I look forward to having a good year at East High teaching and spending time with all my students. I have aligned my curriculum with the Tennessee State Standards and Memphis City Schools curriculum guides for chemistry and biology in my classes. I have written a course syllabus but it is subject to slight changes now and then. I am always available to conference with any parent in my planning time. You also can click on the email tab at the top of any page to email me at MCS with your concerns and I will answer your email shortly after I receive it.

At East High I feel I found a good place with Mr. Curry as principal and good teachers on both sides of me at school - Dr. Pepper and Mr. Chevis. I network with my fellow chemistry and biology teachers as we share ideas and resources.

Chemistry is a difficult subject for students, so they must study at home on a regular basis to do well in class. Lack of studying at home is a serious problem for many students. Many students will say they have no homework to the parent, when in reality they need to study and review the material taught in class that day. Without doing this, students will not retain the learning or score well on tests which will keep them from making better grades. Those students who do the best are those that are responsible enough to take their chemistry books and notes home, study what was covered in class, and make a list of questions to ask me in the nest class.

MCS may have an end of course test in chemistry this year or the next, which will be difficult for students and count as a large part of their grade automatically, like the Biology Gateway test. Students in chemistry must know how to solve for x, as that application is required to solve a variety of formulas in many chapters. Algebra I is required before taking chemistry.

I urge you to look at the other pages on this site and find the syllabus for your subject and other information. I also have about a hundred pictures on the site showing my students from last year performing in labs and learning and having fun. You can get an idea of what your child will do in lab when they take my class. I also have a links page which will have many helpful links to help students in chemistry. There will be many tutorials for chemistry. I will be adding links throughout the year.

I do a lot of peer tutoring in class for those students who need more reinforcement of the subject matter taught. I am also available after school for tutoring with my students. It is best if the students have looked at the material and have questions for me before they come to tutoring.

One of the best policies I have is that students are allowed to retake most tests within 1 and 1/2 weeks after school and I will count the higher grade. The tests may not be the same but will cover the same material taught. For multiple choice tests the questions will never be in the same order nor have the same letters in the answers, to reduce cheating. Some retakes may have the questions in a different order with different letters in the answers. Other retakes may have different questions but on the same material that was taught in class. Not enough students take advantage of this policy, but I urge all students to do so. Students who come after school to retake their tests show the desire to improve their grades, which usually translates into better grades.

I will be calling the parents of students who show behavior problems to alert the parent to the problem and to seek help in modifying the behavior.

Parents - please monitor your childs grades and conduct through progress reports, report cards, and talking to teachers. ALWAYS SEE YOUR CHILD'S REPORT CARD. Parents are always allowed to pick up the report cards or get a copy of the report card.

You may call me at 416-6160.

The following is my email address. Go to any page and click on the email tab and you can send me a message.

longcarlw@mcsk12.net