Slide 1

Reality BytesWelcome to CollegeWhy am I here?The Accuplacerhttp://www.azwestern.edu/downloads/Placement%20Table.pdfPrevious Reading courseContent vs. Application

Who is in front of the room?Your professor for the duration is Donna Knepper Taylor.Support staff is Jonathan Briones.What you will be taking away from this courseReadwith better comprehensionReadfasterReadwhat you wantReadfluentlyThe Salubrious (healthy/wholesome/respectable) Phenomenon Robert T. Mundhenk

Learning is the primary goal.An education.Preparation.Mental Readiness.Confidence.You KNOW what you are talking about.You are and always will be capable of learning.Now for the ConsequencesYou are here to learn. If you dont follow through, here is what will happen:If you show up once or twice, you will Fail as I will NOT put a W in for your namethat is your responsibility.The F will go on your transcript.If you are on Financial Aid, you may lose it or, if you are lucky, get probation if you make an F. But, the bottom line is you lose funding.Every time you enter this room, you are paying for a servicei.e. This course is $210. We meet 32 times or 16 for the once a week course. That is ~$7 every time you enter this room. For me, that is ~$144 for every class. Do you want your moneys worth?Ten Reasons Students Fail:Not buying your books for this class. Therefore, please buy your books (the textbook should be virginin cellophane!) NOT USED!

Mixed up priorties, such as:Cell Phones Tardy Leaving early Talking and visitingClownish behavior; or, competition with the teacherWalking in front of the professor while she is speakingSpeaking in another language while trying to LEARN to READ in ENGLISH

Not getting a TORO account which leads toNot checking Blackboard which leads toNot doing the assignments on Blackboard which leads to...

AN F!!!!!!

4. Cheatingin any formwhich also leads to

AN F

Not communicating with me as I have:

E-mailA Cell phoneText messagingE-mail on my cell phoneMy home phoneMy officeOffice HoursAnd, I have EARS!!!!!

6. Cant sit or stay in the classroom for the entire class, because:

You have to leave earlyYou have to arrive lateYou have an important phone callYou ate something bad last night, this morning, for lunch, for snack; and/or you havent eaten at allYou are tired, run down, sick, stressed, angry; and/or, this is a bad day. Youre addicted to your phone:

Youre addicted to your phone:

School is hard, because:

I have no money to buy a bookI have no time to studyI have important things to do with my timeI forgot my work at home, in the car, on the table, someone stole everything; and/or my work flew out the windows of my car 9. Teacher, you have to understand:

I have children.I am sick.I have personal problems.My cell phone broke.I am broke.My car is broke.Everything is broke.I have to leave early to fly back to.

And, Finally:10. STOP WITH THE EXCUSES!!!!!!

This is why students fail. Are you here to learn; or, are you here to creatively come up with a way to get out of doing work and not succeedingwhich takes hard work????!!!!!!!! My job as your instructor is to help you reach your goals. Please take advantage of my time outside of class, and the resources available to you such as students within class, the Student Success Center, the Writing Lab, tutoring, and the audio books in the library, etc., in order to succeed

as I will not:Buy your books and suppliesGive you support suppliesGive the final early under ANY circumstancesAnd/or support your excuses; better known as enabling.

I will, however,:Support you to the next stage of your learning process.Give you skills for reading comprehension as well as for studying.Give you tricks of the trade in order to do better in your courses.And, firmly push you to success. Your first priority is to participate!An active learner is NOT passive. You are engaged in wanting to learn and succeed.

Ask yourself this:What do I want?What am I willing to give up to get there?And, what is my payoff?The Payoff:AccuPlacerGeneral Education CoursesAchieving your goalsBeing Successful which gives you confidence and control over your lives.

My Bottom Line?I am here to teach you.My whole goal and passion is for you to learn and be the best students you can possibly be.However, you need the tools to do this.Therefore, here are the three things I want most from you:

Come to class!Bring your books, supplies, and whatever else you need to succeed!And, bring it on! Teaching is a two-way street. I need you just as much as you need me.

The Result:Only the educated are free. Epictetus