Greetings! My name is Mr. Sheblom, and welcome to my updated webpage for the 2025-2026 academic year! While I began teaching here in January 2025, this marks the beginning of my first full year teaching here!
This year, I will be teaching two sections of US History I, which covers the history of the United States from the buildup to the Civil War to the Great Depression (1850 to the mid-1930s, approximately), and three sections of US History II, which picks up where US History I leaves off by covering the history of the United States from World War II to the end of the 20th century (~1939 to 2000).
I have a lot of love and appreciation for history as a whole, and particularly the history of the United States. It is a history of high highs and low lows, and I hope that my enthusiasm for the subject can itself instill some enthusiasm for history in all of you.
My grading policy for both US I and US II will be as follows:
- 40% Tests/Major Projects
- 25% Quizzes/Smaller Assessments
- 20% Classwork/Homework (all assigned work should be completeable in class and is only "homework" if it isn't finished by the end of class; I will rarely, if ever, assign homework)
- 15% Class Participation
Don't let that 15% Class Participation number scare you; while I absolutely encourage students to raise their hands and answer questions I ask, ask (relevant) questions of their own, etc., simply showing up to class and completing what I assign in a timely fashion will be good enough for most of you. Being disruptive, using your phone, falling asleep in class regularly, etc. will negatively impact this portion of your grade.
On the topic of late classwork, my policy for submitting late work is as follows:
- If something is submitted within seven days (including Saturday and Sunday) of its original deadline, you may receive a maximum of 85% of the points that assignment is worth.
- If something is submitted after seven days of its original deadline, you may receive a maximum of 60% of the points that assignment is worth.
- An assignment that is not submitted will be marked as a temporary zero (0%) until it is submitted. If an assignment is not submitted by the end of its assigned Marking Period, that zero becomes permanent.
That probably sounds like a lot, so I'll use some hypothetical (made-up, but realistic) situations to explain my grading policy. Note that these names aren't reflective of any students, past or present, who may have similar names:
- Bobby completed his Watergate Affair DBQ (Document-Based Questions) assignment, worth 40 points, but forgot to submit it either in-person (physical copy) or on Google Classroom (digital copy) on April 11th. I discreetly let Bobby know, and he submits the assignment free of any mistakes on April 12th. Bobby gets a 34/40 for the Watergate Affair DBQ assignment; this has a minimal impact on his overall grade, as a 34/40 is still a solid grade.
- Christopher did not submit his Watergate Affair DBQ assignment on April 11th, and the grade was updated to be a temporary zero (0%) until he submits it. Despite being reminded that he needs to submit it shortly afterwards, he doesn't submit it until April 24th. The Marking Period isn't over yet, so I will still give him a 24/40 for the assignment. While that isn't ideal, the impact that 24/40 has on his grade for the Marking Period isn't huge.
- Tony does not submit his Watergate DBQ at all. He receives a 0/40 on PowerSchool. This is not the only time Tony just didn't do an assignment, so the multiple zeroes added up and Tony did not pass the class as a result. Due to MHS's requirements for graduation, Tony won't have the makings of a varsity athlete.