Government and Politics AP: United States
Course Description
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(Objectives, Rules, Requirements/Grading)
In preparation for the National Advanced
Placement Examination in United States Government and Politics, this course is
designed to provide an intensive study of the institutions, groups, beliefs,
and ideas that constitute political life and activity in the United States.
You will master the foundations, principles, and practices of government.
This mastery will form the base upon which analytical frameworks for
understanding political realities will be built. Analytical rigor will be
achieved through examination of both historical and contemporary
controversies. Each student will produce an extensive collection of analytical
essays which convey clear and concise political thought and argumentation.
Because of the intense demands this course will place on you, you are
encouraged to seek extra help at your earliest possible convenience. Do not
allow yourself to fall behind in the daily readings. Clarification of
confusing issues at the first sign of difficulty is imperative. You must bear
full responsibility for making your confusion known to me immediately. The
following invitations constitute my effort to ensure your success. You MUST
not let any time pass between the emergence of a question and contact with
me.
You may:
1) Raise your hand with questions in class any time. This invitation includes
both questions about the readings and questions about current political
events/issues.
2) Visit me before school in the faculty work room in my office on the first
floor of Carter Hall. I will be there by 7:30 Monday-Thursday mornings.
3) Arrange a personal meeting with me during a planning period or after
school.
4) Call me at home BEFORE 8:30 pm.
My number 353-7976. If I am not home, I can usually be reached at 415-3072.
5) E-mail me.
One of the most difficult transitions you will encounter as you move from
high school to college is developing your capacity for independent learning.
What you read in a college class is essential knowledge whether or not it is
discussed in the class. The only way to cover the volume of material in the
average college class is to rely upon the students to learn from readings.
This is a college class. That is why colleges are willing to give credit for
your successful completion of this course. As such, you will be tested on
ideas and concepts we do not address directly. You should understand this
reality and begin to adjust to it immediately. You will usually be asked to
draw on several areas of knowledge as well as current events in completing
the various essays required in this class. If I am successful in weaning you
of your instructor/class dependency you will discover the ability to learn
more quickly and completely than you ever thought possible.
A particular example should help you begin to realize what I mean by
independent learning. This is not a U.S. history class, and I will
not spend a great deal of time rehashing issues covered in that class. If you
have not taken U.S.
history or have forgotten any details of relevant historical events, you are
responsible for discovering those details on your own. Display initiative by
consulting your U.S.
history text or one of the many I keep in my classroom. If that doesn't work,
use the library or the internet. Ask me as a last resort. I don't mind
telling you about history, but you will benefit far more using my time to
discuss politics,
COURSE OBJECTIVES
1) To master the history, evolution, structures, principles, and powers
embodied in the United States Constitution.
2) To master an understanding of American political life and culture
throughout history, with an emphasis on the modern milieu.
3) To develop, articulate, and defend individual points of view regarding
salient issues in contemporary political America.
4) To identify, analyze, and compare political positions put forward by
public policy pundits.
5) To master skills of analysis, organization, independent and critical
thinking.
Throughout the course we will try to evaluate our institutions of government,
those who run these institutions, the public policies made by these
institutions, and the influences of the electorate on these institutions.
Some say democracy is a dream, an unattainable ideal which has led us to a
government now incapable of action. Others say politics is a con game, with
leaders continually manipulating people until the electorate is finally so
disillusioned that the United
States now has one of the lowest voter turnout
rates in the world. Still others decry the corruption they believe to be
inherent in the system. Members of Congress have been indicted and convicted
of breaking the law, occasionally even continuing to serve. The executive
branch is continually dogged by allegations of wrongdoing. How valid are
these complaints? Are they beneficial for our democracy or is more civility
required? Who is really in charge anyway? What is an "average
American?" Is he or she really consulted or even taken into
account by the decision makers? We will strive to search for answers to these
and other questions plaguing our "Great Experiment."
CLASS RULES
1) Reading
assignments are mandatory. Coming to class without having completed the day's
assignment will render the entire class period meaningless. When you choose
not to read in this class, your decision harms others. Each of your
classmates depends on you to contribute to the class each day. When you are
unable to contribute, everyone suffers. Preparation is a serious responsibility.
2) Class must begin promptly. Each day's material will more than fill the
time allotted. Please arrive quickly with all necessary materials. Usually
these will include your principal text, a notebook, a pen, and any other
readings, reports, or assignments due each day.
3) Class will be dismissed by me. You should remain in your seat and continue
to take notes until I indicate that it is time to prepare for dismissal. At
that time, I will expect you to close quietly your books and prepare to leave.
You should also look around you and collect any trash found near you in the
room. When the room is clean and quiet, you will be dismissed.
4) It is essential that you turn work in on time so that you will not fall
behind on subsequent material. All assigned work is due during the class
period on the due date announced. Extenuating circumstances which require
extensions must be secured through personal contact with the instructor WELL
IN ADVANCE OF THE DEADLINE. All work which is turned in after the announced
deadline will continue to accrue late penalties until the student speaks with
me directly. One of the most important skills this class should teach you is
time management and planning. The pace and difficulty of this course are on
par with college courses you will encounter next year. Allowing you to
procrastinate now is a disservice I do not intend to do you.
5) All members of the class are to be treated with dignity and respect at
all times.
6) In general, all work is covered by the Montgomery Bell
Academy's Honor Code. Readings, reports,
papers, essays, quizzes, tests, and so on must be pledged. A more complete
description of the standards which I will observe will be distributed on the
first day of class, and reviewed periodically. The honor code also applies to
ethical standards for research. No idea may be borrowed which either
misrepresents its author's opinions or is not fully referenced according to
accepted guidelines. This stipulation includes Internet material.
7) One of the core values of the American political landscape is freedom of
expression. As such, no idea shall be excluded from discussion in this class,
no matter how offensive it may seem. However, such freedom also carries with
it a tremendous responsibility. While no idea shall be prohibited, each idea
shall be judged on its merits. Students who express offensive or
controversial views (and accepted views for that matter) bear the
responsibility of clearly articulating and defending such expression.
Offensive expression of any kind which is not accompanied by a reasoned and
well thought out defense has no place in this class.
TEXT
Theodore Lowi and Benjamin Ginsberg, American Government: Freedom and Power
(9th edition), New York:
W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.
This text will be supplemented from time to time with primary and secondary
documents that I expect you to read. In some cases, these will require your
very thorough attention, in other cases a more cursory review will suffice.
Because you receive college credit for this course, you are expected to learn
like a college student. This means that although you may not be able to read
every word of every article, you will learn to read quickly and efficiently,
gathering relevant and interesting ideas for discussion as you proceed.
Please do your best to balance the demands of this course with the rest of
your responsibilities at MBA. Do not waste time with frustration or
complaining. Learning to use your time wisely and efficiently is one of the
primary goals of this course. I know that each of you is capable of rising to
the challenge of this course. That fact explains my excitement as I approach
this year.
I will expect that each of you is able to access the internet at school or
home or both. If you do not have home-based internet access, it is imperative
that you complete the computer use protocol so that you will be able to use
the school connections immediately. If you have not completed this form,
please tell me immediately.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING
AP ESSAYS
The AP examination in American Government and Politics contains four 25
minute essays with no choice. If you are to do well on the exam you must
learn to write precisely and thoroughly in a limited time. You will receive a
single free response question every week during this semester. The
instructions for completing each week's essay will vary in order to stress
different elements of the writing process. We will usually discuss your
efforts. Sometimes I will read particularly strong responses in class. Each essay
will be graded on a 50 point scale, and the total percentage of your scores
will compose 40% of your quarter and semester average.
Effective and insightful political analysis makes the difference between
students who score 3's and those who score 5's on the AP examination. The
essays you will complete in this class are designed to force you to work with
the knowledge you acquire in this class. Drawing on this broad knowledge, as
well as your own awareness of political events, you will craft responses
which are interesting, focused, and well written. While spelling and grammar
are not explicit elements in the grading of these essays, excessive errors of
this type often detract from otherwise outstanding analysis. I will encourage
you to develop clear thesis statements, well-organized arguments, and
important political insights.
EXAMINATIONS
One of two formats will be used for each of these exams. The first format
will include 30 multiple choice questions and one free response essay. Each
multiple choice question will be worth 2 points, leaving 40 points for the
essay. The second format will be composed of only two essays. Each essay will
be worth 50 points. The total percentage of your scores shall compose 40% of
your quarter and semester average.
WRITTEN REACTIONS
You must actively contribute to class or I will be unable to focus our
discussions on those issues which give you trouble. I will frequently ask you
to begin class with a brief, written response to a central question from the
previous night’s reading. You will be expected to respond concisely and
clearly to the prompt. The total score in this category will compose 10% of
your quarter and semester average.
POLITICAL WRITING
Learning to write on
political subjects for newspaper “Letters o the Editor” and/or “Op-Ed” pieces
is an art that we will try to develop. Strong skill in this practical
political writing enables citizens to exert tremendous impact on the
political process. Work in this category will constitute 10% of your grade.
SUPPLIES
You should have a copy
of the text and a system for taking class notes with plenty of paper (I
recommend a 3-ring binder for inserting handouts). I assume that you also
have a system for planning and keeping track of assignments that are due as
well as those that are returned. It is very important to keep track of
returned work, since that work will be an essential resource as you review
next May for the AP exam in this course.
