Politics and Policy

Lesson Plan by Kelsie BrookPolitics and PolicyTopicsLesson 1: Personal PoliticsLesson 2: IdeologyLesson 3: Economics: Spending and TaxationLesson 4: Civic EngagementPersonal PoliticsPolitical Influences: Family, Media, and CommunityPersonal IdeologyAmerican IdeologiesPoliticsTake a moment and ponder the word politics. What comes to mind?From whom do we hear about politics most?What information sources are available to us?

Journal: Political InfluencesWhat are your guardians political preferences?Do you talk about politics at home?What do those conversations, if any, look and sound like?Does your community have a bias? Toward what?How has your community influenced you?Who has influenced you most politically?What news sources do you listen to, watch, or read from?If you know, does that source have a bias? Toward what?

Assist student journaling where needed. Be prepared to reword questions.5Energy/EnvironmentWeve subsidized oil companies for over a century; thats long enough! Its time to end the tax payer give-aways to an industry thats rarely been more profitable and double down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising.Green technologies are typically far too expensive to compete in the marketplace, and studies have shown that for every green job created there are actually more jobs destroyed. Unsurprisingly, this costly government investment has failed to create an economic boom.Obama quote and Romney.com6EducationLets offer schools a deal; give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job and reward the best ones. And in return, grant schools flexibility to teach with creativity and passion. Stop teaching to the test and replace teachers who just arent helping kids learn.My legislature tried to say no more charter schools. I vetoed that As a matter of fact, there are four measures on which the federal government looks at schools by state testing our kids, excellent curriculum, superb teachers, and school choice.Obama and Romney as quoted on their respective campaign websites.

OBAMA: Keep investing money into public schools.

ROMNEY: support private schools like charter schools and continue high stake testing.

Charter Schools: a publicly funded (government) independent school established by teachers, parents, or community groups under the terms of a charter (a grant or authorization written by a legislative branch).7Jobs/EconomyFor way too long we have had a financial institution that was stacked against ordinary Americans We shouldnt be weakening oversight, we shouldnt be weakening accountability, we should be strengthening it! Especially when it comes to looking out for families like yours.He will rebuild the foundations of the American economy on the principles of free enterprise, hard work, and innovation. His plan seeks to reduce taxes, spending, regulation, and government programsIt relinquishes power to the states instead of claiming to have the solution to every problem.Obama and Romney.com8IranWe have a window of opportunity where this can still be resolved diplomatically.The overall rubric of my foreign policy will be the same as Ronald Reagans: namely, peace through strength. Like Reagan, I have put forward a comprehensive plan to rebuild American might and equip our soldiers with the weapons they need to prevail in any conflict I intend to restore our position so that our Navy is an unchallengeable power on the high seas. As for Iran in particular, I will take every measure necessary to check the evil regime of the ayatollahs.Obama as quoted by the associated press and Romney as quoted by http://www.washingtonpost.com9Health CareEvery American should have access to affordable health care, and no one should go bankrupt just because they get sick.

The only healthcare reforms that will make a real difference are those that draw on the strength of the free market.

Obama.com and GOP.com10ValuesGenerate a list of values from your daily experience. Attempt to fill a page.Start broad: honesty, integrity, nobility, or peace.Get narrow: my school bus, my moms home cooked meals, friends, sports, or watching movies.Get even more narrow: making money, spending my money how I want, or getting equal treatment by teachers.CategorizeWith a partner, combine your values, eliminate duplicates, and begin to group your values into like-categories.For example:

Think about how the different categories relate, are they social relating to your personal life, or are they more business related?Call of DutyWatching TVESPNGoing to the TheatreENTERTAINMENTRanking ValuesWrite down your new categories.On your own, go through and rank each category in terms of its priority for you.Politics are Colliding ValuesEnergy/EnvironmentOur current habits are damaging our environment and threatening sustainable living v. green practices are expensive and damage our already weak economy.EducationAccountability testing is preventing teachers from being able to teach life skills v. competition between schools and teachers will improve the education system.Jobs/EconomyThe government should provide the safety net for the nations economy as to protect the middle class v. stimulus and government funding stifles economic process.Iran/National SecurityDiplomacy v. determent. Health CareEveryone should have health care v. health care for all is too expensive and violates principles of a capitalist economy.SpectrumMost people will find that they agree with a little bit of both. This is because values conflict.The majority of people are somewhere in the middle on these issues.Your position, either right or left, is your location on the political spectrum.JournalAre your values the same as your family, community, or most often used news source? Why or why not?Did anything strike you about this exercise?

IdeologyWhat is a Spectrum?What does it mean to be liberal?What does it mean to be conservative?SpectrumA continuum with a unifying theme: political ideology.A way of modeling different political positions by placing them on an axes symbolizing independent political dimensions.

An ideology is a set of beliefs that affects our outlook on the world. Our ideology is our most closely held set of values and feelings, and it acts as the filter through which we see everything and everybody. In fact, these beliefs are often so close to us that we do not realize that they are there. We simply think that our beliefs are natural and obviously true. Religion is one type of ideology, and religious belief affects a persons views.

18Spectrum NOT ScaleHow are you feeling? = Scale

GOODBAD

Teachers Pet?

YESNOPolitics are more complicated than these allow for.19Ideology Scale

http://blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu/luc/2009/11/rethinking-political-ideologies/PolarizationThe process by which public opinion divides and goes to the extremes.Moderate voices often lose power.Spectrum Example

http://fefe.ge/2011/08/07/2658/light-color-spectrum/Colors lead into one another like a cycle. Making far right close to far left.22Ideological SpectrumLiberalProgressiveConservative??The x axis has been widely accepted, however much debate revolves around the y axis. Some argue that while x is ideology, y is the power of the government, putting totalitarian at one end and anarchy at the other. Other theorists put libertarian at one end and communism opposite.

Some argue that the y axis is government tax breaks and government spending with one end devoted to big business (tax breaks for the wealthy, increasing incentive and competition) and the other to the needy (redistributing the wealth through social welfare programs).23Liberal- LEFTThe portion of the political spectrum associated in general with egalitarianism and popular or state control of the major institutions of political and economic life. Leftists tend to be hostile to the interests of traditional elites, including the wealthy and members of the aristocracy, and to favor the interests of the working class. They tend to regard social welfare as the most important goal of government. Socialism is the standard leftist ideology in most countries of the world; communism is a more radical leftist ideology.A common way of distinguishing conservatism from both liberalism and radicalism is to say that conservatives reject the optimistic view that human beings can be morally improved through political and social change. Skeptical conservatives merely observe that human history, under almost all imaginable political and social circumstances, has been filled with a great deal of evil. Far from believing that human nature is essentially good or that human beings are fundamentally rational, conservatives tend to assume that human beings are driven by their passions and desiresand are therefore naturally prone to selfishness, anarchy, irrationality, and violence."left." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012."conservatism." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Conservative- RIGHTThe portion of the political spectrum associated with conservative political thought. Conservatism is a preference for the historically inherited rather than the abstract and ideal. This preference has traditionally rested on an organic conception of societythat is, on the belief that society is not merely a loose collection of individuals but a living organism comprising closely connected, interdependent members. Conservatives thus favor institutions and practices that have evolved gradually and are manifestations of continuity and stability. Governments responsibility is to be the servant, not the master, of existing ways of life, and politicians must therefore resist the temptation to transform society and politics. This suspicion of government activism distinguishes conservatism not only from radical forms of political thought but also from liberalism, which is a modernizing, anti-traditionalist movement."right." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. "conservatism." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopdia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012. Ideological Explorationhttp://politicalcompass.orgEconomics: Spending and TaxationWhat role does the US Government play in economics?What affect do taxes have on the economy?Public Transfer Payments, the Safety Net, and Social WelfareWhats the debate about?Civic EngagementModern PoliticsCurrent CandidatesWhere do they stand?DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of the two main U.S. political parties, which follows a liberal program, tending to promote a strong central government and expansive social programs.RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two main U.S. political parties, favoring a conservative stance, limited central government, and a strong national defense.Health CareEconomicsNational SecurityEnergyEducationLiberalModerateConservativeIncrease SpendingDecrease SpendingBigger GovernmentSmaller Government