Teach different forms of government Pros and cons of each Where do we find them?
-
Upload
devante-wilk -
Category
Documents
-
view
212 -
download
0
Transcript of Teach different forms of government Pros and cons of each Where do we find them?
Teaching Government/Political
Science
Teach different forms of government Pro’s and con’s of each Where do we find them?
We’re not the only game in town
Presidential vs. Parliamentary Democracy Monarchy Theocracy Dictatorship Anarchy
So many choices…
What is Democracy? What is Socialism? What is Communism? What are the differences? Are there similarities? Mixed forms of each Advantages and disadvantages?
Define, describe, compare, contrast…
Representational vs. Direct Democracy Which is better? How citizens participate in a democracy
◦ Voting, learning about candidates, running for office, campaigning for others, protests, mass movements, etc.
◦ Loewen: teach change from the bottom up, not top down, if you want to teach citizenship
Democracy: what does it mean?
No one The role of the Electoral College Why it was created How it works Positive and negative arguments What do you (your students) think? Why?
Who did you vote for in the Presidential Election?
A Federal System Balances states’ rights, peoples’ rights, and
federal power 10th Amendment and the 14th Amendment:
how the balance has changed over time Different state laws Which power has jurisdiction? Constant tension/evolution of this balance
How the U.S. Government is set up
Separation of Powers/Balance of Powers: more like shared powers
Concept: Power is divided Checks and balances How does it work? Does it always work? Depends on the will of the people to make it
work: the system doesn’t work on its own
The 3 Branches of Government
Legislative Branch (aka Congress, aka House of Representatives and Senate) makes the law◦ How a bill becomes a law, or doesn’t
Executive Branch (aka the President) executes the law
Judicial Branch interprets the law: is it Constitutional?
Roles of the 3 Branches
Judicial Branch originally small and weak until Marbury vs. Madison and “judicial review”
Judicial Branch is not supposed to create policy or law with its rulings
Teach various court levels and systems Cases work their way up to the Supreme
Court
Branches have changed over time
Originally much smaller and less powerful Fear of imperial power War and crisis increased size of executive
branch Compare to today: Cabinets, budget, staff,
amount of influence over our daily lives http:www/whitehouse.gov
Executive Branch has really grown
It’s really small! Teach the contents: Preamble, Articles,
Amendments Focus on Bill of Rights, but don’t forget the
others Was the Constitution radical or
conservative: or, does power change people once they get it?
Rights have expanded. Who is still left out? What do you (students) think of that?
The Constitution
Definition/difference between Liberal and Conservative
Democrats, Republicans, Socialist Party (gasp!), Green Party, other parties
The process of getting people elected: caucuses, primaries, elections, etc.
The Political Process
Image making and advertising techniques Name calling, transfer, bandwagon, plain
folks, testimonial, card stacking, glittering generalities
The roll of the polls How technology allows politicians to change
their message Media bias
The Role of the Media
The role of U.S. foreign policy The concept of “realpolitik” The role of multinational corporations
The U.S. and the World
Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago http://www.whitehouse.gov We the People Foundation
http:/www.wethepeople.gov Flocabulary.com
A short list of resources