Welcome to

1. Welcome to POS 2042 American Government

2. YOUR TEACHER:MS. HERRING • Was an exchange student in High School to Australia. • Went to University of Florida and earned a dual degree in Russian and Political Science. • Spent a summer in Moscow, Russia studying Russian Language at Moscow State University. • My prior career was working as a Court Coordinator for the State Attorney’s Office. • I also worked as a Paralegal in the Attorney General’s Child Support Enforcement Division. • I have a Master’s Degree in Political Science.

3. POS- 2042 AMERICAN GOVERNMENT SYLLABUS Instructor: Ms. Herring kherring@dadeschools.net Room 815 Social Studies Dept. Phone 305-822-1500 x2109 Course Overview: This college course will begin by focusing on the groundwork laid by the forefathers of our country, inspired by the great political philosophers throughout the ages, with the creation of the amazing and enduring document we call the United States Constitution. The rules of government outlined in the Constitution directly affect the organization and functions of our institutions, traditions, laws and our daily lives in general. We will look at many aspects of life as a U.S. citizen that are influenced by government. Items that we will cover will include the presidency, nation’s court systems, Congress, interest groups, electoral system, political parties, personal rights, public opinion, interest groups, federal, state and local governments and much more. Government is a subject that affects us every day of our lives. The better we understand it, the better our democracy functions. All of this information will help to make all of us more productive and informed citizens who actively participate in society instead of passively letting others make important decisions for us. "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." ~ Thomas Jefferson “The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” ~ John Kennedy It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill

4. Class Rules and Expectations: *Timely reading is critical both for achievement as an individual student in this class, and for the success of the course as a whole. The reading load in this course is reasonable—on average, assignments will run less than twenty pages per class session. As a result, students are expected to come to class having read the material carefully, thought about it, and prepared to discuss it in class. • Failure to do so will result in lessened comprehension of class lectures, poorer exam performance, and a lower participation grade. Conversely, dutiful attention to the reading will greatly enhance the intellectual experience of the course for the individual student, and enable him or her to contribute meaningfully to the class as a whole.  *to ensure that students are completing assigned readings in a timely manner, there will be unannounced reading quizzes during the course of the semester. These should be very easy for those who have read, and very difficult for those who have not.

5. *no late assignments will be accepted unless you have a valid absence- if a student does have a valid excuse, s/he must make up the work within one week. • *An absence is no excuse for being unprepared upon return. If there is a pop quiz, you should have obtained the notes you missed from another student. Daily assignments will always be posted online. You must keep up. Make sure you are in contact with at least 2 of your fellow students to obtain class info. • * if a student misses an exam, s/he must make it up upon the day of return. Expect make-up tests to be more difficult- an essay question will be added. • *Papers/Essays must be typed double spaced with a 12 point font. Margins should be no more than 1 inch. They must be written in MLA style. They must be thoughtful, original and must contain supporting evidence. At least 3 sources must be cited (no excessive quotations or quotations longer than 2 sentences).

6. * individuals must do their own assignments- assignments must be neatly handwritten not typed. • *plagiarism will not be tolerated under any circumstances- if you do not have a complete understanding of this demand please see me for clarification. Please see FIUs policy on plagiarism at • http://online.fiu.edu/faculty/resources/plagiarism. • *students are not permitted to make-up exams, projects, meet with committees, teachers, counselors etc…during my class time. • Homework, powerpoint notes and class notifications will be posted on the Hialeah High class website which can be found at hialeahhigh.org, then go under faculty and Ms. Herring to find class page.

7. Class Passes • You will receive 3 passes per 9 week grading period. • Your pass may be used to go to the restroom, drink water, visit locker etc… • You must produce the pass to teacher, cannot claim you left it elsewhere. • You can redeem your unused passes at the end of the grading period for extra credit. • You may only use the pass assigned to you. • No additional outings will be allowed, so use your passes wisely and come to class prepared. • No one will be permitted to leave class during the first or last 15 minutes of class. • No one may leave class during teacher lecture or video clips.

8. Grades: The standard grading scale will be used in this class: • 100-90 A • 89-80 B • 79-70 C • 69-60 D • 59-0 F • UNIT TESTS.....15 GRADES • PROJECTS/PAPERS …..5-10GRADES • POWERPOINT PRESENTATION…… 5-10 GRADES • CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS…..5 GRADES • ASSIGNED READING POP-QUIZZES...... 5 GRADES • PARTICIPATION…..DAILY CLASS POINTS AVAILABLE TO BE ADDED OR SUBTRACTED

9. PAPER HEADER • If your paper is not headed correctly, you will lose a letter grade. • Messy work will lose a letter grade. • Very messy work will not be graded at all. Jane Doe 8/18/08 Herring Period 1 Assignment title underlined- page # 1) This is the first question and it is highlighted-this is the answer to the first question, and it is not highlighted.

10. STUDENT FOLDERS • Make sure that you have the following items in your folder: student inventory sheet, parental contact sheet, and grade log sheet. • Write the following on the tab of the folder: last name, first name student ID # class period FIU POS 2042 Herring

11. Materials needed for class every day: 3 ring binder with pockets Plenty of loose leaf paper –college ruled A pencil, ink pen, red pen, and highlighter NO SPIRAL NOTEBOOKS!!!!!!!!!

12. College Readiness • Yes, this is ironic because you are enrolled in a college-level course right now BUT… • All Hialeah Senior High Students must be “College Ready” before the end of the year. • This means you must take (and hopefully make a high enough score) one of the following tests: • SAT • ACT • PERT • I will be giving grades for 1) taking a test- 2 As • And 2) grades for ‘passing’ the tests – 2 As

13. STATE LAW AND NO CREDIT RULE THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!!!! • YOU CAN NOTHAVE MORE THAN 5 ABSENCES (ONLY 2 OF THESE CAN BE UNEXCUSED ABSENCES) IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT TO GRADUATE. • YOU CAN NOTHAVE MORE THAN 5 ABSENCES (ONLY 2 OF THESE CAN BE UNEXCUSED ABSENCES) IN ECONOMICS TO GRADUATE.

14. REMEMBER: I DON’T GIVE GRADES - YOU EARN THEM

15. HOMEWORK For Wednesday--Read the Constitution and create a “Table of Contents” for it detailing all of the Articles, Sections and Amendments and what they contain- due next class. You will need a general knowledge of what is in it to do the in-class assignment for next class. You will work in pairs and your partner will expect you to help them For Monday--get syllabus acknowledgement sheet signed and purchase supplies- will be checked for a grade.

16. How can I access class page?-Go to www.hialeahhigh.org-click on staff, then teachers-find Ms. Herring and click

17. You…. • Tell us your name… • What your favorite subject is… • What you want to be when you grow up…