I hope each of you is enjoying a beautiful and peaceful day. Happy October 1st.
I just wanted to drop by and give you a bit of a heads up regarding your grades for the first 6 weeks. The "grading" period ends on Friday the 13th (so very fitting) and I wanted you to start thinking about what you honestly think you deserve.
Last year I learned a lot about the chasm between delusion and reality when my then juniors (now seniors) did grade reflections and some of the slackiest slackers of students self-assigned A's. I was angry and disappointed and basically incredulous. In an effort to spare my heart this go 'round, look at the checklist below and consider whether or not you meet all the minimums. Let's say you don't. YOU SHOULD NOT GIVE YOURSELF AN "A".
If you do meet the "bare minimum", then consider what that means. Minimum as in "good enough"? I know I'm not a student anymore (at least not the same as you) but I don't think you can claim to be an "A" student in Room 853 unless you've done your absolute best AND it's also good by academic standards (i.e., high quality, non-BS work).
For example, let's say you have emailed me the minimum number of times...now think about the QUALITY of those emails.
Let's say you have annotated all the TED Talk transcripts...now think about how they compare to Ms. Meier's or mine.
Let's say you took the Multiple Choice Diagnostic and you got less than 6 or 7 correct.
Stuff like that.
Also consider what the ever sagacious (do you know that word?) Maya Angelou says about our behavior. According to her, we teach people how to treat us. I know I make a thousand mistakes a day, but it's usually because I'm not thinking or I haven't had a chance to "be still and know". So, please. I implore you to stop and pause and really think before you assign yourself a grade that we both know you don't deserve quite yet.
Consider:
- TED Talks - rewatching videos, taking quality notes, annotating transcripts
- Class annotations of various texts (How To Mark a Book, Passports to Understanding, Stability in Motion...)
- Class Participation (how many times have you commented on the blog?, how many times have you volunteered to present?, how often do you ask/answer questions in class?, how often do you contribute to class discussions?)
- Emails (I asked for an email by Friday of Week 1 and then I asked for a bare minimum of 2 emails/week after our Recalibration Day on TH 9/14...Have you met or exceeded that expectation?) And just so you know, this is an area where most of you fall incredibly short either because you don't email at all, not enough, or the content is lacking. Think of this category as if I asked you to turn in a piece of writing twice a week. Have you? Is it good?
- Work (Did you write a piece on "how you see"?, did you complete the Rhetorical Devices Project adhering to the expectations that included a MLA formatted list of your 24 devices, did you write a 2016 haiku?, do you have your AP test prep book?)
- Do you know the 5 Canons, the Rhetorical Triangle and its discussion questions, the first round of 23 rhetorical devices?
Now reflect and honestly answer the following question: What grade are you self-assigning for the first 6 weeks and why?
Hasta Manana,
Beltran
These 5 weeks have gone by so fast! Excited for class tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteA thought provoking post, I like it. Also, for the last bullet point you put 23 rhetorical devices instead of 24, just to inform you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joe. I did mean 23 since everyone freely chose their 24th. The assumption would be they know it. See you tomorrow!
DeleteIt's absolutely wild to think that I've been in your class for five weeks. Somehow it seems like like years and also like only a few minutes. I've loved everyday.
ReplyDeleteYou opened me up to a new musician last week and now I can’t stop listening to Mumford and sons there music is so deep and makes a lot of connections to past and present life
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it's already been 5 weeks. Excited for what you have planned for us tomorrow!!
ReplyDeleteThese last few weeks have been so fun and I have already learned so much. Can’t wait for class this week!
ReplyDeleteReady for tommorow.
ReplyDeleteStill getting used to the thought of self assigned grades, I like the comment about delusion vs reality, lets see where we land.
ReplyDeleteI have already learned so much in these first five weeks. Looking forward to class tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteCan’t believe it’s already been 5 weeks with you Beltran. Insane. Also, glad you put up this rubric because now we all know your basis for our grades and can actually and honestly consider what we have earned. Excited for this upcoming week
ReplyDeletei love your class because it challenges you to do your best, not because you want a certain grade, but because you want to see the best you can do.
ReplyDeleteRetweet!! When I found out I had this class my initial thought was "sweet an easy A" but after the first day I knew that wasn't really the case. Now after 5 weeks your class has managed to continually be at the top of my priorities even though I don't have to worry about a grade like I do in my other classes. I find that for once I'm actually doing my work because I want to learn and really soak up as much as I can from this class, rather than just aiming for that A.
DeleteI'm a bit apprehensive towards your mention of the, "first round," of rhetorical devices. I'm always ready to learn, but a second round of devices will be quite a test to how studious I really am.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I believe this is the first biblical reference on the blog so far this year. You're really keeping us on our toes Beltran, thanks for that.
"having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment; shrewd."
ReplyDeleteExcited for class!!!
ReplyDelete