English 5/211 develops the ability to analyze, criticize, and advocate ideas. Critical thinking looks at the relationship between language and logic, introduces rhetoric or persuasive writing and tools students can use to evaluate information based on facts, perceptions, assumptions, evidence, reasons, inferences, judgments, induction, deduction and conclusions.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Other homework:
Post a response to the introductory letter and to the syllabus before the next class meeting, Monday, January 31, 2011. Email the contact information to me at coasabirenglish5@gmail.com
Thank you for sharing your personal information with us. Your life story is impressive and I love the way you forged through many challenges and pursued what seems to be a very fruitful life.
I grew up in the Bay Area too. I think I share some of your experiences and the era of time you describe (smile). I have an uncle who was one of the founding members of the Black Panthers. His name is Mark Comfort. He passed away a long time ago but his legacy lives on in the stories I share with my children.
I appreciate the detail you provided in the syllabus and realize this course will be demanding and will require commitment. I also see that this course will require enthusiasm and focus, yet will be engaging and enjoyable if I choose to make the course I priority. I choose to make this course a priority.
Frena Zamudio Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011
RESPONSE TO THE INTRODUCTORY EMAIL
Your life sounds interesting and exciting, it is good that you always try to learn new things, you love going to different places and seeing how life is in another part of the world, you get to know alot of things about them like their cultures etc. I was just wondering why did you choose University of SF over Stanford? You have been to alot of different places all your life and i think it is very cool because you had your chance to meet alot of people, you get to learn new things and different cultures.Your introductory email is pretty interesting because it shows how much you remember about your childhood life, all those great memories that will last forever.Since you said you like art, painting, that would be nice if you show us some of your artworks. It is good that you love what you are doing, it will make things easier for you and your students as well.
Ocean Beverly Prof. Sabir English 5 27 January 2011
I am very excited to begin this course. Prof. Sabir seems to be a very interesting as well as enthusiastic professor. The syllabus is very organized, detailed and comprehendable. I have tooken English 5 with another professor and found the work to be redundant hopefully this class is different. Prof. Sabir appears to have well rounded interest and could teach me alot about english and other subjects. The syllabus is informative and gives me a depiction of what is to expect in teh future of this course. I can prepare myself for each week ahead and llok at what i missed. I am excited to began!
Sophia De Claro Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011
1.I am a student at the College of Alameda, this will be my last semester! I am going to transfer into an Ultra-sound school. I work two jobs part time, at a plastic surgeon office, and a coffee shop. If I am not at work or school you will usually see me at the gym. I enjoy running and have ran a marathon, hopefully more to come. =)
2.The syllabus for english 5 was very informative and is probably one of the longest I had to read. It is very organized and I am able to figure out what I will be needing for this course. I am glad we are doing peer review, not many teacher do that. I believe it helps out the student a lot. I am eager to see what we will be reading this semester.
Veronica Flores Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011 After reading thoroughly through the syllabus I understand now that this is going to be a tough and very challenging course. I am willing to give it 100% to receive the benefits of thinking and writing analytically as well as the letter grade! Regarding the personal letter, I must say it was very personal and I already have to applaud you (Professor Sabir) for having gone through so much and to still come out on top accomplishing all you’ve accomplished. Everything you’ve done and continue to contribute to is truly an inspiration to me; it will especially push me to complete this course! I look forward to this semester.
Javier Chavez Professor Sabir Englsih 5 27 January 2011
1. The syllabus is very informative, you explained yourself, the format of the syllabus is very easy to follow. I like that you added all the times and dates for assignments, listed all the books that we will be reading. I like that you set up week by week, thats really helpful.
2. A little about me, I have been at COA for a few years now, and this is my last semester, finally! Although I was very frustrated this semester with the peralta system dropping me, Ive managed to get some classes back. Anyway I was born and raised in the Bay Area, I went to elemntary, middle and high school in San Leandro. I am an Urban Studies and Planning major and I intend to transfer very soon.
Dylan Young Professor Sabir English 5/211 27 January 2011
After reading the syllabus i have a good understanding of what this class will require and what needs to be done in order to pass. I also found the sharing of your history to be very informative! i enjoyed reading it and i hope you are feeling better, hopefully once you get used to the time difference things will get better. After reading the course requirements and your background information im ready to dive into this class and give it my best. I've heard nothing but good things about this class and im ready to open to my to the concepts we will discuss.
Jeff Norkunas Professor Sabir English 5 Jan 28 2011 After reviewing the syllabus, this is going to be one of the harder classes for me in my college career; there is a lot to digest. This is my first interaction with blogging, which presents its own set of challenges. Along with that it is nice to read that you understand the challenges of writing for the few of us that are math and science oriented. Reading trough your introductory letter, it seems that you have had many challenges and rewards that have flowed through your existence. I see that you have made a lot of interesting choices in life that seem to come from a caring and compassionate place. At the same time there is an underlying current of a person that won’t settle for less than what they are entitled to as a human being. In a place like the bay area that seems to be an essential part of a truly successful person. Having two children sounds also like it holds many rewards and challenges, yet each semester you adopt quite a number of people to help shape their minds just like your own children. I commend you for this, it is what our country needs right now. I am very curious what happened with UC Berkeley; did you go there for your undergrad or BA, then over to USF?
Brian Santos Professor Sabir English 5 January 29, 2010
Since you shared a bit of your story with us, I will do the same. I grew up In Los Angeles, Ca. and moved to Oakland about 5 years ago. I am currently trying to finish school with a degree in engineering. When I do finish, I will be the second person in my family to graduate, my older sister being the first. Unfortunately, I dropped out of school in the 8th grade and pursued many self destructive endeavors (bad things). After wasting a lot time, I snapped out of it and went back to school-about 3 years ago. Because of my dumb decision making I started from the bottom. It has been a long and challenging journey but it is more than worth it. I see now why education is really important. It has definitely made me a better person, or at least I think it has. Either way, I am really exited about taking this class. I am looking forward to class discussions and discourse on what we read and watch. Thank you for sharing a little bit about your life with us. I hope you are feeling better too.
Paris Middleton Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011
First of I would like to say thank you for sharing your life and achievement with us. When reading over you short summary of life I see that you have had a blessed life. I must say that we all have dysfunctional families, my mom and dad is going through the same “off and on” thing as yours was. So I can relate to what you are saying. This makes writing my letter of introduction easier. I hate telling people I don’t know anything about stuff about me, it is one of my pet peeves. The course syllabus is rather confusing to me, I figure that you probably explained it the day that I missed class. So I will make sure to catch up with you on Tuesday. You seem like you are a great professor and I have a good feeling that if I need help I can ask you questions.
Madeleine Hess Professor Sabir English 5 1/29/2011
From what the syllabus states regarding the material that will be covered in class, it appears that this will not be an ordinary "english class" as I personally know one to be. It seems that this class will have a more specific approach to developing the topics and methods of our writing, which I think is excellent. I anticipate the challenge of critical thinking. After reading your personal letter to us students... It is clear you've had much literary practice! It's great how open you are about your life thus far. It sounds like you have experienced and accomplished much, and diligently continue to do so, and i applaud you for that. That kind of work ethic starting at such a young age is not only impressive but inspiring. I look forward to being your student.
Frena Zamudio Professor Sabir English 5 29 January 2010
RESPONSE TO THE SYLLABUS
This is my 2nd time having you as my professor, so basically I'm familiar with most of the things in the syllabus. It is very informative and for sure will be very helpful as time goes by. I also found it interesting how you separated each topic and how you stayed focus talking about it, because some just go out of the topic which is horrible. It is good that you specifically explained you will grade our assignments, so we know how much a specific work will affect our overall grade.This syllabus is pretty much reasonable and well-explained.
Quan Lin Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011
Response to Syllabus
The Syllabus WAS USELESS...well with that being said it's because it's the same as last semester, which I still have in my posession. (smile)without a doubt I'm sure this is useful to the newer students. I'm sure this class will be a blast like last time. I'm hoping my prior knowledge of this class will propel me to success.
Your letter was intriguing. I had no idea you took the LSAT. Does that mean you actually thought about being a lawyer? That's pretty cool as I'm somewhat leaning towards that same concept. Perhaps you can teach me a little more about what steps I should take if I was to pursuit a JD degree!
Reading over, I believe that the syllabus is very clear and deatailed about what will happen and what is expected in the class. The Plan is very straight foward, spending several hours a day on assignments is not a problem for me. I also like the grading policy,again, evrything is sraight forward and I am relieved that there will be a tutor to help us with our essays! Lastly, the grading is fine with me,I have no problems there, it's balanced and fair. Im looking forward to this class and hope to get the most from it!
Mercedes Rawlyk Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011
This syllabus is a little frightening. It is nothing that i feel i can not achieve with lots of hard work. The syllabus was clear accept for the books that we need. It explained everything else. Thank you for sharing your information with me. It seems as though you have achieved a lot and lived well. I am going to enjoy learning more about you this semester as well as all the English skills you have to offer to me.
Ricarda Sawatzki Professor Sabir English 5 1 February 2011
After reading the syllabus I got a good overall picture of what I can expect from this class. The syllabus is very detailed and elaborate which makes it easy for me to come up with a plan for how to manage my time with my schoolwork. I am a student that needs to have structure and a deadline for my schoolwork otherwise I get lost or distracted too easily by my environment. It seems like there is a lot to do for this class with the readings and essays. I am excited to see where this class is going to go with all the assignments. During my last semester my teachers and classes were not able to stick with their syllabus’ timetable. So I am hoping that the class is able to manage the amount of readings and work. The other thing I noticed was the personal letter you added to the syllabus. For me it was the first time a teacher added a personal letter and I like this kind of approach because it makes the Professor more personal to his or her students. Thank you for sharing your story. Getting to know each other better and seeing sometimes where people are coming from can make a difference with communication because having information about a person’s life can make it easier for the audience to understand and respond to his or her point of view. The subject of critical thinking includes the ability to reflect on an issue. You have had a lot of different experiences in your life so I am excited to see how your experiences and those of my classmates influence our debates or reflections. I like the fact that you like what you are teaching and are engaged in your field. I am looking forward to this semester.
Wayne Chen Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011 Response to Syllabus I find that the syllabus is fairly detailed and relays all of the information provided. I find it interesting that most of the grading is based off of essays alone, but it isn't too surprising that it is the case, since it is a critical reading class. I believe that the recommended texts to help guide us through this course will be extremely helpful since it can teach us etiquette of writing and such. Using video clips to further our education of this class seems impertinent, yet feasible; however, films seem out of the question in my opinion. I find that there are many ways to contact you, so it will be very easy to find answers to our questions if need be.
Wayne Chen Professor Sabir English 5 27 January 2011 Response to Introductory Letter I'm astounded as to your life in a nutshell, ingrained into just three pages of text. It's amazing how vivid and vibrant your childhood was, and how you were able to recollect those various spontaneous details and express them in such colorful words. I realized that you've had your ups and downs within your lifetime and how ridiculous, as well as how spontaneous it is also. Your later years seemed more mellowed down and more of a pathed walkway than that of your earlier years in childhood and so forth. I feel like you’ve had your ups and downs, may have had a few perturbations along the way, but overall a bumpy ride regardless. It seems like your past careers led to what you are today: a professor at College of Alameda. Thank you for your story; it helped me understand you a whole lot better than how I must assume how my other professors may be.
Sana waheed Professor Sabir English 5 01-31-11 I have seen many different teachers in my life but you seem to be different. I have never seen a teacher who shares their life and family background with their students. After reading your letter I feel myself more in touch with you. I think I can share my difficulties about my subjects with you. After reading syllabus I got so scared because it is pretty lengthy for a three unit class and feels like we have a lot more work to do in this class, but after reading your personal letter to students I an feeling little better. And another ting that I like was after every long assignment you also remind us to “smile” which makes you totally different than others. I hope we will have good time this semester and this class will be a lot more easier than it looks like.
Anonymous said... Nicholas Jones Professor Sabir English 5 1-31-11
After reading over your syllabus, i realize now that there is no excuse for me not to be able to accomplish my dreams and goals. and another thing, I have never heard of a teacher who has struggled as much as you, this is very impressive. I'm used to hearing teachers who grew up went to college partied during college didn't finish in the career they wanted to and found themselves as part time teachers.But after reading about your background it will be in the mere future easier for me to relate to you, and also understand why you press us as students as hard as you do, because I realize that you see how important it is for us to be a better people.
David Kovalevskij Professor Wanda Sabir English 5 February 2nd, 2011
Response to the syllabus
1. The syllabus is big and I wasn’t too happy to start reading it, but as I began reading it I was very into it. Maybe it’s your writing skills or maybe it’s the material that’s going to be covered (Which I very much care about) that got me through it. The expectations are set high and there is no messing around. Yet with the topics that we will be covering, it seem to me it will be one of those classes that it’s a lot of work, but you get a very good feeling of accomplishment once you are finished. It is always nice to know so much about a professor from the beginning. I feel like this will give me a chance to be more comfortable in class. Knowing this much about the past of the professor I know that the professor has been through a lot and has a lot of wisdom that can be passed on to me and my peers. Most importantly our time will not be wasted.
A little about myself 2. I was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. I lived there until I was about ten and a half, then I moved to the Bay Area. I speak Polish, Russian, Lithuanian and little bit of English (Smile). I can read and write in most of those languages as well, but there hasn’t been that much practice lately. Outside of school I am a very outgoing person, but in class I am a pretty shy person. I’m not sure why, it might be because back in Lithuania the discipline and the way of teaching in schools is different. I would like to leave this class with an A (Smile), but most importantly with more new knowledge.
Professor Sabir,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your personal information with us. Your life story is impressive and I love the way you forged through many challenges and pursued what seems to be a very fruitful life.
I grew up in the Bay Area too. I think I share some of your experiences and the era of time you describe (smile). I have an uncle who was one of the founding members of the Black Panthers. His name is Mark Comfort. He passed away a long time ago but his legacy lives on in the stories I share with my children.
I appreciate the detail you provided in the syllabus and realize this course will be demanding and will require commitment. I also see that this course will require enthusiasm and focus, yet will be engaging and enjoyable if I choose to make the course I priority. I choose to make this course a priority.
Cecelia Theis
Frena Zamudio
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
RESPONSE TO THE INTRODUCTORY EMAIL
Your life sounds interesting and exciting, it is good that you always try to learn new things, you love going to different places and seeing how life is in another part of the world, you get to know alot of things about them like their cultures etc. I was just wondering why did you choose University of SF over Stanford? You have been to alot of different places all your life and i think it is very cool because you had your chance to meet alot of people, you get to learn new things and different cultures.Your introductory email is pretty interesting because it shows how much you remember about your childhood life, all those great memories that will last forever.Since you said you like art, painting, that would be nice if you show us some of your artworks. It is good that you love what you are doing, it will make things easier for you and your students as well.
Hope you are feeling better.
Ocean Beverly
ReplyDeleteProf. Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
I am very excited to begin this course. Prof. Sabir seems to be a very interesting as well as enthusiastic professor. The syllabus is very organized, detailed and comprehendable. I have tooken English 5 with another professor and found the work to be redundant hopefully this class is different. Prof. Sabir appears to have well rounded interest and could teach me alot about english and other subjects. The syllabus is informative and gives me a depiction of what is to expect in teh future of this course. I can prepare myself for each week ahead and llok at what i missed. I am excited to began!
Sophia De Claro
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
1.I am a student at the College of Alameda, this will be my last semester! I am going to transfer into an Ultra-sound school. I work two jobs part time, at a plastic surgeon office, and a coffee shop. If I am not at work or school you will usually see me at the gym. I enjoy running and have ran a marathon, hopefully more to come. =)
2.The syllabus for english 5 was very informative and is probably one of the longest I had to read. It is very organized and I am able to figure out what I will be needing for this course.
I am glad we are doing peer review, not many teacher do that. I believe it helps out the student a lot. I am eager to see what we will be reading this semester.
Veronica Flores
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
After reading thoroughly through the syllabus I understand now that this is going to be a tough and very challenging course. I am willing to give it 100% to receive the benefits of thinking and writing analytically as well as the letter grade! Regarding the personal letter, I must say it was very personal and I already have to applaud you (Professor Sabir) for having gone through so much and to still come out on top accomplishing all you’ve accomplished. Everything you’ve done and continue to contribute to is truly an inspiration to me; it will especially push me to complete this course! I look forward to this semester.
Javier Chavez
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
Englsih 5
27 January 2011
1. The syllabus is very informative, you explained yourself, the format of the syllabus is very easy to follow. I like that you added all the times and dates for assignments, listed all the books that we will be reading. I like that you set up week by week, thats really helpful.
2. A little about me, I have been at COA for a few years now, and this is my last semester, finally! Although I was very frustrated this semester with the peralta system dropping me, Ive managed to get some classes back. Anyway I was born and raised in the Bay Area, I went to elemntary, middle and high school in San Leandro. I am an Urban Studies and Planning major and I intend to transfer very soon.
Dylan Young
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5/211
27 January 2011
After reading the syllabus i have a good understanding of what this class will require and what needs to be done in order to pass. I also found the sharing of your history to be very informative! i enjoyed reading it and i hope you are feeling better, hopefully once you get used to the time difference things will get better. After reading the course requirements and your background information im ready to dive into this class and give it my best. I've heard nothing but good things about this class and im ready to open to my to the concepts we will discuss.
Jeff Norkunas
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
Jan 28 2011
After reviewing the syllabus, this is going to be one of the harder classes for me in my college career; there is a lot to digest. This is my first interaction with blogging, which presents its own set of challenges. Along with that it is nice to read that you understand the challenges of writing for the few of us that are math and science oriented.
Reading trough your introductory letter, it seems that you have had many challenges and rewards that have flowed through your existence. I see that you have made a lot of interesting choices in life that seem to come from a caring and compassionate place. At the same time there is an underlying current of a person that won’t settle for less than what they are entitled to as a human being. In a place like the bay area that seems to be an essential part of a truly successful person.
Having two children sounds also like it holds many rewards and challenges, yet each semester you adopt quite a number of people to help shape their minds just like your own children. I commend you for this, it is what our country needs right now.
I am very curious what happened with UC Berkeley; did you go there for your undergrad or BA, then over to USF?
Brian Santos
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
January 29, 2010
Since you shared a bit of your story with us, I will do the same. I grew up In Los Angeles, Ca. and moved to Oakland about 5 years ago. I am currently trying to finish school with a degree in engineering. When I do finish, I will be the second person in my family to graduate, my older sister being the first. Unfortunately, I dropped out of school in the 8th grade and pursued many self destructive endeavors (bad things). After wasting a lot time, I snapped out of it and went back to school-about 3 years ago. Because of my dumb decision making I started from the bottom. It has been a long and challenging journey but it is more than worth it. I see now why education is really important. It has definitely made me a better person, or at least I think it has. Either way, I am really exited about taking this class. I am looking forward to class discussions and discourse on what we read and watch. Thank you for sharing a little bit about your life with us. I hope you are feeling better too.
Paris Middleton
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
First of I would like to say thank you for sharing your life and achievement with us. When reading over you short summary of life I see that you have had a blessed life. I must say that we all have dysfunctional families, my mom and dad is going through the same “off and on” thing as yours was. So I can relate to what you are saying. This makes writing my letter of introduction easier. I hate telling people I don’t know anything about stuff about me, it is one of my pet peeves. The course syllabus is rather confusing to me, I figure that you probably explained it the day that I missed class. So I will make sure to catch up with you on Tuesday. You seem like you are a great professor and I have a good feeling that if I need help I can ask you questions.
Madeleine Hess
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
1/29/2011
From what the syllabus states regarding the material that will be covered in class, it appears that this will not be an ordinary "english class" as I personally know one to be. It seems that this class will have a more specific approach to developing the topics and methods of our writing, which I think is excellent. I anticipate the challenge of critical thinking.
After reading your personal letter to us students... It is clear you've had much literary practice! It's great how open you are about your life thus far. It sounds like you have experienced and accomplished much, and diligently continue to do so, and i applaud you for that. That kind of work ethic starting at such a young age is not only impressive but inspiring. I look forward to being your student.
Frena Zamudio
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
29 January 2010
RESPONSE TO THE SYLLABUS
This is my 2nd time having you as my professor, so basically I'm familiar with most of the things in the syllabus. It is very informative and for sure will be very helpful as time goes by. I also found it interesting how you separated each topic and how you stayed focus talking about it, because some just go out of the topic which is horrible. It is good that you specifically explained you will grade our assignments, so we know how much a specific work will affect our overall grade.This syllabus is pretty much reasonable and well-explained.
Quan Lin
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
Response to Syllabus
The Syllabus WAS USELESS...well with that being said it's because it's the same as last semester, which I still have in my posession. (smile)without a doubt I'm sure this is useful to the newer students. I'm sure this class will be a blast like last time. I'm hoping my prior knowledge of this class will propel me to success.
Your letter was intriguing. I had no idea you took the LSAT. Does that mean you actually thought about being a lawyer? That's pretty cool as I'm somewhat leaning towards that same concept. Perhaps you can teach me a little more about what steps I should take if I was to pursuit a JD degree!
Christian Del Rosario
ReplyDelete1/27/2011
Eng 5
Response to the syllabus
Reading over, I believe that the syllabus is very clear and deatailed about what will happen and what is expected in the class. The Plan is very straight foward, spending several hours a day on assignments is not a problem for me. I also like the grading policy,again, evrything is sraight forward and I am relieved that there will be a tutor to help us with our essays! Lastly, the grading is fine with me,I have no problems there, it's balanced and fair.
Im looking forward to this class and hope to get the most from it!
Mercedes Rawlyk
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
This syllabus is a little frightening. It is nothing that i feel i can not achieve with lots of hard work. The syllabus was clear accept for the books that we need. It explained everything else. Thank you for sharing your information with me. It seems as though you have achieved a lot and lived well. I am going to enjoy learning more about you this semester as well as all the English skills you have to offer to me.
Ricarda Sawatzki
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
1 February 2011
After reading the syllabus I got a good overall picture of what I can expect from this class. The syllabus is very detailed and elaborate which makes it easy for me to come up with a plan for how to manage my time with my schoolwork. I am a student that needs to have structure and a deadline for my schoolwork otherwise I get lost or distracted too easily by my environment. It seems like there is a lot to do for this class with the readings and essays. I am excited to see where this class is going to go with all the assignments. During my last semester my teachers and classes were not able to stick with their syllabus’ timetable. So I am hoping that the class is able to manage the amount of readings and work.
The other thing I noticed was the personal letter you added to the syllabus. For me it was the first time a teacher added a personal letter and I like this kind of approach because it makes the Professor more personal to his or her students. Thank you for sharing your story. Getting to know each other better and seeing sometimes where people are coming from can make a difference with communication because having information about a person’s life can make it easier for the audience to understand and respond to his or her point of view. The subject of critical thinking includes the ability to reflect on an issue. You have had a lot of different experiences in your life so I am excited to see how your experiences and those of my classmates influence our debates or reflections.
I like the fact that you like what you are teaching and are engaged in your field. I am looking forward to this semester.
Wayne Chen
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
Response to Syllabus
I find that the syllabus is fairly detailed and relays all of the information provided. I find it interesting that most of the grading is based off of essays alone, but it isn't too surprising that it is the case, since it is a critical reading class. I believe that the recommended texts to help guide us through this course will be extremely helpful since it can teach us etiquette of writing and such. Using video clips to further our education of this class seems impertinent, yet feasible; however, films seem out of the question in my opinion. I find that there are many ways to contact you, so it will be very easy to find answers to our questions if need be.
Wayne Chen
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
27 January 2011
Response to Introductory Letter
I'm astounded as to your life in a nutshell, ingrained into just three pages of text. It's amazing how vivid and vibrant your childhood was, and how you were able to recollect those various spontaneous details and express them in such colorful words. I realized that you've had your ups and downs within your lifetime and how ridiculous, as well as how spontaneous it is also. Your later years seemed more mellowed down and more of a pathed walkway than that of your earlier years in childhood and so forth. I feel like you’ve had your ups and downs, may have had a few perturbations along the way, but overall a bumpy ride regardless. It seems like your past careers led to what you are today: a professor at College of Alameda. Thank you for your story; it helped me understand you a whole lot better than how I must assume how my other professors may be.
Sana waheed
ReplyDeleteProfessor Sabir
English 5
01-31-11
I have seen many different teachers in my life but you seem to be different. I have never seen a teacher who shares their life and family background with their students. After reading your letter I feel myself more in touch with you. I think I can share my difficulties about my subjects with you. After reading syllabus I got so scared because it is pretty lengthy for a three unit class and feels like we have a lot more work to do in this class, but after reading your personal letter to students I an feeling little better. And another ting that I like was after every long assignment you also remind us to “smile” which makes you totally different than others.
I hope we will have good time this semester and this class will be a lot more easier than it looks like.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteNicholas Jones
Professor Sabir
English 5
1-31-11
After reading over your syllabus, i realize now that there is no excuse for me not to be able to accomplish my dreams and goals. and another thing, I have never heard of a teacher who has struggled as much as you, this is very impressive. I'm used to hearing teachers who grew up went to college partied during college didn't finish in the career they wanted to and found themselves as part time teachers.But after reading about your background it will be in the mere future easier for me to relate to you, and also understand why you press us as students as hard as you do, because I realize that you see how important it is for us to be a better people.
David Kovalevskij
ReplyDeleteProfessor Wanda Sabir
English 5
February 2nd, 2011
Response to the syllabus
1. The syllabus is big and I wasn’t too happy to start reading it, but as I began reading it I was very into it. Maybe it’s your writing skills or maybe it’s the material that’s going to be covered (Which I very much care about) that got me through it. The expectations are set high and there is no messing around. Yet with the topics that we will be covering, it seem to me it will be one of those classes that it’s a lot of work, but you get a very good feeling of accomplishment once you are finished. It is always nice to know so much about a professor from the beginning. I feel like this will give me a chance to be more comfortable in class. Knowing this much about the past of the professor I know that the professor has been through a lot and has a lot of wisdom that can be passed on to me and my peers. Most importantly our time will not be wasted.
A little about myself
2. I was born in Vilnius, Lithuania. I lived there until I was about ten and a half, then I moved to the Bay Area. I speak Polish, Russian, Lithuanian and little bit of English (Smile). I can read and write in most of those languages as well, but there hasn’t been that much practice lately. Outside of school I am a very outgoing person, but in class I am a pretty shy person. I’m not sure why, it might be because back in Lithuania the discipline and the way of teaching in schools is different. I would like to leave this class with an A (Smile), but most importantly with more new knowledge.