Welcome to COM051

If you are reading this, then you are completing the homework, which was to see the class site on the web that would be this for help and information. There is a lot of info in this section. Please read everything.

As for the assignment, all you have to do is send me the information at the very bottom in an e-mail to my school address (not ANGEL online) with your name behind the appropriate places before the next class, and I will give you 10 points. For another 10 bonus points, you will have a question that you will need to answer and provide a URL of where you found it at the end.

EXTRA CREDIT

In the very early 1800's, America went to war with the nations of the Barbary Coast in an effort to put an end to the threat of piracy on our shipping interests (under the presidential leadership of my favorite president: Thomas Jefferson). At one point, one of these nations captured a US frigate, which one of my personal heroes offered to and did lead a secret mission to burn down the boat before the enemy could use or ransom it. Name the person who led the mission, name the boat, and name the country that had captured the boat originally (while supplying a URL) for the bonus points.

For those students that are interested in my favorite books, they are here. I definitely recommend all of those and many other books. Ask me if you have any questions on them.

Complete list of what we do in class for the next 4 weeks.

August 25: I meet you. We go over the rules for this class. You sign off on the rules (your first 10 points of the class). We go over the requirements for this class and you receive the syllabus. You get your student ID so that you can log into Angel Online. There, you will find the first assignment, which is to read Death of an Innocent for Tuesday. You will be able to take 1 note card full of notes for an open notes quiz. It is out of 25 points, but smart people will know that extra points are possible on this test and plan accordingly. You are also told to go on the class website for information there and e-mail me that you have done this (10 points). http://clifshotteacher.blogspot.com/ You watch the welcome to class PowerPoint and video.

August 26: I get to celebrate my 38th birthday while teaching COM121 classes and advising students.

August 27: I go over the rules for journals and writing. If there is anything that we didn’t cover Tuesday, we cover that today. I tell you that you need to have the first journal due for Tuesday (you will have 1 journal AT A MINIMUM due every Tuesday after that). I highly encourage you to finish all 15 journals ASAP and tell you that you can get 10 extra points by being done with every one of them by October 27. I also explain to you how important it is to get started with www.mywritinglab.com immediately. It is so important that you get 10 points to sign on and create an account for this. We explain to you what you need to do in order to get this set up. I allow you the rest of the class to go and do this as I warn you of the dangers of procrastination. You have until Tuesday to complete the entry process into this website. As you pay a technology fee to RACC, you have access to computers so not having a computer is not an excuse. At this point in class, I CLEARLY EXPRESS to you that there are no extensions or excuses because this is college, and thus, I direct you to get started immediately.

September 1: You take the Death of an Innocent quiz. When you’re done with that, you take a 50-question grammar quiz. This is to see what you know about grammar. It does not count towards your final grade. It is solely for my “learning” purposes. Thus, I can focus on teaching you things that are important to your learning.

September 3: We begin some of the many classes that we focus on learning grammar, writing terminology, and essay building skills. As you know from my first lecture of this class, I don’t miss days of class. This is my 9th year of teaching and I have yet to miss a day of class. I will not miss a day unless I am hospitalized, at a funeral of someone very close to me, or if I am defunct. I encourage you to be here for all of the classes. Learning lessons like the one that is given today are ESSENTIAL to your understanding EVERYTHING that is to come.

September 8: This is another VERY important day. We will begin the process of learning to write essays by watching the Aron Ralston video and taking notes on it. At this point in time, I am the only person who owns this DVD. Blockbuster does not keep a copy. Really. Thus, you need to be in class to get the notes. If you are not in class, the DVD will dropped off at the library after class and will be available until class begins on September 10th. It will not be available to check out. You must watch it in the library. If you don’t have notes, the class on September 10th will be a wash for you as you will not be able to complete the assignment that we are doing that day.

September 10: We will assemble an essay on the Aron Ralston notes. This will teach us how to complete the 5 essays (50 points each) for our portfolio (Assignment A). You will be assigned to write 6 solid paragraphs on Tom Brokaw’s intent in creating this video. We will do much of this together. It is due at the end of class.

September 15: Jon Krakauer’s When Men Win Glory: The Pat Tillman Odyssey comes out. If you don’t remember, he’s my favorite author. When class is over, I’ll get my copy. http://www.amazon.com/Where-Men-Win-Glory-Odyssey/dp/0385522266/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251045265&sr=8-1 Dan Brown who wrote Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code has a new book out, also. It’s called The Lost Symbol. You should check that out, as well. http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Symbol-Dan-Brown/dp/0385504225/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251046111&sr=1-1

September 15+17+22+24: We will be working on grammar the next 2 weeks. We will do it every class and you will find that it is much like those physical fitness programs that you see on TV. By working hard in class together and by being committed to learning outside of class (2 hours for every hour you are in class), you will find that your “mental abs” will start to function “6 pack” style. Yes, I’m full of lots of sports metaphors, but I find that they work. Of course, 5 classes of grammar aren’t enough to fix everything to fine-tuned perfection, but it is a solid foundation.


CUT AND PASTE FROM HERE FOR EXTRA CREDIT
MUST BE E-MAILED.

1. All students should talk to the people who they care about and those people that care for them and discuss what the commitment of college means. Just because you're an adult doesn't mean that people shouldn't be putting your good grades on the refrigerator or giving you a pat on the back for doing well. Just because teachers don't always do this doesn't mean that we don't care, but you do need to impress people. Did you do this? ___________

2. Going to college means jumping through hoops. Plan to get 3 names for your resume during your experience here. These names aren't "friends." They're professionals with letters in front of and behind their names. You don't need an A to have a reference, but you do have to impress people by doing your best. This doesn't mean kissing a teacher's butt, either. Just do your best and let people help you to success. Really. Are you prepared to do this? _________

3. Going to college means taking care of yourself. Eat healthy, get enough sleep, do fun things, balance your schedule, go to the FREE gym that is on campus, set goals, and get rid of the negative influences in your life. On top of this, use the facilities at this school to make the decision to be great. Are you doing what this and your College Success Strategies and College Study Skills tell you? _________

4. I have found that two things in my life will ALWAYS give me problems: 1) thinking I know something and 2) doing things solely for the $. In this, I pass this advice on to you: 1) "don't think - it can only hurt the ball club" (BULL DURHAM) - know or find out, and 2) do things that you're good at and dedicated to because they make you happy. Just because a job can earn you a lot of $ doesn't mean that you would be good at it or have the abilities to do it. You can see advisers to find out a career or major for you. You can access a lot of things here, and by all means, you should do them. If you want to do something, give it your all, and with that, you should try your hardest (especially if you don't like a class and it's needed to complete your major), but if you find that a major isn't for you, then you should seek out something that is. Are you willing to dedicate yourself to a pursuit that you can excel at and make a difference at? __________

5. In this class, you will write lots of papers. These are not artworks. They're not the ink and paper forms of living beings. They are simply papers. You're paying to learn to do something well that you obviously need to learn. I needed to learn to write as a student, and you now need to learn to write as a student. A critique of your paper is just that - a critique of your paper. It's not a statement that you're a horrible person. My job is to improve your writing. If I don't tell you what can be better, you'll just be the same now as you were then. That doesn't work in my books. Also, writing papers about things that we're so committed to and thinking that every word is a work of art or an expression of love or sadness for some person or event keeps us from realizing that some things need to alter or be removed to have a successful paper. This is something that we learn in all the things that we do. Are you prepared to learn from criticism not being critical about you - it's not the same and to make the changes that you need to be great at college and in life? ________________

6. Have you accessed Angel Online, which is where I house many handouts? Whether you use this or not to look at assignments, you have been assigned to use it and are responsible for what is contained within this site. You will be held responsible accordingly. __________________

7. Now that you're sending me your e-mail, are you prepared to continually see this site for homework, to contact me for help, to use peer help systems, to keep up with current events, to read often and for fun, and to faithfully keep up with your work for the 10 weeks of this class? _______________