About Grading

It is easy to feel like you are in the dark about how to get a good grade. Some teachers use grading to keep control of the class or to motivate students to work. In this class, it is your grade and you will earn the grade. I have wonderful options for you and you will have many opportunities to learn. So -- about grading, no need to let it be like the weather - unpredictable, sometimes unpleasant, uncontrollable.

In this class, you have control over your grade from the first moment. You even get to choose a text that will be helpful, and you are going to see this class as an opportunity to learn about students and their special needs as a life long pursuit. This next section is copied directly from the syllabus. Feel free to print this out, to ask questions, to ask for amendments and changes that will be most helpful to you. . . and the next time you are facing stormy weather, grab the book from this class, curl up and have a great read!

Exams will be available on the web from the beginning of the course and will be open note and open book. There are various projects assigned, based on the individual modules.

Each module will provide a list of competencies, assignments, readings and evaluations. These exercises will provide practice in target skills of this class.

The material offers participants the opportunity to sculpt the class to individual needs and taste. The foundations area can be taken for 3 hours of credit. A personalized syllabus can be developed that tailors the class to personal learning style, age and grade interest and perceived areas that need to be augmented. Once the student has settled on the learning contract and it is accepted by the instructor, each assignment agreed upon will be required for completion of the class.

All assignments will be graded on a mastery basis. Final grades will be assigned based on completed assignments. Letter grades will be assigned, however, ALL contractual assignments must be completed to receive a passing grade. A missed assignment that was agreed upon between teacher and student means an "F".

In addition to the points available, students who receive an A must accomplish some extra credit project (of their choice). This is one way the student shows s/he has accepted personal responsibility for the course.

A	All assignments completed and graded as excellent
B	Mixture of excellent and good grades on assignments
C	Marginal as the final grade on one or more assignments with no student remediation
F	Failure to turn in any contractual assignment

Course Policy This class will underscore personal responsibility for education. It will also work on Bloom's Mastery Learning model, by which it will be expected that all students will provide evidence of sufficient mastery of the material. If it were not important for students to thoroughly understand the information it would not be a required course. Students who do poorly on assignments will be expected to redo the missing competencies and rework ways to learn the materials until a satisfactory grasp of the goals and objectives exists.

Thus, it follows, that a student with the capability to become or continue as an educator will finish the course with at least a B.

To receive an A, a student must do all class assignments and contract, in addition, to accomplish a personal project or service activity. Only one extra assignment is needed per class, not per module. This project is negotiable, but might be something like:

Read an additional text or materials Volunteer and work with a school-age children on behavior management Work as a big brother or sister with a youth who is at-risk

Help with service organizations, such as Special Olympics, Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts

Write and publish insights from the class - for example an "in house" news letter

Please note: In order to receive an A, students must contract to become personally involved in the educational process, "going the second mile" so to speak, in showing motivation and interest in being a self-sustained learner. Only one extra assignment is needed, regardless of the credit hours taken.