Course of Study

At Ouray High School, students are required to take four years of English:

English 9

American Literature

and then two of the following four courses:

Dramatic Literature

International Literature

College Writing

College Literature

In addition, we offer a selection of electives each year.

This website details the courses that Mr. Kissingford teaches.

Expectations:

At all times, respect and take care of yourself and each other in the often exhilarating, sometimes frustrating process of learning and growing. Be in class, on time and prepared. Put your heart into the work, and find the joy in doing so.

Do you do your homework? Then you will succeed at school. It really is that simple. Do you set aside a time and place where you get your stuff done? Do you have friends and family you can depend on to support that success? How do you prioritize your time?

Make a homework ritual. Recruit your system of support. Be clear on what is important.

Expect homework EVERY NIGHT. Some assignments—like blog posts and vocabulary—are regularly scheduled and ongoing. Some are isolated and one-of-a-kind. But most assignments—reading an act in a play, for instance, or writing a draft of a paper—are cumulative, leading to larger assignments. It is very important to keep up. You will receive 10 points for homework completed satisfactorily by the start of class, 8 points for homework completed by the end of school on the due date, or 6 points for homework completed before school starts the next morning. In cases of excused absence, show me the homework outside of class time if possible; missed quizzes can be made up with me during the week following the quiz.

If you bomb a quiz or test or miss a homework (it occasionally happens), take immediate advantage of the EXTRA CREDIT policy: attend a play, poetry reading, or other teacher-approved cultural event, write a review, attach the ticket and/or program, and parent signature, and earn up to 10 points. Here are guidelines for your review. No limit on this extra credit!

Grading:

Your grade makes very little difference in your life in the long term. Your integrity makes every difference. I take very seriously those rare instances when a student is not entirely honest with me. Academic dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism, cribbing from Cliff or Sparky or other simplistic resources—all these phenomena short-circuit your process of learning and sabotage our relationship. Do not compromise. Be scrupulously truthful.

Plagiarism means an automatic zero for the assignment. If that assignment is one of two or three major items in your quarter's portfolio, that can bring your quarter grade down by ten or twenty points. Repeat offenses cause more serious consequences. In college a first offense can get you kicked out of school. We will certainly discuss how to avoid it.

I do not grade individual pieces of writing. My feedback will give you guidance for revision and editing. We will correspond about each piece of writing you do, and you will collect them into a portfolio which will comprise 40% of your grade, determined each quarter.

You'll write each day in your journal. I will collect that and scan it periodically. It amounts to 10% of your grade.

You will keep a log of your independent reading. This amounts to 10% of your grade.

The remaining 40% comes from tests and quizzes, homework and classwork.

Grades are determined on the conventional 100 point scale:

100 A 90 B 80 C 70 D 60 F