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POSTED: 17/09/2016 at 12:41am  BY: Mr Humphreys Comments (0) Comment on Post

 

Personal accountability is very important.  It is one of the founding ideals of Country Gardens.  "Integrity"

There is something greater than this though.   It is recognizing that our actions reflect on more than just ourselves.  

  • They reflect upon our families  (They are the ones who raised us)
  • They reflect upon our friends  (They want to learn, and succeed themselves)
  • They reflect on our school    (We all are Country Gardens, and are seen as such)

Being able to have personal accountability is a very important step in showing maturity. It is a skill that will be important later in life.  

 

You can't go back in time and undo things.  So do it right the first time, or be willing to accept responsibility for that mistake.  

 

As a human being, I have made plenty of mistakes...and I will make plenty more before it is all done.  But first and foremost, I recognize that mistakes I make are my own.  The foolish things I have done, are my own responsibility. 

Responsibility.     Take it... don't try to ignore it.

"I didn't mean to!" does not change things.    Instead, do the right thing, or accept what you did and move forward.  It shows a greater inner strength than feigning ignorance ever did.

 

Integrity.... it is more than a word.   It is a way of life.


POSTED: 10/08/2016 at 6:51pm  BY: Mr Humphreys Comments (0) Comment on Post

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

In English, we have designated guidelines that are expected in writing assignments.  For the upper grades, this expectation has been somewhat lax.  For this reason, and to follow CGCS standards, the syllabus is being updated with writing assignment length expectations and guidelines provided in the files section of each grade.  

As your English teacher I feel that I would be ignoring my duties without holding you to a standard that I know you are capable of.  It would be both insulting to your abilities, and to your future.  So, please download the updated syllabus, which I will keep a copy of in my class as well for reference.  

Mr. Humphreys

Expectations:  Reading 30 minutes each day.  

                     Completing Reading Journals or Guides by the noted due dates.

                     Respecting one another, as I would respect you.


POSTED: 16/07/2016 at 9:10am  BY: Mr Humphreys Comments (0) Comment on Post

Greetings and Salutations CGCS Students and Parents;

 

Many changes are coming at Country Gardens, and the opportunities are Legion.  Not just in the school grounds, but in the classes I am teaching as well.

The coming school year in English will see a more developed structure then the previous year, with books paired together based upon a specific theme.  In the second year of my instruction at this educational environment, I look forward to providing greater opportunities for hands on learning.  Any chance we can take in which what we read comes to life, or brings greater understanding for each of us is one which must be taken advantage of.

One of the better things, is that I have gotten to know many of my students, and in spite of the craziness that we all get involved with sometimes, we still make exceptional progress as a community.    

Look forward and be prepared to participate in a number of things this coming year.

Language Arts/English/Literature

Dramatic Acting
Debate
Public (Classroom) Presentations
Craft and Art development (This is especially true for books like "Walden", "The Inferno" and "The Hobbit"
Group Activities (Build your own Dictatorship

Journalism

This past year, we had a significant challenge of completing an edition of the newspaper.  With this in mind, those who enter the Journalism class will begin the first several weeks learning about the following things;

Journalistic Writing
History of Journalism
Editing
Objectivity

Duties in the school newspaper will be given out and we will be expected to have a deadline for our first paper by the week before our first break in October.  After that, we will be completing a paper each month.  The school newspaper "The Peacocks Feather", is not just for the High School.  The Newspaper is meant to represent the entire school, and tell both students and parents about things that are happening in school and in the future. 

 

I look forward to seeing each of you in August, and plan to work with you all to make this a great year.

 

 

Mr Humphreys

 


POSTED: 05/12/2015 at 4:30am  BY: Mr Humphreys Comments (0) Comment on Post

"Education is the foundation of society"- Christine Gregoire

"I say preach, my dear Sir, a crusade against ignorance; establish & improve the law for educating the common people."-Thomas Jefferson 1786

Education has held a mixed place in the hearts of many in America.  To some, it is indeed a foundation upon which we may base our understanding of ourselves.  To others, it is merely a waste of time they could be using doing something more interesting.

Prior to the development of technology, it was required of students to do a lot of footwork to complete their assignments.  In modern times though, it is possible for an individual to "skip to the answer" by merely Google searching.  The problem with such easy access to information, is that it eliminates the individual work to some degree.  

For example, if you are tasked with completing a book review, and instead of doing that review, you choose to copy/paste an entire review done by someone else.  Sure, you change a few small things, but in reality, it was not your work.  In fact, you did almost nothing except spend a few minutes on a computer.

 

Here is the rub, and question for this particular topic.  You may pick either one for your chosen writing.

 

 1. Has our society become so dependant upon instant knowledge, that we lack the appreciation for learning on our own?

2.What is it about education methods today, and perhaps even in your own school, that makes learning a chore, instead of something worthwhile? 

 

On a side reflection of my own, I often consider the following...

 

Is the quality of what is taught and learned as important as the quantity?   Or is it more important to learn as much as possible, becoming a "Jack of all trades"?  

Personally, I have learned many things throughout my years in education.  Some of the most profound learning was done when we focused strongly on a particular subject.  In my schooling, I probably learned more about the Middle Ages than most people ever are likely to want.  Especially how the nobility was often heavily related to each other no matter the country.  

Has this information proved useful?  Not unless I am playing Trivial Pursuit.  Yet it allowed me to understand different cultures, and how the many wars that occurred throughout the era tended to come from the relationships of the lords and ladies.   

 

POSTED: 21/11/2015 at 8:58am  BY: Mr Humphreys Comments (0) Comment on Post

With a weekend ahead of us, several projects are ongoing for my classes.  All students must be reading from their books.  As this represents their reading grade, along with the testing for those books.  Writing grades come from the work we do in class, as well as Prompt Homework.

30 Minutes reading each day

250 Words written of a prompt each day. (Typed or Hand-written)

 

8th Grade: Prepare yourselves to make monsters.  You must make a list of things you wish to use for your monster.  We will develop them in class as we talk about the letters of Robert Walton, and Victor Frankenstein himself.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/84/84-h/84-h.htm

The previous link will allow you to find a copy of the book to read in your own time.  All students should be reading 30 minutes a day.  And finishing at minimum 20 pages when complete.  If you do not complete 20 pages, keep reading until you do.

 

9th Grade:  Utopia Project:  For Animal Farm, we will be making our own nations and governments.  We will work hard in class, but students should work on individual parts of the project over the weekend.  If you wait until Monday, you will not have much time to develop a strong project.

The Project will be expected to be completed by Tuesday.  We will be making presentations themselves on Monday after we return from break.

Also, our next book will be "All Quiet on the Western Front."  This is a slight change from the reading list, as a project idea has come to mind that will allow us to have some fun with our learning, and get a little competition going.

10th Grade:  Grapes of Wrath/Oregon Trail project.  All students must follow the directions on their project handout.  Completed journal entries will be expected on Monday.  We will talk about individual results, and see if we really did get an idea of how difficult the Migrant life may have been.

 

11th Grade:  Descent into the Underworld for the Inferno.

This is a project that will begin on Monday, in which we take a look at the first level of the Inferno, and start to consider whether or not judgements of the sinners is indeed "just".  Would we do the same?  We must question what we consider wrong, and what we consider right in our decisions and discussion.

 

12th Grade: Fantasy and Reality, and becoming knights ourselves.  We will research the idealized idea of knights, and the reality in our exploration of the fantasy of Quixania/Don Quixote.  We will make our own heraldry and helmets, and imagine our own adventure.

 

Drama: Acting out The Tell-Tale Heart, a reading of the story in play form.  (All students need to be present for it.)

 

Journalism: Deadline day for articles and pictures is Monday by the end of the day.  We hope to print by Wednesday at the latest.



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