Course Description-'96/'97:

This course is designed to hone the individual skills of close observation, active reading, purposeful writing, and public speaking, as well as the collaborative interpersonal skills required for any extended group effort.

Throughout the year we will explore the broad thematic question "Where do I fit in society?" with special attention to various conceptions of society as they are depicted in literature. More specific, unit-related themes will focus students' inquiry and give ample opportunity for pursuing avenues of individual interest. Such themes will address topics to include, but not necessarily be limited to:

• Behavior Patterns of Individuals and of Social Groups
• Tolerance, Prejudice, and Diversity
• Mirrors, Labels, and Individual Identity
• Science, the Self, and Social Engineering
• Normalcy, Sanity, and Personality Breakdown
• Appearance vs. Reality; Truth vs. Illusion
• Alienation, Loneliness, and the "Marginal" Existence
• Dreams, Utopia, and Mirages
• Finding Your Own "Voice" in a Pluralistic Society

Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to seek out and define the borders of their own personal definition of what a "society" is. While these opinions, preconceptions, and personal experiences will serve as a critical vantage point for viewing fiction and nonfiction as a mirror of society, students will be required to go beyond that. We will examine the social/historical context within which certain artistic works have evolved into popular prizewinners and best-sellers, widely- recognized classics, or even controversial works which represent a significant "voice" of their times.

Reading, discussion, and writing will serve as our primary modes of inquiry as well as a mode of personal expression. Writing assignments will develop skill in use of the Writing Process through four essay types (narrative, descriptive, expository, & persuasive) with special emphasis on five correction areas (Clarity, Unity, Coherence, Style, and Voice). All students will be accountable for all unit-related vocabulary. In addition, individual vocab needs will be identified through student writing and remediated as time permits. Vocabulary assessments will be both formal and informal, with usage in context as the primary means for demonstrating mastery.

Philosophy:

• All students can learn.
• All students can make choices, can achieve, can grow.
• All students can contribute in meaningful ways.
• All students can succeed and be recognized.

Methods:

My teaching style reflects the belief that learning is a spiral process, not a linear accumulation. Students learn new material best when they can attach it to a framework of old knowledge; therefore instructional time is an active combination of discovery-learning, Socratic-seminar, and peer-mentoring. While students often learn cooperatively, they're almost always assessed and graded individually.

Students are arranged in "base groups." Each base group is an interdependent academic support team. Students are expected to help each other succeed by making sure that all are prepared and ready to learn, by helping the group stay on-task, by keeping absentees up to speed. This means that absentees are responsible for calling a team member to get homework assignments, to get class notes, or to borrow the books that got left at school in the locker.

Students should be prepared to take academic risks, and to fall down at times. Ample opportunity is given for extra help, extra revisions, and extra credit; therefore, anybody who extends a consistent, serious effort should have no difficulty passing this course. While "last-minute," super-human efforts will be recognized, they will not substitute for mastery. I expect students to achieve a thorough mastery of both content and skills.

Wherever possible, students are allowed to make choices regarding readings, writing assignments, and alternative assessments. Vocabulary is taught within the context of unit themes and through students' own writing when individual needs arise.

Graded activities aim at reaching a variety of learning styles. Some tasks reveal student strengths while others reveal weaknesses; therefore, daily grades may fluctuate. The need to revise a paper or re-take a quiz should never be viewed as a failure. The process of mastering a difficult task is often more important than the product.

Grading Criteria:

Your Quarterly Average will be calculated according to the following formula:

Tests = (25%) Offered once on test date, no make-up.

**Papers = (25%) May be revised once for averaged grade.

*Class Participation = (50%) Includes attendance, class work, homework, quizzes, and preparedness.

* This doesn't mean simply "talking in class"! It means...

1. coming to class on-time & "prepared" (with notebook, assignment book, covered textbook, & writing instruments, with completed reading and/or homework assignments.)
2. participating actively in classroom tasks & activities.
3. helping ALL to learn effectively by ensuring an environment which is safe, supportive, and conducive to learning.

Mid-term & Final Exams are cumulative. Each will account for 10% of the student's respective semester grade (see SH Agenda, p.37).

Extra help is available by appointment during period 2, 3, lunch, or after school.

Required Texts and (approx.) replacement cost:

1. Alchemy and Academe, Anne McCaffrey (Cost = $4.95)
2. Cyrano de Bergerac, E. Rostand (Cost = $4.95)
3. The Elephant Man, B. Pomerance (Cost = $5.95)
4. Fahrenheit 451, R. Bradbury (Cost = $5.99)
5. Lord of the Flies, W. Golding (Cost = $5.95)
6. Of Mice and Men, J. Steinbeck (Cost = $4.99)
7. Mules and Men, Zora Neale Hurston (Cost = $9.95)
8. Night, Elie Weisel (Cost = $4.99)
9. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Z. N. Hurston (Cost =$13.00)
10. Plus, assorted poetry, film clips, non-fiction, and short stories.

** Please Note: Some course content may at times be highly charged and/or emotionally sensitive. For example, Night deals with the holocaust and genocide; Of Mice And Men deals with issues of misogyny, physical/mental/emotional handicaps, and euthanasia; Their Eyes Were Watching God, (although written by an African-American female) contains allusions to rape and violence against women; Fahrenheit 451 directly addresses issues of government censorship. At one time or another in the history of public education, several of these books have been banned from classrooms and/or libraries.

In my class, primary supplemental video material is minimal (because we don't have a lot of time to watch TV!), but some enrichment options include movies which carry "R" ratings for language, violence, etc. Therefore, I am requiring that some films may be viewed by persons under 18 only with parental permission. Whenever I consider such a film for classroom enrichment, I will contact your parents and let them make an informed decision through a parental permission form. Alternative supplemental/enrichment material will be provided for any student who does not obtain parent permission or prefers to exempt him/herself from watching primary supplemental materials.

If you or your parents have ANY concerns, at ANY time about course content, readings, supplemental materials, etc. PLEASE FEEL FREE to contact me to discuss them. I'm pretty flexible and will be able to accommodate your individual needs, but only if you tell me about them!

It's quite possible that any messages left in my "voice mail" box at school will never be answered because I don't plan to check it much more often than once per week (maybe month?). The quickest, most convenient way for you to contact me is to call me at home (542-2061). ALWAYS leave a message if nobody answers because I DO check that machine as soon as I walk in the door! I'm usually home from school around 5:15 and manage to stay awake until around 10:00 P.M., but please call before 9:00 P.M. unless it's an emergency.

Some "Tips for Success" in this course:

• USE your Stevens High School "Agenda" (that red plan book you got on your first day!). You are required to have it with you in class every day. Sometimes students absolutely must use a different assignment book (for example, large print, or "the one that dear old Uncle Emery me"). If this is the case, then do this: tear off the cover of your SH Agenda and tape it securely onto the assignment book you will be using. The SH Agenda cover must be visible in order to get points for class preparation.
• Come to class ON-TIME and PREPARED! You get class participation points for being "ready to learn" as well as for learning!
• Write it down and SAVE IT! A three-ring binder is required for daily class notes. Notebook checks (at least one per quarter) are worth one TEST GRADE! (Some items may appear on the notebook checklist for several quarters in a row!)
• The homework hotline is a last resort for AFTER you have called everyone else in your base group. If and when I do use the hotline (rarely!), I only put brief descriptions of assignments on it. Usually, I only update it for really big written projects and major test dates. Small daily homework assignments are best gotten from a team member. If you've tried all your team members and the homework hotline and you STILL have a question, then CALL ME AT HOME!
• Don't expect full credit for late work! There are only TWO ways you will ever get full credit for work that is handed in after the due date:
  1) You have a copy of a note from your parent/guardian which has been signed by Miss Rosinski indicating that the absence was excused. [For major papers or exam due dates, additional notes from your doctor, your lawyer, your priest, or your building administrator may be required! ] OR....
  2) You have my initials on that day's class participation log indicating that I was aware of a school-sanctioned absence prior to the due date.
• Smart students make up missed work even if it's too late to get class participation credit for it because they know they will see it again at a later date.
• Homework is an important part of the learning process. I don't assign much homework, but when I do, it counts toward class participation which averages out to half your total grade. Homework is due on the due date because it will help you get something out of that day's class. If you are absent on the due date or if you just choose not to do a 10 point vocabulary assignment, you will earn a zero for that task. If you make up a quiz or homework grade within 24 hours of the due date, I will give you no more than HALF credit. If you blow it off for more than 24 hours, the zero stands. However, since I DO teach in a "spiral," it is very likely that I will ask you to USE that homework as the basis for an assignment or quiz later.
• Class participation is VERY IMPORTANT! Usually-- for most people-- the class participation average is a pretty accurate indicator of what your approximate grade point average will be at the end of the quarter. Now, a whole WEEK's worth of daily class participation grades represents only about 5% of your whole quarter's grade point average, so one zero will not kill your entire grade, but it will bring it down. As a matter of fact, the difference between a 50% or an 80% on one homework assignment will barely show up on your final average--Remember, it's OK to fail every once in a while!- - but a consistent string of missed homework or failed quizzes will gradually take its toll on your grade.