AP European History Disclosure

AP European history covers European development from 1453 AD to approximately 2000 AD.  Throughout the course, we will highlight intellectual, cultural, political, diplomatic, social, and economic developments.  Our attempt will be to study each from a variety of perspectives in order to develop a well-rounded view of history.

Students must be aware up-front that this is a college-level course, meaning that the amount/difficulty of reading and the depth of inquiry will be more intense than in other courses.  Students will learn how to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize historical evidence (such as documentary material, maps, statistical tables, works of art, and pictorial and graphical materials) and the interpretations presented in historical scholarship.  Participation in these discussions is graded.

Any well-conceived course on history requires frank discussion of changes to political and religious ideologies. I never ask students to disclose personal religious beliefs, but frank discussion of political beliefs is par for the course. High school students generally do not have a strict political ideology, and I encourage the students to consider their own political feelings and share those feelings with the class.

For this course, we will use Spielvogel, Jackson J.  Western Civilization.  5th ed.  Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson.  This will be our chief secondary document.  Most of the primary documents are also available in the text.  We will also use other primary and secondary material.

1. Anything that interferes with my ability to teach, or any student’s ability to learn, is unacceptable.  Items that interfere will be confiscated until school ends and citizenship grades will be reduced by one letter.
2. Participation in activities during class is required.
3. All other rules are as given by Box Elder High School and/or Box Elder School District.

• Assignments that are late for any reason (other than absence) lose 30% of their potential credit.
• There is no extra credit available.
• Students may retake tests within two weeks of the date they are initially given.  Test retakes must be redone with me before or after school under all circumstances. The higher score enters the grade book.
• While tests may be redone for a higher score, assignments cannot be (I've found that students do the first few, finish it later, and expect full credit). Pop quizzes cannot be redone. Bell ringer quizzes can be made up after school only at the rate of two quizzes per day.
• Class begins with a bell ringer quiz. Missing these points for any reason other than a school-excused absence results in missing points that cannot be made up. Vacations, appointments, and other activities are not school excused absences.
  • the difficulty of the bell ringer increases when students fail to remain in their seats at the end of the previous class
• Some assignments are weighted (worth more than their face value) for pedagogical reasons. For example, essays have a score of 9, but are weighted by a factor of 3, making them worth 27 points. If you want to know which are weighted, please see me.
• All essays must be completed in class, or before or after school (in the case of an absence). Most are timed and I have simply had much too large a problem with plagiarism to allow anything different.

• A students' citizenship grade is tied to attitude, work ethic, attendance (including absences), preparation, ethical conduct, turning work in on time, and classroom etiquette.
• There are a few activities that result in an instant U that has to be made up through the school. These include, but are not limited to:
  • violence
  • damage to school property, my property, or that of another student
  • profanity/extreme rudeness directed at me or a classmate
  • lying to parents ("I was in class! Ask Mr. Crawford!" - I'll be honest with parents and court officials)
  • failure to turn in the textbook on time
  • truancy, including sneaking out of class right before the bell
  • plagiarism/cheating
• Hall pass policy:  Students may use the hall pass three times per trimester.  Leaving class after three will result in a tardy.  Students may leave for a maximum of five minutes per pass.  I reserve the right to refuse to allow a student to leave when it will result in a tardy or if past behavior warrants concern.

I will make every accommodation legally required by a student’s IEP or 504 plan.  The school has a system of getting these accommodations to me, but please make sure that I have received them and that my understanding of the accommodation matches yours.
The course requires intensive reading and a fair bit of writing.

Communication:

E-mail (preferred):	Aaron(dot)Crawford(at)besd.net  Please put the words “Box Elder” in both subject line & body.
Phone:	(435) 734-4840
Web:	apeuro.historyofcrawford.com