A.P. United States History 2011-2012
Instructor: Tom Miron
Texts
The Signet Book of American Essays
A Documentary History of the Unitrd States
The Will of the People
The Souls of Black Folk
Only Yesterday
Great Books Foundation
W.E.B. Du Bois
Frederick Lewis Allen
This course is designed to be the equivalent of a college level survey course in American History
and will place demands on the students accordingly. Any student who fails to keep up with
these demands will be removed from this class. The course will also prepare students to take
the nationally administered A.P. Exam in May. All students in the class will be required to take
this exam unless excused by the instructor.
The two basic rules that govern the larger St. Francis High School community also apply to this
class. These are: 1) do not disrupt the learning process 2) respect the rights and property of
others. More specific rules are derivative of these two. For example, eating food and chewing
gum are not allowed in the classroom as they interfere with learning. Other derivatives will be
explained as the course progresses. While we will be studying the evolution of American
democracy in here, the classroom will not be a laboratory for democratic experiments. In other
words, the instructor will control the content and pace of this course.
My expectations of the students are that they will:
- Be on time to class on a daily basis.
- Be prepared for the class on a daily basis.
- Hand in all work on time. St. Francis policy does not allow late work to be accepted for
passing credit. Long term assignments are always due on the date assigned unless
special arrangements have been made ahead of time with the instructor.
- Be open to constructive criticism.
Grades in this course will be determined from a combination of the following:
- Tests
- In-class Essays
- Take Home Essays
- Reading Notes and Responses
- DBQs
- Research Projects
- Appropriate Class Participation and Effort
- Semester Exam