Unplanned Absence

In the event of an unplanned absence, please work quietly all period on the Full SAT Practice Test.  We will review the sections you could complete when I return.  Please time yourself as you go; you will see that each section provides clear directions for the time you are allotted.  You may work on more than one section, then score your work, or score you work as you work section by section.  Be sure not to look at the answers until you have completed the entire section you are working in.  

You may take the test as a .pdf or take the test online. 
The total test requires 3hs and 20 min., so you will not finish the test today.  If I am absent tomorrow, then you will continue where you leave off today.  When I return, we will review the essay and any other sections the time permitted you to progress through.  You will receive a gradebook grade for completion.  I will gauge assignment completion by comparing how far you progressed in the test with the number of minutes available to you minus 5-10 for roll-call and announcements (some school days provide more class minutes than others).  In short, work the entire period on this assignment and all will be well.  This assignment is based on class time and is not homework for the evening. 

All the best!

Mr. S
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THE Essay Scoring

Every student should understand how his teacher grades.

First, this post will tell you the general parameters that apply to the formal writing you will complete in this course (take home essays, in class essays, and creative writing portfolios).  Specific qualifiers concerning style, length, and format will be given with each particular assignment.  Think of what you read here as larger context for all formal writing assignments.  

Second, you'll notice that I circle your errors.  Generally, I expect that you will know whether it is a spelling or punctuation error.  I will often suggest a punctuator in its stead.  I will generally mark where your piece stands out (for good reasons...or otherwise).  Perhaps your imagery is particularly good in a given paragraph or your word choice in a given sentence...or perhaps your thesis is too weak.  You will see short notes in the left margin. If you repeat a word or phrase in an unhelpful way, I will circle them and draw lines that connects them.  Please read those comments.  Do you understand what I'm noting?  Visit me during advisory so that I can go over your essay, explain my marks in more detail, and give you strategies to improve your writing.  Please visit. 

I do my best to adhere to the traditional grade scores: A is excellent, B is good, C is satisfactory, D is poor, and F is a failure.  That means that an essay that is complete and on time begins at the C level and proves itself otherwise by its merits or deficiencies.  Most lower scoring essays have a mix of persistent punctuation errors (5 or more per page), weak ideas (simple thoughts and a lack of sentence variety), and misused or misspelled vocabulary.  The most common mechanics error is comma misuse.  Comma misuse will transform otherwise reasonable thoughts into fragments and run-ons in the blink of an evil eye. I count vague thoughts, needless repetition, structural mistakes (such as having no clear thesis), and simplistic diction as essay errors. 

Points are generally divided in half between content (your ideas) and grammar.  So, a 100 point assignment would receive up to 50 points for addressing the prompt clearly, fully, insightfully, and imaginatively....and up to 50 for grammar, usage, and mechanics. 

Each MLA-formatted page of your writing has 23 lines of writing (this counts the heading but not the header).  While not absolute, if an essay follows the assignment prompt and guidelines and has evidence of good thought, then
  • 1-2 errors on a page will earn an A
  • 3-4 on any page will earn a B
  • 5-6 errors on any page will earn a C
  • 7-8 errors on a page will earn a D
  • Papers that are challenging to read due to persistent errors will fail.  Papers that do not address the prompt will fail.

FAQ's

May I handwrite my essay?  Yes, you may always handwrite your essay unless the guidelines require a typed essay.

May I type my essay? Yes, you may type your essay unless guidelines require a handwritten essay.

What font should I use? Times New Roman, 12 point.

What if I have poor handwriting?  May I type an essay that you require to be handwritten?  No, you have to handwrite it.  You may have to handwrite a number of copies in order to arrive a legible version, but it must be handwritten and it must be legible (unless you are missing hands, etc.).  If your handwriting is poor, it's time to tackle it!

What if I fail due to formatting, such as MLA? You will lose 10% on the assignment if it must be returned for formatting.

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Extra Reading for Honors English

Your first extra reading is from Samuel Johnson's most famous poem, "The Vanity of Human Wishes."  Please read this for Tuesday.  It will be very challenging, but we will make some sense of it together next week.  Extra readings are only for honors English. 
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Block Day, Week 2

* Open

* California Scholarship Federations Applications Due by Sept. 21 (see student services)

* CWP

* Honors Outside Reading

* Templates

* Return Papers

* Review Writing Expectations
     a. Style
     b. Punctuation

* Essay (choose from the two prompts)

HW: Get Literature to Go; Read your outside reading book (honors)
      

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The CWP Assignment

 English 201-207

Your Creative Writing Portfolio (CWP)

 Assignment: Fulfilling the requirements of each quarter's prompt, you must complete a minimum of two full pages or more.  Quarter 4 requires seven or more pages (senior project). 

 
Format: 

  • Typed MLA (12 point, Times New Roman, proper margins, etc.)
    • One change to MLA: Single space poetry (double space prose as usual)
  • Or handwritten in pen for certain cases only (maps, letters, etc.) 
  • All poetry must be single spaced and punctuated according to modern MLA usage.  
  • All prose must be double spaced and punctuated according to modern MLA usage. 
  • Submit your work to Turnitin.com through Focus each quarter

Your Grade: If you are short of the minimum, you will earn no more than a D. When completed, the CWP should be free of typos and grammatical and spelling errors. In general, 2 errors or fewer on any page =A-, 3-5 errors on any page=B-, and 6 or more errors on any page =C- or lower. Failing to adhere to the themes or neglecting to meet any of the other standards on this handout will result in a significantly lower grade. Fragments and run-On sentences are major deductions.

 You may not include pieces written for other classes (past, present, or future) or for other assignments in this class. You will fail this assignment if you do so.

 Start it early, and write something you are proud of.  Work to make it wise in its theme, rich in its descriptive imagery, and clever in its execution.  Put your joy into it.


Quarter 1 CWP: Fiction!

 For this quarter's CWP, you will compose your own short story to submit to a short-story contest.  Consider one of the example stories we have read for inspiration (adventurous, historical, romantic, satirical).

 * Working on Your Short Story
  • Identify a protagonist; think of people you actually know.  Change them up a wee bit. 
  • Identify an antagonist (character, internal conflict, natural force, or other combination). 
  • How will you generate tension between the protagonist and the antagonist? 
  • Share ideas. 
  • Work in class. 
 More on Formatting:
  • Rough Draft Due 9/24 (midnight, submitted to turnitin.com)
  • Peer Edit 9/25
  • Final Draft Due 9/30

 Quarter 2: A Christmas Blessing

 "My heart is indicting a good matter: I speak of things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer" (KJV Psalm 45.1). 

"Behavior that's admired / is the path to power among people everywhere" (Beowulf, 25-26).

"Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick" (The Hobbit, ch. 1, "An Unexpected Party").
  • Background: You have now read many tales and even written a first short story (last quarter).  We ought to love what is beautiful, good, and true.  Yet the world, through sin, is full dark challenges to what is noble and right.  The legends of old often explored this in song and story, perhaps as a kind of imaginative practice for the young.  In this assignment, we will seek to bless a young girl or boy with a nicely woven tale and an actual gift that the tale turns on.  Let the little children come; bless them.  
  • Prompt: Write a mighty tale of nobility, courage, and grace.  Your story must 
    • be full of adventure,
    • teach something noble, 
    • and include references to the physical gift (such as a ball or sword) that you will give this child. 
  • Format: Your format should fit whatever time period and background you set (two or more pages in length).
  • In general, your work will be descriptive.  Please read this overview of the basics from Purdue University on descriptive writing. 
  • Requirements: 
    • Choose a child to bless.
    • Think of a fitting gift (purchased or made by you).
    • Write your adventure.  Make it look old and cool. 
    • Make a map.  Make it look old and cool.
    • Hide the gift during Christmas break.
    • Present the legend and map to the child.
    • When you return from break, tell us all about it! 

Quarter 3 CWP: The Beauty of the Days
Lyrical inspirations:
"A Reminiscence" by Anne Bronte
"The Beauty of the Days Gone By" by Van Morrison
"The Time of Your Song" by Matisyahu
Prompt: We are who we were; our destiny has much to do with our past.  We become what was planted.  What you plant this year will flower in time.  Reminisce on the best of the past: a wonderful day from your summer, a feeling from a starry night, a heartfelt conversation, an epiphany.  What sweetness and grace can you recall?  Explore a moment or experience that are you grateful for.  
Form: Poetry, compose using the form you taught us in class.
 
Due: March 6-7
 
Typed: MLA format, double spaced (this is atypical for the CWP assignment)
Length: 20 lines or more (you may be writing more than one poem, depending on your form)
Be sure you punctuate correctly, for this is the sole criteria for your grade.
    _____________________________________________________________
      
Quarter 4 CWP: Resume
It's that time of year to think about this year's accomplishments and this summer's preparations.  You will write a resume with either future work or a college application in mind.
 Here are some helpful links for context, examples, and formatting. 
* When in doubt (i.e. you don't have something specific they need for a particular end), use the high school example resume and its general format:
If you already has such a thing written (for Health, say), then the senior survey is fine.

Requirements
Typed
Formatted (indents match, headings match, follows an example format)
Grammatically accurate
At least one full page in length
Due block day on the second-to-last week of school



Your Grade: If you are short of the minimum, you will earn no more than a D. When completed, the CWP should be free of typos and grammatical and spelling errors. In general, 2 errors or fewer on any page =A-, 3-5 errors on any page=B-, and 6 or more errors on any page =C- or lower. Failing to adhere to the themes or neglecting to meet any of the other standards on this handout will result in a significantly lower grade. Fragments and run-On sentences are major deductions.

You may not include pieces written for other classes (past, present, or future) or for other assignments in this class. You will fail this assignment if you do so.

Start it early, and write something you are proud of.  Work to make it wise in its theme, rich in its descriptive imagery, and clever in its execution.  Put your joy into it.



    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Optional Assignment (for some years)

#1

Chestertonian Essay

Prompt: Take a subject and dance delightfully.  Use Chesterton as your example.
Due: May 8
Type; MLA format 
Prose: three full pages or more
Poetry
Single space (you may have a space between stanzas)
Punctuate
Three full pages or more 

    #2
"These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it" (Paton 33).

Prompt: When Caedmon (the first English poet) sang, he sang the creation.  The world is indeed a marvelous place, despite the effects of sin.  In quarter four, your task is to sing the creation, even though it be beyond any singing of it.  You may not use work from your previous contest entries (like the coastal commission contest).  I'd like you to focus on the hills and mountains near or far.  Focus on employing rich, vibrant, fresh imagery. 
Due: May 8
Type; MLA format 
Three pages minimum for honors classes (two for regular classes)
Poetry
Single space (you may have a space between stanzas)
Punctuate
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Wednesday, 8/28/12: Myth

* Writing Reminders:  You will have 40 min. to write your essay (on your block day).  You will need to write three or more paragraphs.  Today, let's remember how the thesis works in an essay.

* Review myth: let's consider how myths teach us something applicable to life today.

Allusions in mythology: consider some here. 


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Tuesday, 8/28/12: Summer Reading

* Opening

* MLA

* Bulfinch: You may use a book, get the free version on iBooks, or from Google books.

HW: Review your Summer Reading
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Notes from Monday

Key ideas from Chesterton:



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2012-13 Bell Schedule

 
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Monday, 8/27: Summer Reading

* P & P

* Collect MLA page

* Review Summer Reading
     Background to Consider this Week:
     - Chesterton on Myth
     - Bulfinch (preface vii. ff; origin of myth pp. 241 ff)

HW: I will be collecting your summer reading tomorrow
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Block Day 8/23-24: MLA and Myth

* Pray

* Any questions about plagiarism?

* Course documents

* MLA: 
  • Grammar book, Researched Writing, sections 55 and following
  • Check out a sample paper
  • Maybe your room needs a nerdy poster to offset the serious concerns your seven Justin Bieber enlarged autographed photographs are currently generating
  • Video (loaded in a smallish box, but you'll get the idea)
* Review Greek and Roman mythology.  Let's look at Bulfinch's reasons for studying mythology (preface).  Let's consider a few thoughts from the early pages of Bulfinch. 

* Assignment: Please prepare one page of writing in perfect MLA form (this can be from an old assignment if you wish). 

HW: MLA page due Monday; don't forget to keep up with the running vocabulary words...you should have all three defined for Monday
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Student Recommendations

Robbie K. (Biola, 2013)
Robbie graduated from Biola University and then went on to teach English in inner-city Los Angeles: "Mr. Schwager....I thought of emailing you because your class had a large impact on me, and when I picture myself as a teacher I often go back to memories of being in your class. In fact, I still have my binder and materials from your class that I look through for inspiration."

Heather M. (Westmont, 2012):
Mr. Schwager--I just wanted to thank you for preparing me so well in our reading of The Tempest. I was invited to an honors seminar class where we read one novel/drama per week. This week we read The Tempest, and I feel that your insights and nudgings last year were extremely beneficial. (I don't mean to boast but I was so well prepared that I actually caught our Professor in a few factual errors.) Anyone who doubts whether the books you read in high school will resurface is gravely mistaken.

Estelle R. (Santa Clara University, 2011):
Hi Mr. Schwager, I hope you are doing well. I just wanted to thank you and the MVC English department for your investment in students' lives and academic development— I feel the department does an outstanding job of preparing students for the demands of reading and writing in college.

Kaitlin K. (Cal. State, 2011):
Dear Mr. Schwager...I am taking fourteen units, but all my classes require a LOT of writing; so far, all my teachers are astounded and ask where I went to high school. I am also working at the Writing Center on campus. I am a tutor there and really enjoy moments where I can pass on little comments that strongly echo Monte Vista's classrooms. I really am enjoying my time there and love being able to make a difference in a student's writing.
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Wednesday, 8/22: Plagiarism and Myth

* Pray

* Define mythology, myth, legend, etc.:
From Bedford:  A myth is a traditional anonymous story, originally religious, told by a particular group of people in order to explain a natural or cosmic phenomenon.  Individual myths are usually a group of connected tales concerning a particular event, god, person, etc.  The body of all related myths of a certain group is called a mythology.  You read tales and myths from the Greek and Roman mythologies. 

A legend is usually focused on a cultural hero who lived and died, even though the heroe's exploits may be exaggerated (such as King Arthur, AD 500, Britain, or Robin Hood, AD 1300, Yorkshire...not mythologies but legends).

Fables are neither myths nor legends.  Fables generally tell stories of talking animals and feature a moral.  Aesop (630-564 BC, Greece) wrote famous fables. 

* Review the Course Plan

* What is plagiarism?

* Ten types of plagiarism

* Myth Review


HW: Review your summer reading
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Example CWP's

CWP assignment examples
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The Old that is Strong


This blog (theoldthatisstrong.blogspot.com) gets its name from a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien (1889-1971).  Tolkien was a venerable professor at Oxford.  He loved words, and his profession was philology; he taught Anglo-Saxon and English literature.  In his free time, he wrote fantasy stories.  It was this avocation, or hobby, for which most know him today: The Lord of the Rings. In the stories, this poem was written by Bilbo.  The reader first encounters it in the tenth chapter of the first book, in a letter from Gandalf.  Here it is:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Read more »
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Emergency Procedures

Sometimes challenging or bad things interrupt us.  May the Lord grant us the peace and safety this year He has graciously granted this school throughout its many decades.  In the event that an emergency arrives, here are our plans.

1.  Fire
  • No person has died in a school fire in over 50 years, I've heard.  So do not freak out.  
  • Around here, the most likely source of the fire is from the hills.  
  • We will exit in an orderly fashion down the stairs and out to an area away from the fire. 
  • We will take roll and assess from there.  
  • If the fire is actually a huge fire on campus wafting at you, obviously, go the other way. 

2.  Threatening Person
  • Sadly, this is a more common occurrence in schools today than fires. 
  • Situation: A desperate coward looks for a target.  A coward chooses a mall, school, church, etc.
  • We go on lock down.  
    • Lock the door. 
    • Close the blinds. 
    • If something is going on near us, barricade the door with furniture, books, etc. 
    • If someone threatens us in our room, make havoc and attack him. 
    • What if you are in a passing period, lunch, etc?
      • Get away from the danger.  Run in the opposite direction of the danger. 

3.  Earthquake
  • Ok, sooner or later, this is going to happen.  
  • Thankfully, you are in buildings that are designed to remain intact during the kinds of earthquakes we have had in our region's recent past. 



A. Practice how to correctly perform Drop, Cover, and Hold On

Dropping to the floor (to prevent falling), making yourself as small a target as possible protecting
head, neck and chest by taking cover under a sturdy desk or table or near an interior wall,
This is supposed to be from the '89 quake...but I don't remember this shot.
covering the head, hands, and arms.

Adapt these procedures for anyone who cannot take this position and for anyone in unique
locations, including outdoors.


During an Earthquake Drill

A verbal directive will be made to initiate the drill and an earthquake sound effect will be played over
the PA system.

Your teacher will announce the earthquake drill has begun and to Drop, Cover, and Hold On.


I do remember the pictures of the Bay Bridge.
Disaster Drill Protocol: High School Evacuation for Earthquake Disaster (meaning we couldn't come back to class)

4 Evacuation Rules- Don’t Talk, Don’t Push, Don’t Run, and Don’t Turn Back.

Schwagers classes:
  • Exit in an orderly fashion down the stairs nearest us.  
  • Head to the court/field place assigned for roll call.
  • I will take roll.
Teachers: bring up the rear, seeing that everyone is together. Close the classroom door, and
bring your roll sheet.

Move directly away from the building when exiting.
Teachers: Once in the assigned drill location (see classroom evacuation map), take roll and account for all
students, then proceed to the quad (high school only).
Once all teachers and students have been accounted for, the Administrator will announce the
conclusion of the drill, a PA announcement will confirm, and then teachers will guide students back to the classrooms.
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