Today we met in A-232 to make sure everyone knew how to access the blog and post. We completed or started Homework Assignment 2, which is a response to the syllabus. I told students that if they didn't finish they could post the response by the due date in the syllabus.
There was no special homework. I returned the essays written in-class last week to English 1A 8-8:50 AM. Tomorrow English 1A 11-11:50 AM will get theirs back. I didn't record the grades yet, so make sure you keep the original. I really liked some of them (smile).
The highest grade possible was check-plus. A check means the student is in the right place. A check minus means check with me, because the writing is weak.
Grading is subjective. I try to be objective, so even when I do not agree with an argument, as long as the evidence supports the claim or thesis and it is logical, the student gets a passing grade. Race, class and gender are all hot topics. Often it is hard to see beyond one's experience(s), especially when one has not had the experiences depicted in an argument, which was the case for a few students re: Chideya's "On Race."
Empathy is hard when one cannot fathom the depth of a certain experience. In such cases, especially when someone is credible like Farai Chideya--I would just give it to her. Do a background search and read her credentials, if you doubt me. Barnard College is in the Ivy League category of private institutions. She wouldn't make up stuff just to sound fantastical, so those students who want to argue with her conclusions, the evidence such students sited just wasn't strong enough to sway the argument their way.
See Farai.com
Just as Chideya chose her battles; as writers one should also choose one's battles and know when one can agree to disagree--because you really don't know what she is talking about and might not ever have to experience what she relates to us in her story.
We will meet in C-113 and A-202 in the morning. I am going to see if A-232 is available on Thursdays so we can meet there beginning this week.
Adler is the topic of discussion in the morning and perhaps Michael Jackson, whose birthday is Wednesday. Hurricane Katrina is the topic on Wednesday. I wish I could show you the film, Trouble the Water, but we don't have enough time.
We spoke briefly about what to do about the books and also about Permission Numbers. Buy the books. If you own the books, bring them to class tomorrow. If you don't have money, rent the books and those you can't rent, try the public library. You cannot take the class if you don't the materials. I can't make those who are already in the class buy the books, but I can fail them (smile).
We will also look at revision strategies for those essays tomorrow as well. Type the essay and resubmit with the original for Thursday. I asked some of you to expand the essay. Others were told to finish it. Still other students had grammar problems to correct. Then there were the students who didn't do the assignment.
Checks are like Credit/No Credit, they are passing grades or Cs.
If you want a Permission Number, get the books: Guy's Afeni Shakur, Tupac's Rose, Hacker's Rules for Writers, and They Say, I Say. We will make Pidd optional. I am going to offer a special workshop for those whose grammar is weak. For those who would like to run the book, get it.
I am ready to start. I am reviewing this week, but we start reading Guy this weekend.
Re: Pidd (I am skipping around), if you are excelling in the writing, I'll make copies of the quizzes which you will take. If you make any grammatical errors on the essays you submit you will have to write a correction essay not a narrative. Hacker is the resource for these essays, as she gives us the rules (smile).
I am going to give you the weekly schedule by Monday via Internet or sooner if I get it together. I am tailoring the class to who is in it. If there is anything you need re: writing skills, let me know if it isn't covered.
When you email me, identify the assignment in the subject line and always paste and attach the document. You can use any email address you like, just remember, I only have the college issued email address in my on-line roster, so check it or have it captured by your personal email. Gmail.com can do this.
I am very good at what I do, that is, write and if you take my advice, which is individualized, you will leave a better reader and writer than when you entered COA.
There was no special homework. I returned the essays written in-class last week to English 1A 8-8:50 AM. Tomorrow English 1A 11-11:50 AM will get theirs back. I didn't record the grades yet, so make sure you keep the original. I really liked some of them (smile).
The highest grade possible was check-plus. A check means the student is in the right place. A check minus means check with me, because the writing is weak.
Grading is subjective. I try to be objective, so even when I do not agree with an argument, as long as the evidence supports the claim or thesis and it is logical, the student gets a passing grade. Race, class and gender are all hot topics. Often it is hard to see beyond one's experience(s), especially when one has not had the experiences depicted in an argument, which was the case for a few students re: Chideya's "On Race."
Empathy is hard when one cannot fathom the depth of a certain experience. In such cases, especially when someone is credible like Farai Chideya--I would just give it to her. Do a background search and read her credentials, if you doubt me. Barnard College is in the Ivy League category of private institutions. She wouldn't make up stuff just to sound fantastical, so those students who want to argue with her conclusions, the evidence such students sited just wasn't strong enough to sway the argument their way.
See Farai.com
Just as Chideya chose her battles; as writers one should also choose one's battles and know when one can agree to disagree--because you really don't know what she is talking about and might not ever have to experience what she relates to us in her story.
We will meet in C-113 and A-202 in the morning. I am going to see if A-232 is available on Thursdays so we can meet there beginning this week.
Adler is the topic of discussion in the morning and perhaps Michael Jackson, whose birthday is Wednesday. Hurricane Katrina is the topic on Wednesday. I wish I could show you the film, Trouble the Water, but we don't have enough time.
We spoke briefly about what to do about the books and also about Permission Numbers. Buy the books. If you own the books, bring them to class tomorrow. If you don't have money, rent the books and those you can't rent, try the public library. You cannot take the class if you don't the materials. I can't make those who are already in the class buy the books, but I can fail them (smile).
We will also look at revision strategies for those essays tomorrow as well. Type the essay and resubmit with the original for Thursday. I asked some of you to expand the essay. Others were told to finish it. Still other students had grammar problems to correct. Then there were the students who didn't do the assignment.
Checks are like Credit/No Credit, they are passing grades or Cs.
If you want a Permission Number, get the books: Guy's Afeni Shakur, Tupac's Rose, Hacker's Rules for Writers, and They Say, I Say. We will make Pidd optional. I am going to offer a special workshop for those whose grammar is weak. For those who would like to run the book, get it.
I am ready to start. I am reviewing this week, but we start reading Guy this weekend.
Re: Pidd (I am skipping around), if you are excelling in the writing, I'll make copies of the quizzes which you will take. If you make any grammatical errors on the essays you submit you will have to write a correction essay not a narrative. Hacker is the resource for these essays, as she gives us the rules (smile).
I am going to give you the weekly schedule by Monday via Internet or sooner if I get it together. I am tailoring the class to who is in it. If there is anything you need re: writing skills, let me know if it isn't covered.
When you email me, identify the assignment in the subject line and always paste and attach the document. You can use any email address you like, just remember, I only have the college issued email address in my on-line roster, so check it or have it captured by your personal email. Gmail.com can do this.
I am very good at what I do, that is, write and if you take my advice, which is individualized, you will leave a better reader and writer than when you entered COA.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 6:56 PM
6 Comments:
I have found this syllabus to be very informational on what this class will be like. What was especially helpful on the syllabus was explaining what kind of homework would be assigned this semester, such as cyber-assignments and how they would always be posted on the blogspot. Another good piece of information was the part about the portfolio for this class and how we would need to save everything we do for this class, so I will be completely organized with my assignments. Right now, I have no questions concerning this class, since the syllabus is very straightfoward and I'm sure finals and large assignments for this class will be discussed in greater detail in due time. So thank you for this syllabus, it has been very helpful.
Jesse Valdez
Gabe Shalaby
08/27/2012
8:00 – 8:50 a.m.
After reading the English 1a syllabus on Professor Wanda Sabir’s BlogSpot I am both excited and nervous. I am excited because this looks like an interesting and fun English class. Out of all the English classes I have been in, not once have I been assigned a book, let alone three books, written about/by Tupac Shakur. I am nervous because I haven’t actually been in an English class since the first semester of my senior year in high school. I graduated class of 2010 so it has been a while since I’ve written anything over a few paragraphs.
Getting back on the horse can be rough, but I think that I will be able to do it in this class. Having something that I’m actually interested in ensures that I will actually read the text which I’ve been known to skip. Usually in an English class I will skim a book or hit the main points on the internet and bend my words around a general understanding of what’s going on in the text. This time with literature on Tupac for two of our essays and a student choice book I think I’ll be able to stick myself to the pages and really do the work in this class.
Looking through the syllabus this sounds like a very reasonable class. The grading seems fair, the reading looks fun, the professor seems like she knows what’s what, and the classmates are agreeable. On a side note I do really enjoy the Alameda campus versus BCC or Laney and I look forward to getting back on the grind and get on with my life.
I really think that this is a well organized syllabus that i have seen so far. The fact that it is on your blog, actually makes me have to look over it and see like what assignments are due at a certain date and time. I have read the syllabus about two time all ready, and i think that i do not have any concurs or questions as of now due to the fact that it is pretty straight forward. Not only it is a good idea to have the cyber assignment posted on your blog but the syllabus in front of you as i open the webpage can really help a lot, i can refer to it easily as many times as i need to. really like this syllabus. As of now, it is the nest i have seen so far.
The last two comment were posted by me "Fermin Carrera"
Amanda Lara
English 1A
August 31, 2012
8:00AM-8:50AM
After reading thy syllabus i feel a lot more better regarding taking this class. I am excited that we are doing most of our class readings on Tupac because he is one of my favorite artist. The syllabus is very well detailed and now i have a understanding of all my obligations and how i will be grades.I aprreciate that the syllabus is online where we can access it at any moment. After not taking a english class in so long i feel that the books selected for this class are interesting and it will help me get in the rhytham of reading every day. The grading systems is explained very well and at this time i do not have any questions but i will if i do. I appreciate the time taken to set up the blog.
Danielle Carmon
29 August, 2012
Professor Sabir
English 1A 11-11:50am
When reading the syllabus at first I found it to be a little overwhelming but as I kept reading; the details became clearer. This is a nice twist to an original syllabus, instead of an impersonal, bullet point schedule and class rules, you took the time to write to us and go into detail about each aspect of the course. I thought it was confusing to have all the different blogs, logs and essays online, so it’s good to have this to look back at and it explains it clearly. I think the hardest thing for me to do is going to be checking the blog everyday to check for assignments, I rarely get to use my laptop. My favorite part of the syllabus was the emphasis on the free help and writing center here at the school. This gives me information that I didn’t know about the school so now I have more resources to help me with my writing.
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