Expectations And Policies For All Classes
The most valuable learning is not about memorizing facts and figures.
It is not about higher grade point averages and accumulating degrees.
It is about life itself, and its impact is on the heart. -Rodney Smith
Entering The Classroom:
When you enter my classroom, quietly find your seat; take out the materials that you need for class; read the overhead to see what we will be doing in class that day; get to work on the entry task on the overhead BEFORE THE BELL RINGS. After the bell rings there should be no conversation. This allows you to shift gears and to get ready to learn.
Heading Your Papers:
Head your essays on the left side, in this manner:
First and last name
Period and subject
Assignment name and page number
Due date
Maintaining a Class Binder:
You will maintain a binder to help you stay organized and achieve academic success. Your binder can either be a separate binder, or a separate class section that can be contained within a larger binder that you already carry to other classes. For our class, your binder will have three specific dividers: 1) Homework (so you don't lose it coming and going from school); 2) Class Handouts; and 3) Graded Work (I require you to keep all graded work until the end of the grading term).
Bring Books Daily:
Bring any handbook, assigned novel, or AR book that is checked out to you to class daily. I won't spend instruction time writing a pass for you to get your book if you forget it. Additionally, you will be calling home during class to tell your parents you were unprepared for class.
Building Evacuations:
When we are asked to evacuate our building I expect you to immediately stop what you're doing, get up calmly and quietly and walk quickly out of the room to the upper field. Go to your 4th period teacher for roll. If you are in my 4th period class, meet me at the far side of the field, at the 25 yard line on the right side of the field. Once you are there I expect you to form two straight lines, quickly. When I shout your name you shout back "HERE!" as loudly as you can. I expect absolutely NO talking during roll or while listening for instructions from me or from the administration. There is absolutely no cell phone use on the field -- your life may depend on how closely you listen for safety instructions from me. Students who cannot follow these safety guidelines will be assigned detention.
Food and Water in the Classroom:
You may quietly get up to get water from the water fountain in my classroom without asking, as long as you're not interrupting others. Bottled beverages and food are 'usually' OK with me, but occasionally not. So, please ask me first about bottled beverages and food in the classroom.
Bathroom Passes:
Usually, I will let students use the bathroom one person at a time as long as it doesn't get out of hand and become an irritation or a disruption. You may always drop your bag in the classroom during the passing period, check in with me and use the bathroom. If you check in with me first, I won't mark you tardy.
Cell Phones:
If you choose to text in class, this is what you can expect: As Shakespeare would say, "I will be deaf to pleading and excuses, therefore use none." Cell phones are to be "off and invisible during the school day." If it you have it out, if it rings / vibrates during class, or if your are texting during class, you can count on 1) handing over your cell phone to me; 2) my turning your cell phone in at the office as our school policy states; 3) your parents being called by one of our principals to let them know your cell phone was out / on / being used during instruction; and 4) your parents will have to come to the school to pick up your cell phone everytime it is taken to the office by a teacher.
I know the tricks: the "I'm looking for a book in my backpack" text, the "I'm studying in my binder" text, the "My hands are cold so I'm putting them in my sweatshirt" text, the "I'm reading my AR book" text, the "I'll hide my phone behind my knee" text, the "I'll text from the bathroom" text, and the not so sly "One hand in my pants pocket" text. Don't try it in my class. You'll lose :-)
"Ode To The Cell Phone" a poem by Peter S., Spring 2008
There once was an angel named Mygatt
But don't be fooled by her gentle pat
'Cause she'll take your phone
And grind up your bones
And incoming Freshmen don't know that ;^>
Absences:
Class work, assignments, quizzes and tests due during an absence must be made up in a timely manner. It is your responsibility to find out what assignments were assigned during your absence by using the class Web page. DO NOT COME BACK TO CLASS AND ASK ME WHAT WE DID. I MAINTAIN THIS WEB PAGE FOR YOU TO CHECK. Click on the button for your class to see what work was assigned while you were absent. Handouts given in class while you were gone should be downloaded from your class's web page and printed out before you return to my class. The Web page is always current. After an absence you have as many class days to turn in absent work as you were days sick. Of course, exceptions can be made with a note, email or phone call from your parent within that week. For extensive absences, such as hospitalizations, or a death in the family, I will likely excuse you from making up work. Keep me in the loop -- I am happy to work with the needs of a family.
Correcting Work:
Students who return from an absence and have not yet made up their work, or students who have been present and not yet completed their work, should stand up and quietly leave the classroom before the class corrects the work without being asked. Students who fail to do this will receive a zero for the assignment.
Homework Policy:
You are expected to turn in all assignments on the due date when you are in school. I do understand that doing so may not always be possible, for a variety of reasons. Life happens. I will accept late work until the Friday of the following week with the penalty of a downgrade of one full letter grade. Example: if you earned a B on the late assignment it will be downgraded one full letter grade to a C. Additionally, missing the original deadline when you are present will automatically result in a teacher e-mail home to your parents, and being assigned to attend the next Thursday School, not as a punishment, but as an academic support. If you complete the missing assignment and turn it in before the date of your Thursday School, you do not need to attend Thursday School, and I will excuse you. If you reach the Friday of the following week and I still do not have your missing work, I will no longer accept it for grading, you will receive a zero in the grade book for that assignment, and parents will be notified. Students who do not attend Thursday School when assigned will be assigned to detention. Students who do not attend detention when assigned will be assigned to Saturday School as a penalty. It's much easier on you to just get the work done and turned in on time.
Tell Me:
I may give you an extension on a major assignment if I know that you are under an undue amount of personal stress; if academic demands in other classes are colliding and weighing you down on top of the essay I just assigned; if you currently have sports or dance commitments that are temporarily taking a large amount of time and you need an extension on an essay. Talk to me -- if it is reasonable, I am happy to sit down with you and make arrangements to help you manage your academic load, get through the stress, and succeed.
Computer Labs and Hallway Behavior:
In this class we go to the computer labs frequently. It is important to me that we do not disturb other classes on our way to the lab. Ideally, I like my classes to be seen in the hallways but not "heard" in the hallways. My expectations for your behavior on the way to the labs are that you 1) Are not talking; 2) Are walking quietly. People who choose not to follow these expectations will receive detention.
Extra Credit:
I don't allow extra credit. Really, I don't allow extra credit. Pay attention and do it right the first time.
Extra Help:
I will meet with students after school by appointment to help them achieve their academic goals. If you need extra help PLEASE don't be afraid to ask me. I'll be happy to sit down with you one-on-one. So please don't wait--ask as soon as you realize that you're not understanding how to do something and need some extra instruction.
Come Prepared:
Please staple your papers AT HOME. Sharpen your pencil BEFORE the bell. Bring to class pencils, red pens, notebook paper and your books. Repeatedly coming to class unprepared will result in you making a phone call to your parents informing them that you are unprepared to participate in school.
Participate:
Because much of this class is discussion based, it is critical to me that my classroom be an emotionally safe place for all students to feel that they can voice their thoughts, questions, opinions and even suggestions. On a daily basis you will hear me ask the class, "What questions do you HAVE?" because I expect you to be thinking and creating questions relating to what we're doing. If you have a question about an assignment, chances are that someone across the room does too. So voice your thoughts, questions, opinions and suggestions! I'll listen to them with an open heart.
Be Polite and Respectful:
Raise your hand to contribute and I'll call on you. When I raise my hand for your attention, be polite and end your conversation with your class mate. Classes that do not practice this courtesy will be held after the passing bell rings, and that's a bummer for everyone.
Discipline In My Classroom:
Depending on the situation, student, and/or behavior history of the student, corrective discipline in my classroom can include one, some, or all of the following: 1) a private discussion during or after-class about your behavior; 2) e-mails / phone calls to your parent; 3) assignment to detention; 4) an immediate visit with one of our administrators with possible assignment to ISS or Suspension. Corrective discipline in my classroom will never include embarrassing or humiliating the student in public or in private.
Substitute Teachers:
I don't like to be out of class. If there's a substitute teacher, you can bet I am very ill, at home, and need to be there. A substitute teacher should receive the same respect that a student would give to me were I present. Students who take advantage of a substitute teacher, or who are disrespectful or continually disruptive when a substitute teacher is teaching my class will receive a minimum of detention upon my return to the classroom, without question.
Sleeping in Class (aka "Michael's Rule"):
Stopping the teaching / learning process of 25 people to wake up a sleeping student multiple times is disruptive to the learning environment and is therefore unfair to the students who are there to learn and to the teacher who is there to teach. Junior High students are accountable for their choices. Students who choose to sleep in class will be calling their parent's home phone, work phone, or cell phone, from our classroom at the end of the period to inform their parent that they are sleeping in class.
Dress Code:
Students must realize that my class room is my place of employment. As such, I have a right to be free from sexual harassment. When you wear clothing that exposes your cleavage, breasts, abdomen, butt, bra or underwear it makes me uncomfortable, and I have a job to do: Teach. I will give you one warning to pull it up, pull it down, zip it up or cover it up. After the warning, if you continue to wear that type of clothing I will consider it intentional harassment toward me, and 1) you will be sent to the office where 2) your parents will likely be called by the principal to bring you a change of clothing. Follow the school's established dress code whenever you are on campus, even after school hours, at athletic events, and at dances. Hats should be kept in backpacks or lockers. Hats should not be displayed in the classroom. Hats cannot be worn in the building. When I see a hat being worn in the building, in accordance with school policy, I will keep it until after the 2:05 bell.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is an idea or a piece of writing that has been copied from someone else -- another student, or online, or out of books -- and is presented as being your own writing, or your own original thought or data. Plagiarism is a serious offense. In high school you will receive an F for the course and be suspended if you plagiarize; in college you will be expelled. In an educational environment that celebrates the beauty of the human experience, plagiarism is especially reprehensible. Students who turn in plagiarized work will 1) be calling home to inform their parents of their poor choice; 2) will receive an automatic F on the assignment; and 3) will be subject to this school's discipline policy on cheating. Keep in mind that essays for my class are weighted at 50% or more of your quarter grade.
Tolerance:
Keeping my classroom an emotionally safe environment for all of my students is of paramount importance to me. Therefore, put downs, racism, sexual harassment, or social ridicule of any person or social group of any kind will absolutely not be tolerated in my classroom. You are accountable for your words, behavior, attitudes and actions toward me, yourself and others. Students who attempt to degrade the emotionally safe environment of my classroom should be prepared for a long conversation with me, the principal and your parents.