Civil Rights, Day 2 - Class Recap

The Wildcat Way posters up in every classroom at Westview.

Hi everyone,

I really enjoyed our conversation in class today about interesting political issues! Here's what we did today in class:

Learning Targets Addressed: 
Communication ALT 1: I can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
Behavior LT 1: Recognizes the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning, and working in an interconnected digital world, and acts in ways that are safe, legal, and ethical.
Knowledge LT 18: I can explain the role and impact of social hierarchies.

Soundtrack: “I've Seen All Good People" by Yes. Selected for today because good people can disagree on issues, as well as this being a song played at a memorial for my dad. Lyrics here.

AGENDA 11/7/19:
News Brief - Savitri
Respect
Forced Choice
Reflection

Homework: Read the blog. Complete the Forced Choice Reflection (assigned on Google Classroom). Turn in any missing/late work ASAP (grades are updated on StudentVUE). The next news brief is assigned to: Jacob.

News Brief: Today's news brief was brought in by Savitri, who selected an article about this story: CNN.com - Trump's White House braces for public hearings. We discussed this story for a bit and then moved on.

We also checked in to see if anyone was up to anything interesting or fun outside of class.

Jacob was selected to do the next news brief.

As part of the news brief, we also watched the one minute BBC World News update. Here's the link to see the latest one minute update, at any time of day (it will probably be different from what we watched in class):

BBCNews.com - One-minute World News

Respect: Before getting into the debate in class, I wanted to note that one of the ground rules that the class agreed on at the start of the year was to respect each other. I wanted to reinforce that and also say that the discussion in class would be moderated by me.

Forced Choice: The rest of class was spent doing a forced choice debate, which I always enjoy. These were the questions I asked students to answer with a Yes or No, with no in between. We talked about the issues that are starred below:

1. Giving up some of our rights (like our phones being searched without a warrant) is necessary for our own protection.
*2. People in the US should have the right to own guns if they want.*
3. Democracy is always the best form of government, anywhere in the world.
*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. I would always support my country, whether it is right or wrong.
8. The motto “In God We Trust” should be removed from our currency.
*9. The death penalty should be an option for convicted murderers.*
10. People in power are always corrupt in some way.

Reflection: This was a graded assignment, posted in Google Classroom, due next class:

Write a one page (double spaced) reflection on the activity. What was the most difficult or controversial question for you to answer? Why? How do these sorts of questions relate to the study of civil rights? What did you think of the activity? What would you have said if you had more time?

Thank you for your active participation here! I also really appreciate the respect and open minds displayed. I hope that you enjoyed this activity as much as I do. Next class, we will talk a little bit more about this, then really get into the Civil Rights unit. See you next time!