Dr. William Tooke

1. A respect for the fact that the primary task of a college student is to "learn stuff" and not to make the world a better place. If a student wants to take the "stuff" that is learned and then try to improve the world - that's great.
2. A recognition of the fact that their professor knows more "stuff" about the course material than they do and that, therefore, the student's job is to pick apart the course materials (i.e., texts, readings, their professor's mind, etc.) in order to learn as much about the subject as possible.
3. A willingness to devote as much out-of-classroom time as is necessary so as to do as well as they possibly can in the course since it is crucial that the student have a…
4. realization of the fact that their performance in the course is a function of their ability and the amount of effort they put into their study.
5. An understanding that part of the professor's task is to evaluate student performance and, as such, is solely responsible for "diagnosing" how much mastery of the subject matter is possessed by each student. Questioning a professor's diagnosis is not unlike questioning a medical doctor's diagnosis. The patient is simply not in the position to make the diagnosis just as a student is in no position to objectively and accurately evaluate their performance.
6. A sense of maturity, decorum, and responsibility that is reflected in the recognition that the student is solely responsible for their performance - not faculty, administrators, Mom and Dad, peers, pets, tornadoes, etc.
7. An ability to clearly distinguish between the expectations encountered in high school and those encountered at the university. To a large degree, "you're on your own, kid" for what is likely to be the first time in your life. The menu of behavioral options that you are provided is virtually endless. This makes the decision to study hard more difficult - and more necessary.
8. The ability to distinguish between education and entertainment. Educational things may not be entertaining and entertaining things may not be educational.

What I expect of myself

My expectations of myself are those that I believe pertain to all university-level faculty. These are:

1. Maintaining an absolute commitment to presenting information that is as up-to-date as possible and representative of the most current thinking in the field while at the same time...
2. having a respect for, and awareness of, the historical and philosophical context of the subject matter of the course.
3. Resisting all temptations to present material in a grossly subjective and idiosyncratic manner. This is frequently represented by professors who seem to think that their own life stories are more central to the course than the actual subject matter.
4. Resisting additional temptations to allow one's politics and/or social biases to infect the teaching of the course. While all professors favor some approaches to their subject matter over others, it is an outrage when professors are convinced that their take on social reality is so correct that most of the class time is spent proselytizing rather than instructing. A good rule of thumb, in my view, is that students should have no idea about the political affiliations of their professor by the end of the course.
5. Treating all students objectively and consistently with regards to grading and evaluation. No student should receive unfair advantage or have to deal with unfair burdens relative to other classmates.
6. A complete and utter disregard for those aspects of students that are irrelevant to their role as intelligent, thoughtful individuals. These include, but are not limited to, a) sex (gender, whatever), b) race, c) ethnicity, d) disability, e) sexual orientation, f) veteran status, g) marital status, h) age, i) immigrant status, and j) other. A student is a human being and, as such, is basically the same as every other human being when it comes to their role as university student.
7. Maintaining a sense of professionalism that is reflected in such things as being on time, providing students with appropriate performance feedback, and reliably enforcing the standards referred to in #1 through #6 above.

Specific Course Procedures

There are a number of procedures and policies that I maintain and apply to all of my courses. For specific course information, please go to my course pages.

I do not take attendance. My courses are structured so that those who attend do better on average than those who do not attend.

Academic dishonesty will be dealt with firmly. This includes all forms of plagiarism, giving out exam information, etc. See university policies regarding this issue.

I do not give multiple choice tests.

I do not drop the lowest grade.

I do not give extra credit except for experimental participation purposes.

If you feel that you have been inaccurately/unfairly graded on an exam, talk to me about it and not a teaching assistant. I will do one of two things: agree with your assessment of the situation and change your grade or disagree with your assessment and explain why - whereupon there will be no further discussion on the issue. Further arguing or complaining will not be reacted to warmly.

I do not give incomplete grades based on the fact that you may be doing poorly. I will give a grade of "W" if you withdraw before the deadline date, typically the day after pre-registration. After that date, I cannot help you.

You must notify me before the fact if you will be missing an exam so that you can take a make-up exam early. If you are ill, proper documentation from your physician is required in order to take a make-up exam after the scheduled exam date.

You don't have to inform me before the fact that you will be missing a particular class unless it is for an extended period of time. Although I appreciate your willingness to do so, it is not necessary.

Please try to ask questions in class that are precise, thought out, and pertinent to the topic at hand. If you would like to pursue discussion with me that is more wide-ranging, please feel free to visit my office.

If you have a problem with a teaching assistant, come and see me about it! Do not harass the assistant or otherwise make their life miserable. This will not be tolerated.

Final examinations are always cumulative, unless otherwise stated.

Final grades will consist of a weighted average of all your exam/assignment scores over the course of the semester.

All exam/assignment scores are "relativized" so as to reflect your performance through comparison with the rest of the class. Consequently, I will be unable to tell you what grade you must get on the final in order to pass the course or to get any particular grade since it depends on your relative ranking in the class as a whole. So, please, don't ask this question.

Please contact me at my university office, phone me, or leave me e-mail if you wish to discuss something. I will be in my office during my scheduled office hours but, otherwise, if my door is open and I am in, I will be happy to talk with you. As I sometimes work at home, make sure and use e-mail or voicemail if you wish.

I hope you enjoy any courses of mine that you might take.