• Missed Tests and Quizzes: The day you return to class, you must schedule a time to make these up with me. These need to be made-up in a timely fashion (no longer than five school days, but preferably sooner) or they will be considered a zero. I reserve the right to alter tests. I urge you to attend class on test days and I will inquire if you are absent from test days frequently (that means more than one time).
• Major Papers and Projects due dates: I do expect that these will be handed into me or emailed to me on time whether or not you are in class. You will receive one Paper/Project Pardon for the semester that you can utilize if you suddenly become ill the day before an assignment is due. Obvious exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis; however I will inquire if you consistently hand in late papers/projects. You will lose points in the responsibility column of your grade if you are late handing in assignments. It will be 5 points per day for smaller assignments and 10 points per day for larger assignments up to 3 days. After 5 days of not turning in a paper or project the highest grade you will be able to receive will be a 50%.
Homework and Paper/Project Pardons & Late Work Policy:
It would be great if your life ran smoothly… if you never felt stressed, if you never had to juggle two major papers and a major test all due on the same day, if you never got sick, if your computer never crashed, if you never left your homework at home on your desk or in the printer, if your pets never died, if you never got in a fight with your best friend, your girlfriend, or your boyfriend, if you never forgot the book you needed to do your homework, if you never fell asleep while reading for your homework, if you never struggled with an assignment…..but then again, you wouldn’t be living life.
Let’s be reasonable; there will be times when things just aren’t going your way and you feel like you need a break. But as a teacher I also need to make sure that I maintain a fair classroom atmosphere and that there isn’t going to be one student who always has an excuse for why his homework or paper is not complete. So, here’s the deal. You will receive FOUR homework Pardons and ONE Paper/Project Pardon for the SEMESTER.
• Each Homework Pardon allows 24 hours more to complete the homework assignment.
When the homework is due, hand in the pardon filled out with the correct information. The homework must be received or shown to me no later than one day after the original due date.
If the assignment was originally due on a Friday you may show it to me the next class day.
• The Paper/Project Pardon allows 48 hours more to complete the paper/project assignment.
When the paper/project is due, hand in the pardon filled out with the correct information. The paper/project must be received no later than 48 hours after the original due date. If 48 hours later is a weekend or a day off, you must EMAIL it to me.
• All other LATE homework will be worth half credit. All other LATE papers/projects will lose 10% per day from the grade otherwise earned. After five days the highest grade possible will be a 50% F. Remember you are also losing points in the responsibility column for late assignments. Avoid this happening!
BONUS: Because good students deserve something, at the end of each marking period students may turn in one unused homework pardon if they meet the following criteria. They will earn one percentage point on their overall marking period grade:
o No zeroes on assignments for the marking period
o No unexcused absences or late arrivals
o No behavior issues
Please understand that I do not make it a practice to bump up students’ grades at random. The above allows students a way to earn a positive change to a marking period grade. I will not change final semester grades.
CHALLENGE and THE “DO-OVER”:
My hope is that you will work hard during this semester and that you will see the challenges that I present as opportunities to learn. Learning involves struggle and I want you to have the ability to be okay with struggling and not have to worry about being perfect the first time for every assessment. The “do-over” allows you to literally “do-over” an assignment- the same exact test, quiz, paper, project, etc. ONE TIME during the semester. Here is how it will work:
• Once I return an assessment to the class, you will have 24 hours to let me know that you would like to “do-over” the assignment.
• You must schedule to make-up the assignment or turn the paper/project in within one week of the assessments being returned. If you don’t show to make-up the test or quiz or you do not submit the paper, your original grade will stand.
• If it is a paper or project, you must submit your original graded assignment with your “do-over”
• You cannot wait until the end of the marking period and choose which assignment to do-over.
• You cannot “do-over” an assignment you didn’t turn-in on time originally.