I revamped last year's syllabus to reflect what I've learned about teaching. Dumbed down some of the vocabulary, put in some pop culture references, and structured some previously obscure rules. Here is my 2007-2008 syllabus in its entirety:
Environmental Science Syllabus
2007-2008
Teacher: Misterteacher
Class Goal
The goal of this class is to expand how you think about the world. We are going to connect “the global with the local”. What happens in the world globally affects what we do in our everyday lives locally. You are going to learn about important environmental issues that are going on today and what we can do about them. You will also learn to take notes effectively, use the scientific method to do experiments, make graphs, and understand scientific articles.
Grades
Everyone starts out with a 100% in the class. Starting today, you have two options: A) to keep your A by working hard or B) watching your grade fall quickly. I expect each student to put in their full effort into this course, doing so will give you the best chance to do well in class and keep your 100%.
Your marking period grade will be composed of:
Participation points (20%)
Quizzes (30%)
Homework (20%)
Tests (10%)
Projects (20%)
At every half-way point of the marking period, I will give you a print-out of your grade so far, so that you will not be surprised at your progress in the course. I will also have a one-on-one conference with you on your grade. At the end of the marking period, I will assign a final grade to you by finding the total percentage of your score.
The grade breakdown for this course is:
100 – 90%: A 89 – 80%: B 79 – 70%: C 69 – 65%: D 64% and below: F
If you have an issue with my grading on any assignments, please see me after class. I do not discuss grades during class. If you do not let me know about the grade in question after a week, the grade stands.
Over the course of the year, I will give opportunities for extra credit to improve your grade. However these assignments will be harder and be more work.
Homework
I will be assigning homework almost EVERYDAY. Put your completed homework in your class’s homework tray when you come into class. I will grade it and return it back to you as soon as possible. I will accept late homework. For everyday your homework is late, I will take off a point. If your homework is not turned in within a week, the homework assignment becomes a zero.
Daily Routine
1. Come in and quietly sit in your seat.
2. Quietly take out your notebook, pen, and homework.
3. Take out yesterday’s homework and put it in your class’s homework tray.
4. Write down homework for tomorrow and work on the Do Now as written on the board.
Cheating
All homework and labs (everything I grade) must be in your own words. It is okay to get help or work together, but every answer must be in your own words. If you copy even one question the penalty is a zero on the assignment and I will notify your family. Cheating on quizzes or tests will result in a zero on the test and I will also notify your family.
Lateness
Lateness will not be tolerated. Class begins the second the bell rings. If you come late to class repeatedly, I will call home and inform your parents.
Absences
If you are absent, get the notes from a classmate outside of class or stay after school to be caught up. You are responsible for the work missed. If I gave handouts during class, check the folder labeled “absences” for a copy of any papers you missed. Do not interrupt class when you are doing this but do this before or after class.
Class Rules
1.Respect the teacher
2.Work from bell to bell
3.Raise your hand silently
4.Do not talk when someone else is talking
5.Be calm in class
1. Respecting the Teacher
The teacher is the leader in the class. This means that teacher decides where students sit, what to have out on your desk, and what work you should be doing etc… When I tell you to get out your notebook or keep you head up off your desk or something like that please do not argue and scream and curse because that is disrespectful, pointless, and will only get you in trouble (see below).
2. Working from bell to bell
Don’t tell me “I’m finished” because there is always something for you to do. If you finish one assignment, raise your hand and I’ll give you another. You always need to be working in my class. Don’t ask for “free time”.
No, you can’t leave class. Sorry. You can’t miss class because then you will be behind when you get back. You can’t call your cousin or see your counselor or go get the jacket you left in gym etc… If an adult needs you for something, he or she will come and get you. Otherwise, you need to stay put and do your work. I never let anyone out of class. If you insist on arguing you will just make a fool out of yourself and get in trouble and the answer will still be no.
Bathroom policy. There is no bathroom in my class. Even for emergencies. Please go to the bathroom before or after class. Asking to go to the bathroom distracts the flow of the class and distracts your classmates and me.
Being Prepared for class. I expect you to bring to class the following materials everyday:
A three-ring binder with loose-leaf paper OR a spiral notebook with a folder (your handouts should be inside your binder or folder)
Pencil or paper (I do not let students borrow any supplies)
End of class. The whole class must be seated and silent before I allow you to leave. Absolutely silent.
3. Raise your hand silently
If you have a question or want to get my attention, raise your hand silently. Do not call out. Please be patient if I don’t get to you immediately, I have 25 other students too. Raising your hand silently is the one and only correct way to get my attention.
4. Do not talk when someone else is talking
When I am talking in class, do not interrupt me. Do not keep talking to your friend about Chris Brown. It is rude and disrespectful. If you want to say something, wait until I am finished and raise your hand silently. I may have already answered your question by the time I call on you to say what is on your mind. At the same time, if your classmate is talking and has permission to speak, be respectful and listen to him or her silently. It is very impolite for you to be talking while your classmate is answering a question.
5. Be calm in class
You will quickly realize that Misterteacher is a relatively calm person and he expects his classes to be calm or “chill.” Don’t bring your drama into the classroom. I don’t care about what you did over the weekend or if someone gave you a dirty look today. Wait until school is over to talk about that stuff. I’m here to help you succeed in science. That is really all I care about. As long as the class is centered on learning, then we will all get along and get through the school year as a class.
Misbehavior
Many students are trying to succeed in school and if your behavior gets in the way of that then you will face the consequences. These are the steps that we take to make sure that one student’s behavior does not derail the learning of the whole class:
1. I talk to you one-on-one inside the classroom or outside the classroom.
2. I start taking points off your participation grade on my clipboard.
3. If you keep misbehaving, I will call your home.
4. If you continue, I will fill out a pink slip to the dean and give you a detention.
I also reserve the right to kick you out of class if #1-2 does not work and you do something extremely disrespectful to either me or your fellow students.
I have read and understand this entire document:
Student Name (print) ____________________ Parent Name (print) _____________________
Student Signature __________________________ Date _______________
Parent Signature ___________________________ Phone Number _____________________
Contact in: English Spanish
Monday, September 3, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
My end of the year reflection
I had to submit an end of the year reflection to my principal. Spending an hour conjuring up a diplomatic and optimistic-sounding one page summary of my year does not do full justice to it, but there are snippets of truthiness in this reflection, which is below. I hope to write a fuller blog version in the upcoming days.
I would characterize this year as a year of learning. I realize now that I honestly knew next to nothing about teaching when I first started the year in September. But in the months since, I have gained a number of tools that have proved to be helpful in managing a classroom and promoting learning. One thing I liked was how I was able to experiment with different techniques to teach material such as gallery walks, jig-sawing, and PowerPoint slideshows. I have kept a mental checklist of what exactly worked and what didn’t in case I try these methods next year. More importantly, my very approach to teaching has changed: I came in wishing to teach content, but now I believe that my goal is to teach fundamental skills to students who come in without them because without these skills, many of these students will have no clue how to learn science.
This year was very challenging. One of my greatest challenges was learning how to manage a classroom. I still have plenty room to improve in this regard, but I think I have progressed to the point where a student cursing me out in front of my face no longer unnerves me. And it did unnerve me before, causing me much anxiety, sometimes enough to haunt me in my sleep. But throughout the year, this “anxiety” happened less and less often, as I went through a process of developing a thicker skin in order prevent insults or petty comments from affecting me personally. I began to ask myself how these situations actually occur in the first place. In other words, I started focusing on how to treat the problem at root (improve pacing and instruction and always speak in a calm, professional tone implying purpose) instead of just diagnosing a symptom (kid cursing me out and writing that kid up).
I feel like I had some good support here at [school]. My colleagues were very helpful to me. I took their advice and encouragement to heart. I felt that my relationships here were comfortable enough for me to share my frustrations and joys with them. I was also glad that the Aussie coaches were here to give me some framework and tools to start from in instruction. They were willing to meet with me for a significant time and offer some helpful feedback on my lessons.
I know exactly where I have to improve. I need to incorporate more hands-on learning to show the kids that science is not just sit at your desk and take notes, but also the act of doing stuff. In addition, I want to use more effective note-taking strategies to improve retention of material so that they don’t fail a cumulative final in horrifying numbers. I also have to find a better way of keeping students accountable in being prepared for class. Far too many students this year lost all the handouts that I gave them and then looked at me as if I were to blame. The final thing I want to improve on is not hesitating to lay the smack-down on some of the kids. I cannot hesitate to give out consequences to certain students who try my patience.
Therefore, I look forward to trying some new things next year and making some progress on the points I mentioned above. This year was very difficult, easily the hardest year in my life. I worked very hard and stayed at work late almost every day. I had to go and do extra stuff to make sure that my labs did not become disasters. And I had to be on my toes all the time to make sure that I was not about to get hit by a spitball. Now I just hope I can get rest for the next two months.
--------------------------
I would characterize this year as a year of learning. I realize now that I honestly knew next to nothing about teaching when I first started the year in September. But in the months since, I have gained a number of tools that have proved to be helpful in managing a classroom and promoting learning. One thing I liked was how I was able to experiment with different techniques to teach material such as gallery walks, jig-sawing, and PowerPoint slideshows. I have kept a mental checklist of what exactly worked and what didn’t in case I try these methods next year. More importantly, my very approach to teaching has changed: I came in wishing to teach content, but now I believe that my goal is to teach fundamental skills to students who come in without them because without these skills, many of these students will have no clue how to learn science.
This year was very challenging. One of my greatest challenges was learning how to manage a classroom. I still have plenty room to improve in this regard, but I think I have progressed to the point where a student cursing me out in front of my face no longer unnerves me. And it did unnerve me before, causing me much anxiety, sometimes enough to haunt me in my sleep. But throughout the year, this “anxiety” happened less and less often, as I went through a process of developing a thicker skin in order prevent insults or petty comments from affecting me personally. I began to ask myself how these situations actually occur in the first place. In other words, I started focusing on how to treat the problem at root (improve pacing and instruction and always speak in a calm, professional tone implying purpose) instead of just diagnosing a symptom (kid cursing me out and writing that kid up).
I feel like I had some good support here at [school]. My colleagues were very helpful to me. I took their advice and encouragement to heart. I felt that my relationships here were comfortable enough for me to share my frustrations and joys with them. I was also glad that the Aussie coaches were here to give me some framework and tools to start from in instruction. They were willing to meet with me for a significant time and offer some helpful feedback on my lessons.
I know exactly where I have to improve. I need to incorporate more hands-on learning to show the kids that science is not just sit at your desk and take notes, but also the act of doing stuff. In addition, I want to use more effective note-taking strategies to improve retention of material so that they don’t fail a cumulative final in horrifying numbers. I also have to find a better way of keeping students accountable in being prepared for class. Far too many students this year lost all the handouts that I gave them and then looked at me as if I were to blame. The final thing I want to improve on is not hesitating to lay the smack-down on some of the kids. I cannot hesitate to give out consequences to certain students who try my patience.
Therefore, I look forward to trying some new things next year and making some progress on the points I mentioned above. This year was very difficult, easily the hardest year in my life. I worked very hard and stayed at work late almost every day. I had to go and do extra stuff to make sure that my labs did not become disasters. And I had to be on my toes all the time to make sure that I was not about to get hit by a spitball. Now I just hope I can get rest for the next two months.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
For God loved teachers so much
On the 6th day, God created men and women.
On the 7th day, God rested.
Not so much to recuperate, but rather to prepare himself for the work God was going to do the next day. For it was on the 8th day that God created the teacher.
This teacher, though, taken from among men and women had several significant modifications. In general, God made the teacher more durable than other men and women. The teacher was made to arise at a very early hour and to go to bed no earlier than 11:30 PM with no rest in between. The teacher had to be able to withstand being locked up in an air-tight room with 35 little monsters on a rainy Monday. And the teacher had to be fit to correct 103 term papers over spring vacation. Yes, God made the teacher tough - but gentle too. The teacher was equipped with soft hands to wipe away the tears of the neglected and lonely student. And into the teacher God poured a generous amount of patience.
Patience when a student asks to have repeated the directions the teacher has just repeated for someone else. Patience when the kids forget their lunch money for the 4th day in a row. Patience when 1/3 of the class fails the test. Patience when the text books haven't arrived yet, and the semester starts tomorrow.
And God gave the teacher a heart slightly bigger than the average human heart. For the teacher's heart had to be big enough to love the kid who screams, "I hate this class - it's boring!" and to love the kid who runs out of the class at the end of the period without so much as a good bye or a thank you.
And lastly, God gave the teacher an abundant supply of hope. For God knew that the teacher would always be hoping. Hoping that the students would one day learn to spell. Hoping not to have lunchroom duty. Hoping that Friday would come. Hoping for a free day. Hoping for deliverance.
When God finished creating the teacher, he stepped back and admired the work of his hands. And God saw that the teacher was good. Very Good. And God smiled, for when he looked at the teacher, he saw into the future. He knew that the future was in the hands of the teachers. And because God loved teachers so much, on the 9th day God created "SNOW DAYS."
- Retold from a post of a colleague on a teaching forum
On the 7th day, God rested.
Not so much to recuperate, but rather to prepare himself for the work God was going to do the next day. For it was on the 8th day that God created the teacher.
This teacher, though, taken from among men and women had several significant modifications. In general, God made the teacher more durable than other men and women. The teacher was made to arise at a very early hour and to go to bed no earlier than 11:30 PM with no rest in between. The teacher had to be able to withstand being locked up in an air-tight room with 35 little monsters on a rainy Monday. And the teacher had to be fit to correct 103 term papers over spring vacation. Yes, God made the teacher tough - but gentle too. The teacher was equipped with soft hands to wipe away the tears of the neglected and lonely student. And into the teacher God poured a generous amount of patience.
Patience when a student asks to have repeated the directions the teacher has just repeated for someone else. Patience when the kids forget their lunch money for the 4th day in a row. Patience when 1/3 of the class fails the test. Patience when the text books haven't arrived yet, and the semester starts tomorrow.
And God gave the teacher a heart slightly bigger than the average human heart. For the teacher's heart had to be big enough to love the kid who screams, "I hate this class - it's boring!" and to love the kid who runs out of the class at the end of the period without so much as a good bye or a thank you.
And lastly, God gave the teacher an abundant supply of hope. For God knew that the teacher would always be hoping. Hoping that the students would one day learn to spell. Hoping not to have lunchroom duty. Hoping that Friday would come. Hoping for a free day. Hoping for deliverance.
When God finished creating the teacher, he stepped back and admired the work of his hands. And God saw that the teacher was good. Very Good. And God smiled, for when he looked at the teacher, he saw into the future. He knew that the future was in the hands of the teachers. And because God loved teachers so much, on the 9th day God created "SNOW DAYS."
- Retold from a post of a colleague on a teaching forum
Friday, May 4, 2007
A pound of nuts
Blogger deleted my original blog so I will have to start over with my postings.
I was meaning to post more in the time between this entry and my last entry (in January) but I was deterred by the difficulty I had trying to access my account. I guess my blog was in a perpetual state of limbo before it slid down into oblivion to meet its end at the hands of Blogger. Fortunately now it has arisen again, like a phoenix from the ashes, to report of Misterteacher's experiences teaching in New York City.
<--------------------------------------> Begin new thought in stream of consciousness.
I am tired. I was looking at myself on the black windows of the subway as I was heading home from work yesterday and I saw my state of weariness. The eyes that stared back at me were glassy, glossed with a dazed look of nothingness. My shirt was wrinkled, with deep furrows all over. My hair was in disarray, messy and shaggy because of my month-lack of hair cuts.
I am spent. Washed up. Burnt to a crisp. I feel like I could go home and go immediately to sleep and wake up on Sunday.
Despair sets in. Despondency. Shell-shocked. The kids, they waste my energy like time melts away a lit candle.
Her face is full of poisonous hatred for me. I wait. She erupts. Her shriek sounds throughout the classroom--"You're an ASSHOLE!" Without thinking, I slam the door in her face and got back to my lesson. My face betrays a hint of uneasiness and fear. For only a moment. I quickly reassume a mask of sallow indifference.
Is June here yet?
No. It's still a month away.
A student of mine who got in a vicious catfight the other day. She transferred immediately to a Catholic school. They have discipline over there. Before she left, she left me with a final note. I found it in my mailbox.
"Just a note for Misterteacher
Thanks for having me in your class. I know I was a tough cookie in the beginning but I changed over time. It was a pleasure being in your class. I really didn't know much on genetics so I didn't write much but I tried. Science wasn't my best class and I disliked it very much, but having you as my science teacher changed my views on science. Thanks again for having me in your class."
This little note makes up for months of being treated like crap.
I was meaning to post more in the time between this entry and my last entry (in January) but I was deterred by the difficulty I had trying to access my account. I guess my blog was in a perpetual state of limbo before it slid down into oblivion to meet its end at the hands of Blogger. Fortunately now it has arisen again, like a phoenix from the ashes, to report of Misterteacher's experiences teaching in New York City.
<--------------------------------------> Begin new thought in stream of consciousness.
I am tired. I was looking at myself on the black windows of the subway as I was heading home from work yesterday and I saw my state of weariness. The eyes that stared back at me were glassy, glossed with a dazed look of nothingness. My shirt was wrinkled, with deep furrows all over. My hair was in disarray, messy and shaggy because of my month-lack of hair cuts.
I am spent. Washed up. Burnt to a crisp. I feel like I could go home and go immediately to sleep and wake up on Sunday.
Despair sets in. Despondency. Shell-shocked. The kids, they waste my energy like time melts away a lit candle.
Her face is full of poisonous hatred for me. I wait. She erupts. Her shriek sounds throughout the classroom--"You're an ASSHOLE!" Without thinking, I slam the door in her face and got back to my lesson. My face betrays a hint of uneasiness and fear. For only a moment. I quickly reassume a mask of sallow indifference.
Is June here yet?
No. It's still a month away.
A student of mine who got in a vicious catfight the other day. She transferred immediately to a Catholic school. They have discipline over there. Before she left, she left me with a final note. I found it in my mailbox.
"Just a note for Misterteacher
Thanks for having me in your class. I know I was a tough cookie in the beginning but I changed over time. It was a pleasure being in your class. I really didn't know much on genetics so I didn't write much but I tried. Science wasn't my best class and I disliked it very much, but having you as my science teacher changed my views on science. Thanks again for having me in your class."
This little note makes up for months of being treated like crap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)