RESPECT PEOPLE
THINGS
IDEAS
Mr. Kevin Buckley Moeller High School – 2002 University of Dayton – BA English 2006 Xavier University – M. Ed. Secondary Education Integrated Language Arts 2009 KBuckley@Moeller.org
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Course Objectives To gain a greater understanding of literature and language To experience other cultures and identify common bonds with people of different times and places To develop a liberal knowledge of different types of literature and media To strengthen writing abilities and encourage more economic expression through analytical exercise
Homework Student homework will be comprised primarily of reading, and will be posted on NetMoeller. Typically, daily reading assignments will appear as ungraded entries on NetMoeller and will be given the grade “X” to indicate exemption for the grading program; this is normal. Students who do not read the texts will not do well in this course. Quizzes to determine if students have read assignments will be given frequently; be aware that reading Sparknotes or Wikipedia is NOT a substitute for reading the actual assigned texts, and having a general knowledge of a text is not enough to suffice. Quite simply, if you want to succeed as a student in this class, you have to do the reading and come to class prepared to discuss relevant themes. Students will be assessed on vocabulary units throughout the school year. Analysis Papers Students will be assigned analysis papers for most (but not all) of the literature we cover in class. Analysis papers are single page, single spaced papers that students will compose in MS Word and submit to me via email at the beginning of class on the assigned due date. Papers will be returned via email with comments and grades will be posted to NetMoeller as soon as possible. All analysis papers MUST be written in 12 point Times New Roman font and can have a maximum margin size of 1.25 inches (these are usually the default settings). PLAGIARISM OF ANY KIND WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AND WILL RESULT IN A ZERO FOR THE ASSIGNMENT AND A REPORT OF MISCONDUCT. Late papers will be penalized a letter grade per day. A common alibi for late or incomplete papers is “my laptop is broken.” This is not a valid excuse. I expect students to back up all documents on a physical medium or a separate database; archiving documents on an external email address (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) or uploading to Google documents are viable (and free) options. I emphasize this practice to help students prepare for university and career expectations. Classroom Discipline My number one classroom rule is at the top of this page: RESPECT. I like to further describe this rule with the headings PEOPLE, THINGS, and IDEAS. I encourage (and at times require) students to engage in discussion, but with the understanding that anything said or implied does not deliberately offend other students. Most first infractions will result in a verbal warning or 500 word essay; most second infractions will result in a school detention or M-Block detention; most third infractions will result in a conference with Mr. Kremer and/or a report of misconduct. Here are some sample situations students should avoid: disrespecting teacher or other students, cell phone usage/texting in class, gaming on laptops, foul or inappropriate language, uniform violations, eating in class, habitual tardiness, completing work for other courses during English class, sleeping during instructional time, stealing from teacher and other students, etc. When class starts, I expect students to be in their seats, signed in to DyKnow, and ready to get to work. In the first weeks, I will take attendance verbally to help learn names; I expect students to be patient and respectful during this process. Congregating at doors before or after lessons is prohibited. The bell does NOT dismiss students at the end of a lesson; this is MY responsibility.