December 1-5 (week 15)
Monday 12/1
- Directions and Workday for Community Activism and Advocacy activity (Due Tuesday 12/4)
- HW: work on Community Activism and Advocacy activity
Tuesday 12/2
- Talk about final project
- Workday for Community Activism and Advocacy activity
Thursday 12/4
- Community Activism and Advocacy activity
- HW: Work on final project (present 12/9 and 12/11)

December 8-12 (week 16)
Monday 12/8
- Workday for final project
- HW: Final project
Tuesday 12/9
- Final Project Presentation
Thursday 12/11
- Final Project Presentation

November 10-14 (week 12)

Monday 11/10

- NO CLASS: SENIOR WORK DAY

Tuesday 11/11

- Political commercial and flyer workday

- HW: work on commercial and flyer (Due Monday 11/18)

Thursday 11/13

- Political commercial and flyer workday

- HW: work on commercial and flyer (Due Monday 11/18)

November 17-21 (week 13; Monday-Friday switch)

Tuesday 11/18

- Present political commercials and flyers

- watch video: Street Fight

-HW: Read Chapter 11: Groups and Interests

Thursday 11/20

- Finish Street Fight

- Chapter 11: Groups and Interests

Friday 11/21

- Chapter 11: Groups and Interests

November 24-28 (week 14)

THANKSGIVING BREAK

October 27-31 (week 10)
Monday 10/27
- present party platforms
- HW: Read Chapter 10: Campaigns and Elections
Tuesday 10/28
- Chapter 10: Campaigns and Elections
- Gerrymandering activity
Thursday 10/30 (end of 2nd term)
- Chapter 10: Campaigns and Elections continued
- political commercials
- HW: Question #12 (due Monday 11/3)
Do you think it is okay for someone with a lot of money but no political experience to run for president of the United States? Which is more important for a candidate to have: ambition or experience? Candidates today like to define themselves as outsiders; do we want nonprofessional politicians in Washington?

November 3-7 (week 11)
Monday 11/3
- NO CLASS: LONG WEEKEND
Tuesday 11/4 (Election Day!)
- Electoral College maps and election day prep
Thursday 11/6
- Election recap

October 13-17 (week 8)

Monday 10/13

- Current political events discussion

Tuesday 10/14

- Chapter 8: Political Participation and Voting continued

- HW: study for test over Chapters 6-8 on Tuesday 10/16

Thursday 10/16

- TEST: Chapters 6-8

- HW: Read Chapter 9: Political Parties

October 20-24 (week 9)

Monday 10/20

- Political parties: From America First to The World Socialist Party

Tuesday 10/21

- Chapter 9: Political Parties

- HW: Political party examination:

Visit the Web site of a “third party” political party to see what it says about the following current political issues:

The state of the family

Gay rights

Health care

The War in Iraq

The economy

Where on the political spectrum does the party reside? Why is it a separate party and not part of one of the big parties?

Thursday 10/23

- Chapter 9: Political Parties

- HW: Question 11 (due Monday 10/27)

In the past, critics frequently charged that there were very few differences between the two major parties. Is that true today? What do you think the Republicans stood for in the 2004 presidential election? The Democrats? Social critic Jim Wallis claims that both parties have become “morally vacuous.” He charges that the Democrats are obsessed with “radical individualism,” while the Republicans are absorbed with materialism. Would you agree?

September 29 – October 3 (week 6)
Monday9/29
- NO CLASS: SENIOR HIKE
- HW: Read Chapter 7: The Media

Tuesday 9/30
- 1st Topic Presentation Open Debate
- Chapter 6: Public Opinion continued
- Is there a culture war? In-class discussion p. 208, questions 1 & 2
- Chapter 6 You Decide Exercise
- HW: Getting Involved (due 10/2)
Go to Google and type in “political commentary”
Choose a prominent columnist
Read through some of their columns and print out one to bring to class that you believe gives a good
representation of their political ideology
Share them in small groups in class

Thursday 10/2
- Discuss Getting Involved articles
- Chapter 7: The Media
- HW: Questions 8-9 (due 10/6…my birthday!)
8) What is the first political event you can remember? Do you know the party affiliation of your parents?
Has the opinions and attitudes of your family affected your political opinions?
Write an essay describing your own political socialization. Discuss the importance of your family,
teachers, peers, religion, media, etc., in developing your attitudes.
9) Does political advertising manipulate public opinion about issues and candidates? Is this any different
from advertising a consumer product? If political attitudes are the result of manipulation, does this
make a mockery of free elections? If citizens’ preferences are not freely chosen, what does this mean
for democracy?

October 6-10 (week 7)
Monday 10/6
- Chapter 7: The Media continued
- Media Simulation
- HW: Editorial (due 10/9)
Express your opinion on a political subject by writing a letter to the editor a local newspaper. The letter
should be typed on white paper and be short and clear to the reader. Use the following format for a
business letter, and be sure to use the spell-checking and grammar-checking tools on your computer.
* Street address City, State, ZIP Date Name of newspaper
* Address of newspaper
* Dear Editor:
* Text of letter: State the issue, your opinion, what action you think should be taken.
* Sincerely,[Your signature],Your name, typed

Tuesday 10/7
- Public Service Announcement: workday
In groups, create a public service announcement on one of the following topics:
* Drug and alcohol use
* Staying in school
* Abstinence
* Recycling
Record the commercial for the class
* How effective was it?
* Did it reach your target audience?
- HW: Public Service Announcement (due 10/9)

Thursday 10/9
- Present Public Service Announcements
- HW: Read Chapter 8: Political Participation and Voting
- HW: Question 10 (due 10/13)

10) The U.S. government was highly criticized for restricting media coverage of the Persian Gulf War. In the recent Iraq War, reporters were “embedded” with US troops, yet the press was forbidden to photograph the returning coffins.

Can we have a free press in wartime?

What are the benefits and drawbacks of embedding reporters?

What problems do you see with allowing the press to cover whatever they want in a war zone?

In wartime, can media criticism of government actions provide aid and comfort to the nation’s enemies?

Should there be limits to criticism or does the criticism actually strengthen the nation?

September 15-19 (week 4)
Monday 9/15
- No Class: Class Retreats

Tuesday 9/16
- Chapter 6: Public Opinion
- Topic Presentation discussion
- Assign 1^st topic

Thursday 9/18
- TEST: CHAPTERS 1-3

September 22-26 (week 5)

Monday 9/22

-TP workday

Tuesday 9/23

- TP workday

Thursday 9/25(end of 1^st term)

- 1^st TOPIC PRESENTATION

Political Action Syllabus 2008

August 25-29 (week 1)

Monday 8/25

- Introduction

- What Government Does Activity

- HW: Read Chapter 1

Tuesday 8/26

- Chapter 1: American Political Culture

HW: Interactive Politics Simulation (due 8/28)

HW: You Decide Exercise(due 8/28)

— The Daily Show typically pokes fun at politicians or the media coverage of politicians. Go to the "Most Recent" videos on the Daily Show website and find a clip that satirizes either politics or the media.

— List the title of the clip. What political issue (or media coverage) is being satirized?

— The authors of the textbook point out that 21 percent of young people get their news on political events from comedy shows such as the Daily Show. What are the benefits and drawbacks from getting political information from comedians such as Jon Stewart?

— Did you find the above clip informative/helpful or misleading

Thursday 8/28

- Chapter 1 continued

- HW: Questions 1&2 (typed and in formal essay format)(due 9/1)

1) The military draft in the United States was abolished in 1973. Some people believe that everyone ought to perform at least one year of mandatory public service, either in the military or in community service.

— Do you agree? Why or why not?

— What benefits do you see to mandatory public service? What problems?

— If there were mandatory service, should it be required of both men and women? Which would you choose: military service or community service?

2) Combating terrorism has entailed restrictions on civil liberties.

— How can we reconcile civil liberty and national security?

— Where we, as a nation, are compelled to make choices, are we better off opting for more liberty or more security?

- HW: Political Attitude Interview (Due 9/1)

— Interview someone from a different country. Have them compare that country w/ the US in terms of government structure, political issues, and public attitudes toward the government.

September 1-5 (week 2)

Monday 9/1

- Activity: “Our State Government Scavenger Hunt”

- HW: Read Chapter 2 pp. 45-70

Tuesday 9/2

- Go over scavenger hunt and political attitude survey

- Chapter 2: The Constitution

Thursday 9/4

- Chapter 2 continued

- HW: Questions 3-5 (due 9/8)

— 3) Were the colonists fighting for liberty? Equality? Democracy? Explain.

— 4) How are the three terms above different in today’s society?

— 5) Does the war on terrorism reveal our constitutional government’s effectiveness or lack of effectiveness?

September 8-12 (week 3)

Monday 9/8

- Chapter 3: Federalism

- HW: Read Chapter 3

Tuesday 9/9

- Chapter 3: Federalism

Thursday 9/11

- Chapter 3 continued

- HW: “What is the Proper Role of Government” chart (due 9/16)

- HW: Community Attitude Survey (due 9/16)

— Create a list of five issues pertinent to our community (must be clean and appropriate!)

— Interview five upper school students to get their attitude on your list of topics

— Try to vary the type of student you interview

- HW: Questions 6-7 (due 9/16)

— 6) Should the federal govt. have more power to require greater uniformity in policy among the states? Why or why not? What policies would you like to see equalized?

— 7) If you have lived in another state, compare that state’s political culture with this state’s. If you have not lived in another state, research a state and see how it is different from TN politically.

The last two presidential elections, 2000 and 2004,

were incredibly close and divisive. America appears to be polarized between “two massive colliding forces. One is rural, Christian, religiously conservative. [The other] is socially tolerant, pro-choice, secular, living in New England and the Pacific coast.” The manifestation of this division is seen everywhere in the form of a map of the United States colored blue and red: battle lines have been drawn in this new 21^st century war. But is this political atmosphere really any different than in the past? There have been other close elections and certainly America has split over other issues of great importance (slavery, federal power). So what is really at the heart of today’s political and ideological controversy?

This question is only one of many questions we will examine over the course of the semester. We will not only try to flesh out the issues, but we will also try to come up with solutions. Some of the areas we will explore are

- the nature of political parties and ideologies
- how government works from the Federal level to the local level
- ways to get involved in politics
- the role of money, the media, and special interests in modern politics

You will also give a series of topical presentations over controversial issues concerning social change and public policy, such as gun control, capital punishment, abortion, and immigration. Respect of classmates and their views is paramount to the success of the class structure.

What is required:

1. First and foremost is a good attitude and sensitivity to other’s feelings and beliefs.
Disrespect will not be tolerated.

2. Participation, participation, participation! A large part of your grade will be based on
your level of participation in class discussions, presentations, and group
projects.

3. Not only will your grade depend on participation, there will be tests, research
assignments, homework, maybe a debate, a paper or two, and a final project involving
a political or social issue.

4. You must be prepared at the beginning of each class. What this means is that all your
assigned reading will be done, homework will be completed, and you will be awake
and ready to…you guessed it… participate. I come ready each and every day and I
expect the same from you!

5. Bring a writing implement and paper. A folder to hold handouts is also a must. You
need to bring your text to each class as well. We might not always use it, but you never
know. A jump drive to store assignments on is also required.

6. You are responsible for getting and completing all missed assignments. Make sure to
check the syllabus on-line for the most up-to-date information. The syllabus can be
found on (www.political- action.blogspot.com). I can also be contacted
at home (968-0191) or you can e-mail me at mbrunton@sasweb.org. I am not a mind-
reader, so if you are having problems or have a question, please contact me.

7. All late or missed assignments will result in a lowered grade. One full letter grade for
each day late and a zero for missed assignments.

8. Have fun and learn!