About ECD

The Class....

Notes will be on this school website as well as my QUIA website along with their classwork, practice quizzes and actual quizzes. Mr. Pyle Quia - just click on the link to the left or google "Mr. Pyle Quia" to find the site. No login is required.

The practice quizzes and activities/games on my Quia website have the exact same questions they will see on all of their quizzes. If they don't do well, it is generally because they chose not to use the time available to learn.

My goal is to have the students do all their work and studying while in class. If you will monitor their grades on PowerSchool, then you will know how they are doing.

Please let me know of any questions or concerns! E-Mail: steven.pyle@cms.k12.nc.us

Notes will be on this school website as well as my QUIA website along with their classwork, practice quizzes and actual quizzes. Mr, Pyle Quia - just click on the link to the left or google "Mr. Pyle Quia" to find the site. No login is required.

My goal is to have the students do all their work and studying while in class. If you will monitor their grades on PowerSchool, then you will know how they are doing.

Please let me know of any questions or concerns! E-Mail: steven.pyle@cms.k12.nc.us

EXPLORING CAREER DECISIONS SECTIONS

WHO AM I and WHAT CAN I BECOME?

1.01 Understand interests, attitudes, and values.

1.02 Understand personality and learning styles.

1.03 Understand personal and transferable skills.

2.01 Understand how interests and values influence career choices.

2.02 Understand how personality influences career choices.

HOW DO I GET THERE?

3.01 Understand the world of work and how the world of work changes.

3.02 Understand skills needed for employment success.

4.01 Understand where to seek employment.

4.02 Understand how to apply, interview, and make a career plan for employment.

Materials

Most work will be done on the class computers, but students will sometimes need to have paper and a pencil/pen.

Section Quizzes

Throughout the course, students will be given instruction, practice questions, practice quizzes, games and notes to prepare them for the Pop Quizzes, Quizzes, Midterm and Final Exams. The Final Exam is typically a state/CMS standardized test and will be given at the end of the course. It usually counts for 20% of students' final overall semester grade.

GRADING POLICYINFORMAL = 35% - Participation/Classwork/Work Ethic (Mainly classwork done on my Quia site during class.)

FORMAL = 65% - Projects/Tests/Quizzes (Mainly the 9 sections of the material listed in the chart above. But also quizzes on College Terminology, College Admissions Terminology and anything else I tell them will be for a Formal grade.)

1st Qtr 40% of students' final overall semester grade.

2nd Qtr 40% of students' final overall semester grade.

FINAL EXAM - 20% of overall semester grade. (This will be only on the 9 sections of material in the chart. If students learn this material well for their formal quizzes during the quarters, it will be easy to review and do well on the final!)

GRADE SCALE

A= 100-90

B= 89-80

C= 79-70

D= 69-60

F= 59-00

QUIZ DATES

Quizzes will immediately follow each objective covered. Students will be given time to review quiz game questions and/or practice questions during about every class, so they should not need to study at home and should always be ready for the formal quizzes. If they do not do well, that typically tells you they are not using their time well in class. The key to success in this class - as with many others -is: 1) Listen to what the teacher says. 2) Just do it. 3) When it gets a little hard, try harder! This resolves about 95 percent of the problems students have with their grades!

LATE WORK & MAKE-UP POLICY

Students who are absent are responsible for ensuring all work is made up. It is the student’s responsibility to make up work, classwork and quizzes. It is students' responsibility to arrange this with the teacher if they are unsure what to do. Typically they can find the assignments online, on my QUIA page and can just do them at home or on their smart phone! Really simple!!

When you do Quia work, submit the work and then go to the bottom of the page and cick on "Done" or "Return to Profile."

Missing work will be dealt with according to the Community House Middle School missing work policy which includes the loss of enrichment time for 3 missing assignments.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

I do not typically give homework. Ample time will be given in class to finish classwork. If not completed, it is the student's responsibility to complete the work at home or during a following class. If you they are absent, the classwork can usually be found on my Quia web page and done at home.
Tardies will be dealt with according to the Community House Middle School Tardy Policy.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Steve Pyle

E-Mail: steven.pyle@cms.k12.nc.us

Please let me know of any questions or concerns!

MORE DETAIL ABOUT THIS CLASS - FOR STUDENT FYI

Rule 1: Listen to what the teacher says. 2) Just do it. 3) When it gets a little hard, try harder!

Why do students not get a A in this class? Because they don't do the 3 things above. Very little in here is hard. So it is pretty much your fault!!!! :)

Your Grades: It is NOT my job to make you do your work. Failing is a choice. It is your choice. YOU are responsible for YOUR grade. You are in middle school. See Rule 1 above. Even if you think a class isn't important, your attitude and work effort always do matter!

POWERSCHOOL: You need to regularly be going into PowerSchool to see what assignments you are missing. If it has a "M" for missing, then I did not see that you did it. You need to redo it if that is an option or communicate with me so I can check further.

Makeup Work: For the time being, I will allow you to redo or makeup classwork and/or Quizzes. Go to my Quia site and find the assignment or quiz and make it up or redo it. It may take me a couple days to get it into PowerSchool. If it isn't in there after a few days, email me and I will check and let you know. When you do Quia work, submit the work and then go to the bottom of the page and cick on "Done" or "Return to Profile."

Seating Charts: I will probably make a seating chart to be sure I can take attendance easily. I will generally let you sit where you want. If you continually talk, don't pay attention or just goof around too much then I will probably move you.

Who is the boss? 1) The administrators are bosses because it is their job to ensure that I do my job the way I am supposed to. I need to be teaching the state material, maintaining class order and using our class time productively. I am a boss because it is my job to create a class that meets the administrators' needs and requirements. I am also a boss because I choose to be here and so need to be doing things I feel really good about and doing things in a way that meets my needs, style and interests. YOU are a boss because this class is here for YOU. This class needs to benefit YOU. I am open to your thoughts/ideas/suggestions, but you have to remember that I have to balance your insights with those of the administrators and myself. I have a much better picture of what works and what doesn't work as I have been doing this for several years at Community House!

Games - (other than sections assigned on my Quia) - surfing the internet - looking at pictures on computer: NO. No, you may not play games or surf the internet looking at non-class related stuff. No. This does not work for me. This does not work for the administrators. They will walk into class and if they see this, then they feel I am not doing my job using class time productively. No, you will say you will switch tabs if they come in. No. If in doubt, NO, don't. If your highest priority is to play games on the computer or text and such, then you really need this class more than you can imagine!!! :) I expect you to keep all computers at the tables where I can see the screens so people - you know they will - won't try to play games, cheat, or surf the internet.

Other class homework in my class - No. My job is to use our class time - from bell to bell - productively. If class has time to do other work, then I will need to give you more work! If you need to skip my work to get something else done, then you are showing you use your time poorly and that my material is not important. On rare occasion, when it is big testing time and there is a lot of stress, I may give class a few minutes at the end of class to review for these major tests.

You shape what we do in class - If you are loud and rowdy when you walk in, then I know you need more work, even if it is busy work as soon as you arrive! You ask for it, you get it. You shape what your teachers do. If you don't give a good effort, then I will make class harder and give you more work. If you do not do a great job discussing things in class, then we will have more written work and assignments on my Quia website. If there are ideas that you all have that are productive and meaningful - I will try hard to make those ideas a reality. I will allow you to shape parts of the class. Much of what teachers do is a direct result of how kids act, work and behave.

Snacks/water/Gum – This year I am having my classes in other teachers’ rooms. I don’t have time to clean up, and it is not fair to the teachers who are making their room available to me. If you need a snack, then maybe stand at the trash can by the door and eat it quickly before class starts. No chips, goldfish, crackers, candy or nuts or such. I have seen for too many years how this all ends up on the floor. Make it fruit or veggies or some other very healthy snack, or we will just not have snacks. If you have water, OK. If you flip the bottles, then water is gone! (That is soooo annoying!!)

If you accidentally have a water spill or drop your gum, just let me know and I will help clean it up. I would much rather do that than find a mess or gum stuck somewhere and be mad that you didn't care enough to clean it up. Accidents happen. It is OK. :)

Rule 2 – Don’t be poorly behaved. You know the general rules about classroom behavior as you have been in school for a while now! And if you are acting immature, please don't justify it. When I am talking or during a video don't be inappropriately chatty, or I may move your seat or remove you from the room. Also, if you had this class before, it doesn't mean you will do everything the same way now!

Rule 3 – I don’t get paid enough to put up with rude, disrespectful people. I will always work to be respectful to you, I will expect the same in return. Please keep in mind that the class before you may have been an annoying group, and I may need a few minutes to adjust to your class and get my grumpiness out! I will try to let you know if that is the case, so please be patient with me, and I will try my best to be patient with you! Me getting mad and cranky with you is not good because it just doesn't help anything. I don't get paid enough to poison myself with anger and it doesn't help students learn better behavior habits!

Entering Classroom - Do not race into class. Do not enter class being loud and/or rowdy. Lets start the class with some integrity, calm and mutual respect. You may enter class happy and smiling and enjoying being with your classmates. (Or away from other classmates!:)

Headphones/Music/Phones - Bring headphones in case we have videos for you to watch on the computer.

But no, no music. Not on the computer, not on your phones. It has never been anything other than a problem. I may put on Pandora or such if we agree to the music, or I will just put on what I like! MUSIC and PHONES have never been anything other than a problem for me and a distraction for most students. YES, some students have the maturity to listen to music on the computer or phone. I respect these persons. But the others have ruined it for them.

More on music: I would have almost no problem with it except that too many students 1) Spend more time picking songs to listen to than they do working, 2) Sneak into their texts or other apps, 3) Play their music so loud it annoys others, 4) Watch videos for the songs as well instead of doing work. I have tried lots of things. Dedicated students know how to listen to music and do a great job with their work, others just use it as a distraction to not work effectively. It is pretty annoying for me to deal with the hassles when I am just trying to be nice. It is also hard to watch students using their technology as a huge distraction from working, learning to work, and learning to be better prepared for their future. Be careful....Life comes at you fast! Prepare now!!!