Welcome to The World’s Greatest English Class. Read the following sheet very carefully. Contained herein are the rules, regulations, and policies that you will be expected to follow. The literary material we cover in this class will somewhat loosely correspond with the historical material you will be covering in your World Studies class. In this class, you will be assessed in several different ways, from essays and papers to speeches and group presentations. Our overarching objectives for this year are that each member of The World’s Greatest English Class is prepared for the high school exit exam, has significantly improved their reading and writing skills, and has learned some appreciation for literature in its many forms. All of the class materials will be available for download on the class webpage at www.worldsgreatestenglishclass.com. This is hardly a new concept, but one we will be taking to new levels this year. This will require additional foresight on behalf of the students, the teacher, and parents.

Download a copy:
Rules and Grading Standards for English 2 and English 2 Honors. Part One

Rules and Standards Part Two

The rules that govern The World’s Greatest English Class will follow along school-wide guidelines. There will be no food in the classroom, except for water bottles with a cap. Tardies will not be ignored. Specific classroom rules and conventions will be developed by the teacher as the school year moves along. These rules will not only correspond to school-wide guidelines, but they will also never contradict our personal goals for the class, which will be discussed during the first weeks of school. These goals will essentially govern the class on all matters educational and managerial.

In The World’s Greatest English Class, making up the work from absences is solely the responsibility of the student. We will not volunteer any missed material. The student will be expected to find out what they missed and come to the teacher to get any missed handouts or other work. An overwhelming majority of the work in this class will be presented at the beginning of each unit, so all the work is given to the student up front. All of the assignments are available from the first day of the unit on the class website. There is no reason any of it should ever be late. Also, no late work will be accepted after the completion of a unit. Once the new unit has begun, we will no longer accept work from the previous unit, and thus final, culminating assessments will not be accepted late. If you are going to be absent on one of these occasions for any reason, you must make arrangements to have your work either turned in early or by someone else acting as a proxy. Testing this rule is the primary reason many of the people who fail The World’s Greatest English Class tend to do so.

Poor, uncooperative behavior will not be tolerated. Ever. First offenses will be met with verbal warnings. Once it is determined that the warnings are ineffectual, your parents will be contacted and your offenses will be described in colorful and dramatic language that will especially damning to your character. Beyond that, a referral to your House Principal will be forthcoming. If we find a referral to have no effect, as it often does, we will defend The World’s Greatest English Class against a miscreant by any means at our disposal. Be aware that our cleverness and ingenuity for such minor warfare is quite developed. As far as behavior on the rare occasions when there will be a sub, you will receive from us a referral for every one written by a substitute. In contrast, good behavior and consistent effort will be rewarded and lauded with flourish. We would like to think ourselves fair but demanding teachers. But on matters of classroom management,we are quite draconian in our approach. We will never accept poor or disrespectful behavior from our students. We see being in The World’s Greatest English Class as a privilege, and it should be treated as such.

This class will be graded on a standard scale, 90-100: A, 80-89: B, 70-79: C etc.

The points will be divided according to the following system:
35% Writing (This may change after the first weeks of school)
24% Reading
8% Outside Reading
8% Listening and Speaking
5% Class Participation
20% Final Exam

Extra credit will be handled on an individual basis and is not guaranteed to anyone. Rounding up in the tabulation of grades is the purview of the teacher and is never done on a wide basis.

Materials: You will be expected to bring the following items to class EVERY DAY regardless of whether you think you are going to need them:
A pen and/or pencil
College-ruled blank paper
A folder to hold class materials Note: This may be a section of a larger binder, or just a small folder for this class only.
Your in-class novel or reading assignment Bring it every day!
Your outside reading novel Bring it every day!
Your Chrestomathy Materials Bring them every day!

Important Note: You will be expected to download most of your materials for this class from the class website: www.worldsgreatestenglishclass.com. If you do not have the ability to print this at home, then you are welcome to use the classroom computers, or the computer labs after school, or the media center. Not being able to print at home is NEVER an acceptable excuse for not having your materials.

There is one main idea regarding the computers in The World’s Greatest Classrooms: Using the school computers is a PRIVILEGE not a right. If you abuse this privilege, you will be barred from using them in this class. Keep in mind that practically all of the assignments during the course of the year will require the use of computers and if you are not allowed to use the ones in class, and you do not have one at home or yours is somehow not functioning, you will have to make other arrangements. You must always ask to use them.

The World’s Greatest English teachers are very concerned with accountability, especially as it pertains to academic honesty. Cheating in any form will be countered with serious penalties, not the least of which are laid out in the Student Handbook. Do you own work.

We are endeavoring, as teachers, to excel, to create an environment well beyond what students would normally see in a high school English class. We have very high standards for ourselves, that is why we choose to call our class, The World’s Greatest English Class; we are striving, in a serious way, to be the best at what we do. This often requires us to do things in an unexpected or unorthodox manner. Do not be alarmed. However, ultimately, in order for this class to truly be the world’s greatest, it requires that we also have the World’s Greatest Students, and that is what we will be expecting of you this year.