Scott Davison
"The Unfolding of the Imagination is the Only True Education." - William Blake ~~~~~~~~English I - Flex(3rd & 8th), 9th periods~~~~~~ * Vocabulary quizzes - the first class of each week throughout the year (see Policy for retaking vocabulary quizzes) * Elements of the Short Story test on Friday, September 25th * Six-weeks journals due on Wednesday, September 30th Works we will study this year.... archetypal myths from throughout the world,The Odyssey, Andersen's Fairy Tales, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Oedipus the King, The Tempest, and a variety of short stories, essays, and poetry. Students will need a copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum ~~~~~~~~~~~English II - 5th period~~~~~~~~~~ Students must bring their books to each class unless otherwise instructed. * Vocabulary quizzes - the first class of each week throughout the year (see Policy for retaking vocabulary quizzes) * Antigone (in progress) Students will need copies of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse ~~~~~~~English IV - 2nd, 4th, 6th, & 7th periods~~~~~~ Students must bring their textbooks to each class unless otherwise instructed. * Vocabulary quizzes - the first class of each week throughout the year (see Policy for retaking vocabulary quizzes) * Six-weeks journals due on Wednesday, September 30th (A-Day classes) or Thursday, Oct. 1st (B-Day classes) * "In progress...." BEOWULF _______________________ Writing Throughout the year, we will have several types of wriitng assignments: 1) "Informal" journal entries (see instructions for journal) 2) Imaginative writing in the form of poems, riddles, short stories, etc. 3) In-class essays. 4) Major tests in essay form 5) Formal critical essays 6) College essays Remember that ALL WRITING IS CREATIVE and the result of the creative process. Writing assignments should be kept neatly in a folder or file. Do not throw away your work during the course of the year. Keep all handouts in your notebook, and have them accessible for reference. * I am available to work with students on college essays. We will work on a one-on-one basis. Students should make an appointment with me as soon as possible to begin the process. _______________________________________ Behavior Our class is a community centered around the "sacred space" of learning. All students should respect the spirit of educational endeavor and act in a manner conducive to our goals. Each individual member influences and affects (or infects) the collective body of the class. Respect for each other comprises a crucial part of this learning process, as well as the overall atmosphere of the classroom. Students who disrupt the right of other students to learn will be removed and dealt with according to school policies. (I must say that this is an extremely rare occurrence.) Please feel free to communicate your concerns and difficulties as soon as possible. I respect all comments and suggestions made in good faith and in a responsible manner. I am here to help and support you. Although we might not always agree on every issue, I will always listen to your point of view and make decisions in as fair a manner as is humanly possible. Remember that communication and honesty are essential to any productive relationship. Working together, we can ensure that your journey this year (and in years to come) is exciting and meaningful. ___________________________________________ Tutoring Mon.-Wed. -- before school (8:25) Mon. - Tues. -- after school By appointment during B-lunch * The Creative Writing Club meets after school in my classroom every Thursday. Policy for retaking vocabulary quizzes If a student is absent for a vocabulary quiz, he or she should come in the following day before school, after school, or during B-lunch period to make up the missed quiz. If a student fails a weekly vocabulary quiz, he or she may come in to retake the quiz. If the student makes a 100 on the second attempt, the original grade will be replaced by a passing grade of 70. This means that a student should not have a failing grade for any vocabulary quiz, if he or she takes advantage of the opportunity to retake the quiz. The student must complete the second quiz within a week of the first. **************************************** The Journal Asssignment Two notebooks are required for this class: one for notes and the other to be used exclusively as your journal. A “loose-leaf” notebook is fine for your notes, but the journal should be kept in a separate spiral or a composition notebook. The journal is perhaps the most important element of this class. It is where you will develop your skills of critical thinking. In your journal, you will continue to explore, in written form, your thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the literature we read and the discussions we have in class. You may write “general entries” that do not directly relate to the class. However, your journal must also contain entries based upon our studies. The literature and our discussions should provide the catalysts or “jumping-off points” for your entries, which will explore themes, relationships, conflicts, causes, effects, and outcomes. Your journal explorations will attempt to take the literature out of the books and the classroom and relate it to your own experiences and relationship to the “outside world” in which we live. In other words, you examine and discover how these works of literary and rhetorical art are relevant to you. For example, if we read Ray Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes, we will discuss the friendship between the two main characters, Jim and Will. A journal entry (or series of entries) might begin with your own comments and observations concerning Jim and Will’s friendship, move on to discuss the concept of friendship in general, develop your own definition of friendship, and then examine your own experiences with friendship. How often should you write? As often as possible. Some students like to write for five or ten minutes each day. Others invest larger amounts of time two or three times a week. You can tailor your journal sessions to fit your other responsibilities and varying schedules. Just make sure that you do not neglect your journal. It is a record of your daily experiences and the place where many of your real discoveries and much of your intellectual development will occur. I will rarely assign mandatory entries. You are responsible for your own topics. However, during class I will constantly offer suggestions for specific journal entries. Jot down these suggestions in your notebook for later reference. I highly recommend that you follow up on these suggestions, especially if you are having trouble finding topics about which to write. You can always ask me for additional suggestions at the end of each period. Your journal is to be done outside of class. Suggestions for a good journal: 1) When possible, set up a consistent time for writing in your journal. 2) Don’t wait too long after a class discussion or your reading. Explore when the subject matter is fresh in your mind. Contrast, compare, and connect various works we study. 3) Remember that the journal is a forum for critical thinking. Go into as much depth and detail as possible. Challenge yourself to develop your intelligence and understanding. Beat down your mental walls and try to go beyond existing boundaries! Remember that a journal entry involves a journey. Don’t stick around in your yard or neighborhood (familiar territory). Go where you haven’t gone before. Take some risks. Risks are necessary components of growth and discovery. 4) Remember that your journal involves a relationship between yourself and the characters, situations, works, and ideas we encounter throughout the year. Ultimately, though, your journal is a forum for self-discovery. How “personal” you are is up to you and your “comfort zone.” Keep in mind that you can make important personal connections, observations, and discoveries without going into the intimate details of your personal life. 5) Question, question, question! (Note that “question” contains “quest.”) 6) Examine your reactions. Don’t be content with merely stating “I like this” or “I don’t like that.” “Because” by itself is not good enough. Try to discover why you have certain reactions. Where did they originate? What do they say about you? Strive to make the pertinent connections, even if you don’t see them immediately. 7) For seniors, your journals, if done properly, can provide you with a great deal of excellent material for “college essays” and preparation for interviews. 8) Just write. Let the ideas flow, and don’t worry about formality. These entries are informal in nature. Your journals will be collected and read at least once every six-weeks. The journals will be held strictly confidential; no one will touch or read them besides me. YOUR JOURNAL GRADE – You will receive a major grade for your journal. You are not being graded on your thoughts, feelings, or ideas themselves. There are no right or wrong answers in your journal entries. Your grade will be based on the time and effort you put into your entries, as well as the degree of critical thinking you undertake. This means that your journals are up-to-date with our studies and that you have explored your ideas and thoughts in some depth and detail. A good rule of thumb is to write a minimum of two substantial entries per week. Set at least a two-page minimum for your entries. Any less does not really allow you time to develop and explore your ideas. Throughout the course of the year, work to extend the lengths of your entries and to expand their depth and sophistication. Don’t worry, though, if you have a brief, succinct insight or idea. Go ahead and include it. As long as you are imagining and exercising your powers of critical thinking, you’ll be fine. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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