Philosophy of Government, Day 2 - 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 2: I can demonstrate an understanding of the role of governments in current issues.
Knowledge LT 4: I can explain how different ideological movements and philosophies shape politics.

Soundtrack: “I Think of You" by Renaissance. Selected for today because 1) the philosophers we are talking about did a lot of thinking, and 2) the renaissance was an important period for changing views about how government should work. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 2/8/16:

News Brief – Jen
Government Overview

Philosopher Reading

Forced Choice

Homework: Read the blog! Next news brief: Hannah

News Brief: Jen was absent from class today, so I discussed the upcoming New Hampshire primary (tomorrow!) and looked at who is currently favored to win on fivethirtyeight.com projections. We also talked about the weekend and the Super Bowl commercials.

Hannah volunteered to do the next news brief.

Government Overview: To start class, we went through the philosophy PowerPoint we did not get to last class, due to the length of the yarn activity. I wanted to start looking at some of the philosophers of government during the Enlightenment period. Here's the PowerPoint we went through (we only did slides 6-8 today - just focus on those for now):

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government PowerPoint

Again, please review and be responsible for knowing the basics of what Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Montesquieu thought about government.

The next part was stemming off of the PowerPoint on the four philosophers we are studying. I wanted students to think in their own minds about the role of government. The questions, to answer on a blank sheet of paper and keep for later, are:

1. What is the purpose of government?

2. What does a government do?

3. What role should the government play in people’s lives?

4. What do you know about the structure of the United States government? Draw a web!

I had a few students randomly answer the questions with the class, and we talked about what the general viewpoint was.

Philosopher Readings: I passed out this reading about the four philosophers and a handout to answer with the reading, that asked you to summarize the different ideas for the purpose of government, the role of government in people's lives, and ideas that are included in the current U.S. government. Here they are again if you lost your copy or missed class today:

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government Reading

Google Drive: Philosophers of Government Handout

We went over the answers in class and reviewed who Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau were and what they thought about the role of government. Keep these answers to review for an upcoming test!

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. Private businesses should have the right refuse service on religious grounds (like a bakery not making a cake for a same sex wedding).
4. Marijuana should be legalized everywhere for recreational use.
5. Public schools should strictly enforce a standardized dress code.
6. Organized prayer in public schools should be allowed.
7. The government of a country should be able to make decisions that the majority of the people do not support.
8. Should the motto “In God We Trust” be removed from our currency?
9. I agree with the death penalty for convicted murderers.
10. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

We only made it through question 2 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!