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!

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the excellent discussions today in class and for reading the blog! 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: “Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer. Selected because the issues we were talking about today could change the world. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/4/15:

News Brief – Sophia/Ashton

European Influences

Forced Choice

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

News Brief: Both Sophia and Ashton were absent from class today, so I filled in again and talked about the vaccine debate in the United States, which was brought to national prominence again by an outbreak of measles (an entirely preventable disease, if people get their vaccinations) in Disneyland. Here's an article about this story: CNN.com - CDC: 102 measles cases in January, most stemming from Disney outbreak.

European Influences: I just wanted to pass this out, so that students who want to work ahead can see what we will be doing after the debate. Here are the two handouts that go along with these (we will come back to them later).

Google Drive - European Influences on the United States Government Reading

Google Drive - European Influences Reading Questions

Use this reading and your answers to study for an upcoming quiz!

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. I agree that the death penalty should be an option for convicted murderers.

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 4 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. If you have any further thoughts, please post them in the comments!