Jody
The MASTERS Program670-4917
Rationale
The rational of this course is to provide students with a foundation of philosophic thought and discussion. This is an important part of being an educated and informed citizen.
Course Description
Students will be exposed to the great philosophic thinkers and their works. We will attempt to explore the highest of concepts in thought; questions that have been plaguing humans since the beginning of civilizations. Concepts such as truth, virtue, ego, logic, purpose, God, meaning, choice, and even love, will be explored as we attempt to understand ourselves a bit better. We will also explore the relevance of philosophic study.
Text
You will be assigned varies text throughout the year.
Evaluation and Nature of Assignments
Students will be expected to complete weekly readings, write reactions, participate in discussions, and write a collection of essays, and most importantly, to think.
Expectations
A discussion-based class requires and depends on your active
participation in class. You must come to class prepared, with assignments completed and materials ready. You will ALWAYS need your text in class, whether it is an article, document or book. Your text should be annotated, with notes in the margins, highlighted sections, and questions prepared for class.
You can expect to write, on any given day, short responses to questions from the teacher and/or other students.
Other specific expectations include the following:
Readings: Read actively by annotating your text with notes, questions and comments. Look up definitions to words you do not know and write the definitions in your notes. And of course, read the text completely and thoroughly.
Writings: Write and revise assignments (word processing is strongly encouraged). Always use teacher and peer comments to improve on your style and structure.
Discussion: Have observations and questions about each reading. Speak as well as listen in each class session. Address classmates by name. Connect your comments to those of other students. Work on citing specific passages of text to introduce your ideas and support your opinions.
Written Reactions to Class Readings
You will keep a notebook specifically for your reactions to the readings in this class. You should take notes on your readings, journal profound thoughts that come to you as you read, and write out questions and thoughts you want to discuss in class the following day. I will often provide you with prompts, questions, and/or other suggestions with each reading to guide you in your reflective writing.
Class Participation
You are expected to take part in daily discussions relating to the class material. You will also be asked to lead discussions. Discussion leadership and daily participation will determine a percentage of your grade each semester. There will be days that I will serve only as an observer and evaluator to the discussions.
Participation Assessment
(15% of the overall semester grade)
1)Showing up on Time (in seat with needed materials ready to go)
2)Being prepared (has pen/pencil, needed materials, homework completed)
3)Being actively on Task (cell phone put away, staying in class, contacting teacher if absent)
4)Having an Appropriate Attitude (willingness to engage, supportive of others)
REVISION OF WORK
Students who turn assignments in on time are allowed to revise them based on the teacher feedback. Papers and projects turned in must meet all minimum requirements of the assignment rubric. If an assignment does not meet the minimum standards of the rubric, it is considered unfinished work and must be completed by the student in order to be graded. If this leads to the assignment being late, the student will forego the opportunity to revise it. Students are allowed three days from the day an assignment is returned to revise an assignment and turn it in for a higher grade. We believe that there is more value in revision than in throwing away a paper that is not very good. Assignments that are turned in after the due date are not allowed to be revised.
LATE WORK
In order to better prepare our graduates for the strict deadlines and realities of college and work, TMP has adopted a policy that TMP teachers will not accept any assignment for full credit after the due date. An assignment turned in by 4PM the next calendar day after it is due will drop one full grade. After 4 PM that next calendar day, the grade is a zero. Being absent does not relieve a student of the responsibility to check the website and email in an assignment that is due, or to correspond with the teacher about an extension.
School Activities: School trips and events and service learning activities are an integral part of the TMP experience, and they are usually planned at least one week in advance. If an assignment is due the day that a student will be gone for a field trip, event or mentorship activity, the student must turn the work in as assigned, before the end of the day he/she will miss. In the case of an extended field trip of more than one day, individual arrangements must be made with teachers. Further, the student is responsible for inquiring about and turning in on time any homework that is assigned on the day that is missed. “I don’t have my homework because I was on a field trip when you assigned it,” is not a legitimate excuse.
Tardiness to class is disruptive to the learning process and does not reflect excellence. Any student late up to 10 minutes is considered tardy. Tardies will be tracked in each class. If you are more than ten minutes late, you must check in at the office and get an admit slip to class to enter.Initially, excessive tardiness will be handled by the Community Life Council. If this is not an effective deterrent and grades suffer, academic detention will be put in place to support the student. Excessive tardiness will also be considered for early intervention and/or habitual truancy.
Make-up work/excused absences: Forclass assignments that were due the day of the absence, the make-up work is due the day that the student returns, not the next time that the class meets. Tests must be made up during free time on the day of return. Each student will have a syllabus and may also look at the course web page on the TMP website for information. If there is a protracted illness that makes this difficult, the student needs to contact each teacher to set a date for assignments to be due. Students may call, text or email teachers for help or to ask questions.
Make-up work/unexcused absences:Students who miss a class without being excused may turn in their work and may receive a penalty as determined by the teacher. Should this happen frequently, the student will be called for a meeting with TMP staff and the student’s parents.
It is the student’s responsibility, not the teacher’s, to ask for homework missed and to make arrangements with each teacher for any work owed. Work not turned in will adversely affect the student’s grade. Any student missing more than six sessions of a particular class, even for excused absences, risks academic consequences.
Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is a fundamental principle which is important to the College. Students are responsible for ensuring they are honest in their academic pursuits. Academic dishonesty means any behavior that misrepresents or falsifies the student’s knowledge, skills or ability with the goal of unjustified or illegitimate evaluation or gain and includes cheating, plagiarism and falsification of records.
Cheating: Cheating includes using or attempting to use unauthorized materials such as notes, texts, visuals, electronic devices, copies of test materials and presenting the work of others to misrepresent the student’s knowledge, skills or ability. Unauthorized collaboration also constitutes cheating.
Plagiarism:Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional representation of another’s work as one’s own, without proper acknowledgement of the original author or creator of the work.
Food and drink: no meals in class; certain snacks will be permitted. Sodas, energy drinks and other drinks with high sugar contents are discouraged.
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