What I promise you:

· My goal is to make the content of this course simple to understand and to teach you how to connect the content to your own life.

· I promise to create a supportive and positive experience for you as a student.

· I believe that the diversity in our classroom is an extremely valuable asset that creates an educational experience that models the real life-world.

· My goal is to help you successfully complete our course so that you can graduate and achieve your career goals.

What you promise me:

· I expect you to make your best effort in our course, and that starts with committing at least 10 hours a week of studying for our course.

· I am emphasizing dialogue between students in-person in class and then again online in the Discussion Boards, which will be 25% of your total grade. I know you will be respectful and kind in your interactions with others on the Discussion Boards.

· You will take your essay writing in this course seriously and turn in your most professional writing possible. I want you to be very successful in your career, so having plenty of opportunities to improve your writing skills will only help you – which is why we have another 25% of your total grade having to do with essay writing. These assignments are called Reading Response Essays, which are always 500 words minimum length and turned in through Canvas Sunday nights by 11:59 pm.

· Take sufficient time to study for the quizzes and exams. The smallest percentage of your total grade, 10% for each category (30% overall total) is for quizzes (10%), your midterm exam (10%) and your final exam (10%), which are all standardized means of assessing your comprehension and ability to recall information in a timed manner. This skill is important because it prepares you for those times at work when you are in a time crunch and you need to do the best you can within the allotted time, you’ll know how to work in circumstances with a limited amount of time.

· Create the best, most professional video presentation you’ve ever done. In a post-Covid 19 world, video presentation skills will be a normal part of your life in whatever modern career you may choose. This Final Research Video Presentation (25% of your total grade), will give you an opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in our class and present it in a professional manner on video.

· At times, in a Political Science class, you will discover that everyone has a different opinion, background and value system. What is important is that when sharing our experience that we are respectful of others experiences and opinion at all times so we can have polite and educated discussions with each other and with me. Avoid personal remarks that others may regard as aggressive or disrespectful because Pasadena City College does have a behavior policy requiring mutual respect.