PARENT NOTES FOR MARGARET SHUMAN’S CLASSES
2010-11
I would like to build a supportive relationship with you.
With that in mind, here are some insights into the nuts and bolts of
my classes.
Communication
What if your son or daughter is confused or upset over
something I have asked him to do for class? I ask students to
always communicate with me directly and quickly. I ask parents to
please have students practice communicating with me as good
experience in their dealing with future college professors or
employers. They should be able to write an email that asks a
specific question, and I will work hard to answer clearly and
promptly. I believe that at the high school age, any student
benefits from practicing the important life skill of approaching a
teacher/supervisor in writing or in person to respectfully express a
concern or a need for clarification.
Email is often the best way to reach me. Because I
generally work at home, I usually check email a few times a day. I
try to answer emails promptly—I do want to keep communication
open with you, the parent, as well as with the student. Please use
my work address: shumanhw@gmail.com; “hw” stands for
“homework.”
I do not usually work on Sunday or on Wednesday
evening, but if you or your student has what has been called “an
ox in the ditch” that must be attended to, I might be available,
depending on my schedule.
My number is 404-508-8318, and you are welcome to call.
However, I may answer an email faster than a phone call. I do not
give out my cell number since it is for emergency or family use
only. If I call you, please do not use the number on your caller ID
to reach me in return—you will get my husband’s work phone
rather than my home line, from which I called.
Homework
I presume that students know basic keyboarding skills—if
your student needs to refresh or begin this skill, this is a good
time to do so. Timberdoodle.com has had an inexpensive typing
tutor program that might work for you.
All families need access to the Internet—homework
assignments that echo what is given in class will come to the
parents’ (and students’ if available) email addresses the day
following a class. Some Internet research may be required, such
as MLA-style guidelines.
Late work will not be accepted without parental excuse,
except for one grace allowance given per student for first
semester. Some homework will be submitted to me via email. I will
assign a certain deadline for assignments to be sent by, and the
time recorded on the student email will need to be before the
deadline (for example, an essay due on a certain day by 10:00
AM). The important lesson for a student to learn is not to wait until
the last minute to submit work, in case of a technical or other
problem. This applies to homework handed to me in class—to
often “our printer ran out of ink” or “my computer stopped
working.” Finishing and then printing out work a day ahead of
hand-in deadlines may be the best plan.
Parents should not be doing homework. I need an accurate
picture of your student’s work so that I can know if she is learning
the skills we are working on. If you feel your child has a particular
need for some intermediary steps you can provide at home,
please discuss this with me—your intuition as the primary teacher
is valid. However, having taught these classes for many years, I
often find that I can personally respond best to student work as it
comes to me without parent intervention. Making me aware of
special needs upfront can truly help me specialize the feedback
your child will get—let’s schedule an appointment now if you have
concerns or suggestions.
Grading
I consistently return graded papers at the next possible
class meeting. Please ask your student to show you returned
papers. You will know when to expect the return of graded
assignments based on the homework sent home.
For SPCO, major graded work is returned to me by the
student who has already shown it to his parent(s), and then work
is filed in a teacher-provided (and stored) folder of major work that
is taken home at the end of each semester. I give each student a
semester grade on how well he has tracked his work on a chart I
provide, and whether he has corrected his mistakes (answering
questions correctly, spelling words the right way 10 times, adding
detail where needed, etc.) AP students track their own
assignments, but still bring home graded assignments regularly.
I use a simple grading system which combines all grades
into a big fraction: the number of points received over the number
of points possible. No matter the size of the grade (quizzes might
be 30 points, essays 50, exams 100, homework checks 10), each
is lumped into a big fraction, and an average can be determined
at any time. For example, if by October your child has received
220 points out of a possible 250, his average would be 220/250,
or .88. This would be an 88/B on the grade scale in the next
bullet. I ask students to record their scores on a self-made chart,
and keep all papers (after I take up major ones) as “receipts” in
case there is a grade book discrepancy at any point. This is
another life skill which will transfer into good business accounting
later on!
I use the following scale for grade averages: A/Excellent/90-
100, B/Good/80-89, C/Average/74-79, D/Passing/70-73.
F/Failure/0-69, I/Incomplete.
What if you see some mistakes your daughter made that I
didn’t mark on an essay that has come home graded? In SPCO in
particular, I work on certain skills at a time, and do not mark every
possible error on every paper that comes in. I have found
comprehensive error marking overwhelming for most students to
process. I instead target kinds of errors students consistently
make and plan specific workshop exercises to remedy “real”
student errors (anonymously chosen). After we have attacked an
error sufficiently as a group, I take off points (5 for each comma
splice, for example) for the rest of the year. Meanwhile, I try to
dish out as much positive feedback as needed to keep students
motivated, while keeping high expectations for all, based on their
abilities and needs.
Textbooks
AP hardback textbooks are supplied by parents. Consult
an email sent earlier or the course description on the website for
the ISBN number. Try Googling it to find some deals on the text.
The first novel required is Cry, the Beloved Country; instructions
on this reading have been sent by email to those registered for
the class. I will offer good rates for those books that will be
ordered outside of these two books for those who do not have
copies on their own. An additional book list will be given out in
September.
There is no text for student use in SPCO—we use
materials made to suit each class’s needs, as well as a variety of
College Board documents. The textbooks I reference are found on
the course description which you can download for each class
from our website.
Miscellany
If you find that the name of my class needs tweaking for
your transcript, I can adjust the name on semester and final grade
reports. For example, if you need a semester of “Speech 1” and
one of “Advanced Writing” (and your child has had some high
school writing already), or want to add literature to the class and
call it something like “Junior English,” I could adjust the name of
the class(es) to fit your transcript requirements. If you add
sufficient literature to the SPCO class, your student could get 1.5
units or more of credit—feel free to ask me about a possible
literature component we may add. The AP class must be called
“Advance Placement English Literature and Composition” as per
my class approval by the College Board.
Supplies for daily class attendance include: notebook
paper, a three-ring binder to collect handouts, something to write
with (sometimes including pencils for SPCO), optional hole punch
for handouts.
Parents are always welcome to visit any of my classes,
except when speeches in SPCO are scheduled second semester.
Check with me first regarding how students might react to visitors
on speech days. If you would like to review nonverbal
communication or Oedipus Rex, Act IV, drop in!
If you haven’t referenced the handouts from the website
course descriptions, please look them over and gather them as
needed for your records.
Please stay in touch with me throughout the year as
needed—I value our partnership.