Mr.

Rosenthal
8th Grade American History

Dear Students,
Welcome to your social studies class for the 2016/2017 academic year. I am
delighted to be your teacher for this section of American History, and I hope
that you will find the class content challenging, engaging and fun. I am
confident that we are going to have an amazing year!
Let me inform you right away that I do not approach teaching history in a
traditional way. The important work of a historian goes beyond memorizing
important dates, names and facts. History is in reality a discipline comprised of
a set of skills. When those skills are fully developed a historian may critically
analyze documents to find cause and effect, gain insight and perspective about
the world that we know today, and understand how and why civilizations,
cultures, economies, governments, religious and social institutions function.
During your time in my class I require each of you to regard yourself as a
historian. Yes, youre only a middle school student, and yes, history may not
ultimately be one of your life-long passions. But, while you are engaged in
developing the important skills of historical inquiry in our class you must regard
yourself as a historian. As such, the expectations of our classroom will reflect
the high standards of academic integrity and collegiality for which historians are
well known.
The greatest of these standards is respect. In our class, all of our attitudes and
actions may be measured by being mindful of one simple question:
Is it respectful? Specifically, we will always endeavor to respect these three
important components:

Others: each persons individuality, ideas, style, personality, gender

identity, sexual orientation, race, religion, socio-economic situation,
abilities, disabilities or any other feature that sets us apart or makes us
unique. In other words, dont yuck anyone elses yum. Also, lets be
mindful of each others time. Its precious, so dont waste it.

Ourselves: in the first century CE, the sage Hillel the Elder stated, If I
am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am for myself alone, what am
I? And if not now, when? What Hillel was saying simply yet profoundly
is that we must advocate for and respect ourselves. Part of that self
respect is rooted in how we treat others, and by not putting off important
work that will benefit everyone, including ourselves. And most
importantly, always remember: do not engage in activities that are
harmful to your body, your mind or your reputation.

Our Environment: this includes our classroom, the school, our

community, our planet. We should always endeavor to respect our
surroundings by attempting to be the least destructive we can be. If we
make it dirty, we must clean it. If it is broken, we must fix it. Sometimes
we see a mess and we dont know who or what created it, but as an
exercise of mindfulness and respect we should clean it up, even if it
wasnt our fault.

While I am very confident that there will be few instances of disrespect in our
class, please note that violations of this code of respect will result in
disciplinary action, including parental interventions and lowered citizenship
grades (remember, citizenship is a considerable factor for determining your
participation in the class trip to Chicago at the end of the year).
Our work is great, and our time is short. We have a lot of material to cover, a
lot of ideas to discuss, and only about 184 days to fit it all in. This year will be
challenging, but (and I mean this for all of our sake) it can and will be as fun as
we make it. Your input and ideas about this class are always welcome within
the framework of respect outlined above. In the coming days, we will discuss
the more specific classroom practices and procedures that will help the class run
smoothly (bathroom passes, books, assignments, necessary materials, etc.).
Please know that aside from teaching this class I will also be working
throughout the day in several other classes as a Teacher Assistant. I am happy
to help with homework during those periods as well as before or after school.
Please also feel free to email any questions as they arise, and utilize our
classroom website often: www.willrosenthal.weebly.com
Lets have a great year, Slauson Golden Bear Historians!

Mr. Rosenthal