Good evening everyone. This is the first of what will probably be several emails coming your way over the next few days. I have been asked to inform those of you in the Early Childhood Education track that ECE interviews and essays will be postponed until further notice.
Thank you to everyone who came to our last in-person meeting last night. Your feedback on getting us set up online was very valuable. I am working hard on trying to switch us to our new format. Please be sure to read this e-mail in its entirety to help me out.
Just to recap for those who were not there last night, here is where we stand right now:
* Since classes are suspended until March 19, we are technically off next Wednesday, so that work that was originally due on the 18th is now due on the 25th.
* Our syllabus and assignments will largely stay the same, though I will be revising the schedule to reflect this break, so it is important that you stay on top of the website to keep up with the new schedule of what is due when. I will let you know when the site is updated.
* You will still write reflections on the readings when the schedule says to do so, but we are changing the format a bit. You can write a shorter reflection, but you are required to also comment on AT LEAST one other person’s post. Posting and commenting is now one of our primary ways of having a conversation, so the more comments we have the more interesting the conversation is bound to be.
* We will maintain weekly contact via a group video chat during our usual Wednesday meeting time. We will not meet for the entire 3-hour period, but for a 1-1.5 hour block of time. I will post a poll as soon as possible so we can see what time works for everyone. I am leaning toward Zoom at the best platform for this, though I welcome other suggestions.
* Please note, the video chat is now your attendance in this class. As of now my thinking is that the video chat and your posts are now the main components of your participation grade.
* The midterm is on hold at this point while I revamp the course and figure out what makes the most sense.
* If you are scheduled to facilitate a discussion, you will still prepare a presentation. As we move forward, we’ll figure out the best way to do this.
* Finally (for now), if you have a gmail address and have not sent it to me, please do so ASAP so I can get an email list together. Google presents the best platform for collaboration, so if we can all log on that may make this transition easier.
There will be much more coming over the next week. It helps me greatly if people respond and confirm that they receive my emails, so of you would kindly let me know you’ve read this, I would appreciate it.
And as always, do not hesitate to contact me with questions.
Best,
Francine
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Francine Almash
Mellon Humanities Alliance Fellow
PhD Student in Urban Education
The Graduate Center-CUNY falmash@gradcenter.cuny.edu<mailto:falmash@gradcenter.cuny.edu>
