Welcome back. We’ll do most of the heavy lifting online this week, so be sure to pay attention during class. We will cover all of the follow items.
Before you get to class on January 4, you will have a Q2A score in Infinite Campus. It can be unpacked through the same general feedback post you’ve had all year:
You can also use a spreadsheet that has been specially prepared for you. Load it here:
The challenge is to write an essay on the subject of toxic positivity. If you’re reading this in November, 2020, the current essay prompt on empathy is here; this challenge also answers that prompt.
Our writing guide, which works for any and all writing responses, is here. You’ll want it for this challenge.
Toxic positivity needs a definition first. This article starts with one:
Refer to the various course calendars as needed: https://tinyurl.com/2020-scope.
Use this post to ask questions about how to navigate the upcoming weeks. You can ask questions about specifics here or in the comment sections of the relevant instructional posts. You can ask at any time, too. Don’t stop after a deadline — remember what the Course FAQ has to say about that.
Be sure to use class time to ask questions. You can also advocate outside of class through email, Google Classroom, and any shared documents.
11/30 Update: The work from the end of Q1 has been moved to the end of the post. Read on for daily reminders and copies of the current writing work.
If you were to look at all the categories assigned to this post, you’d see it covers everything from grade abatement to feedback to triage. Looking through those categories isn’t the point today, though; the links are there to emphasize that the post you are reading is important. Very, very important. Use-an-empty-adverb-and-italicize-it important.
The central concept here is that you must maximize your work for the 66 minutes of class time allotted this year. You’ll have breaks built in, including breaks you can schedule yourself; the rest of the time must be fully focused on our work.
You’ll have a flexible set of guidelines for this, which you can load below:
That schedule is printed and posted in the classroom, too. This post provides context. You will start with a list of instructional posts that have something in common.
You do not need to read these, because they are assigned when needed; several of them, in fact, have been sent in concert with the post you are reading now.
Again and again, these posts circle back, like so many falcons in the widening gyre, to in-class focus and feedback. Those are the keys.
The feedback in question is more than the feedback you receive on work. It’s the instructional feedback chain that you need to learn and to grow. You cannot be successful without sustained in-class focus and a habit of reading — closely reading — every instructional post, guide, letter, and comment.
This year, 2020-2021, you are physically present for our course only once a week. The odd Wednesday you attend will be dedicated to the Pareto Project. This is a strange schedule for a strange year.
Here are multiple versions of the full scope and sequence of the year:
What this exhaustive planning drives home for me is also what it should drive home for you:
In other words, if you do not make the most of your in-class focus, and if you do not invest fully in the instructional framework of this course, you cannot be successful.
Each week, you meet for just 66 minutes in person for a period of intense focus. This will include conferences, in-person workshops, presentations, lectures, and class discussions. You must make active, thoughtful choices.
There will be just 33 minutes additionally of at-home focus. This will include synchronous activities like discussions, lectures, and peer presentations. Distance learners can extend this beyond the required 33 minutes. You must make the best of the situation.
Again, you have access to a schedule for this:
Wednesdays will always be set aside for “genius hour” passion projects. Students who are on the schedule will workshop their projects, in person or remotely; the other students have the option of asynchronous feedback through Drive, Docs, or a meeting during office hours.
Overall, there is a limited amount of time for the critical in-person work on writing, reading, and the other Humanities skills and traits. You must, therefore, direct yourself outside of class time to prepare for in-person feedback and workshops.
If you do nothing else, you must treat the 66 minutes of in-person time as sacrosanct: You must do good, authentic Humanities work while you are in the classroom.
This is possible. 66 minutes is just 0.65% of your entire week. If you happen to be in person on Wednesday, too, that percentage doubles to just 1.3% of your life over seven days.
You can dedicate a single percentage of your time each week to this space. And a strange thing will happen, when you do: You will find it easier to dedicate more time outside of this space to this work. You will find the work more meaningful. It will be easier.
This is the trick of it: The more you invest in the class, the more you benefit; the more you benefit, the more you will want to invest in the class, and the easier it will be to do so. Authenticity and understanding stack.
Once more, here is the post that breaks down your 66-minute periods for 2020-2021:
This is the text that you’ll find reprinted below, almost verbatim. ↩
Read these posts first:
The single-sheet schedules posted separately to Google Classroom are available by period in this folder:
Note that these schedules are designed to give us structure and predictability; we will follow them closely, but they will not be rigidly enforced. There is built-in flexibility.
See below for nonspecific versions of the in-person and remote schedules. See the folder above for your specific period’s times.
Use the first three minutes to set up your workspace and to complete the Daily Record: Self-Report form.
The next 15 minutes are dedicated to direction instruction. Take notes, ask questions, and otherwise interact with in-person instruction, which will include lectures, assignment adjustments, and general feedback. This will be delivered synchronously to remote learners.
After direct instruction, you will have 15 minutes, sometimes more, to ask questions, to receive individualized help, or to begin the day’s task. This also applies to remote learners, who will interact with the teacher via chat.
You will then take a five-minute break. This happens exactly 33 minutes into the period. During this break, remote learners will log off, so the teacher will answer their last-minute questions over chat. You can take off your mask, have a snack or drink, etc, as long as you remember not to talk to each other while unmasked.
Note: As long as it is not during direct instruction, you can schedule your own breaks throughout the period by using e-hallpass. You may leave to get a drink of water, to go to the bathroom, or to take a quick walk.
The next 25 minutes of the period are dedicated to in-person work. This includes individual conferences, small-group instruction, and class discussions. Students will help set the agenda.
With three minutes left in the period, you should pack up your workspace. Leave the space as clean as you found it. Ask any last-minute questions.
Use the first three minutes to set up your at-home workspace and to complete the Daily Record: Self-Report form. Most importantly, log into Google Meet.
Note: You must write in the chat window of Google Meet that you are present. Chats are archived.
The next 15 minutes are dedicated to direction instruction. This is delivered synchronously to in-person learners, so you should follow those guidelines: Take notes, ask questions, and otherwise interact with in-person instruction, which will include lectures, assignment adjustments, and general feedback.
Note: The camera will initially show the teacher speaking at the front of the room; after that, materials will be presented directly to your device.
After direct instruction, you will have 15 minutes, sometimes more, to ask questions, to receive individualized help, or to begin the day’s task. Use the chat function for this. You must also monitor the chat for any additional comments from the teacher.
Note: You may choose to keep your camera on or off during remote learning. Keep the mic off. You must write in the chat at the beginning and end of your session. The classroom mic will remain on for direct instruction and radial feedback.
When you reach the 33-minute mark of the period, you may choose to log off. You may also stay for the entire 66-minute period, or for any portion of it.
Note: You must write in the chat that you have no further questions before logging off. Chats are archived.
The next 25 minutes of the period are dedicated to in-person work. You may stay logged into Google Meet for the rest of the period. When you log off, you must still write in that chat that you are doing so.
With three minutes left in the period, you must log out of Google Meet to allow the teacher to archive the chat.