SILVERADO HIGH SCHOOL SOCIAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

My goal is to meet and exceed the standards as set forth by the State of California.

Room 6501
Phone: 760-955-3353 Ext.26501
Online Source: http://www.EnglishTeachur.com 
Office Hours: 10:15 – 11:00 A.M., after school by appointment only, please.

Personal tutoring is available before or after school by appointment only.

Grading Policy:

TESTS = 35% Tests will be given throughout the year with advance notice (if applicable) to students.

QUIZZES = 25% Quizzes will be weekly for vocabulary and periodically with or without advance warning covering homework, class assignments, and previous class session(s).

HOMEWORK/CLASS ASSIGNMENTS =15 % Homework/class assignments will occur as necessary to prepare for tests, as well as grade level competency exams.

PARTICIPATION = 15% Positive participation/active learning is encouraged.

SEMESTER EXAM = 10% Finals are given at the end of Semester 1 and Semester 2.

EXTRA CREDIT = 10% On occasion, I may choose to count an assignment as extra credit, but I do not offer any extra credit work to replace missed curriculum work or to improve poor scores.  One point of extra credit is possible for every school day a student signs my guest book.  That's ninety (90) free points!

Grading Scale:
100 – 96.5 = A+ 96.4 – 92.5 = A 92.4 – 89.5 = A-
89.4 – 86.5 = B+ 86.4 – 82.5 = B 82.4 – 79.5 = B-
79.4 – 76.5 = C+ 76.4 – 72.5 = C 72.4 – 69.5 = C-
69.4 – 66.5 = D+ 66.4 – 62.5 = D 62.4 – 59.5 = D-
59.4 and below = F

Attendance: Attendance is essential for success; often, classroom lecture/activities cannot be duplicated for absentees; therefore students are then at a disadvantage for comprehension and completion of make-up work. (Scheduling appointments before or after school is greatly appreciated.) Make-up work will be given for excused absences only; suspensions warrant zeros for any assignments missed during that time. Excused absences warrant the same period of time to submit work as originally given to the class on that particular day. It is imperative students arrive to class on time; the school-wide tardy policy will be enforced.

Work Policy: Assignments graded for full credit are due on designated dates only; however, assignments may be turned in five days late for half credit. After that time, assignments will not be accepted, no exception. Absolutely no extra credit work will be offered to replace missing curriculum work or to improve scores.

Video Viewing: Videos will only be viewed if they somehow enhance the lesson being studied. Occasionally, these videos are rated PG 13 or R because of explicit language (not sexual content), but they are very worthwhile for students’ comprehension of material being evaluated. Your consent is appreciated and eliminates the need for further communication on this subject.

Classroom Rules: Students are expected to be respectful to everyone. Students are required to be silent when someone is speaking. Students must come to class prepared. School rules will be adhered to and enforced.

Equipment Requirement: Students need a notebook binder, paper (no spiral notebooks or edges, please), black or blue pens, and several number two (2) pencils. Parents may also check the website to see what is occurring within their students’ Social Science class, and/or what work has been assigned and the due date for its completion/submission.

It is my pleasure to have you in my class, and I look forward to a GREAT year at SHS! If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

            Classroom Etiquette 101:

Take Pride in your Education               

Attending high school is a privilege that many people do not appreciate. Most of us take it pretty seriously, although there are a select few that seem to take this privilege for granted. They know who they are. They are the chunk of the student body that always seems to be walking to class, but never getting there. I would imagine most of them do not do their own work; their assignments may be picked up either through their parents or students who are trying to fit in by enabling these dysfunctional students. And when these estranged "students" actually do show up to a lecture, it seems to be only to annoy the rest of us.

I do not think that I am the only one that sees validity in rehashing the finer points of Classroom Etiquette. It is really quite mind-boggling how many aspects of classroom etiquette are either overlooked, or simply ignored. This not only creates tension, discomfort, and animosity among fellow classmates, but also injures the classroom dynamics essential for learning.

Class Room Etiquette: You are expected to treat your fellow students and the teacher with respect and courtesy.  Discussion and debates are likely to occur in this course.  That is fine and encouraged, but personal attacks are not permitted.  Furthermore, you should turn off or silence electronic devices before class begins, pay attention (meaning, no reading the Daily Lotto or sleeping) and avoid talking when another person is addressing the class. Disrupting the class (using any of the above methods or via new and innovative techniques) will force the teacher to further disrupt the class, as he/she will ask the student(s) to desist from this behavior.  Persistent disrupters will be asked to leave the class and a referral will be issued.  If you own a cell phone, turn it off, or turn it on vibrate before you come to class. You are not trading stock, and there is no breaking news that can't wait for another hour. If it is that important, why are you in class? In one classroom earlier this week, two different phones went off in the span of ten minutes. Instructors can usually ignore the distractions and carry on; the rest of us usually need a second to catch up. Some people often answer their phones in computer labs and talk for minutes on end or text message when they know it is against school policy and also a disruption of other students’ learning time.

That is part of why the problem exists and persists. No one holds these disrupters accountable. Other students refuse to step up and enhance their own respective learning environments, choosing instead to remain in the collective for fear of persecution.  Peer pressure must be brought to bear, either through careful explanation or snide remarks.

Another thing, if you are more than twenty minutes late to class, do not enter the classroom without first visiting the attendance office.  Do not tell the teacher or the students the reason for your tardiness.  Find your seat quickly, sit down, and be silent.  Real students do not want to watch you stagger in while they are supposed to be taking notes, and then be interrupted again when you ask them what you have missed. If you had to catch that extra half-hour of sleep, you have should have gone to bed earlier.

By the way, do not talk during class. This should be an obvious one, but it is not. Have you ever been in a large room where a group of girls in the back corner of the room insist on chattering from the beginning of class to the end, and always at the top of their lungs?  (Generally, boys do not conduct themselves in this manner unless they are very immature.)  The concept of whispering, which should only occur in an emergency, seems to have escaped them.  Just because you give two squirts about Bobby's girlfriend's boyfriend does not mean you have to talk about it in class. Pass notes if you have to, but be quiet. The details of your sorry life will not be on the midterm or final.

Highly educated teachers, who are sharing their wealth of knowledge, hate when students are disruptive in a way that gains the class' attention. Then the teacher is missing out on class time and has a hard time getting students to stop being rowdy because the students are paying attention to the disrupter. Interrupting the teacher, when he/she is in the middle of talking and actually trying to teach, drives teachers nuts.  Many students expect just because they raise their hand or say, “I need to pee (how gauche, whatever happened to asking to use the restroom at the appropriate time),” the teacher will stop everything. These students are exactly like the drivers who put on their turn signals and just expect to move over.  These drivers cause accidents just like these students have no consideration for anyone else except themselves.  In general, teachers do not like the actions of students who are unwilling to learn or when students are offensive and gross.

 Seat location is the cause of many breaches of classroom etiquette. The biggest problems lie in the extremes: people that refuse to sit in their assigned seats, and people who then engage their new neighbors in conversation, thus causing the same old disruption.
 
While other people are complaining about the fact the instructor is picking on them, you should be rather grateful for the fact that instructors care enough to try to restore order, starting with you. Yes, it is true that some people will no longer be able to go to school here because they blew off their freshmen year and have lost too many credits to make up. It is a privilege to go to Silverado High School, though some people may not treat it as such.  Embrace that opportunity, and become a productive member of the school population, as well as a future success.