I want you to be aware of the general expectations I have for your performance. Students who meet my expectations will earn high grades; students who don't will not. In addition, I want you to have some idea of what you can expect of me as a professor (By the way, I am not a teacher, I am a professor. Why? Because I am not simply imparting knowledge or skills to you, I have something to profess--a set of ideas and understandings, a world view I advocate--that is the first thing you can expect of me).
1) You will attend class.
2) You will be prepared for class, having done all assigned readings, given some thought to those readings and identified areas you are confused or uncertain about, and prepared questions about those areas of confusion or uncertainty.
3) You will actively participate in class by asking questions about the reading assignments and lecture material, and by attempting to answer questions when I pose them.
4) You will seek help if you are confused, fall behind, or uncertain of your performance.
5) You will try to improve your writing skills by carefully editing your assignments before you turn them in, by composing more than one draft of each written assignment, and by regularly seeking help from me or from tutors in the Writing Lab. In my view, careful writing reflects careful thought, careless writing reflects careless thought, and I grade accordingly.
6) You recognize that all course material is cumulative, that knowledge does not come to you in discrete chunks that can be forgotten after the quiz or exam that tests your understanding of some particular segment of the course.
7) You will take this course seriously, as seriously as any other course you have, regardless of whether it is in your major area, and that you will give it an appropriate amount of effort.
8) You are genuinely interested in learning the course material, and are not taking the course simply to get a grade or credits.
9) You put your education first, and non-academic activities (sports, recreation, work) second on your list of priorities.
10) You demand excellence of yourself, and will genuinely try to do your best on all course assignments.
1) Fairness in creating assignments that match the course goals, and in grading them according to my stated expectations and criteria.
2) Clarity in my expectations, in course organization and goals, in assignments and grading, and in my classroom presentations.
3) Intellectual rigor in the material I present and in my expectations of you. You will not receive a "watered-down" treatment of the material, nor will I accept a simplistic understanding of the material covered.
4) A sincere desire for you to learn.If I am failing to meet any of these expectations, tell me. I will tell you if you fail to meet mine.