American Government 2007 Syllabus
Instructor: Mr. C.P. Farrow
cfarrow@esko.k12.mn.us
Website: http://cfarrow.blogspot.com/
In my world, a syllabus essentially is a general roadmap [or a sea? As the case maybe…]
Tools needed for each day:
Ø pen or pencil
Ø 3-ring binder [with dividers and lined paper and/or a notebook]
Ø Notebook [notebooks or three ringed binders will be collected from time to time for assessment]
Course Expectations:
Ø Active listening
Ø Active discussion
Ø Challenging questions and comments
Ø Progressing towards internalizing the 16 Habits of the Mind [see above Blackboard]
Ø Student can read and therefore will read the assigned readings and chapters.
Ø Student will develop a personal political ideology [EPI] to the level that one will be able to demonstrate in academic prose his or her own unique emerging political manifesto to the degree that is grade/age appropriate given the highly progressive, competitive, and complex state of the political world.
Ø At the conclusion of this course, the Student will have come to a sufficient level of understanding related to our modern political lexicon to allow for accurate and rationale political decision making in the tradition of “Jeffersonian democracy.”
Assumptions related to Course Expectations:
Ø According to “the rule of law” seniors in high school are essentially adults. State, local, and federal courts almost always view seventeen year olds as adults and with the arrival of one’s eighteenth birthday; the government considers one to be an adult. Accordingly, I consider my students as adults and therefore as adults it is important that you know that you have “free will” regarding attending this course. An important duty of my job is to record your attendance and if you want to actively learn from and contribute to the class please try and make it to class each and everyday. Yet, also as an adult, if you feel as though you cannot productively contribute to the course or that you have little or zero motivation to attempt to learn about our political system, then please act early and drop the course.
Ø Related to the above “adult assumption” it is important for you to consider carefully the fact that as an adult it is assumed that by you attending this course you have entered into what lawyers refer to as a “Social Contract.” The implication of this social contract being that as a citizen of the USA and the State of Minnesota, the individual can only act on his/her own behalf in terms of enjoying the benefits and protections afforded by the Federal & State Constitutions. These benefits should not be taken lightly and yet they are individual in nature and as such these benefits do not extend beyond the individual. What that means for this course is that while the individual may freely choose to either learn/participate/ etc. or not; he or she may not disrupt the other class members because by doing so he/she is infringing upon others’ rights and benefits. [Note: one of the most crucial rights we have as US/MN citizens is that of a free top-notch education].
Ø Another assumption is that students and teachers learn best in a “collaborative learning environment.” In a collaborative learning environment, teachers and students work as a team to create a learning environment characterized by interdependence and POWER sharing. Essentially I want to create an atmosphere that fosters learning as a major classroom objective—learning for everyone, including myself. I want to make it very clear to all group members that each individual is in charge of his or her learning in this class, but each student is also charged with the responsibility of assisting to develop an overall positive learning environment—this commitment is the essence of collaborative learning.
Grading:
Ø Putting a letter grade to a student’s work in some instances can be a rather tricky endeavor. Usually itz easy to access the top notch A+ work and the pathetic last-minute D work, but all the stuff in-between is inherently subjective. Given the nature of the beast, I will try to be as fair as possible and yet still work within our cultural/structural obsession with grades. I don’t like grades and I have never been motivated to learn by earning a grade…but I know lots of people [including a brother and my wife] that are almost totally motivated by earning grades…so it goes…
Ø The official grade a student receives will be based on the following:
Classroom participation…students that come to class as team-players ready and eager to positively contribute will be rewarded. Classroom participation, a subjective grade, is worth approximately 20% of ones overall grade.
Exams on the textbook chapters: These are multiple-choice coupled with a few essay-type questions. Four or Five Exams will be scheduled on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Combined they are worth about 40% of ones overall grade.
E.P.I. or Ones Emerging Political Ideology: This takes the form of a big paper in which the student creates his or her own personal political manifesto. This big opportunity is worth about 20% of ones overall grade.
Political Polling Project: With a partner or solo, you are afforded the opportunity to develop a polling project that is designed to measure the publics’ opinion on some political issue of personal interest. This project is worth about 10% of the overall grade.
McLaughlin Report Templates, QOD, BAPL, & TPNS in student’s three ringed binder (or notebook) and other miscellaneous activities like graded forum discussions, etc. combined are worth about 10% of a student’s overall grade.
Instructor: Mr. C.P. Farrow
cfarrow@esko.k12.mn.us
Website: http://cfarrow.blogspot.com/
In my world, a syllabus essentially is a general roadmap [or a sea? As the case maybe…]
Tools needed for each day:
Ø pen or pencil
Ø 3-ring binder [with dividers and lined paper and/or a notebook]
Ø Notebook [notebooks or three ringed binders will be collected from time to time for assessment]
Course Expectations:
Ø Active listening
Ø Active discussion
Ø Challenging questions and comments
Ø Progressing towards internalizing the 16 Habits of the Mind [see above Blackboard]
Ø Student can read and therefore will read the assigned readings and chapters.
Ø Student will develop a personal political ideology [EPI] to the level that one will be able to demonstrate in academic prose his or her own unique emerging political manifesto to the degree that is grade/age appropriate given the highly progressive, competitive, and complex state of the political world.
Ø At the conclusion of this course, the Student will have come to a sufficient level of understanding related to our modern political lexicon to allow for accurate and rationale political decision making in the tradition of “Jeffersonian democracy.”
Assumptions related to Course Expectations:
Ø According to “the rule of law” seniors in high school are essentially adults. State, local, and federal courts almost always view seventeen year olds as adults and with the arrival of one’s eighteenth birthday; the government considers one to be an adult. Accordingly, I consider my students as adults and therefore as adults it is important that you know that you have “free will” regarding attending this course. An important duty of my job is to record your attendance and if you want to actively learn from and contribute to the class please try and make it to class each and everyday. Yet, also as an adult, if you feel as though you cannot productively contribute to the course or that you have little or zero motivation to attempt to learn about our political system, then please act early and drop the course.
Ø Related to the above “adult assumption” it is important for you to consider carefully the fact that as an adult it is assumed that by you attending this course you have entered into what lawyers refer to as a “Social Contract.” The implication of this social contract being that as a citizen of the USA and the State of Minnesota, the individual can only act on his/her own behalf in terms of enjoying the benefits and protections afforded by the Federal & State Constitutions. These benefits should not be taken lightly and yet they are individual in nature and as such these benefits do not extend beyond the individual. What that means for this course is that while the individual may freely choose to either learn/participate/ etc. or not; he or she may not disrupt the other class members because by doing so he/she is infringing upon others’ rights and benefits. [Note: one of the most crucial rights we have as US/MN citizens is that of a free top-notch education].
Ø Another assumption is that students and teachers learn best in a “collaborative learning environment.” In a collaborative learning environment, teachers and students work as a team to create a learning environment characterized by interdependence and POWER sharing. Essentially I want to create an atmosphere that fosters learning as a major classroom objective—learning for everyone, including myself. I want to make it very clear to all group members that each individual is in charge of his or her learning in this class, but each student is also charged with the responsibility of assisting to develop an overall positive learning environment—this commitment is the essence of collaborative learning.
Grading:
Ø Putting a letter grade to a student’s work in some instances can be a rather tricky endeavor. Usually itz easy to access the top notch A+ work and the pathetic last-minute D work, but all the stuff in-between is inherently subjective. Given the nature of the beast, I will try to be as fair as possible and yet still work within our cultural/structural obsession with grades. I don’t like grades and I have never been motivated to learn by earning a grade…but I know lots of people [including a brother and my wife] that are almost totally motivated by earning grades…so it goes…
Ø The official grade a student receives will be based on the following:
Classroom participation…students that come to class as team-players ready and eager to positively contribute will be rewarded. Classroom participation, a subjective grade, is worth approximately 20% of ones overall grade.
Exams on the textbook chapters: These are multiple-choice coupled with a few essay-type questions. Four or Five Exams will be scheduled on Wednesdays or Thursdays. Combined they are worth about 40% of ones overall grade.
E.P.I. or Ones Emerging Political Ideology: This takes the form of a big paper in which the student creates his or her own personal political manifesto. This big opportunity is worth about 20% of ones overall grade.
Political Polling Project: With a partner or solo, you are afforded the opportunity to develop a polling project that is designed to measure the publics’ opinion on some political issue of personal interest. This project is worth about 10% of the overall grade.
McLaughlin Report Templates, QOD, BAPL, & TPNS in student’s three ringed binder (or notebook) and other miscellaneous activities like graded forum discussions, etc. combined are worth about 10% of a student’s overall grade.
posted by Charlie Farrow at 8:24 AM
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