This college-level course is contingent upon careful and close reading, extensive and disciplined critical analysis, and insightful and inspired writing. When you finish this course, I hope you will have developed a greater appreciation for reading and discussing works of literary merit, honed your natural abilities for clear and thoughtful critical thinking, developed your amazing ability to craft language, and found at least a dozen pieces of literature you really love that you’ve read and another dozen that you’ve written. As well as succeed on the AP Exam.

You have all demonstrated the ability to be attentive, intelligent, questioning, responsible, and thoughtful students. With that in mind, it is an expectation of you to argue, discuss, exchange, and to formulate your ideas, your questions, and your problems. One of our goals is to work with the literature and the craft of its writing: to banter it about, to refer to it for support, and to vocalize our understandings. Thus, I expect that all questions and opinions will be treated with respectful consideration and that all of us will feel comfortable in articulating our notions. At the same time we all must endeavor to be flexible and open to criticism and challenges.

Most of you will be participating in more than one extra-curricular activity during the year; therefore, it is incumbent upon you to be disciplined in your class attendance and in your outside work. Falling behind will be disastrous! If you must be absent, please talk with me before such a time or, if an unscheduled absence, as soon as possible upon your return to make arrangements for material covered in class. There is no excuse for missing assignments, due dates, or late work. There are no snow days. There are no computer glitches. I expect you as students to take a personal initiative in making up work; this may necessitate lunch and before or after school. Find a way. Also, since many of you are friends or at least know each other, I expect you to share notes and materials in such instances. Get everyone’s phone number and e-mail addresses. And the dog ate my homework thing, in recent months I have begun to reconsider this one—don’t ask.