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.

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.

Week of 31 January 2011

Big week coming up! Well, big in that we will have our first test of the semester together, and our first quiz. Our test will be on Chapters 1&5 - Citizenship. We also will be sharing our first full week together - 5 days.

We will begin Unit 1B after our test. Unit 1B is about the origins of American government. It will include Chapter 2 in our textbook as well as information from the US History textbook. We will look back to the origins of government in prehistoric times and examine how it had evolved overtime to its form during the Enlightenment in Europe. It was in that climate, as Europe was emerging from the Middle Ages and while monarchs held absolute power that the founding fathers embarked on the "Great Experiment" that was the US Constitution. Essentially, if we can understand the point of view of the founding fathers it will make understanding the US Constitution and the purpose of the US government all the easier.

The 2011 State of the Union Address

In case you missed it, President Obama gave his State of the Union Address to Congress last night. This speech is mandated by the US Constitution and must be given at the beginning of each calendar year. The primary purpose of this speech for the President to inform Congress of what he would like to see accomplished in the upcoming Congressional Session. If you want to read the speech, you can view it on the White House website.

Week of 24 January 2011

Welcome to Civics & Economics! I hope you had a successful first semester because we are ready to get moving in the second semester. The state requires you to learn 78 Objectives while giving us only about 85 days to teach it! That does not give us a lot of time to complete our task, so the responsibility will be on you to keep up with the pace.

We will be moving at a pretty good pace in order to cover all the information so you MUST do what you can to keep up with the assignments. I have created this website in order to make it easier for you to keep up. For example, let's say you lost your homework. In the past you would have to call a friend and try to make a photo copy or turn in the work on loose leaf paper, or even worse, not do the work at all. Now you can visit the website, access the work, print a copy and complete it! It is just that simple! No more "zeros" because you lost the worksheet. Are you not sure when the next test is? Don't worry, visit the website, the information will be there for you!

Updates here can be followed as an RSS feed and can be accessed by either clicking on the title of this announcement or by clicking on the Feedburner link below this announcement. On the blog page, on the right click "Subscribe in a Reader".

This week we are covering Unit 1A: Citizenship. Use the link on the left to navigate to that unit's page. In addition, Tuesday, January 25, President Obama will be giving the "State of the Union Address." This is required annually by the US Constitution. I would like for you to watch the coverage of the Address beginning with the commentary and discussion BEFORE the speech. Although every major network will cover this event, I prefer CNN's pre speech coverage because they seem to always explain what the purpose of the speech is and what is going on.

And that is one of the best things about this course, unlike World History or US History which focus on past events, this course primarily focuses on current events - our rights, our government, our role. I hope you will enjoy this course, I am looking forward to it!

Week of 3 January 2011

The end of the semester is upon us, the EOC is two weeks away. We are making good time and will cover all the content required for the End-of-Course Exam. We will also have a good amount of time to review each day. Our main review guide will be in two parts. I have already distributed the first part, the second part will be forthcoming. This will be in addition many other review material we will be using in the next two weeks.

Make sure with the last days ahead of us that you get all work turned in and and tests and quizzes made up. Although this is the end of the semester and we are mentally preparing for the end and getting excited for it, there is still work to do, so don't let your guard down.

Week of 8 November 2010

The second quarter is under way! I apologize for any confusion regarding report cards and SPAN. I am looking into the discrepancy and will prevent it from taking place at the end of the second quarter. This week we will be exploring the criminal justice system, civil laws, and the juvenile justice system. Mixed in, the students will be investigating some more supreme court cases.

The schedule is a little odd this week regarding days off - Thursday is Veterans Day, and then we are back to school for Friday. Always an interesting week when there is a single day before or after a holiday. We will also be having a Fire Drill and Lockdown Drill on Monday during Pride Period!

I also have some more news. It has been decided that ALL of the Civics & Economics teachers will be giving a "Civics-Term" exam on November 19. There will be a study/review guide forthcoming so please be on the lookout for that. It is assumed that we will all be done with the Civics portion of the course by that day!