Expectations

Great Expectations Our classroom is there for us to learn. To learn on a wide variety of fronts. Remember the mathematics is like rock climbing? We are learning to engage ourselves in solving problems, whatever they may be. To that end we will learn
 * facts
 * skills
 * strategies
 * attitudes
 * judgement.

All of these are important. Not all of these are easy. To succeed, all of us need to:
 * come prepared to class -surely I need not elaborate
 * embrace curiosity -no question is crazy enough, engage in class
 * take pride in learning -saying "I don't get it" will not make you get it, learning is hard work, period
 * revel in learning -this requires taking risks, and being open-minded and reflective
 * respect each other's learning -sometimes you are the teacher, sometimes the student
 * keep perspective -numeracy is important, but not the only game in town.

Thus, there are lots of do's in our class. But als some don't -in our class don't:
 * use that dreaded phrase "I don't get it"
 * use excuses, for anything
 * miss deadlines, for that is what they are, deadlines
 * use the word "like" unnecessarily, it drives me bonkers and it will cost you

There is, of course, that "don't cheat" you will have come across. And indeed, don't cheat. Let me put in a nutshell why. Needless to say, integrity is always important. However, in our knowledge driven society it is the only way to behave when we are professionally engaged. Academic integrity is important and I will uphold it in our classroom. What do I mean with academic integrity? I think of it as follows:

If you do show a lack of academic integrity on a piece of work, that piece will be awarded a 0, cannot be redone (real, real bad if it is an IB internal assessment piece), and if it happened on a piece of work of significance, I will submit the event to the university guidance counsellor for entry in your file.
 * Academic integrity embodies the principle that students' work is authentic, completed only with the assistance allowed according to the rules, policies and guidelines of their teachers, the School and the International Baccalaureate.** In particular, the words, ideas, and intellectual property of others used in the work must be appropriately acknowledged. In the above, note that "work" is not limited to written material, but also includes any oral, numerical, audio, visual or other material submitted for assessment.

I hope you noted that I talk about "our" classroom in which "we" are learning, for that is how it is.

Success & enjoy, Arno.