Civilizations and Culture (C&C): Civics and Economics 2012-2013 Syllabus Mr.

Shuford
Those who cant do all their learning and writing alone, because they so enjoy the company of fellow human beings, will practice their learning in company with others and will let us call them teacher William Stafford Welcome to your C&C: Civics and Economics class! I say your because this class is all about you (except for the times when its all about me and Ill be sure to let you know when those are)! I absolutely love the adventure of learning new things, and I have found that 9th Graders are some of the best companions to have along the way! Therefore, from the very beginning, I want you to approach this class like an exciting expedition of discovery not a forced labor camp in the Soviet Union. You are not too old now to be amazed by the world around you, to be shocked by the mistakes of history, or to be inspired by creativity today! This year you will need the work ethic and objectivity of a historian but the wonderment and excitement of a child! Course Description: This course is designed to be a cooperative learning environment between your English and Social Studies classes. Therefore, the works of literature you read in English and the discussions you have there will be frequently referenced in this class. Because these classes are taken in tandem, we will often have double-period classes to accommodate longer seminars, projects, group presentations, and discussions. C&C requires a great deal of reading, writing, and discussion in preparation for future AP and IB courses; therefore, your participation is both required and highly desired! This class will focus on analysis and synthesis, rather than memorization and regurgitation. While you will certainly need to memorize much of the course content, real learning is not the acquisition of knowledge but the application of knowledge. We will also be reading and discussing a variety It is the mark of an educated mind of perspectives on historical and contemporary to be able to entertain a thought issues, such as human rights, genocide, civil liberties, and poverty. I need you to be open without accepting it Aristotle and respectful, but also brave enough to explain and defend why you hold the beliefs that you do! If you refuse to disagree with your peers, there can be no meaningful discussion in this class. Course Content: Civics can broadly be defined as the interactions between citizens and their government. The majority of this class will be spent comparing and analyzing different forms of this interaction around the world using primary sources (with particular attention being given to Americas democratic republic). While this class is aligned to the North Carolina Essential Standards for Civics and Economics, which seeks to instill in all students the skills necessary to participate as effective and responsible citizens, I will not allow this course to be a vehicle for schoolsponsored nationalism or blind patriotism. We will look at the American republic as a system deeply rooted in its historical and philosophical antecedents (by the way, you will need to learn a

plethora of new words) and discuss why the Framers chose to create such a government. We will be honest about what works in American democracy, as well as what we could learn from other governments around the world. As Frederick Douglas said, a true patriot loves his or her country, but rebukes and does not excuse its sins. (Love of God, Love of Man, Love of Country, 1847) In addition, the latter portion of the course will focus on Economics, the study of choice. We will debate the merits of both capitalism and socialism and analyze how Economics can both inform and transform the interactions between citizens and their government in the 21st century. Tentative Course Outline 1st Quarter - Research methods - Citizenship and Immigration - Collectivism vs. Individualism - Systems of Government - American Revolution and Independence - Federalist Papers 2nd Quarter - Continue research paper - U.S. Constitution and Amendments - C&C Odyssey Campaign Project - U.S. Congress - The American Presidency - Foreign Policy - Landmark Supreme Court cases 3rd Quarter - Continue research paper - Human/Civil Rights - Jurisprudence and Criminal Justice - C&C Romeo and Juliet Trial Project - North Carolina and Local Government 4th Quarter - Research paper due - Politics and Voting - Macroeconomics - Microeconomics - Financial literacy - Review Required Materials: Something to write with and on every day and some way to keep it all together. I would be a hypocrite if I gave you advice on how to be organized. As long as you keep everything and can find it for me when I ask, the rest is up to you.

Highlighters, sharpies, colored pencils, post-it notes we will be annotating and organizing a lot of text, so different colors will be helpful for you. Agenda We all forget deadlines sometimes, but missing several homework assignments will really cause you a lot of stress! The school should provide you with an agenda, so use it! A copy of the U.S. Constitution - I recommend either a pocket edition (http://www.nccs.net/us_constitution.html), as it includes all amendments and the Declaration of Independence, or just printing the entire document (if you dare) from the Internet. That will give you more space to annotate. Either way, you must have a copy you can write on in class.

Recommended Materials: MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.) We will be working together on a year-long research paper that will require MLA citation and mechanics. Online resources are also available, but you will need to have them in class with you.

Class Expectations: 1. Start practicing the frustrating art of being an adult! Respect the dignity, property, and intelligence of yourself and your peers. I cannot babysit your ego, so find a way to get all of the attention you need outside of class so you can spend this time giving it to other people. Take responsibility for your mistakes and treat them like practice for your successes. Be wrong, own it, and move on!
If you are not prepared to be wrong, youll never come up with anything original. - Ken Robinson (my hero)

2. Be on time and ready for class every day so we dont miss out on your contributions to the class discussion. If you arrive at class after the final bell has wrung, I will have to lock you out and you will need a pass to be admitted to class. This is a school-wide policy which can easily be avoided if you manage your time in the halls appropriately. Being ready for class entails having the above listed materials as well as being mentally prepared for rigorous learning. It also means you have brought a water bottle and filled it up during class change! 3. Have fun! Learning about things you are interested in with people you enjoy being around can be a lot of fun. I will do my best to bring in interesting and unique resources and to tailor my lessons to your individual interests, but you have to choose to enjoy this class. Your attitude towards the teacher and your fellow students depends on how you choose to see them. Dont choose to be disrespectful, spiteful, offensive, antagonistic, or apathetic and expect us to put up with you! Policies and Procedures: Homework The purpose of homework in this class is to prepare you for projects or class discussions. Unlike mathematics, there are few skills that you need to practice each night; instead, you will be acquiring and organizing information that we will synthesize and discuss in

class. Homework will never be busy work, so you cannot miss a few and expect to get the same information in class. Frequent homework will free up class time for seminars and projects. Quizzes/Tests There will be numerous short quizzes throughout the year so I can assess where we are as a class for any given topic. Quizzes are meant to help your grade and reward you for working hard in this class. There will also be periodic tests of various forms (multiple choice, essay, matching, etc.) which will be announced and reviewed for well in advance of test days. Late Work I do not accept late work in this class unless I have a signed note from parents/guardians explaining some circumstances beyond the students control. For example, last year a students house burnt down and she lost her project. She turned it in late for full credit after her parents sent me a letter. What I will not accept is the hackneyed excuse that your printer was broken. I fully understand that printers break, or the internet can be unreliable, or you simply forgot. I used every excuse you could think of in high school. Regardless, I expect assignments to be turned in for feedback while the learning on that topic is still occurring. Turning in an assignment at the end of the quarter will only hurt you in the long run. I wish a teacher had held me accountable for that in high school. Makeup Work When you are absent, whether excused or unexcused, you need to meet with me individually to get the assignments and work out an acceptable deadline. Asking me before class as I am preparing for the day is the worst time to do this. Come when I am not in class so I can sit down and adequately explain the assignment. Grading Each assignment in the course will be assigned a point value, which will be clearly stated and announced when the assignment is given. Assignments will be given a certain number of points based on their relative importance. For example, a short vocabulary assignment may be only worth 10 points while a three week project may be worth 150 or 200 points. Some assignments will be completion grades, but the majority will be graded on accuracy and quality, never on creativity. I will encourage you this year to look at good grades as a reward for your effort, not the goal of learning, and certainly not something you are automatically entitled to. In my class, an A means you exceeded my expectations, which are set very high. Therefore, a B means that you met my expectations, which you should be proud of. I will work hard this year to remove the stigma of a B and show students how to love learning while not being obsessed with a letter grade! Extra Credit I give extra credit on a case-by-case basis. I encourage you to at least ask, but do not count on me to regularly create and grade another assignment so you can have the letter A on your report card. Parent Contact Always feel free to email me (kshuford@wcpss.net) if you have a question or need help. I will periodically be asking for your help with projects (ex. Serving jury duty in our trial project) or even needs in the classroom. The school cannot supply everything that is needed to create an engaging learning environment, and I know C&C parents are always incredibly generous! I also know you are incredibly concerned about your students future, so while I want to have a partnership with you, keep in mind that I try to handle most issues in the classroom. I may not email you if your student misses an assignment or does poorly on a test. Having said that, I constantly struggle to keep SPAN updated, so I always appreciate you holding me accountable for keeping grades current. Please check out the Parent tab on my website for more information. Website: http://www.plethoraoffelicity.weebly.com