nORmAL is WEIRD Course Syllabus
Senior Institute SOF 2010-2011
Andy Snyder – Teacher
By the end of this course you should be;
More curious about some of the complex and normally “taken for granted” social practices in which we swim.
Able to powerfully analyze 5 particular social practices in our culture (food, illness&dying, birth, the care of the dead, and prom) using cross-cultural and historical analysis and the examination of conflicting viewpoints.
Able to make some interesting generalizations about the society we live in.
Capable of navigating your own personal journey through life more boldly.
Based on the above and the excellent work of your fine teachers before me at SOF – please write a plausible essential question for this course in your notebook.
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This course will consist of the 5 major units that I'm particularly interested in with approximately 5 minor units that may provide helpful cultural literacy in the social studies.
Planned sequence of instruction – units:
Introductory Unit - ending ~Sept. 24 (7)
Food - ending ~Nov. 3 (30)
Quick Economics - ending ~Nov. 15 (7)
Illness & Dying - ending Dec. 23* (26)
Quick US History - ending ~Jan. 10 (6)
Birth - ending Feb. 18* (27)
Quick Political Science - ending ~March 7 (6)
Care of the Dead - ending April 15* (28)
Quick Geography and World History - ending ~May 6 (8)
Prom - ending ~June 3 (19)
Concluding Unit(s)
Food - ending ~Nov. 3 (30)
Quick Economics - ending ~Nov. 15 (7)
Illness & Dying - ending Dec. 23* (26)
Quick US History - ending ~Jan. 10 (6)
Birth - ending Feb. 18* (27)
Quick Political Science - ending ~March 7 (6)
Care of the Dead - ending April 15* (28)
Quick Geography and World History - ending ~May 6 (8)
Prom - ending ~June 3 (19)
Concluding Unit(s)
Each major unit will consist of 3 phases, each divided into 3 sub-phases. Thus, each major unit will follow this sequence -
Citizen:
I. Opening - Initial thoughts and questions (concrete, theoretical), personal practice and perspective, personal envisioning for you and your family - your feelings (do you close down when someone dies, or cherish the memories)
II. Asking (families, google, wikipedia, self, others)
III. Scanning - Sketch of dominant cultural understandings (NYT articles, polls, kids books, “common sense”)
Scholar:
IV. Thinking - Identifying major interesting questions and topics - check for insights and/or changed perspectives
V. Experts - Primary text(s) and primary film(s) - cross cultural and historical analysis, various POVs
VI. Researching - choosing additional texts, interviews, resources
Intellectual:
VII. Rethinking - Identifying underlying assumptions, reconsidering evidence, evaluating competing views
VIII. Synthesizing - Putting together own theories and articulating own analysis and point of view (papers, projects, assessments)
IX. Consolidating (noting development of skills, mastery of content, and changes in perspective)
I. Opening - Initial thoughts and questions (concrete, theoretical), personal practice and perspective, personal envisioning for you and your family - your feelings (do you close down when someone dies, or cherish the memories)
II. Asking (families, google, wikipedia, self, others)
III. Scanning - Sketch of dominant cultural understandings (NYT articles, polls, kids books, “common sense”)
Scholar:
IV. Thinking - Identifying major interesting questions and topics - check for insights and/or changed perspectives
V. Experts - Primary text(s) and primary film(s) - cross cultural and historical analysis, various POVs
VI. Researching - choosing additional texts, interviews, resources
Intellectual:
VII. Rethinking - Identifying underlying assumptions, reconsidering evidence, evaluating competing views
VIII. Synthesizing - Putting together own theories and articulating own analysis and point of view (papers, projects, assessments)
IX. Consolidating (noting development of skills, mastery of content, and changes in perspective)
Emotions:
I hope your main emotions (and mine) in the course will be curiosity, appreciation, and occasional confusion.
The main point of the course is to explore how social practices that most people (including most of us most of the time) take as “normal” actually seem weird when investigated. So the goal of the course is to learn to see things from new and often unusual angles. Analyzing social practices is the point of the course and feeling uncomfortable is an important part of learning.
Sometimes you may feel that a text, film, or person in class are “judging” you because they criticize a social practice you identify with. If you find this happening please take a deep breath and reconsider. It is your choice to be in this school, this class, your choice what social practices to identify with, and your choice whether to take offense if someone speaks honestly about their understanding of an aspect of the world.
Thus, I wouldn't consider the following statement offensive, "I believe that most atheists tend to act immorally because of arguments X, Y, & Z." You are allowed to state your beliefs and encouraged to find supporting arguments and evidence. If you say, "I believe that you, Bob, are ignorant for refusing to believe in G-d!" that gets more insulting and shouldn't happen in any domain connected to the course. If you feel that you have been personally attacked please clarify the situation with the individual in question or speak to the section chief (one will be elected by each section) and/or teacher.
Please additionally keep in mind the distinction between generalizing and sterotyping - generalizing is the necessary simplification of complex realities that help us make a broad and generally accurate map of the world. Stereotyping is the use of false general claims to stigmatize every member of a group. Also, please keep in mind the distinction between discussing problematic situations and advocating those situations. Thus, someone who says - "There are lots of reasons that people become terrorists" - is probably not advocating terrorism, but advocating the understanding of terrorism.
Work & Grades
There will be homework assignments 3-5x per week. Usually these assignments will consist of thinking, doing some task (interviewing your mom, reading a text, taking pictures, etc.) and writing up the results on your personal “nORMal is WEIRD” course blog. I'd expect most of these assignments to be doable within a half hour or so – but there will be some (such as papers at the end of units) that will require significantly more time. Most of the assignments will be graded, almost always on a 10 point scale according to the rough rubric below.
10 – Among the best work done in the class. It fulfills all criteria from the assignment, is strong with thought-provoking ideas, has flavor and beauty, and has been revised and polished. This work is deep, colorful, and clean and would be welcomed by college professors.
9 – Good work, impressive. Reveals some strong ideas and areas of beauty or has been highly revised and polished –doesn’t quite manage to combine polish with strength.
8 – Solid job. Shows ideas and flashes of aesthetics but requires work to build those into a more powerful project.
7 – Decent work. The assignment has been completed without just “going through the motions”. Alternatively the work might have some strengths but have missed part of the assignment.
6 – Getting there. The work seems somewhat perfunctory – as though it were done last second or without intention. Doesn’t seem to have benefited from thinking time or from revision.
5 – Halfway – Most of the assigned work is minimally done with one or two decent parts.
4 – Partway – Most of the assigned work is minimally done.
3 – Something – Some of the assigned work is minimally done.
2 – Better than nothing – A bit of the assigned work is minimally done.
1 – Mas que nada – A tiny bit is posted.
0 – Nothing.
9 – Good work, impressive. Reveals some strong ideas and areas of beauty or has been highly revised and polished –doesn’t quite manage to combine polish with strength.
8 – Solid job. Shows ideas and flashes of aesthetics but requires work to build those into a more powerful project.
7 – Decent work. The assignment has been completed without just “going through the motions”. Alternatively the work might have some strengths but have missed part of the assignment.
6 – Getting there. The work seems somewhat perfunctory – as though it were done last second or without intention. Doesn’t seem to have benefited from thinking time or from revision.
5 – Halfway – Most of the assigned work is minimally done with one or two decent parts.
4 – Partway – Most of the assigned work is minimally done.
3 – Something – Some of the assigned work is minimally done.
2 – Better than nothing – A bit of the assigned work is minimally done.
1 – Mas que nada – A tiny bit is posted.
0 – Nothing.
I want to remind you that what you take from this course should be a lot more than just a number grade. But since number grades also affect your life, here's the formula I will use to calculate it each semester (actual grades from the two quarters that make up each semester will be averaged for each semester grade – the ones that go on your transcript).
5% just for being you and a valued participant in the SOF community.
85% --- grades on assigned work
10% class participation (note this doesn't require extra flattering of the teacher – the criteria are that you don't distract others with side-talk or gadgets, that you arrive on time, that you do the learning activities assigned each class, and that when you miss one or more classes that you provide officially-acceptable written notes.)
If you would otherwise fail the course, but pass the semester final, you will receive a 55% work score – this means that if you have also gotten half or more of the points from class participation you will still pass for the semester.
How to Get Better Grades:
1. The single best way you can do well in this course, other courses, and in your future academic efforts is to set up a solid homework routine. See below for how more on how to do that.
2. If you have difficulties work with other students - particularly students who are doing well. Use other peoples' blogs and projects for inspiration and approaches. Ask for help from your partners.
3. The people who tend to do best are those who think about the ideas from the course a lot - talking about it at home and with friends gives them the chance to develop fresh perspectives and identify evidence and arguments. It also helps to view the assignments as interesting opportunities to develop thinking rather than as unfortunate chores.
4. Participate actively and thoughtfully in class and do the assigned work to the best of your ability - including edits and rewrites.
5. Take responsibility for learning and for demonstrating your growth. If you are absent - check the course blog and do homework on time. If your family doesn't support you enough, figure out a system with a friend or two. You know, do what Tim Spicer and President Obama suggested.
Homework Routine:
The 7 parts of an ideal homework routine are listed below. How many of them are the rule in your house?
1. The single best way you can do well in this course, other courses, and in your future academic efforts is to set up a solid homework routine. See below for how more on how to do that.
2. If you have difficulties work with other students - particularly students who are doing well. Use other peoples' blogs and projects for inspiration and approaches. Ask for help from your partners.
3. The people who tend to do best are those who think about the ideas from the course a lot - talking about it at home and with friends gives them the chance to develop fresh perspectives and identify evidence and arguments. It also helps to view the assignments as interesting opportunities to develop thinking rather than as unfortunate chores.
4. Participate actively and thoughtfully in class and do the assigned work to the best of your ability - including edits and rewrites.
5. Take responsibility for learning and for demonstrating your growth. If you are absent - check the course blog and do homework on time. If your family doesn't support you enough, figure out a system with a friend or two. You know, do what Tim Spicer and President Obama suggested.
Homework Routine:
The 7 parts of an ideal homework routine are listed below. How many of them are the rule in your house?
Effective use of a planner
Particular Time to do homework
Particular Place to do homework
Particular Rituals to help you focus (favorite drink, music, breaks?)
Particular Student to check in with, ask for advice, get missed assignments from
An adult to discuss ideas with from the classes, to give positive feedback on papers, to ask the student about how homework is coming and expect a truthful answer
A set of 2-5 tasks (reading novels, learning a language on LiveMocha.com, writing a book) to work on when there isn't much homework - to catch up, to go ahead, or just to pursue an intellectual/academic interest.
Open Honors:
You may choose to attempt to receive “Honors” credit for the course. This will indicate to folks who read your transcript that you participated in a more serious course of study, one that better prepares you for a good college, and that you chose to go above and beyond the merely required. In this course anyone may attempt to achieve “Honors” status by letting me know you're interested and fulfilling all of the following 4 requirements.
1. Read 2 or more books for each major unit, cover to cover, from a list provided by the teacher or with an approved alternate selection. Write a thoughtful and well-edited review of each and post them on Amazon or Goodreads - include the links on your blog in a special section on the side. Each review needs to explicitly reference the “Habits of Mind” - particularly “Point of View” (the main argument), “Evidence”, and “Significance” to yourself and the course. Please add an additional paragraph that lists the major insights or questions that are worth remembering from the text and your own thoughts in response to those insights and/or questions.
2. Watch at least 2 whole movies that aren't fully viewed in class. Write a review for each - same guidelines as the book review - and post the review on Netflix, Amazon, IMDB, or some other site, and include that review as a link on your blog. This can be reduced to 1 movie if you´ve read more than 3 or more books.
3. Maintain a strong blog - with at least 90% of work posted on time and 90% of essays earning scores of 8 or more.
4. Contribute to a strong class. Your means for doing this can be negotiated - it may mean making insightful comments in class, supporting your classmates in various ways, or occasionally helping to lead the class.
Computers:
Gadgets break. Please back up all work in multiple ways – for best results follow this sequence.
1. Write initial text in Word, Google Docs, or Open Office. Allow automatic saving or save manually every 10 minutes.
2. Re-read, spell-check, rework language, expand ideas.
3. Print and proofread.
4. Revise.
5. Publish to blog.
6. Export as PDF or .doc or .odt and "save as" to flashdrive. Bring the flashdrive every day to school (iPods can also easily function as flash drives). You now have the latest draft in 3 digital locations and the original draft printed out.
7. For additional security - when you're working on an end of the unit paper - email yourself or publish to dropbox.
If your computer breaks, or your family doesn't have one, CNET recommends the Asus EeePC 1018 – a $379 netbook capable of school work and internet use. For internet signal please lease your own, make a deal with a neighbor to use their WiFi, or go to a library or coffee shop or another of the thousands of free WiFi locations. If you don't have the money for any of the above, please borrow a friend's computer and/or use public computers (such as the ones available in the school and most public libraries).
Sharing Ideas:
Please think, share, read, listen, learn. Read other peoples' blogs, stuff on the internet, discuss. Use their ideas in your paper – but cite them. If you use their words – quote them. If you paraphrase someone else's ideas or use their words without correct attribution there will be significant negative consequences. When in doubt be cautious. For more information, please consult this helpful website.
Communicating with the teacher:
I enjoy working at SOF and I enjoy working with young people to figure out the world. Grading not so much.
If you email me please include respectful greetings and error on the side of formality rather than informality. Please put the main issue in the subject heading, in the body include all relevant information such as precise links, and a clear and polite statement of exactly what you're asking me to do. Punctuate, use dominant English (or German), and proofread before you send the email. I'm not a member of the texting/facebook subculture and several of your professors in college will also appreciate that you practiced these emails with me.
All office supplies are in the location pointed out in the first couple days of class – please don't ask me where the stapler is. Similarly please don't email me asking for the assignment or whether I've graded a particular assignment. I teach approximately 100 students. If you don't know or understand the work check my course blog. If you have questions please contact 2 other students who share your confusion before contacting me. Similarly, I welcome the often insightful and interesting perspectives, questions, and feedback from family members – but please encourage your parents/guardians to check the course blog, your blog, and the latest grades before they send off quick emails on their smartphones inquiring about whether you've done the work or not.
I'd like to spend as much time as possible being a teacher and a human and only what is actually necessary being a secretary. But please DO contact me as described above if you find something we're doing particularly great or in need of immediate change, or as noted above, you've tried to figure out something with help from other students but still need my assistance.
Privacy and Visibility:
Your blog will be visible to the entire internet audience. Please follow the following procedures to minimize distraction by safety and privacy concerns.
1. Don't publish secret stuff that you don't want lots of people, including your family and your enemies, to know about.
2. Don't post your full name. For your "identity" and address and blog title I suggest using only your first name. The blog address should be something like bobNORMALisWEIRD.blogspot.com. If there are two people with your name posting blogs add the last initial.
3. Don't post your address or full name or link to anything that posts your address or full name.
4. Many photos automatically "geo-tag" which shows their address in some programs. Check that. Also, don't publish photos of other people (who might find out) that they wouldn't want published (at least on your blog for this course). If you publish a photo of a stranger, with no name, that should be ok, as long as the photo doesn't violate social standards.
5. Don't publish material that will distract from the point of the course and provoke unnecessary drama such as curse words, threats at anyone, jokes about suicide or child abuse or drug use, etc.
The course blog – with links to all assignments, student work, and this syllabus and provides answers to most course-related questions – can be found at;
http://norMaLisWEIRDsof.blogspot.com
