANCE LEARNING IS O.V.E.R.
Accept it and move on. Leave behind any notion that you can get an A, let alone pass a class, without attending. Leave behind any notion that you can get all that you need off of Canvas. Leave behind any notion that you will have days where we “don't do anything” in class. Leave behind any notion that simply turning something in on Canvas guarantees you an A. Leave behind the notion that classes begin and finish at your convenience. Leave behind the delusion that you “Work” better at home. That is not a statement on the environment. It is a statement about choices. You are choosing to "work" at home and play at school. I will not honor this choice. Welcome to the Real World. Adulthood is not about freedom. Ask any adult if they get to do whatever they want whenever they want. When they stop laughing they will tell you that adulthood is the crushing weight of responsibilities, mixed with constant soul-sucking consequences.
YOU SHOULD HAVE NO REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PASSING THIS COURSE WITHOUT REGULAR ATTENDANCE!!! YOU CAN NOT GET EVERYTHING OFF CANVAS. THERE WILL BE ASSIGNMENTS, ACTIVITIES, AND INSTRUCTIONS THAT WILL ONLY HAPPEN IN CLASS. MISSING THEM WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT YOUR GRADE.
Syllabus Highlights:
- This class is easy to the point of being insulting. Come to class, try, you’ll be fine.
- Citizenship is worth 20% of your overall grade.
- Phone violation (notice there is no s) will result in the complete loss of your citizenship points.
- The only way to earn your citizenship points back is by attending class for 15 straight days with ZERO acts of electronic malfeasance (Phone, computer…anything more advanced than a sundial)
- You will not be allowed to submit or make up work for unexcused absences.
- Late work will be accepted but at a reduced rate up to 5 days then you will receive a 0 (See below)
- Every class will begin with a 5-minute writing activity. You will write for 5 straight minutes. Stay hydrated!
- If you are tardy (by absentia or action) you will not be allowed to make up or submit your entry task.
- If you have a 504 or an IEP talk to me so that we can make a plan to meet your accommodations/modifications. Many of these plans include language like "mutually agreed upon" which means we actually need to work together.
Course Structure
The purpose of the class is for students to examine identity through writing and literature. In hopes to prepare the students to be successful in a college-level English language course the following fall. This class includes writings from nonfiction literature to lay a foundation of how identity, culture, and personal experiences weave together to support our personal beliefs and values. Also, included are texts composed by diverse authors who share their struggles as they come of age, and how they overcome the pressure to conform to the social norm to embrace their full identity. Embedded into this module are student choice and reflection strategies that promote equity and inclusion in the classroom. This module should take approximately.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of the couse, students will be able to:
- Learn about themselves, diverse cultures, and multiple perspectives by analyzing a variety of texts.
- Use their ideas to engage in partner, small group and whole group discussions using textual evidence to support their ideas, asking relevant questions, and building upon others’ ideas.
- Produce clear and coherent communication in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, audience, and purpose (TAP).
- Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it, cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. (CCSS.RL & RI.1)
- Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. (CCSS.RL & RI.2)
- Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. (CCSS.SL.1)
- Develop academic/analytical essays that are focused on a central idea and effectively organized. (CCSS.W.2)
Required Materials
- Pens…I hate pencils with the fiery passion of 1000 suns. They are antiquated math sticks.
- Almost everything we do is on your computer
Hazen Core Beliefs:
We pride ourselves on our focus on character education. When referring to classroom expectations there is no need to go beyond our core beliefs: Pride, Unity, Achievement, Equity, Excellence & Service.
Course Goals: By the end of this course you will have
Take a greater responsibility for your learning
Demonstrated the ability to write clearly, concisely, and critically
Found your voice and be prepared to use it- you will need it
Developed an understanding of how politics, culture, religion, and economics interrelate
Cultivated the ability to critically analyze historical documents and developments
Developed a sense of historical-mindedness or thinking historically
Cultivate 21st Century skills needed for the future
Keys to Success: There are several keys to success for this course. They are also vital life skills.
Accepting the challenge: You are in school to learn and the only way to accomplish that is to challenge yourself. As a teacher, I am not doing my job unless my students are placed outside of their academic comfort zones and forced to face weaknesses in an effort to improve. CHOOSE GLORY OVER COMPLACENCY.
Handling stress: You are going to experience stress and frustration. It is a natural part of the learning process and life. The object is to learn how to handle these feelings, know when to seek help and how to approach it, and persevere through it all to become a stronger student and person. Do not give in to panic. Talk to me first. Don’t panic until I tell you it is time to panic.
Preparation: You absolutely will not be successful or be able to follow what is going on in class if you are not prepared. Allocate your time and do not procrastinate. This is a discussion-based class, so your attention is a must.
Mind Set: Too many students psych themselves out by focusing on the negative or stacking up any number of tasks against them. Remember this will be hard work, but not as much as it will be time-consuming. If you spend more time doing the work than complaining about doing the work you will be better off. Apply yourself, manage your time, and put in the time.
Following Directions: The directions are the treasure map to an easy A. They tell you exactly what to do and the quickest route to getting it done. Utilize them and ask questions. Many students will lose points because they decide to ignore the directions and guess at what is expected.
Communication: Communication is everything. Students must be willing to seek help if they are confused or clarification if they have a question from their teacher, parents, fellow classmates, etc. Students should also feel comfortable approaching their teachers, parents, or administrators if there are any problems inside or outside of the classroom.
Assessments: Assessment in the class is going to vary. It is a part of my educational philosophy that I should diversify my instruction to cater to an audience of students who learn in different ways. This carries over into assessment in that each student is going to be given the opportunity to assess through their strengths and also work on their weaknesses. So, assessments will not always be the same.
Extra Credit Opportunities: None really.... This class is run in partnership with local universities. The aim of the course is to prepare students for the college environment. Although I will have some control over the creation of the content of the course, much of the course was created by the district and university team.
Classroom Participation: Classroom participation is very important to the success of this course as a whole. It is expected that every moment you spend in my presence is spent in pursuit of your perfect virtue. REMEMBER you actually chose to be here. Compulsory school effectively ends when you turn 16. So if you are here you are working. If it is CWI great, if it is math, great, if it is your HSBP weird, but whatever. Anime, car videos, makeup tutorials, Twitch Streams...non of this is in accordance with your perfect virtue. If you make the choice to be off task The allotment of participation points is up to the discretion of the teacher and represents a meaningful portion of your grade.
Miscellaneous Policies:
~10% of each assignment is for Quality and Editing. Lack of care or concern will impact your grade.
- I do not accept incomplete work.
Plagiarism & Cheating: AI=Plagiarism. Enough said. Plagiarism and cheating will not be tolerated or taken lightly. Expect the harshest punishment allowed under RSD guidelines. Several papers will be turned in electronically through www.turnitin.com, an anti-plagiarism internet site. I cannot stress this enough...the work we do in here is either so weird or so specific that ChatGPT can't help you. Moreover, most of the assignments are completed on Google Assignments. This means that I own your work. I see every keystroke, every edit, every time you open or close the assignment. I know to the minute how long you worked on stuff. The first thing I look at when I grade your stuff is your edit history. If I see work get turned in with 3 edits and one of them is 5 gigantic paragraphs repeatedly and poorly citing a 2007 University of Halifax study ctrl-v'd on there, you are toast.
Attendance & Tardies: The school’s policy on attendance and tardies are clearly detailed in the student handbook. Student learning is negatively affected if they have excessive absences. In addition, a student walking into class late is disruptive, counterproductive, and disrespectful whether intended or not. Students will not be allowed to submit work on unexcused absences.
Contact Information: The easiest way to contact me is email. I embrace a partnership with parents and look forward to establishing a line of communication. In fact, parents can actually join the class on Canvas. You would receive all of the class updates, assignments, announcements, and grades in real-time.
Late Policy: If a student misses an assignment with an excused absence, they must turn in that assignment in a timely fashion in accordance with how many days they missed. This puts the responsibility on the student. Late Assignments will be downgraded by 10% a day (for each of the first 5 days). After 5 days the work can be submitted for feedback, but will not be graded for value. Students should communicate with the teacher in advance for an extension. This policy is consistent with the Social Studies Department at Hazen High School. That being said…TALK TO ME if you know something cannot be completed on time. It is an actual adult life skill. Treat me like a person and I promise to do the same to you.
Personal Tutor: Students will experience stress and some difficulty when they are being challenged. This is an intentional component of any challenging course. Learning how to handle stress or problem-solve difficulties are essential life skills that can only be learned through experience. With that being said, when things are difficult come and see me. I am not nearly the Bond Villain that I am made out to be.
WARNING: Some topics discussed in history are controversial, deal with morals and religion, involve political views, or tackle racism, sexism, gender discrimination, or homophobia. I want to be very clear that at no point am I sharing my own views on these matters or influencing students one way or the other. I am the least important person in the room. My role is simply to facilitate conversations, helping students to understand issues, so they can develop educated opinions on topics that have affected people in the past and today. Most of history involves humans disagreeing and as students of history we must analyze issues to understand the actions and motives of those who lived in the past and present. In addition, it is paramount to model that there are multiple sides to every issue and the only way to have an educated opinion is to understand the views of those on both sides. Communication is the foundation of our educational experience so please contact me with any concerns (sooner than later).
Classroom Policies
Students should familiarize themselves with the policies, procedures, and consequences outlined in the HHS Student Handbook (The green one). All policies will be followed in this class, in particular those related to tardies, electronic devices, academic dishonesty, make-up work, dress code/ID, and behavior.