12H English

 

Mr. Brazier

braziera@wellesleyps.org

                                                                                    Office Hours: M 2:30-3:45

 

The Curriculum

 

Term 1:

 

William Faulkner – The Sound and the Fury

Flannery O’Conner – A Good Man is Hard to Find

 

 

Major Assessments:

 

1. Summer Reading Essay
2. Sound and Fury Essay Test
3. O’Conner Project

 

 

Term 2:

 

Homer – The Odyssey

Alice Walker – The Color Purple

Short stories and poetry

 

Major Assessments:

 

1. Odyssey project and presentation
2. Color Purple Essay Test

 

 

 

Term 3:

 

Shakespeare – Hamlet

Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha

Albert Camus – The Stranger

Franz Kafka – The Metamorphosis

 

Major Assessments:

 

1. Hamlet Essay
2. Existentialism Project

 

 

 

Term 4:

 

Tim O’Brien – The Things They Carried

Thornton Wilder – Our Town

 

Major Assessments:

 

1. Senior Paper

 

 

 

 

Important Things to Know

 

            You should expect two or three major assignments a term. The most common of these will be the analytical essay test that, on average, will be three pages in length. Other major assignments will be projects, exams, and presentations.  Smaller assignments will be 1-page writing responses, vocabulary quizzes, reading quizzes. Once or twice a quarter, we will have graded discussion seminars.  Assignments are given the following weight:

                        Essays:                                                 100 points

                        Projects/Presentations/Essay Tests   80-100 points

Short Presentations                            20 points

                        Discussion Seminars                           20 points

                        Vocabulary Quizzes                            10 points

                        Reading Quizzes                                  5-10 points

 

Late Policy

            If you need more time to complete work, see me at least 24 hours before it is due. I will consider your request. If you ask me often for an extension, I will not allow it.

            If an essay or project is late, it will be docked points for each day it is late. The number of points will be determined by the value of the assignment. For example, a 100-point essay will be docked 5 points for each day it is late.

 

Attendance

            I know that you are seniors and your lives are extremely busy, but you must make class attendance a priority. Since this will be a discussion-based class, you miss out and can’t make up or recreate a missed class. I do take attendance, and I expect you to inform me if you are going to miss even a single class. Very Important: If you are absent from a class, you need to get the assignments from someone in the class or from me. The homework for the next class is due even if you are absent, barring an assignment that is based on the class lesson.  Also, if you miss a quiz or test you need to remember to make it up. I will not hunt you down and remind you of missed work. College professors won’t do so either.

 

Assignments and Workload

            Depending on the difficulty of the reading, you can expect 30-40 pages a night.  I do give unscheduled reading quizzes, and I implore you to never resort to SparkNotes or any such summarizing aid.  We’ll be reading some of the best literature written in the English language, and it would be a shame for you to not actually read it.

            You can expect 2-3 major assessments per term. By far these are the most important assignments in terms of your grade since they are weighted heavily. Spend time on your writing and try your hardest to not wait until the last minute. Revision is a key to strong writing.

           

 

Class Participation

            I stressed above that you attend each class, but if you sit through class in a daze, you’re not really here. If you are not inclined to speak in class, you can show your engagement by talking to me outside of class, paying close attention during class, and talking during small group discussions. I also invite you to share with me interesting articles, readings, video clips, etc. that relate to what we are studying in class.

 

AI

 

Unattributed use of AI-generated content, over-reliance on AI for your work, or using AI to avoid reading or analysis will be considered violations of our academic integrity policy.

In order to verify that you have genuinely learned from the assignment and have not resorted to using AI or cheating, you should be able to discuss the topic verbally and demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of anything submitted. An inability to support/extend your work through conversation or extension questions will demonstrate a need to relearn the material and provide new evidence of the learning. 

Remember, the ultimate goal of education is your growth and learning. AI can be a fantastic tool to aid us in this journey, but it can't replace your active engagement and effort. Ensure that anything you submit is an accurate representation of your learning and capability. Use AI responsibly, and make this a year of meaningful learning and creativity.

 

           

Random thoughts

 

Get your sleep!

Don’t let your college applications consume you

No, senior year does not end in January or April or when you get into college

Take advantage of this incredible year ahead of you but leave time to be quiet and think

Spend time with friends (after you’ve done your reading for me).

I’m here to help you, not make your life miserable with work

Take a deep breath – everything will be fine!