Syllabus

Classroom Expectations:
BE R.O-T.C

Be Respectful:  Respect (noun) - high or special regard; esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability.

 This expectation covers a lot of issues in the classroom. To me, it is very simple. (and very cliché) Do to others what you would have them do to you. This doesn’t mean always agreeing with people, but it does mean that when you do, that the criticism is constructive and respectful. No one wants to be talked down to, and so that will not be tolerated in this classroom. Disrespect includes:  calling another person/idea “stupid”, using slurs/hateful language, refusing to work with another student, publically embarrassing another student, bullying another student, laughing at another student’s error in a malicious way, and any other behavior that is contrary to the above definition. If your actions show a disregard for a person’s worth as a member of our school community and as a human being, you are in violation of this expectation. The people around you are your friends, neighbors, classmates, and fellow humans, they desire basic respect. Now, no one is perfect, and we get angry at people sometimes, but what we do with our anger is what’s important. Students should never be afraid to speak their mind, and if that takes place in a respectful manner then the school year should stay amiable and enjoyable.

As previously mentioned, hateful/disrespectful speech will never be tolerated in the classroom. A one-time failure to meet this expectation will result in a verbal warning/removal from class to the hallway (severity dependent). The incident will be recorded and documented by teacher. Multiple/Severe incidents will result in one (1) before/after school detention.  If a student has four (4) document instances of disrespect towards the teacher or student will result in the student losing their lunchroom privileges. Students will eat their lunch in my classroom or in a classroom of another teacher. If a student’s actions are intensely severe/or show blatant disregard for this policy they will receive an office referral to speak with an available administrative authority.

Be on time:  (Which means no later than quietly making your way to your seat when the bell rings)

The expectation is that students will come to class and be ready to begin working right away. I do not make mountains out of molehills. If you are in the room, and you are QUIETLY on your way to your desk when the bell rings, then you are meeting this expectation. If you are disturbing others as you move towards your seat, you are not yet ready for class and are therefore tardy.

If students are less than 2 minutes late for class, they will have an option for the consequence of their tardiness. They may choose to sing a short chorus/song of my choosing (they will be provide with lyrics) or they may choose to accept the tardy as is. If they choose to sing, the tardy is not recorded. I think this is a fun way to build classroom community as well as make the consequence for socializing in the hall less punitive. The songs include: The IU alma mater “Hail to Old IU”, the chorus to “Call Me Maybe” (Carly Rae Jepsen), the chorus to “Baby” (Justin Bieber), and “I’m forever blowing bubbles”. Students are always welcome to decline and take the tardy if they wish.

1st/2nd tardy – verbal warning

3rd – Before/after school detention

4th – Friday School/Office referral

Be Conscientious:  Conscientious (adj)- wishing to do what is right, esp. to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly.

This basically means I want you to be a good student. It means turn in ALL you work, and turn it in ON time. It means not sleeping in class. It means taking pride in all work and turning in quality work. It means paying attention and not using cell phones during class. Students will turn in all their work for this class.

If a student is sleeping during class, they will be woken up. If a student cannot stay awake during the class period, they will be sent to the nurse’s office or to the administrator’s office whichever is appropriate.

If a student is caught using a cell phone, they will be asked to put it away. If they must use their phone because of an emergency, they must use it in the administrative office. Failure to discontinue cell phone use will result in an after school detention. Further failure will result in confiscation until the end of that school day.

If a student does not turn in their work or turns in sloppy/careless/incomplete work, they will be asked to redo the assignment. If the student fails to redo the work on time, they will lose lunchroom privileges and will do the work during their lunch period in my room. Further failure will result in office referral. No matter what, all work will be turned in. There is no such thing as a zero (0) in my gradebook.

Classroom Procedures:

Students will raise their hand to be called upon: This classroom procedure, I see as a necessary evil. While we would love to all be able to speak when we want to, there are hundreds of other students in other classrooms across the school. Failing to adhere by this procedure will cause too much noise and would be disrespectful to our fellow classmates and teachers. When a student is called upon, they will have the floor until they are finished speaking. In keeping with this procedure, I will also raise my hand when it is time for me to speak. When students see my hand in the air, they should immediate quiet down so that I may have the floor. Failure to do so is a violation of Expectation 1.

Students will begin class by writing in their journal: We will write a lot in this class because writing helps us to think better. One way that we will do this is by completing a journal every day at the beginning of class. Many times, this journal will be directly related to what we are reading or another lesson we are doing in class. Students should date each entry and will turn them in every Friday. The purpose of this is to utilize the first 10 minutes of class and get students thinking on their own about the topics we will discuss. Failure to begin and complete these journals immediately is a violation of Expectation 3.

Students will pack their things when they are instructed to do so: I was once a student, and so I understand the need to pack up before the bell rings. For that reason, I will accommodate students by giving them 1 min every day to get their things together. This will require extra work in terms of synchronizing clocks, and so I expect that students will at the very least match my effort. This is to be sure students do not miss announcements or fail to write them down.

Announcements will be posted to classroom blog immediately after school: To avoid miscommunication with students/parents. All class information including homework and announcements will be posted on the class blog by me when students have left for the day.


Reading List 7th grade 2012-2013

Persepolis                                                   Marjane Satrapi


Monster                                                      Walter Dean Myers

The Giver                                                    Lois Lowery

The Red Pony                                              John Steinbeck

Bud, Not Buddy                                           Christopher Paul Curtis

The Outsiders                                              S.E. Hilton

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