Teaching Political Science/Government/Civics

How to organize a course? Part One: “looking under the hood” or, “how does this thing work?” Government Part Two: “let’s drive this thing!” or, Citizenship

Part One What’s under the hood? How does this thing work? Be sure to teach both how it was designed back then AND how it works now

First, the choices Many different kinds of government out there Monarchy, theocracy, dictatorship, totalitarianism, anarchy… Representational, not direct democracy Democracy: – Presidential – Parliamentary – Pros and cons of each?

Local government What is the government of your school? Your neighborhood? Your county? Your state? Why might this be important to know?

What’s under the hood? First, it’s a “federal system” of states’ rights, federal rights, and peoples’ rights Express, concurrent, and reserved powers Constant tension among them Examples?

The 3 branches What are they and what do they do? How have they changed over time? What can’t they do? How is power both shared and limited? Checks and balances and separation of powers Why? What role do citizens play?

Lobbying and PACS A fourth branch? See packet materials on lobbying

The Constitution Itself It’s really small! Teach the parts and the contents How do we change it? Amendments How are laws made? How has it changed?

The Political Process Voting rights: “Electoral Dysfunction”?: “Electoral Dysfunction”? The electoral college The different kinds of political parties and their beliefs The process: how people get elected Campaigning and the media

The Media Propaganda techniques Media bias Image making and digital advertising Polls Role of technology to shape and target messages Digital advertising

Part Two “Let’s drive this thing” Citizenship and civics