Legislative Branch, Day 5 - Class Recap

Today's town hall had various students running for office. Here's a very real candidate: my mom, running for Portland City Council in 2012!

Dear class,

Another interesting day, especially with the town hall meeting, which I really enjoyed! Here's what happened today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed:
Knowledge LT 1: I can demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between citizens and their governments.
Knowledge LT 3: I can demonstrate an understanding of how individuals and non-governmental institutions interact with each other and the government in shaping politics.

Knowledge LT 5: I can demonstrate an understanding of the principles, structures, and functions of different levels of U.S. government.

Soundtrack: "Born in the USA" by Bruce Springsteen. Selected for today because the song relates to the United States government in many ways. We talked about the lyrics in class.

AGENDA 4/11/18:
News Brief – Crystal
Washington's Gridlock
Town Hall
Review for Test

Homework: Read the blog. Review for Legislative test, which is next class. Here are some resources to help you with this:

The second page of this handout, charting how a bill becomes a law, will be on the test. You will need to fill in the blanks with what happens on each side of Congress, then what happens when it gets to the President.

You will need to know: the political spectrum (from left to right: radical, liberal, moderate, conservative, reactionary). the number of representatives in each branch of Congress, and the eligibility requirements for them. The leaders in both the Senate (Vice President) and the House (Speaker of the House).

Finally, there will be a mandatory retake for the Bill of Rights, in terms of knowing which Amendment describes a scenario I will give. Refresh yourselves on them, please!

Next news brief: Abdu.

News Brief: Crystal had the news brief today and selected an article about this story to talk about: NYTimes.com - Escapes, Riots and Beatings. But States Can’t Seem to Ditch Private Prisons.. A very interesting story, especially as it relates to the government, which enforces various different laws related to this situation. Thanks, Crystal!

Abdu was assigned to do the next news brief. We also checked in about the weekend before moving on.

Washington's Gridlock: I think this is an important story to learn about, with why many people are very frustrated with the United States government, in that not much of consequence seems to get done. Here is the reading we did in class:

Google Drive - New York Times Upfront: Washington's Gridlock

Here is the assignment that went with the reading:

Google Drive - Washington's Gridlock Assignment

As part of the article, I talked about redistricting and gerrymandering contributing to inaction in Congress. Here's an interesting article about the most gerrymandered congressional districts in America. Also, I showed part of this hilarious video of Patton Oswalt on Parks and Recreation, using the filibuster as a tactic to stop the local city council from voting on an issue:

Furthermore, I showed this real life example of Senator Paul Ryan (KY) using the filibuster tactic in the Senate:

We also took a look at the approval ratings over time for President Trump and Congress.

Review for Test: Please study for the legislative branch test (some multiple choice, some fill in the blank, some short answer) and let me know if you have any questions I can answer about it. Look above in the homework section for links that will help, along with this study guide:

Google Drive - Legislative Branch Test Study Guide

Thanks! See you next class!