English 7H

Fall

Grossmont Middle College

 sthaller@guhsd.net

Welcome!

Fundamentally, this course is designed to develop college-level thinking, reading, and writing skills. As in the prerequisites, there will be continued attention to voice and style, research strategies, information literacy, and appropriate documentation. Authors make choices in both content and form, and it will be our job to understand and identify those choices so that we can become more sophisticated and effective readers and writers. Collectively, we will tackle texts ranging from academic journal essays to the physical rhetoric in contemporary media as we become more rhetorically savvy citizens of this complex world.

Unlike last year, we will not be separating the semesters with writing in the fall and literature in the spring. While this semester will focus primarily on more advanced rhetoric, we will also begin our literature unit, which will continue into the spring.

Our literature focus is designed to not only expose students to some of the literature and texts that are frequently referenced in academic circles, but also to function as an exercise in shifting perspectives. Perspective can literally shift the foundations of understanding in literature.

We will familiarize ourselves with several critical theoretical lenses and then utilize those disparate frameworks to build and complicate our understanding of texts.

Literature is, in so many ways, a subjective medium and experience. Each reader comes to the text with individual experiences that shape their understanding of a story and its nuances. Being asked to abandon this and instead look from a completely different angle can mean that a text goes from being a simple, sweet romance to a commentary on gender roles in contemporary society, or perhaps a symbol for class divides occurring at the time it was written, or maybe it is an allusion to some other classic tale.

The lenses offer vantage points and questions we may not have considered otherwise.

As a class, we will position ourselves around each text from these varied positions as we interpret, analyze, and share.

We will explore novels, novellas, short stories, film, and poetry.

Where many high school literature courses aim to teach students what to think about books and how to understand them, this course is much more layered. The fact of the matter is that literature does not exist in absolutes.

There is no absolute correct or incorrect way to understand, analyze, or interpret literature. It is a personal process that involves our own experiences of the world, our own willingness to be challenged and open, and our ability to truly consider how perspective and lens shift the view entirely.  Your peers might not agree with you, you might not have considered what they are saying, you might have entirely different frames of reference. Listen with an open mind. This is where true learning takes place in a literature course.

By the end of this year, the goal is that you feel comfortable expressing your experience with texts and understand the connections between literature and the world around you. My aim is that you understand the value of your unique interpretations and analysis, and realize that the entire class benefits from hearing new perspectives and dissenting opinions. It opens our eyes and minds, and makes us better readers, thinkers, and scholars.

This should be an energizing and fun semester.  On that note, I will work hard to make our course transparent, challenging, and rewarding. While I may not be able to inspire you to love the notion of critical inquiry and methods of argumentation, I will endeavor to make it an interesting academic adventure for you!

Communications Policy

Open communication is important to me. Please feel free to contact me with any concerns, questions, or helpful information—I’m here to help guide you through this year. The following information addresses class expectations, select school policies, and reading selections for the year.

I am available to meet daily during my office hours. Otherwise, email is the best way to communicate with me. During the week, I will get back to you within 24 hours. I do not check my email after school hours. If you email after work hours on a Friday, I will get back to you first thing Monday morning. I want you to find work/life balance and I also seek to maintain my own.

~ Dr. Thaller

***

As you are enrolled in a middle college, you are expected to function and handle yourself very much like a college student. As such, if you are struggling with work, need support in any way, miss assignments, it is up to YOU to reach out to your teacher and let us know what you need or what is going on. Learn the habit of taking accountability. Blaming or vilifying the teacher is never productive, nor is it honest. We have been seeing more of this behavior, and it is unfair and  unprofessional.

We are here to help but you also must take responsibility. We want you to thrive.

The fall semester will deal primarily with academic writing and argument. As such, most of the texts will be scholarly and all will be provided digitally on Schoology. You are more than welcome to print them out on your own. I will be providing much of our literature digitally as well.

As for literature, I like to maintain some flexibility. This is true with texts as well as with the schedule. I like to vary the list each year depending on student interest and challenge-level. Some of these may be presented this semester and others may appear in the spring. The reading list may change, but here is the tentative reading list:

The Alchemist- by Paolo Coelho

They Called Us Enemy- by George Takei

Swallow Me Whole- by Nate Powell

The Stranger- by Albert Camus

The Road- by Cormac McCarthy

Metamorphosis- by Franz Kafka

Hour of the Star- by Clarice Lispector

And many films, short stories, and poems.

These tentatively include:

“An Old Man with Enormous Wings,” “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?,”

and “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

I will send out a permission slip for any films that are rated R.

As Grossmont Middle College students, this will not be your typical high school honors literature course. This course will be formatted and will function much like a college  literature course. In many ways, these courses feel like book clubs where the focus is on YOUR interpretation, experience, and interaction with the text, rather than a prescribed notion of what is right or wrong. There will not be quizzes, as I am not concerned with memorization, but there will be extensive discussion, reflection, and analysis.

Honors Literature and Composition 7H/8H

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Honors English 7/8H provides students with an in-depth and accelerated study of the Common Core standards and skills. Students will engage in opportunities for independent, original, and critical thinking, and will develop their readiness for college, career, and civic life. Students will be actively involved in their learning through written and oral communication across a broad range of genres, subjects, and ideas, with the goal of exceeding proficiency in narrative, expository, analytical, and argumentative reading and writing.

The course meets the University of California “b” requirement in English.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, our students will be able to do the following:

1. analyze the argument and underlying assumptions in a number of culturally relevant texts, explaining the relationship between the argument and the ways writers advance their claims;

2. recognize and avoid problems in logic through a process of critical inquiry;

3. locate, evaluate, and synthesize information from sources representing diverse perspectives in order to construct arguments.

Obviously, it is best if you can submit your work on time. This is a general life skill.

However, life happens. If you know you will miss a deadline, it is important that you prearrange an extension with me to receive full credit  or contact me as soon as possible.

Without an approved extension, you will have 72 hours (three days) after the deadline to submit work for credit. Each day after the deadline results in a 10% deduction. Refer to the graphic.

If you do miss class, remember that it is your responsibility to get any assigned work to me, find out the assignments, etc. The best way to go about finding out what you missed is by contacting a peer.

It is important that you do this before the start of the next class. Being absent is no excuse for coming unprepared when you return to class!

You also need to communicate with me. I do not know what is going on in your life if you do not inform me. Please do not get frustrated or claim that I am not being sensitive if I don’t know about your situation.

Technology glitches or lost emails do not constitute valid excuses for late work. 

Grading Breakdown and Scale

We will go over all assignments in-depth, with plenty of time for questions and clarification.

100-90%= A, 89-80%= B, 79-70%= C, 69-60%= D, 59% and below= F

Behavioral Expectations

• To be a successful student you need to be in class on time, prepared to learn, and be a cooperative class participant. In addition, the class utilizes group work that requires student cooperation. A bad attitude helps no one.
• While Chromebooks will be used extensively in the course, while in class, no cell phones, or other electronics may be in use or out on the desk unless directed by the teacher during school hours. It’s rude to be on your phone in class. The end.
• Continued negative participation, including being off-task, defiant, or displaying a lack of cooperation, will not be tolerated.
• If you eat in the classroom, it is your responsibility to clean up after yourself. Also, try to avoid excessively pungent foods as we want to make sure the classroom is a welcoming space for everyone.
• Please be respectful. It’s really the very bare minimum. Listen when people are talking. Don’t talk over other people. Treat each other with basic decency.

Academic Honesty

• I take the misuse of academic materials very seriously and do not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty.
• A student using another's work or giving their work for any part of an assignment, with or without his/her permission, will be considered academically dishonest, lose credit, and be given a referral. This includes unauthorized collaboration and plagiarism. 
• Copying anything from online sources without citation information will be considered plagiarism and will not be tolerated. Students will receive a referral and loss of credit. 
• Any unauthorized (by the teacher) collaboration of any kind will result in a referral and loss of credit on that assignment. 
• Taking photos of your work (or another’s work) and sending it in any form is plagiarism and will result in a referral and loss of credit. 

AI and Plagiarism    

• Plagiarism includes using text written by a generation system as one’s own (e.g. entering a prompt into an AI tool and using the output anywhere in your paper)
• Doing academic work requires that the work you turn in is your own. A paper that is written by AI is not your work and is thus plagiarism
• It doesn’t matter which AI program/software you use. Using any of these to write your papers is considered a form of plagiarism.

**It is important to note that tools that check your writing are okay to use. Examples can include the autocorrect feature in Google Docs. These tools, which scan pieces of writing for errors and/or make suggestions for edits, are very different from AI programs that write entire papers. The key difference is that it is your own original writing that is being scanned for possible mistakes versus AI that does all the writing for you.

***Keep in mind that professors/instructors do, in fact, have tools that enable them to check if papers have been written by AI. One example of this is GPTZero. As AI evolves, these anti-plagiarism tools are also being upgraded to ensure that plagiarism can be detected.

Academic Accommodations

Students who may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) early in the semester so that reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible. More information can be found HERE.

Classroom Community

Inclusion  

This is an inclusive learning community, respecting those of differing backgrounds and beliefs. As a community, we aim to be respectful to all citizens in this class, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender expression or identity, physical or mental ability, language-levels, and sexual orientation. We are all here together and we all matter.

Pronouns

This course affirms people of all gender expressions and gender identities. If you identify with a different name than what is on the class roster, please let me know. Feel free to correct me on your gender pronoun. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Appreciating and Valuing Diversity: I strive to create a welcoming learning community for all.  I encourage multiple perspectives and the free exchange of unbiased and non-prejudicial ideas and experiences, which broaden our understanding of one another and the world around us. The expectation is that you will join us in this endeavor by contributing to an accessible, safe, and respectful classroom environment, free of discrimination and harassment.  If you are offended, hurt or made to feel unsafe by something that another student does or says, please let me know. In the same way, please let me know if you are offended, hurt, or made to feel unsafe by something I say or do. It is my intention to ensure this classroom is a safe place for all.

Violating standard rules of conduct, in any form, will not be tolerated.

Trigger Warnings and Sensitive Material

Studying literature demands maturity.

We will be encountering highly sensitive topics, scenes, dialogue in the literature for this course.

It is critical that you compose yourself and handle yourself like an adult. I expect that you are able to encounter and discuss texts as an academic, and focus entirely on the deeper meanings, impact, and significance, particularly as they connect to the course themes.

I will try to provide trigger warnings for individual texts, but please keep in mind that nearly every text will dive into something that may be sensitive or difficult.

As we discuss, I expect appropriate language and that you keep all conversations tied to issues of academic or textual significance.

Perhaps of most importance is that you are keenly aware of and sensitive to your peers. You have no idea what other people have experienced or may be in the middle of. Keep discussion focused on the text, but always maintain awareness of those around you. Avoid language that may cause harm. Be mindful of each others’ humanity.