Q. If I email you, should I include a subject line out of courtesy?
A. Yes, please. I have MANY STUDENTS, so it's confusing if you don't clearly identify who you are and what class you are taking. For example, if you were John Smith, enrolled in my 1045-1200 ENG 100 class on Tuesday-Thursday, your subject line might look something like this:
ENG 100 T/TR 1045-1200 John Smith
In the subject line, if all you say is "Hello," or "'Sup, Mr. K," I might become confused since I teach many students, even if the gesture is pleasant.
Q. Can I email you all of my homework and essays?
A. No. I cannot handle every assignment via email. You are allowed to email the first assignment and last major paper to me for convenience, in .doc or .txt format, or even .pages format. .wps format is not allowed.
Q. What's up with this number you have, (714) 367-4861?
A. That's my GoogleVoice message box. If you use a cellphone, you can leave a message on that number and your voice message will route to my email. If you text me a message, the message will route to my email. If I hit "Reply" and reply to your voice message or email, my email will automatically route back to your cellphone.
Q. What is your preferred
method of contact?
A. It depends how stuck you are. If you
are very stressed out, lost and confused, seeing me
in person is best. If you have a semi-personal
problem or question, you should email
me for privacy purposes. If you have a simple,
quick question, text me via Google Voice or one of your
back-channel options.
A. My office hours can be found HERE.
I hold them in my office or walking
around Kalia Building, for exercise and fresh air, depending
on your need for privacy, etc.
Q. Where are your office hours?
A. Typically, my office hours are held in Lama
Library 1st floor, near the circulation desk or near
or around Kalia Bldg. Group office hours are okay with
me if you have similar questions.
Q. What if I can't make those office hours exactly? What should I do?
A. You can make an appointment to see me at your convenience, during reasonable school business hours. Want to meet in the cafeteria? Fine. Want to meet in the library? Fine. Want to meet at Starbucks on campus? No can. There is no Starbucks on campus. (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr......)
Q. My grammar is really problematic. What can I do?
A. When I give you back graded assignments, check out the codes that I write on your papers.
Check out the Grammar Builder and Grammar Sampler websites to help figure out what the codes mean. Practice writing out the codes and the errors on a sheet of paper or a Grammar Log. This methodology is the only tried and true methodology of improving one's grammar. There are also more grammar resources out there, HERE and HERE.
Q. My vocabulary is not as strong as it could be, not really "College-level." What should I do?
A. Keep a record book of new words from A-Z. Use each word in a sentence. You will remember the word a lot better if you do.
Play vocab games, go to vocab sites, and just keep trying: LINK, LINK, LINK
A. In general, your papers should be typed and double-spaced, preferably in black ink. All other parameters can be found on my Style Sheet.
Q. Do you take off points for late papers? What are the penalties?
A. Yes, I do take off points for late papers. The penalties are 10% if the paper is relatively late (1-2 class sessions), and 20% or more for exceptionally late papers (more than 1 week). If the writing content in the paper is genius or provocative, I may choose to exercise my own judgment and thereby waive applicable late penalties. For more on Grading, click on the link, HERE.*
Q. (follow-up) What happens if my essay
or homework is late? Should I even bother turning it
in?
You should turn it in. You might still get credit for it. Late work is penalized 10 % every legal class day that it is late (excluding weekends). If a grade is deserving of an A+ gets turned in three days late, then it usually becomes a B+ grade. There are exceptions to this, especially when the assignment is exceptionally well-written. If your piece is very strongly-written, a borderline masterpiece, then I may waive the late penalty. If the work is sloppy, looks like it was written hastily, or simply reflects little effort, then the late penalty applies. Late homework cannot be revised. Missing a draft is not a good idea, because you will potentially lose valuable peer or instructor feedback. You will receive a permanent (-6) of your final grade for the assignment for missing a draft/conference day. In this case, the top grade the paper can possibly receive for two missing drafts is an 88 B+.
Q. Deal with me straight up. What do I need to pass this class?
To pass this class, you MUST complete all major assignments and final exam at a C-level grade (70+). You cannot do some of the essays, then skip the last one. The department sets these major assignments as course competencies, so skipping one or more indicates a failure in completing the competencies. COME TO CLASS REGULARLY. People who skip class have a tendency to miss out on important lectures and exercises. You should also do your homework consistently. I have had students who didn't do an OUNCE of homework, and even though they did the major assignments passably well, they failed my course. All in all, DO THE WORK, and DO IT WELL. If you skip class, you will not receive any Snape Secrets (tm).
Q. Do you have a strict attendance policy? Do I flunk after three absences? What does attendance have to do with those feedback cards or sign in sheets?
My attendance policy is not such that I flunk you for not attending, but I can tell you that attendance plays a crucial role in your success in this class. I do not flunk you after you miss three classes or if you have eight tardies, etc., but participation in class and writing in-class exercises amounts to 10 to 15 percent of your overall course grade. If you skip class routinely, you are probably impairing your chances at getting a higher grade in my class. If 50-60 percent of your grade is locked up in the essays and you neglect the other 40 percent of the class (homework, participation, final assignment, etc.), then it's logical that you attend to the other 40 percent as well. Infrequent attendance usually indicates that a student will not PASS the class. My feedback cards or in-class assignments are not designed to keep watch over who is tardy or absent--they are meant to give you a voice and means of communicating with me, especially for those of you who might not want to ask certain questions in front of other students.
Q. (follow-up) My work schedule sucks. I have to
prioritize my work over my schoolwork. What am I going
to do?
The best you can do is at least to LET ME KNOW what's
going on. If you disappear and don't say a word to me
about things that are happening in my life, I cannot
be FLEXIBLE. I like being FLEXIBLE. I may not be able
to give you extensions on your work in an effort to
be FAIR to the other students, but at least I'll be
aware of what's going on with you and your life. I would
prefer it if you CAME TO CLASS RATHER THAN SKIPPING
because skipping the content sections of the class will
make you feel more lost.
Q. You have this weird revision
policy. What is it, and how does it relate to late essays?
You can REWRITE every essay for this class, ONE TIME
provided that you meet the following criteria: 1) the
paper is turned in ON-TIME, 2) you TRY to meet with
me at least ONCE to discuss how to improve your essay,
3) you make significant changes to the paper (not just
simple grammar and style errors). You get the higher
of the two grades (they are not averaged together).
In other words, if your revised essay deserves a 99
instead of a 65, I will give you what you deserve--you'll
get the 99. If your essay is late, say, if you procrastinate
and turn it in a month late, your grade may stand, or
will receive a permanent late penalty.
Q. (follow-up) Why make this revision policy?
Most teachers don't allow us to revise and if they do,
they give us the averaged grade. Why such a liberal
revision policy?
Life is about REVISION. Revision means that we look
again at ourselves and our efforts, checking and double-checking
if we 1) worked hard on something, 2) if we could do
better on that something. I think we can ALWAYS improve,
and I am willing to reward you for such efforts.
Q. Do you give extra credit?
Yes. You can earn extra
credit (only to HW points) by writing up Summary
and Opinions of scholastic events such as lectures,
plays, poetry readings, or other performances of an
educational nature. You probably won't earn the equivalent
of a full homework assignment (I usually give 10 Homework
points for extra credit), but it's still worth something
in terms of your homework grade for this class. Your
summary and opinion should be interesting. You should
tell us what you saw or experienced, and provide us
with a deep analysis with what you got out of the performance.
Here's an example of a poor extra-credit assignment:
"Yeah, I went to this poetry reading. It was lame. I
drank coffee and fell asleep, then I went home. The
end." You probably won't receive any extra
credit for such a Summary and Opinion.
Q. If I plagiarize, do I
flunk?
A. If you 1) buy a paper, 2) rip off a quote from
Wikipedia or the 'Net, 3) have someone else write the
paper for you, 4) reuse an old paper without altering
the content significantly, 5) copy from another student,
6) do not significantly paraphrase the quoted material
well in your own words, you have two chances in the
course. During the first occurrence of plagiarism,
you receive an "F" for the assignment and you discuss
the infraction with me. During the second occurrence
of plagiarism, you fail the course.
I routinely check your paper for plagiarism using a computer anti-plagiarism checker, so it's probably best to just be honest and to use in-text citations, as found in the sample MLA and APA papers.
Q. I am a shy student.
I'm not used to asking for help from my teachers. /
I am afraid or ashamed of asking for help. What should
I do?
No big deal. It might take you some time to become less
shy. However, one of the greatest indicators of
college success is a willingness on the part of students
to actively solicit help when they need it. Word of
mouth via students is often flawed: "Hey, did you do
that reading response? Yeah, I think it's supposed to
be 8 pages in length!?" If you are really frightened
of having individual conference hours with me, you can
set up a blog account and leave me messages, or email
me on a confidential basis. The blog/back-channel is
the preferable method, because I don't enjoy having
my email inbox filled to an extreme degree.
Q. I need extra
help with my paper but I want a writing tutor to look
at it or something like that. What should I do?
A. You should probably go to Brainfuse
online tutoring, which your tuition paid for; additionally,
check out all the Mentorting/Tutoring
resources on campus. With Brainfuse, you
can have 4 different essays looked at. I will
give you extra-credit for taking this step.
Also, you can get your paper looked at at the Kahikoluamea Center, the room above Subway. There, writing tutors can assist you.
To connect with an ONLINE, Brainfuse tutor, you would need to login to myuhportal and look under "Tools."
Q. I can't finish the class. Someone got sick / died / Work is just too demanding. Should I stick it out?
You should do your best, but need to make that decision by yourself and for yourself. I do not negotiate in this manner: "If I do this ..... can I pass with a ___grade____?" I do not possess psychic powers to predict if and when you have or will complete work.
If you DO NOT withdraw from the course by (the final
day to withdraw from full semester classes, presumably
April in Spring and October in Fall) and you REMAIN
in my roster at the end of the semester without doing
the work, I have to give you a failing grade of "F."
No-shows at KCC (people who NEVER attended class or
people who steadily disappear from class) are given
F's. My bottom line is this: If you can't complete the
work to a level that is satisfactory to me or to you,
then you should withdraw before the deadline. A "W"
grade does not negatively impact your G.P.A.. An "F"
certainly does. If you are getting "D's" on all your
late work and essays, then you should probably withdraw.
If, on the other hand, you are earning "A's" on everything
and still managing to balance the demands of work and
family with school, stay in the class. I'm sorry I can't
give you a more definitive answer...but that's how it
is. Your decision to attend this class and withdraw
from this class if need be is your kuleana
and it is completely your decision, not mine.
Q. I didn't do my homework/read my book/do my draft/am not prepared. Should I just skip class and save you and my classmates the trouble?
A. Nope. PLEASE COME TO CLASS INSTEAD OF SKIPPING. You
may miss out on crucial "SECRETS," handouts,
or even snacks. Plus, you'll just be digging yourself
a bigger hole in the long term, a hole that takes a
lot more effort to get out of since presumably, assignments
will have piled up in the interim. If you miss both
peer-editing days, expect to lose around 20% to each
essay's final grade. Strong peer-editing, after all,
represents strong soft-skills acquisition.
A. Service-Learning is volunteering at one of
our 50+ Community Service partners Students who participate
in the required S-L hours per a semester of volunteerism
that complements subject material and who show me 1)
service learning log book; 2) service learning reflection
journal; 3) service learning final essay will A) waive
the potential Final Exam requirement in the course +
B) receive 10% bonus points to be applied to the TW
grade. Students may ‘piggy-back’ service
learning credit from another course, provided that they
certify their involvement as discussed above. If
there is no Final Exam in the course, 10% bonus will
be applied to the TW (major essay grade).
Q. Do you have any life advice, such as "How do I become successful?"
A. All I can say is this: "How you define success, be careful you must, young Padawan."
Also, students typically do well when they
have a long term plan and the GRIT (determination and
sticktuitiveness) to get there. I highly encourage you
to visit the Maida
Kamber Center so that you can identify potential
major and career pathways that can help you set long
term goals. Personally, the students who tend to know
very clearly, "WHO AM I?" and "WHERE
DO I WANT TO GO?" and who are long-term goal-oriented
seem to struggle less.
Q. (follow-up) Enough with your Yoda-speak. I'll
rephrase. How do I become a "successful student?"
A. Successful students tend to delay
their immediate gratification, living by the mantra,
"Work hard, [then] play hard," not the other
way around, or "Play hard" only. Imagine you
just bought the newest version of Grand Theft Auto.
Instead of unwrapping it and playing it nonstop for
the next 3 days, do you finish your paper first and
then reward yourself by playing up until you purchase
your first safehouse?
Q. Mr. K, so what's
your bottom line? It's hard to figure teachers out,
how they think, how they see the world? What is your
bottom line when it comes to my education?
This is my bottom line: I try to be flexible while demanding
excellence from you. I know it's hard to be a college
student, and I know it's hard to be a college student
eating ramen, making ends meet, feeding crying kids,
getting called in at short notice to work overtime,
dealing with personal and familial drama, just doing
one's best to get through a hard day's work. At the
same time, if I gave you an A for shoddy work, an A
that you didn't deserve, even an A you know you didn't
work hard enough for, then I wouldn't be able to look
myself in the mirror and say, "Kubota, you helped somebody
today." I feel I help people when I can be HONEST and
PROUD of you when you've earned that A, not when I gave
you an A out of pity or charity. Your education is a
privilege and a responsibility--the HEART of... kuleana,...and
as such, I give good grades as a mark of your TRUE efforts
as a scholar and individual. In the rather blunt words
of poet Taylor Mali, "How dare you waste my time with
anything LESS than your best."
Also, I strongly believe in being 'friendly,' but
not necessarily in being 'your friend.' The latter impedes
the clear and effective delivery of course content,
which is my job. Lots of noob teachers try way too hard
to be your friend, but do not deliver on teaching you
any valuable skills/techniques.
Q. OMG, Mr. Asian Snape! I
have so much frickin' drama! How can I deal with all
this non-school drama that is affecting my ability to
handle school!?
A. Life is a dramatic battle and game. Nonetheless, use the resources available to strategize an appropriate response to your drama.
Q. I feel like giving up
| I bit off more than I can handle | I want out of your
[expletive] class | College just isn't for me at this
time. | I'd rather focus on my babe/gaming/car/work/family/drama/something
else.
A. First of all, college is not a race. ENG 100 and
W.I. courses are not designed to be simplistic courses
where one shows up, smiles, and gets an A. Pace yourself
and ready yourself for battle.
STEP ZERO: Consider our school's
motto, Kulia i ka nu'u, Strive for the Highest.
Look at the last grade sheet you received. Are
you missing every assignment? A few? Assess your current
situation. Ultimately, whether or not to stick it out--that's
entirely your decision. Will I be supportive of whatever
decision you make? Of course. Come talk story and discuss
your course progress.
STEP ONE: Don't feel bad. I bear
no ill feelings to any of my students who end up not
passing the course. Many times, the stress of balancing
work and school, relationships and school, paying rent
and school, raising kids and school—it all just gets
so overwhelming. If you do in fact drop my class, I
hope all the best for you and hope you will prosper
in another English course or retake this one in the
future. Please don't spit in my beverages or food. If
you want advice about which ENG teacher matches your
learning style better, just ask.
STEP TWO: Talk to your teacher about
your prospects in the course, no shame. Talk to your
counselor about soft-skills/real-world issues affecting
your academic studies. Talk to your parents about career
options that lie outside of the world of academia. (#successisntonlydefinedbygettingadegree)
Assess a seriously 'big' question: "Do I really
want this?"
STEP THREE: Consider changing your
grade options.
If you plan on trying to get a CR/NC grade (credit-no
credit), you must initiate that procedure by filling
out a form at Ilima 101. Ask the staffpeople for a Change
of Grade form.
If you plan on withdrawing from the course, you need
the same form. After the CR/NC/W deadline (typically
April in Spring and October in Fall), you need my signature
and my department chair's signature to change grading
formats. Changing your grade format is almost always
better than receiving an "F" grade for the
course unless your counselor indicates that you must
have A-F letter grading for your requirements.
After the CR/NC/W deadline, if you are still enrolled
as an A-F student but stop attending, your most likely
grade is an "F," which will always affect
your GPA/scholarships/etc.
STEP FOUR: Plan things better next
time.
Get a scholarship so you don't need to work so much.
Make better use of your time. To me, however, the #1
secret is asking yourself to do a post-mortem of the
semester. Take stock of things you did well, things
you need to improve upon. Write up an action plan. Execute.
STEP FIVE: Ask for help and keep
in touch.
I almost dropped out of college my first semester,
mainly because of the culture shock, mild alienation,
and adjustment issues. (and I really missed Zippy's)
Ask your trusted friends and teachers and counselors
advice about how you can do better next semester. If
you continue to isolate yourself and suffer in silence,
you might make the same ol' mistakes.
Q. You seem super shy, Mr K.
Sometimes, especially outside of class, I notice you
don't make as much direct eye contact or smile every
two seconds like a seedy multi-level marketer or cult
recruiter. What's up with that?
A. Being raised as an introverted only child
and perhaps being raised Asian, such behaviors might
be culturally-driven. Your teachers are perfectly capable
of being introverted, shy people who can "perform"
for an audience when called upon to do so during class—then
we can 'ham' it up. Please don't take it personally.
I take awhile to warm up to people, so I appreciate
it when you break the ice, too. (Ask many of your teachers
who are natural introverts--they expend so much energy
into performing on the classroom stage that they are
completely drained and exhausted offstage because of
it, which is why teachers drink a lot of coffee)
Q. I know I haven't attended
for 5-7 weeks. If I do every one of my assignments by
the end of the semester, and throw you all of my assignments
akin to a "Hail Mary" football, can I still
pass?
A. I need to see the work to make this determination.
Please use your own Assignment Calculator to factor
in deductions, etc., to see if passing is still a possibility.
Cross-check with me as to what your current cumulative
score is. In most cases, historically however, no, such
a Hail Mary throw never works. (Are you Marcus Mariota?)
A. I like open-source venues that students already
use, like Google, Blogger, etc. (and after you graduate,
you'll never use Laulima again) Plus, I like the fact
that most of these sites don't require a complicated
login. Also, Laulima slows down a bit during heavy traffic
times or during firmware updates.
Q. I am an excellent writer and I demand an "A"
in class because I paid good tuition money for my education.
What gives?
A. Unfortunately, this is not the Starbucks morning
coffee line. Certainly, you would like your education
the same way you like your coffee: hot, fast, cheap.
Nonetheless, nothing in life worth having works like
that. All of the hard work you invest in cannot really
have a pricetag. Our increasingly consumerist society
often makes delayed gratification impossible, so just
do your best and work harder.
Q. You wear a lot of black clothing. Is
that because you think you're a goth or something?
A. Nope. I am a messy eater and I
like Italian food, especially pizza. Black allows
me to hide the tomato sauce stains a bit more. I
like EBM music and techno, which is a wayward cousin
of goth/emo, so possibly. Plus, I like Hot Topic
and the 80's.
Q. What's up with all the German or Italian techno-trance
crap you are playing?
A. I teach a lot of afternoon classes and I need a
way to amp myself up.
Q. What is the classroom policy on disruptions?
A. According to the Student
Conduct Code, disruption is broad, but includes
physical and verbal threat, sexual harassment, discriminatory
speech against LGBTIQ populations, in class intoxication
of alcohol or drugs, etc. In such cases, you may be
asked to leave the classroom. In the case of your cellphone
ringing, even if you should already have it on Airplane
Mode and it still rings, I prefer that you go outside
to talk with the person who called you. Texting in-class
results in participation point loss.
Q. I can't put my finger on it, but I cannot concentrate
or I simply cannot read the text correctly.
A. Some students have an undiagnosed form of ADHD
or dyslexia, but they never have self-disclosed this
fact or investigated this for themselves, thereby affecting
their ability to do well in an academic context, in
which paying attention and reading texts are useful
soft-skills. You may want to receive assistance at the
DSSO
office.
For other students, probably the best advice is to
1) set aside a time and place for studying where you
are unlikely to be distracted by other obligations and
people's drama.
Q. Such and such teacher does this _________
in their ENG course. Such and such teacher doesn't do
this ________ like how you do it. Explain.
A. Part of the intriguing game of college
is learning and adapting to different teachers' styles
and methodologies--pretty much the same interesting
game that you would find dealing with most any individual
in the world: some stuff you will loathe, some stuff
you will appreciate. Teachers are human beings first
and foremost, just as flawed, just as scared, just as
hopeful.