Forced Choice, Day 1 - Class Recap

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is where the United States Constitution was debated and signed. We did some debating today in class and will continue to do so next time!

Welcome back, everyone!

Weekends really need to be longer, don't they? In any case, I was excited by the work we did today in class. Here's what happened:

Learning Targets: 
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.

Soundtrack: “Grapevine Fires” by Death Cab for Cutie. Selected for today because of the fire drill during third period. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 9/15/14:

News Brief – Trish

Fear Stories

Forced Choice

Declaration of Independence

Homework: Read the blog. Next news brief: Katharyn.

News Brief: Trish brought in the news brief today and selected this article to talk about: OregonLive.com - Does Portland Public Schools' transfer process for focus schools dilute diversity? We had a conversation about how schools are funded (generally, through the state) and why segregation is still an issue, despite being outlawed. Thanks, Trish! Katharyn, you are next up.

Fear Stories: This was left over from last class, when we talked about the impact of 9/11. The prompt was: write about a time in which you experienced fear and how you felt. What did you want to do in that moment?

After writing and sharing in partners, I asked for volunteers to share with the class. It is nice to be able to look back on scary moments in life and laugh, or just be thankful that we escaped out of it. It was also good to hear about how fear makes us feel - anxious, wanting to do anything to escape, and not wanting to experience it again. That's in large part how the U.S. Government was able to operate in the aftermath of the horrific event that was 9/11/2001. Thanks for sharing, everyone that did.

Forced Choice: One of my favorite activities of the year. I had the class answer the following questions and choose YES or NO to each of them. Then, we split up the class so that two sides were facing each other. With each question, students moved to the side they felt best represented their opinion on the matter. The questions were:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being listened to without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection. 

2. The Second Amendment means that everyone in the US has the right to have any weapons that they want.

3. Same-sex marriage should be legal everywhere.

4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.

5. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.

6. The government of a country should have the power to make decisions that the majority of the people in it do not support.

7. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?

8. A ban on all guns would reduce crime in the United States.

9. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

10. Democracy is always the best form of government for anywhere in the world.

We only made it through question 3 today, so I will pick and choose next class as to which questions we will discuss and debate, before writing a reflective piece about the experience. I love these discussions and I think we did a great job of following the Ground Rules that we established at the beginning of the year. Thank you for your participation! Be ready to keep talking next time.