January 4, 2021
Dear Sociology Honors Parents and Students,
I want to welcome you to my sociology course during this most unusual year. First and foremost, I want to let you know that student health and well-being is my utmost concern. Please know that I am committed to the well-being of each and every student. If you have any concerns related to student health - especially Covid-19 related or stress from adjusting to the changes from the virus, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or other school officials.
Secondly, I want to reassure you that in sociology honors, this semester will be productive. I imagine that there is quite a bit of angst over what classes will look like as the semester begins. I am confident that I have put together a meaningful and productive course. I have been using online resources to teach my class for the last ten years. I actually think that students will learn more in my class during remote learning+. I have converted all of my in-class lessons to online lessons which will require all students to be active learners. The course is considered a college-level course (dual credit) and Loyola University Chicago will give students the opportunity to earn 3 hours of undergraduate credit (as a Sociology 101 course). Parents and students should feel confident that all students in my class are learning college-level sociology. As a subject, sociology is excellent preparation for working with diverse people and data. Sociology is also often a required course in numerous majors such as pre-med, criminal justice, and nursing to name a few. This class will be a valuable entry point for students who want to learn about the sociology concepts on the MCAT exam.
I will expect students to promptly be on zoom for their assigned periods (listed below). My course will post lessons each day on my blog page at https://sociologysal.blogspot.com. Each lesson will require students to individually read, analyze and answers questions. I want to emphasize that my class will require students to actively engage in the learning. If students are not willing to work, I recommend that they reconsider their course selection before the semester officially begins. And for students who are eager learners, I want to emphasize that this semester, their learning will not be wasted or diminished in any way. Finally, I want to encourage students to be excited and open to learning sociology. Sociology analyzes how society shapes individuals through both structures like family, media, and education and through inequalities like gender, race, and social class. Learning sociology can give students new insights about everyday life. These insights will hopefully increase student mindfulness about themselves as individuals, their interactions with others and their society in general.
Looking forward to this semester. Please do not hesitate to contact me with concerns or questions.
Please be sure to logon to your class's zoom on time each day. Visit my Canvas page for the zoom links or check the email I sent.
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