# 1:  Daily attendance is vitally important in this course. 

SMA is on block scheduling, so missing one class here is the instructional equivalent of missing two days in a more traditional high school.  Missing classroom lectures and activities may adversely impact a student’s grade, because what we do daily in class forms part of our tests and grades.  I do not lend out classroom materials – so missed movies and artifact analyses must be made up after school, unless the student can find these materials elsewhere.

 

# 2:  All missed work must be made up in a timely manner.

Text Box: If a student is absent, all work must be made up, usually after school, on a mutually convenient day.   Students who are absent, particularly for more than one day, must check my website or with a classmate to keep abreast of assigned work and due dates.  Since some tests and activities fill an entire instructional period (80 minutes), and our lunch period is only 30 minutes long, there are times that missed tests and projects must be completed after school.  Students with an excused absence have the same number of days as the excused absence to make up missed work or tests.  The sooner the better, though, as the longer students wait the more material they seem to forget!   Work missed because of an unexcused absence may not be made up.  (I am not available before school due to my lengthy morning commute from North Port.)      

 

 

 


 

 

 

# 3:  Due dates must be met. 

Text Box: If a student was present in class when work was assigned or a test date or due date announced, the student is responsible for completing that work, that test, or that project on time if he/she is present in class on that due date.  This applies even if the student is absent between the day of the announcement/assignment and the due date.  So if I announce on Monday that the class will have a test on Unit 6 that coming Friday, and the student is absent on Thursday, the student will still be expected to take the test on Friday if she/he is back in class that day.   

 

 

# 4:  Let’s talk!  I am here to help students succeed!

Text Box: I am aware that personal and family emergencies disrupt people’s lives unexpectedly.  If this happens, PLEASE call or email me at school to alert me to the situation, and help me work out a reasonable work timetable for your cadet.  If your student is having any difficulties in my class, please encourage him/her to talk to me about getting some help.  I’ve given up eating students for breakfast (too many calories!) and I promise to leave my whips and chains at home.   

 

                                                                                                                              

# 5:  Learning extends beyond the four walls of our classroom.

Text Box: Part of my job is to teach students to use information technology, so access to a computer and the internet is very important.  I expect students to access my website regularly.   Go to:  www.sarasotamilitaryacademy.com, click on Departments, and then Social Sciences, and then Captain Wasserman.  Important information is on my home page as well as on the individual class pages (US History, Honors US History, or AP US History).  Please encourage your student to spend a few minutes at the beginning of the term “surfing” through my web pages.   My web pages include homework assignments; due dates; project details; grading rubrics (the criteria I use in grading projects); research links; writing tips; study aids; the foundational documents of US history; plus whatever else I find that I think will enrich my students’ learning experience.      Students who do not own a computer are encouraged to use the school’s computer lab or library computers (after school or during lunch) or to go to one of Sarasota’s fine public library branches to use a computer.   I also strongly encourage reading for the pure fun of it, as well as to find and analyze factual information.  

 

 

 

          

                 

# 6:  Students should know what is happening, both here at home and abroad.

Text Box: Students are expected to keep abreast of current events by reading a newspaper or watching or listening to a national newscast, as part of the regular homework requirements for this class.  See my website for details.