I will assign grades individually, not on the basis of a normal curve. You will not receive a grade based on your in-class participation. What we are about is learning. A class is a time for risk-taking, for being free to try out ideas and getting things wrong without penalty, and for listening as well as speaking. I prefer that our discussions be helpful and stimulating opportunities for cooperative enterprise, not judgmental and competitive experiences.
Formal assessment is a necessary evil that comes later.
I expect that you will want to be at class and will notify me in advance if you are unable to attend. In the past, most of the students who have faithfully undertaken their readings and attended class regularly, have passed this course. Attending class helps keep you motivated and in tune with the major themes that emerge as we work through the course together. Solmization and pitch notation in nineteenth-century American school music textbooks. Coffman, Don D. Vocal music and the classroom teacher, 1885-1905.