If you received less than 2.0 for the vocabulary lesson 2 homework (talking back to the book), you may still receive some credit for this assignment–if you submit the completed assignment to me by the start of your Tuesday class (Sept 4). The highest score you can receive is a 2.0, which represents the category called “developing.” In other words, your performance for this assignment is developing; it has not reached proficiency because that idea includes the ability to meet a deadline.
You will not always have such a chance to make up for a missed deadline, but at the beginning of the year, I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, while everyone adjusts to the new academic year and its multitudinous responsibilities. I sometimes imagine the start of the year, as if I were in Pennsylvania Station, the bustling train terminal in the heart of Manhattan, NY. I am carrying my bags in both hands, checking the schedules overhead, hearing announcements over the public address system, bumping into other travelers–all the while worrying whether or not I will make my train on time. Starting school sometimes feels like this to me, and, I imagine, to other people, too. Given these feelings, it seems reasonable to give you the benefit of the doubt for this vocabulary assignment. I want you to learn new words, and even more importantly, to learn how to make your train on time.