Mr.

Douglas Tze

Algebra 2
Principle:

Create a positive environment through mutual respect and responsibility to facilitate

education.
All policies in this class are created with this goal in mind. As a class, we will be
exploring ways to develop an understanding of the world around us and expanding
our knowledge in areas where our interests lie.

Expectations

Communicate: This includes with me, your parents, and of course, your trusty
peers
Be Honest: You are meant to learn. If something is inhibiting this, please, talk
with me and we will discuss how we can do this
Be Open-minded: No progress can be made without an open mind
Never Quit: Breaks are allowed in my class, but not quitters!
Participation

Attendance: Your time is yours. However, those who miss class without a valid,
written excuse from either a parent or medical official may only have the potential
to make up to 50% of the in-class points earned that day. The Late Work/Make-up
Policy is detailed further below.
Restroom Policy:
No Question Passes- Every student is given 5 No Question passes for
visits to the bathroom per semester. They may not be used in the last ten minutes
of class. To use a pass, simply raise your hand, ask for the restroom, and I will sign
your bathroom pass with, you guessed it, no further questions. No Question
passes are a maximum of 7 minutes. If your visitation is longer than that, the same
visit will count for two No Question passes. If you are missing for more than 14
minutes, your No-Question passes will be revoked for the duration of the
semester. No Question passes are meant to keep classroom disruption to a
minimum. We are all human; I know that sometimes you have business to take care
of, so take care of it promptly! In rare occasions, you may be asked to hold your
pass for a more appropriate time. At the end of your semester, each pass is worth
participation points equal to one absence, so keep that in mind. The cases of
medical emergency will be evaluated individually.
Regular Pass- After using all of your No Question passes, you may only
ask for an excusal to the restroom by asking during allotted classwork time. I will
grant these passes as I see fit, so keep your No Question passes in case of
emergencies!

Bell Policy/Reflection Period: Beginning with 2 minutes before class starts during
passing period and continuing through to the first five minutes of class starting,
there will be a reflection question on the board for Reflection Period. There will be
very little calculation heavy material in these reflection questions. These questions
will ask more abstract math concepts that I want you to think about during this
Reflection Period. The lights will be dimmed, and students may listen to music
quietly as they think and write out their answer. This time in the classroom is meant
to be absolutely silent; the purpose of this period is to provide you time to settle
yourself before class begins, so use the time wisely and respect others needs. If
you have gossip that just cannot wait, you may choose to use the 2 minutes during
the passing period to talk outside, but must be inside and quiet for the last five
minutes of Reflection Time when you come in.
Lecture and Note-taking: Note-taking is very difficult when it comes to math.
That said, please do your best to copy all problems and examples that are written
on the board throughout class. At the end of the semester, if you are displeased
with your homework grade, you may turn in your note-taking notebook for review
for up to 5% added to your homework grade, determined by the collection of your
notes. Extra credit is determined by the content of the notes taken and the
problems that are recorded in your notebook.
Participation: Math is interactive! If you dont ask questions, youll never learn.
You must visibly and actively participate during lecture and work time. If you are
nervous and desire not to answer questions in class, you may earn participation by
discussing the material with me at your own discretion some time out of class.
Students may even earn participation points by Tweeting questions to me, detailed
below.
Class Time
Lecture: There will be times where I will lecture and model problems for you to
take notes on. You are expected to be actively participating and asking questions
throughout this portion as they come to you.
Solo Work: There will be times in class where you will be asked to explicitly work
on your own. I expect you to give your best effort to come to your own answer
before asking anyone else. There will be many opportunities to ask questions and
discuss with classmates after you have attempted the work.
Group Work: The majority of this class will lie in group work. These groups will be
chosen by me and will change periodically throughout the year. Later on, you may
earn the chance to choose your own groups. If an issue arises within a group, please
come to see me to discuss the problem, and I will act accordingly.
Skip Box Review: After the lesson, if time permits, we will review questions in the
Skip Box. Questions we do not have time for will be Tweeted out, and an image of
the work will be attached. The Skip Box is detailed further below.
Individual Time: There may be times when we have finished the lesson early. At
this time, you may work with a partner or two on homework for my class or, if you

are finished with your math homework, you make utilize the time for work for
another class. You may also listen to music if you like, as long as you are working.
Individual time must remain at a reasonably soft volume. If the noise level is too
high, the class will receive one warning. After the third warning, individual time will
be over and we will switch to the alternative assignment.
Outside of Class
Homework: The only way to truly learn math is to practice it. For this purpose,
there will be homework assigned as appropriate. Please turn in your homework at
the beginning of class into the designated trays before you sit down, sometime
during our Reflection Period. Every night you may use a Skip Slip on one problem of
your choice if you are stuck, except those I have marked Permanent. Permanent
Problems may not be skipped. Skipped problems that have you stumped may be
submitted to the Skip Box. Occasionally the class may earn exemption from an
assignment, based on in-class performance, so help your peers!
Skip Box: If you have skipped a question, please turn in a Skip Slip into the Skip
Box. Place your name, the problem skipped, and your best answer on the paper.
Please also include what exactly in the problem is confusing you. This is not English
class, but fragments will not be acceptable, and your Skip Slip will be invalid.
Explain clearly what you tried, what you thought, and what you did not understand.
We will spend time at the end of class reviewing these problems if possible.
Late Work/ Make-up: Late homework is always accepted. However, late
homework can only be counted for 75% when turned in one day late. Any later than
that and the maximum grade possible for homework credit is 50%, whenever you
do turn it in. Regardless, of how late it is, you may do all of your homework and earn
extra credit, even if they are all late! At the end of the semester, you may earn up
to:

1% for every 10% homework turned in. I.e., if you have turned in 100% of
your homework, you will earn an extra 10%, if you have turned in 90%, you
may earn an extra 9%, so on and so forth.
If you turn it in late, you may only receive that 50% credit, but you can still
earn as much extra credit for completion as you like, meaning if you turn in
all of your homework late in a semester, you can still achieve the full 10%
extra credit for 100% completion, meaning your homework grade will be
60%.
The purpose of homework is to learn, so always do it, because it is always
worth something!

For projects or project pieces, you lose 5% every day the project is late for a
minimum of 50%. You have up to two (2) weeks to turn in a project late.

Grading
Grading is broken down like such:

25% Participation
30% Homework
15% Project
10% Quizzes
20% Tests
Extra Credit: There are many opportunities for extra credit. Throughout the
semester, there will be occasional bonus assignments and tasks that can be done
for extra credit. Besides those and the ones listed below, I will not accept any other
requests for extra credit.
-Homework: As stated before, you may earn up to 5% extra credit for note
taking at the end of the semester and 10% for homework completion. This will all be
added to your homework score.
-Participation: You may earn up to 5% extra credit in participation. Students
may follow my twitter account at @Mr.TzesMath, where randomly, once a week I will
tweet out a bonus question. The first five students to reply and attach a photo of
their work can earn 1% extra credit, for a maximum of 5% added to their
participation score. You may also tweet questions using the hashtag #TzeMathHW. If
you find a peer with a question and answer it, you may also earn 1% extra credit,
for the same maximum of 5% added to the participation score.
Quizzes/Tests: If you finish a quiz or a test early, you may grab one of the
concept worksheets from the back of the room and begin working. You may
complete as many as you like. Each worksheet will be graded for accuracy, for up to
5% extra credit on that quiz/test per sheet.
Returning Work: You may find graded homework, classwork, quizzes, tests, etc. in
your labeled folder in the filing cabinet in the back of class. You may only collect
from this folder during individual work time.
Other Policies
Parent Communication: You may use my website www.mrtze.weebly.com. Every
Wednesday and Saturday, notes, classwork, and homework reflective of the
progress that since the last update will be posted. Parents and students may follow
along to review old concepts, obtain information on absent days, and look at the
weekly goals. Parents may email me at dtze1@asu.edu with any concerns at any
time.
Electronics: Students may only use cell-phones and music players when permitted.
This includes Reflection Period and time post-tests. Occasionally, we will use
electronic devices as part of a lesson plan. However, besides these, there will be no
other times when electronic devices are permissible. Violation of this rule will result
in a strike, detailed below.

Discipline: This classroom is geared on the facilitating the educational process.

Disruptions and misbehaviour are not tolerated. Examples of this behaviour include
but are not limited to: making fun of others, disrespecting the work of your peers,
cheating, disruptive noise, inappropriate comments, etc. This classroom has a 3strike policy for violators.
1st Strike: Verbal Warning
2nd Strike: Revocation of the next two Skip Slips.
3rd Strike: An Email home to parents.
This is a group environment, where we must hold each other accountable. If the
situation arises where there is a 4th strike, the class Skip Slips for the day will be
revoked. If there is a 5th strike, Skip Slips for the next day will be removed, and so on
and so forth. You can make a positive difference. Hold your friends and peers
accountable!
Closing
This classroom will be one where you can discover mathematics for yourselves.
There will be many projects and group work for you to collabourate to discover your
own answers. Unlike popular belief, there is not always just one right answer in
math! Show your work, explain your thoughts to others, and train your insight. I will
do everything in my power to help you with this, as will your classmates. I look
forward to a wonderful year with you.