My teacher/dad rant/lecture:

I'm pretty disappointed with the number of low grades in all three of my freshmen classes. It seems like many students elected to do no work while I was gone on my internship. You guys need to realize a couple things: I took it way (too) easy on you guys the first three quarters. You had very little homework and lots of completion credit. I realize that we were all getting used to "normal" school after a couple of crazy years, which is why I was so generous, but it is time to get serious about academics. You guys signed up for Honors classes this year, which you knew required more work and involvement than a typical class. Quite frankly, if you currently have anything less than a B in my class, I would seriously consider whether Honors or AP World History is a good fit for you next year.

I understand that I was way more liberal with due dates and late work during the first three quarters. Again, we were all adjusting to the classroom and being back in school, and you were navigating high school for the first time. However, 4th quarter I started to follow my original late work policy outlined in my syllabus. My rationale was twofold: we need to get back to doing "normal" school, and you literally had every assignment and lesson plan in Canvas for you to review while I was gone. There's really no excuse for not balancing your responsibilities and schedules to account for the work you knew was coming.

Balancing your priorities and calendar is a critical skill for high school that you MUST learn! Life only gets busier as you become a sophomore, junior, and senior. You have to learn to balance your schedule and take responsibility for your own education. It is no longer your parents' or teachers' responsibility to look over your shoulder to ensure you're completing your work. I have done my best to treat you like adults instead of children this year. I also assume you prefer to be treated like an adult instead of a child. Great. Then act like an adult.

Freshman year is a critical time to develop the good habits that will keep you successful for the rest of your high school career. You need to own both your successes and failures this year as you move forward.

I'd like each of you to do some deep self-reflection about whether you did or did not gain the skills necessary to be successful in high school this year. If you did not, I think you need to reflect on why you did not and make a plan going forward.

*Obviously, this rant is not directed at those of you who did a good job with work quality and completion. Also, if you are happy with a B or have a mid-to-high A in my class, please consider not completing this extra credit. Go do something fun instead. You've earned it.

Now the grace:

I will be offering a large extra credit opportunity. Here are the details.

You will be writing a literary analysis essay on a work of your choice.
You will be able to receive a maximum of 100 points.
I will not be helping you with this assignment, nor will I be giving you specific directions other than what you see here. (See rationale below.)
It is due May 8th

Rationale:

You need to demonstrate several things to me with this assignment to salvage your grade.

First, you need to demonstrate that you have mastered the reading skills required of you in 9th grade by providing a focused analysis of a piece of literature.

Second, the essay needs to be a composition that demonstrates that you have mastered the formal, academic writing that is required in high school. I'm more interested in mastery than I am in your exact point numbers in my class.

Finally, I am not giving specific directions or help in terms of page length, structure, or analysis. This is because I want you to demonstrate that you have fundamentally changed your habits regarding work completion and are taking responsibility for your education. Still not sure how to write a good literary analysis? Probably should have paid better attention this year. There are plenty of free resources online on college and high school websites to help you. I have several books in the back of my class you can reference in your free time. Go out and find the answers you need. Not sure how long your essay should be? Consider which length would demonstrate your mastery of reading and writing as well as your commitment to your academics.

If you can demonstrate mastery of these skills, I'm happy to give you 100 points. It means you're ready, academically, to move on.

If you are failing and choose to not take this opportunity, just realize and acknowledge that you making a conscious choice to not pass my class. That choice rests entirely on you.