Course Description: Life Skills is a 20 week course designed to teach basic skills for growing up. Topics will include goal setting, time management, job application, budgeting and money, credit and savings, investing, insurance and retirement, consumer education, communication and social skills, and relationships.

Required Supplies:
1. A three-ring binder with dividers.
2. Pencils, pens, erasers, and paper.

Work Requirements:
1. All assigned work must be completed and turned in on time.
2. Make-up work must be requested after an absence.
3. All assignments are to be kept in the three-ring folder.
4. All work must have the appropriate paper heading:
Name (last, first)
Date:
Period:

Work Habits: The work habits grade will be determined by:
1. The number of tardies - . Tardies cannot be made up. Tardies accumulate for the
entire semester. 3 tardies in a five-week grading period earns a "U" in work habits.
2. Missing work - Missing assignment accumulate for the entire semester. 4 total
missing assignments at the end of a grading period earns a "U" in work habits.
3. Having required supplies everyday.
4. Working diligently in class when work is assigned.

Cooperation: The cooperation grade will be determined by:
1. Following classroom procedures, rules, and guidelines.
2. Respecting others' right to learn.
3. Your willingness to learn.

Grading Policy: Grades will be determined on a percentage system. Percentages are calculated by using the number of points possible and the number of points earned. Tests, quizzes, homework, classwork, projects, and participation will determine a student's grade.
90% - 100% A
80% - 89% B
70% - 79% C
60% - 69% D
<60% FAIL

Class Rules:
1. Students are to be in their seat and ready to work when the tardy bell rings.
2. Students are to respect others and their property.
3. Students will raise their hand and wait to be call on before speaking.
4. Students are to remain in their seats at all times.
5. Students will be dismissed by the teacher, not the bell.
6. No food, drink, or gum allowed.

Class Website: Classwork and homework will be posted on the class website www.kevtak.com. Videos:

During the semester, we may watch the following videos to complement lessons. Parent permission is required since these videos are rated PG or PG-13. If you would like to borrow a video to preview it, please let me know.
1. Pay it Forward (PG-13) - A young boy who creates a good-will movement, where he helps 3 people with something they can't do themselves. The recipient cannot return the favor and must "pay it forward" by helping 3 other people. It's a film of kindness, generosity, warmth and gratitude.
2. Stand and Deliver (PG) - Mostly true story of famed East L.A. math teacher Jaime Escalante (Edward James Olmos), who finds himself in a classroom of rebellious remedial students. Escalante stuns fellow faculty members with his plans to teach the kids AP calculus. But no one expects the mostly Hispanic teens (including Lou Diamond Phillips) to overcome the odds.
3. The Family Man (PG-13) - comedy drama about a highly successful, single investment banker who gets to experience how his life would have been if he made a different decision 13 years ago (i.e. choosing to stay with his girlfriend over a fast-lane career). It's a movie with a 'what if I had done this instead?' experience and contrasts the life of one with great wealth and success vs. a quiet family life.
4. The Pursuit of Happiness (PG-13) - a salesman who undergoes defeats, challenges and hardship (his wife leaving him, being rendered homeless) to secure a better living for his son. Throughout his journey, he never once gave up, and stood firm to his goals. Besides determination, self-belief, persistence and going after our dreams, the story also speaks strongly of a dad's love for his child.