ASSIGNMENTS

 Your “education” biography. So much of what we think about school and schooling is influenced by our own educational experiences. Your first assignment is to describe in 1-2 single-spaced pages your education background to date. What schools did you attend prior to Baruch? What were your experiences like in those schools? What did your parents/family think about your schools? How did you end up at those schools? What were the other students like? The teachers? The neighborhood? How did your educational journey bring you to Baruch and the Macaulay Honors College? Although this is a personal essay, it should still be organized and written in grammatically correct, complete sentences.

This assignment should be printed and brought to class to turn in as a hard copy. Be prepared to share your backgrounds with others. This assignment will count for 5% of your final grade.

 Reading response posts on Blackboard: At 8 points in the semester you will be asked to either post a response to the assigned readings for the week (4 times) or comment on a classmate’s response to the readings (4 times). All posts and comments should be between 300-500 words (about one or two typed pages) and demonstrate an understanding of the assigned readings as well as further reflection. More information regarding these posts will be discussed in class prior to the first due date. You can miss one post without it hurting your grade. Each post will be worth 3 points (21% of your final grade)

Group Project: Your group project has three components to it in addition to the group presentation. Their various weights are as follows:

  • Current school profile (entered on the timeline on our website and presented on in class): 15%
  • Three historical moments (entered on the timeline on our website and presented on in class): 15%
  • Policy recommendations related to an identified challenge of the school (entered on the timeline on our website and presented on in class): 10%
  • Presentation: 10%

Individual Final Paper: Your final paper (roughly 5-6 pages) will integrate aspects of your group project with personal reflections and a focus on one policy proposal. It will be written individually (in consultation with your group) 20%

Class participation: Students are expected to attend and participate in every class session. Participation in this course is defined as: contributing thoughtfully to whole-class and small-group discussions and being actively involved as listeners. Students who are unable to attend a session should notify me in advance, or as soon as possible after missing class, and are responsible for all assignments due that day and material covered in class. Students are also expected to be on time for class. Any more than two absences or late arrivals will be counted against your participation grade.Participation will count for 4 percent of your grade.