Q: What is your schedule?
A: My schedule is on the front of my website. Click on "Home" at the left side of this page.
Q: Do you offer extra credit?
A: Very rarely. You must work hard during class and study at home to do well in my class. I do put bonus questions on quizzes and tests but separate extra credit assignments are extremely rare. And when they are offered, they are extremely difficult and consequently worth a lot of points.
Q: Can I come by for extra help?
A: Sure. My only requirement is that you pay attention during class and do your work. If you waste your time in class, then I will not waste my time helping you outside of class. But if you work hard and still are not understanding the material, then talk to me and we can arrange a time to meet to help you out. Best times for me are during 4th block or after school. Please talk to me in advance so I can make sure that my schedule is open but feel free to drop by even if you don't talk to me in advance.
Q: Do you accept late homework?
A: Yes but there is a 10 percent penalty for each day that work is late. After five days, no credit is given for work. Unusual or extreme circumstances are handled on an individual basis. I am not a heartless monster so if special circumstances prevent you from completing your work, talk to me and we can work something out.
Q: How do you get your hair to be that curly?
A: I let it grow and use nothing but shampoo and conditioner.
Q: Will you come watch me in (name the sport, performance group, etc.)?
A: Absolutely! Just let me know when and where as far in advance as possible and I will try my very best to be there. I love seeing my students outside of class playing sports or in concerts or whatever else.
Q: How often do you update grades?
A: I update grades online at least once a week. If you want to know your most recent grade, email me (jbranham@greenville.k12.sc.us) and I will reply as soon as I can.
Q: Why don't you allow food or drinks in the lab area of the classroom?
A: This should go without saying but eating something while in a lab area can be very dangerous. It puts students at risk of ingesting trace amounts of harmful chemicals which can be very hazardous as many of these chemicals are highly toxic if swallowed. This rule is designed with safety in mind. Also, all students should wash their hands after completing a lab.
Q: Are you a pyromaniac?
A: While it is true that many of the demonstrations in my class involve fire, I am not obsessed with fire. All demos are done with safety as the top priority. Science is lots of fun but it can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. To that end, please do not try anything I do in class at home.
Q: Why won't you tell us how you are going to grade assignments before we turn them in?
A: If I did that, then the effort given on assignments graded simply for completion would most likely drop like a rock. I do it this way to keep you on your toes and to get you to give your best effort all the time.
Q: Are you ever absent from school?
A: I have a fantastic immune system so I don't get sick. I have only missed a small handful of days of school in my life for being sick and I hope to never miss any more. I love my job too much and missing school is a hassle anyway since I have to assign boring work for the students to do and I would have a mountain of stuff to grade all at once. So I do my very best to be here every day.
Q: What do you talk about when my parents call or come in for a conference?
A: Usually we talk about grades or behavior since those are the main reasons that we have conferences. However, I never tell parents something that I would not tell the student and most times the student knows what I am going to say anyway. Also, I never tell parents something that a student has told me not to tell them unless it is something that could be potentially harmful to the student (I am required by law to report this kind of information). And please do not worry when you see me talking to your parents at a sporting event or somewhere else out of school. Neither I nor your parents come to the games to talk about schoolwork - we are all there to watch you play and that's it.
Q: Why do you ask so many "trick" questions on tests?
A: Students are taught everything necessary to answer every question on my tests so in reality there are no trick questions. However, that does not mean that the answers are straight out of the notes taken in class. Students must think critically and reason through the question to figure out the answer. I ask as few recall-type questions as possible in favor of the higher order thinking questions. It is important that students read the questions carefully and not rush through the test.
Q: Is AP chemistry hard?
A: That depends on a few things but I can tell you that it isn't easy - it is equivalent to college chemistry after all. If you did well in honors chemistry, can think critically, and actually enjoy chemistry then you should be ok. AP chemistry is much more than simply memorizing ideas - it requires a lot of critical thinking. It is a challenge because there is a ton of information to learn and it's for college credit like other AP classes. One goal I have is to make the class challenging so that the AP exam seems easy but the class will also be fun.
Q: Can I still do well in AP if I didn't do well with a particular concept in honors?
A: You will see everything covered in honors again in AP but it will be in more detail in AP (along with material that was not covered in honors at all). I don't just assume that you know and remember everything from honors and we don't touch on it again until the AP exam - rather, we go through the honors material again in AP although it is at a much faster pace. So if you had trouble with one or two topics here and there honors then you should be ok in AP since you will have a "second chance" at them in AP. But if you had trouble with every topic in honors then you might ought to think about your options. If you are not sure, then please come talk to me and I can answer any questions that you have.
Q: Where can I get [insert chemical name here] so I can do this stuff at home?
A: First of all, don't ever do anything that I do in class at home. I do this for a living and everything is under control when I do demos in spite of what it may seem like. I do all demos and labs alone outside of class before I do them in front of students on the small chance that something goes wrong. Safety is my top priority. And I get most of my chemicals and materials from catalogs that require all orders to be placed by industry professionals or educators. I like to joke around in class about demos and such like but I know exactly how far I can go before it starts to get unsafe so for your own safety please do not try anything that I do in class at home.
Q: Why do you use such poor grammar?
A: I don't intentionally speak with poor grammar but it comes out anyway. It's just a product of where I grew up I guess. I do, however, know what correct grammar is and I write with excellent grammar most times but I just don't speak that way. If I ever say something and you don't know what I'm talking about, then please tell me so I can repeat it or explain it further. You are most likely not the only person to be confused by it so please ask.
Q: Do I need to buy a telescope for the astronomy class?
A: No you do not. The school has two very nice telescopes that we will use. Of course you are welcome to buy a telescope but I highly recommend that you wait until we talk in class about what makes a good telescope because there are lots of telescopes out there that cost good money but are poor quality or simply don't have good capabilities. A good idea before buying a telescope is to attend a local astronomy club meeting. The very experienced amateur astronomers are very friendly and are always willing to talk about their equipment. They can give you good advice and let you try out their equipment before you spend a lot of money. And even a decent pair of binoculars will allow you to see a great deal such as Saturn's rings, Jupiter's biggest moons, craters on our Moon, the phases of Venus, among other things.
Q: What would happen if you mix this and that together?
A: I get asked this question almost every time we do a demo or lab in class. And the vast majority of the time nothing would happen but I don't do it because I don't want to waste chemicals. Most chemical reactions have very little flare but I'm glad that students are thinking in the "What if..." sense. Also, lots of students ask what would happen if you stuck your hand in something. That very much depends on what the something is but it's never going to be good for you and mostly likely would hurt and/or cause tissue damage so don't do it.
Q: What's a star party?
A: A star party is when we take the telescope at night and point it at whatever we can see in the sky. Sometimes they are on campus because that's closer for most people but unfortunately it's not very dark so viewing conditions are rather poor for anything other than the planets or just a couple deep sky objects. So every so often I hold a star party at my house in Easley since it's much darker out there and we can see a lot more stuff. But to attend a star party at my house, you need to have a permission slip signed by your parents (or your parents can come which I encourage).
Q: Do you watch "Breaking Bad"?
A: No I do not. People assume I watch this show because it's about a chemistry teacher. I have enough other shows that I watch and no I don't know how to make meth so please don't ask me how to do that either.
Q: Do you watch "The Big Bang Theory"?
A: Yes! That is one of my favorite shows because it's funny on its own but if you know the science behind the jokes then it's even better. I was sad when its run came to an end.
Q: You're a beekeeper so do you make honey?
A: No, but my bees do...Yeah so that's a smart-aleck response but saying that is also one of my favorite things about being a beekeeper. Join the Bee Club to learn more about beekeeping!
Q: Can we go to the planetarium in Astronomy?
A: Yes! The planetarium specialist at Roper Mountain Science Center and I have put together a custom high school program and we take an in-school field trip to the planetarium. Also, I present the Friday Starry Nights program there about once a month so you should come check that out too!