What's in a syllabus?

Admission #1: I've never thought much about the tone of my course syllabi past the opening line or two.  

I have always tried to sound warm and inviting, yet scholastic and passionate (successfully, of course) in the opening sentences, but they have all then rapidly deteriorated into a list of texts, grading scales, community rules, and school supplies. 

Admission #2: When reading the syllabus with my students, I have been known to say, "let's just skip this part--you can read that on your own" because I was so bored with it.

So, as I stood in line for the copy machine on Thursday, syllabus in hand, I couldn't pinpoint the uneasy feeling in my stomach. Nerves? Too much sushi during the highly coveted opportunity to go out for lunch like my friends in the corporate world? Nope, something deeper. I felt like a hypocrite. After spending much of last year in the glow of Empowered Learning, in which my students were more engaged, more challenged, and better learners than I had seen in 12 years before, my safe and detailed syllabus just didn't seem to tell my story anymore.
 
Admission #3: I looked up synonyms for syllabus (yes, English nerd alert). 

I find it highly interesting that Merriam-Webster's thesaurus told me there were none and suggested I try again with "splashy" or "sleepless." Maybe it's on to something. Who is the syllabus really for when I write it like I have in the past--the student? or the parent I think might be looking over his or her shoulder that night at home? or me? I guess it begs the question, how do I really want to begin? Thanks to technology, my students (and their parents) can get the lists they need online. 

Since I am apparently very into living life on the edge right now, what with joining Twitter (@jtealio) and starting a blog with my awesome colleagues, I've decided to scrap it and give my students something more like a mission statement. I want my students to know what I value. Now I just have to figure out how to say it.

Admission #4: I've never been as excited to start a school year as I am right now. And I have my colleagues on this blog and at my school to thank for it. This stuff is terrifying, and I love it!

D minus 4...

Just want to say thanks to my remarkable, creative teammates: Dave J, Meredith R, and Jen T. I'm inspired by you and this grand idea of helping kids learn how to learn. And I like the idea of this blog. I'll try to throw in a "guess what..." and/or a "what for..." as often as I can.

My head is full of "What am I gonna say first?" as we approach the opening day of school and the reload of our head-first dive into Empowered Learning. My favorite place to try out my material is when I'm driving in the car. No one can hear me - but me - and fellow motorists just think I'm talking on my hands-free or singing along to my favorite song.

So I'm cruisin' down Tele yesterday with messy ideas swirling around the bowl in my head and all the sudden I'm talking out loud...

"Welcome to Bloomfield Hills High School and the first day of school. I'm really glad we're all here and I'm psyched for the upcoming year.

"Here are three things we can say about the fact that we are all here now. One, the subject is World History. Two, I'm your teacher. And three, this is 9Camp - Room 10.

"But I have to confess that only one of these things is true. Can you guess which one?"

Can you?

(to be continued...)

"In these days, a man who says a thing cannot be done is apt to be interrupted by some idiot doing it."

Elbert Hubbard

"Perfect is the enemy of done."

That quote was really the motivation for this blog. Thanks to Kevin Honeycutt, a passionate educator encouraging teachers to “live out loud,” here goes our leap into the (somewhat) unknown world of educational blogging. We hope you’ll join us on our journey of discovery. More to come soon...