“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only ways I know it. Is there any other way?”

                                                -Emily Dickinson

            “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

                                                                                                -William Butler Yeats

    English 1A

Reading and Composition

Classroom:                 Cedar 10

Meeting Times:         Section 9119: Tuesday and Thursday, 9:40-11:05

                                    Section 9120: Tuesday and Thursday, 1:00-2:25

Teacher:                     Jim Toner

Office:                         Cedar 7

Office Hours:             Monday and Wednesday, 11:15-12:45;

Tuesday and Thursday, 2:30-3:30

Phone:             588-5226

E-mail:                        tonerj@yosemite.cc.ca.us

Course Web-Site:      gocolumbia.org/tonerj then click on the English 1A link.

Your two student contacts:  A.________________________________________________

                                    B.______________________________________

Books and Materials:

·        Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt (Simon and Schuster)

·        Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America, by Barbara Ehrenreich

·        The Best American Short Stories 2004 (editor: Lorrie Moore)

·        A Pocket Style Manual, by Diane Hacker (4^th edition)

·        In the past I’ve ordered a magazine or two later in the semester. We’ll see how that looks in March.

Also…

·        A blank cassette tape on which I record my comments to your papers (I prefer the 60-minute version)

·        A two-pocket portfolio;

·        Recommended:

o       A journal that feels right to you;

o       A  thick dictionary and thesaurus.  There are many kinds out there, but the ones I like are by Webster’s.

Foreign-language requirement: teeka-teeka

Course Description: 

            The primary purpose of taking English 1A is to improve your ability and confidence in writing and reading. The forms of writing may range from informal journal entries to formal expository essays, from letters to lengthy research papers, from fictional short stories to real events in your lives. Along the way, you will learn formal rules of writing—grammar, punctuation, MLA format—as well as be exposed to the musical and spiritual side of writing. There is a literature component in all 1A courses, though my approach is to use the reading as a way to study the craft of writing.

A Bit More Detail:

            Writing: In this course you will…

q       Learn strategies to generate ideas (and to overcome writer’s block);.

q       Write these pieces:

o       Descriptive stories (senses, similes, details)

o       Character story (dialogue, character traits)

o       Profile story (interview, observe)

o       Essays (transitions, organization, evidence)

o       Research paper

o       And if time, a fictional short story

q       Brush up on the rules of writing (apostrophes, commas, etc.);

q       Learn ways to write new types of sentences;

q       Learn some of the tricks of the trade (e.g., how to grab a reader at the start).

Reading: In this course you will…

q       Read two books, Angela’s Ashes and Nickel and Dimed, with the intent of becoming better writers by reading these two masters of character, senses, detail, story.

q       Read some short stories;

q       Perhaps read a magazine or two to study how current writers create persuasive essays and compelling stories.

Primary Objective of English 1A:

I hope that by the end of the semester you will realize, at the level of your bones,

that writing has a vital place in your lives. It has the capacity to enlarge your humanity and your compassion, to make you better people, to make you more alert, to make you more alive. Writing is not something for the educated elite, but it is for you, and it is all around you. It connects us with our ancestors, with all other humans, and with the mysteries and miracles within each of us. I hope you come to realize that the act of writing some carefully arranged words—just words, just ordinary words that you use every day—is an act that can elevate you, humanize you, entertain you, and maybe even save you.

Expectations:

·        That you will leave outside the door all past miseries of English;

·        That you will come to every class on time, with all assignments completed, with your belly full, with your eyes rested, and with an enthusiasm so extreme that you might burst and splatter in front of us all;

·        That your papers will by typed;

·        That you will utilize the college’s Writing Center;

·        That you will be tolerant of this class’s diversity – its ages, its opinions, its appearances, its colors, its abilities and backgrounds;

·        That you use the 165 hours of the week not in Cedar 10 to socialize with your buddies, and that for the 3 other hours, you turn all of yourself to the matters of English;

·        No food, please, but drinks are fine;

·        That you contribute to making this classroom a safe place, a creative place, a daring place, a holy place.

Grading:

            Every assignment, test, and essay is given a point value according to its importance and difficulty. For example, a smaller homework assignment might be evaluated out of 10 points, while the final research paper might be out of 400 points. All totaled, there will be around 1500-1700 points for the semester. These points are tabulated on a computerized grading program, which makes it easy for you to see your status throughout the semester. I will give an update of your grade about once a month.

Grading scale:  A+: 100-98       B+: 90-88     C+: 80-78        D+: 70-68        F: 60 and

                           A:     97-94      B:   87-84     C:   77-74        D:   67-64              below        

                           A-:    93-91      B-:  83-81    C-:  73-71        D-:  63-61       

Extra credit:

I seldom offer any because I feel the course work alone is enough. But if

you are highly motivated, and if your grade is borderline, propose some extra

work and I’ll probably agree to it.

Late work:

I have a heart, and I know that unexpected things happen. Under those rare

circumstances, please come see me so we can work something out. Otherwise, I will hold you to deadlines and, in doing that, I will be doing you a favor.

But… when it comes to the five major papers, they must be turned in on time. One of the reasons is that I’ve carefully coordinated the due dates of papers in this class with those of my other classes, and I can’t let them overlap.

Class absence:

It’s never a good idea to miss class. This is not the type of class in which you can just read a textbook and keep up. Most of it comes out of the madness of my own brain, so you have to be in the classroom for the show.

However, if you do miss class, my expectation is that you will check the assignment on the website or call a classmate (not me) to find out what you missed, and then come to the next class all prepared and ready to go. Also, if you miss three classes in a row without contacting me to explain the situation, I’ll assume you’ve drifted off and I’ll drop you from the class.

Plagiarism:

            Obviously, don’t do it. I have the bizarre skill of being able to sniff out work that is not yours, so you’ll probably get caught. But much worse is that you break something sacred between you and me, and that’s what crushes me. You need to know that the college penalty for plagiarism is immediate expulsion from class with an “F” grade. So don’t do it, okay.

U.C. Transfers

            For those who intend to transfer to a U.C. (Berkeley, Davis, Santa Cruz, etc.), you are required to write more than the other students. It’s entirely on the honor system: just write about 30% more than the minimum requirements.

Final Exam Times:

9:40 class will meet on Tuesday, April 28^th from 8:00-10:00am

1:00 class will meet on Thursday, April 28^th from 11:00-1:00pm

Finally…

            Not everything can be reduced to a point evaluation. This is English, and English is a subject of spirit and abstraction. This also is education, and education is full of enthusiasm and exploration and kindness—all non-pointable entities. So there is room amid all of this point madness for me to evaluate you in many other ways. For example, I place a high value on politeness and respect, on enthusiasm and curiosity, even on showing up to class on time. I place a high value on your own private journey, and on your attempt to do what doesn’t come naturally or easily. None of these values and behaviors are given points, but they do influence my decision of what to give you for your semester grade.

A final note: I hate grades. For the most part I think they are obstacles to your education because they draw excess attention to themselves. My preference would be to do away with them entirely, but I work in a system that demands them. So I give them out like a good soldier, and I try very hard to give them out fairly.

“What we learn with pleasure we never forget.”

                                    -Alfred Mercer

Assignments:

I try to follow the college recommendation of giving 6-8 hours of homework per week for this class. You can expect some weeks to be lighter, some to be heavier.

I can’t tell you right now what these assignments will be. Every class is different, and every day offers new inspiration to me. It’s important for me as a teacher to remain open to that through the course of a semester. There are a few assignments that are set in stone, like the 7-12 page research paper, but all the rest will arise out of the course itself. (And that research paper will take on its own unique shape.)

Here, however, is one likely writing schedule based on my previous classes:

                        Thursday, January 13: “Freak” descriptive paper

                        Thursday, January 27: “Freak with voice” descriptive paper

                        Thursday, February 17: Profile paper

                        Thursday, March 10: Persuasive Essay

                        Thursday, April 19: I-Search paper

Finals Week: Final paper (essay format) on what you learned in this class.

That looks like a lot, so my advice for now is to just relax and have faith in yourself and me. Think of it this way: This class is like hiking up a magnificent trail in Yosemite, one that is full of such fantastic discoveries along the way that you’ll hardly be aware of the effort required of you. Follow me, only because I know from past experience that hiking the trail is better than hanging out in the parking lot. I won’t carry you, and I won’t even carry your lunch, but I’ll guide you as much as you need. It’ll take movement and perseverance on your part, but the view from the top (and the pleasures along the way) will be all worth it.

“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking up at the stars.”

                                                            -Oscar Wilde

Rough Itinerary:

Week 16:   Final Exam Meeting Day

• 9:40 class will meet on Thursday, April 28^th, from 8-10 am;
• 1:00 class will meet on Thursday, April 28^th, from 11-1pm.