Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Week of 21 February 2011

It is already Wednesday so it is a little bit difficult to give a heads up of what to expect this week, but I will do it anyway.

This week we will wrap up our overview of the US Constitution - from the Preamble, to the seven articles, the Bill of Rights, through several selected Amendments. This unit, Unit 2B, is to make the students with the structure of the Constitution and the main ideas embodied in it, including the protections of rights as suggested by thinkers from the Enlightenment (discussed in Unit 1B). We are testing today, Wednesday on this unit and will continue our discussion with civil rights when we discuss the Civil Rights Movement and watch a movie, "The Ghosts of Mississippi." One of the excellent things about this movie is that it not only gives us a chance see the differences in opinion on civil rights, but it also gives us the opportunity to discuss it in historical context and we can view the steps involved in a criminal case, beginning with the investigation, and ending with the final verdict. Although many, if not all, the students have seen a television show or movie that illustrates this, we will all have the same frame of reference when we discuss criminal cases and the rights involved since we will have all watched the same movie.

Next week we will begin looking into the role of the citizen in shaping our government. We will include what is seemingly basic, such as voting, and discuss other linkage institutions, such as political parties and interest groups. We are now going to be moving away from the history portion of course to the application part where was will see how government operates and what we can do within that system.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Week of 7 February 2011

Big Week here. Not only is Friday an Early Release day and Winterfest Assembly Friday and Dance Saturday, we are moving from the events leading to the American Revolution to the results of the Revolution: a new experiment in government. We will be testing Tuesday on Unit 1B: Origins of American Government. Unit 2A covers from the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation to the United States Constitution. By understanding the mindset of the founding fathers makes the rest of the course easier. It will allow us to view the role of government from their point of view.

The new nation will find itself in difficult and trying times - a bold new ideal for government with 13 squabbling states, none of which want to cooperate to become a single nation. We wil examine the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, the Halifax Resolves, and the North Carolina Constitution of 1776.