Advisory/DEAR

The Rainbow Trouts

"Nolite Facere Stupidi"

"You just have to have the guidance to lead you in the direction until you can do it yourself." -Tina Yothers

Advisory is a twenty minute period at the beginning of each day. The purpose of this period is multifold. First, we will be working on the skills and tools to be successful in adapting from Middle School to LoMA. Secondly, we will be talking about long-term goals and dreams and how to make them attainable. We will also be working on several thematic units based on student interests, including Dance, Poetry/Freestyle, Visual Art, Health/Personal Welfare, Harassment/Bullying, and Current Events. This is not a free-talk or study hall period, and this class does bear credit. All of these topics and the schedule below are tentative and subject to change:

Mondays: Letter to the school from Dr. Wenk

Following this letter, we will always have a discussion and will occasionally have to write a response

Tuesdays: Reading work

We will introduce our quote of the week, and follow it with reading a passage from our group reading book.

Wednesdays: Book/Discussion

Wednesdays will be taking the activity that we do on Tuesdays and applying it to our time at school, our quote of the week, our lives, our city, or the world at large.

Thursdays: Skills Practice

Thursdays in the second semester will be dedicated to Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, and Spelling (GUMS), Study skills, reading comprehension, and other critical skills that are necessary for your success in High School.

Fridays: Journal Entries

Typically they will be themed about either a current event or in response to a quote or idea that I will provide. The last Friday of every month will be a free journal write unless otherwise noted.

RAVVY AWARDS

Rule #1 (Don't Do Stupid) is in effect from the moment you walk into the building until the moment you leave. Indeed, once you leave, I encourage you to continue to follow the rule, but it is not my purview. From time to time, we all will lapse, and when one of our fellow Trouts falls into Stupid, we will all be there to pull them back up. Violaters will be announced, awards-show style, and will be expected to make a short speech describing their violation, why it was a problem, and their future solution. If I feel it necessary, I will ask the leading questions to hear what we all need to learn. A very sarcastic round of applause will follow.

DEAR (Drop Everything And Read)

"The books that help you most are those which make you think that most. The hardest way of learning is that of easy reading; but a great book that comes from a great thinker is a ship of thought, deep freighted with truth and beauty." -Pablo Neruda

At the end of every day we have a twenty minute period of sustained silent reading. I do have a bin of books available in the room, otherwise students should bring their own from home. We read for the entire time, and this period is taken very seriously to reinforce the importance of being active, engaged readers.

You will find that I take DEAR very seriously. As we will point out many times in Global History throughout this year, one way that people are most subjugated or oppressed in society is by keeping them illiterate. Even in American History in the 18th and 19th centuries, slaveowners were not afraid of slaves using guns, knives, axes, hoes, scythes, or machetes, but were afraid of them being able to read. As such, everyone is expected to read the entire period, and those who do not will face a grumpy Mr. Ravdin, as they will have disturbed my silent reading as well.

The Penalty Box

Those students who find that they are unable to be productive members of, or are detrimental to others in, either DEAR, Advisory, or their academic classes (whether I am the teacher or not) will be sent to the metaphorical penalty box, and assigned to additional reading minutes at 3:00 when their friends are all leaving. Penalties are assessed as follows, and may be compounded or augmented. ALL PENALTY DECISIONS ARE FINAL, AND THERE ARE NO APPEALS.

Minor penalty (2:00): Violations that have minor disruptions to class. These include, but are not limited to, talking, being off task, and having one's head down.
Double-minor penalty (4:00): Violations that have disruptive consequences to the class. Includes repeated talking, not being prepared for class, not doing one's homework, ignoring instructions, etc.
Major Penalty (5:00): Violations that have extreme impact on the class or teacher. Includes skipping (double major), disrespecting teachers (can be double), throwing, or hitting, etc.

"My Alma mater was books, a good library... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity." -Malcolm X

Extra Credit Opportunities are available for students who write reviews for the class of books that they have finished. See me for more information.

Books available in the room:
(Mr. Ravdin's favorites indicated by an asterisk)

Where the Red Fern Grows
No Country For Old Men*
Michael Jordan (biography)
The Giver*
Fahrenheit 451*
Angela's Ashes (2 copies)
Treasure Island*
Animal Farm
Jurassic Park*
The Cobra Event (2 copies)
A Farewell to Arms*
The Learning Tree
The Pigman
Childhood's End
To Kill A Mockingbird*
Cry, The Beloved Country
All Quiet On The Western Front
The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

I will also try to procure books that students request for the classroom (bear in mind the library upstairs also has a wide selection)

"There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." -Will Rogers

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