Given that:
* Humans are highly social creatures
* We compete for limited resources
* We are each supremely interested in our own comfort and survival
* We survive and thrive better as a group
* Very often, the most beneficial behavior results in both cooperating and competing at the same time...
What are the RULES that govern our behavior within different social groups?
Our Family? Our School? Our dating relationships? Our culture? Our neighborhood? Our State? Our Nation?
How does POLICY align with VALUE? Do values change with Culture?
Civic Value Warm-Up Activity:
1. Get into groups of 3 or 4 people. Put group members's names on a piece of paper.
2. Brainstorm for 4 minutes: Write down 4 laws that already exist that you personally agree with on your sticky note. Write your name on your sticky note.
3. Convene/ discuss as a group: Take turns sharing out your laws/ rules/ policies that you believe are good ideas. Together, decide on 5 of these laws/rules/policies that EVERY member of your group agrees is a good idea. Number your paper 1-5. Write these 5 items down in order of most important to least important for the greater good of society. Identify each as L: law, R: rule or P: policy.
4. For your TWO most important "laws," identify the VALUE or PRINCIPAL that supports this law.
IE: L: Police may only search private residential property if either the homeowner gives permission, or if the police have gotten a warrant to search based on reasonable cause for suspicion. Value: the Right to Privacy
5. Provide a circumstance under which you might say that someone would be justified in breaking this law.
Total value for this exercise: 60 pts.
E.C.: For any of the above, which Amendment to the Constitution supports this law?
UNIT INTRODUCTION: Current Events/ What is a Civic Value?
IRS Targeting article/ O'Bama's speech on the Government Shut-down.
Huffington Post: Ted Cruz and Republican Strategy "Lynch Mob"
EDSITEMENT Civic Links: Patton's Speech, WWII
RESOURCES FOR CIVIC VALUES:
Debate Forums/ Websites exploring Civic Values/ Value Debate
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://mrwaddell.net/4n6/docs/congress/debate%20&%20congress%20tips.pdf - Click here for CORE VALUES IN VALUE DEBATE
More Civic Values and Definitions
Where does $16.8 Trillion in Debt go? See below:
JEFFCO RUBRIC: CIVIC POSITION PAPER
Formative Assessment 1:
In groups of 4 or 5, Read the following exemplar Civic Position essays/letters: (see below)
Should Student Athletes Get Paid/ Should College Athletes Be Paid to Play/ Should Kids be Able to Graduate after 10th Grade? / Reality TV Harms Teens
On the back of your A/S/N sheet (see below) Identify the following for each article:
* Title of Article/Essay
* The statement or change in policy the author supports
* The CORE VALUE that supports this policy. (Think - this policy values _________ over __________ .)
* Your vote: Do you agree or disagree? Why?
Exercise: Who Stays/ Who Goes: Small Group
Worksheet: Short Answer from the text/ 2 Wikipedia sources (100 pts)
PreWriting: Explore some Civic Values: Issue: IMMIGRATION
1. Answer the questions of the worksheet: Immigration Laws in the US 100 pts
Immigration Statistics to help you
2. In your group of 4, complete the Who Can Stay, Who Can Go discussion and written appeal assignment. See packet for instructions.
Upload the GoogleDoc with one written appeal from each group member to Schoology. 100 pts
Formative Assessment 2: Small Group decision: Out of the four immigrants in your packet, which two will you let into the country? Why?
For each of the four, have A. a written justification for why this person should stay or b. why this person should be eliminated. Tie your logical reason to a specific Civic Value. 50 pts.
C. Defend your 2 choices as a group in class debate. Come to a unanimous decision as a class about which two people can stay.
Participation: 50 pts.
Exemplar Civic Position Papers: JeffCo CAP
Down and Out in Discount America
Annals of Education: Best in Class: The New Yorker
Should Kids be Able to Graduate after 10th Grade?
Should College Athletes Be Paid to Play?
Should Student-Athletes Get Paid?
AHS student exemplar - Exceeds - Reality TV 16 and Pregnant is Hurting Teens
Formative Assessment 3: Always/ Sometimes/ Never sheet: Small groups 100 pts.
Find 10 specific traits of Civic Position papers from the models provided. Color-code your entries to highlighted sections of the exemplars.
Formative Assessment 4: Citing Sources Worksheet: What goes in the Parenthetical?
In-Text Citations/ Citing Sources 1
Summative Assessment 1: Write a Civic Position Paper - Persuasive mode of writing 200 pts.
Find a real situation that you feel strongly about, like the following recent news article: Detroit's new law - truancy and welfare video and ARTICLE
Make sure you can take a strong stand on the issue, and that your position is arguable.
Then, use this real event to write a Civic Position paper. Convince a specific audience to take a stand on the issue.
Criteria: Align your position with a Core Value
Include at least three cited sources, with a Works Cited list.
Use the qualities of persuasive writing you learned in the multi-modal unit. IE - rhetorical devices and logos, pathos, ethos.
Civic Position Paper Rubric- see THE JEFFCO CAP RUBRIC
Bare-bones Student-Friendly Rubric.
Summative Assessment 2: Citing Sources/ using In-text Citations Correctly
Civic Values and Human Rights Weblinks
The civic values that have shaped American democracy have had a profound influence on the development of human rights throughout the world. Note particularly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights established by the United Nations in 1945 The Human Rights Web Home Page provides the most comprehensive index of major human rights sites on the Web.
- Core Values Page: Some common CORE VALUES
Civic Positions Ideas: Should schools ban cell phones? Should the NCAA accept online credits from high schools as contributing towards their GPA requirement?
Should "C" schools (like Arvada) require uniforms? Should Halloween celebrations be banned from schools for supporting "religious beliefs?" Is the Office of Homeland Security violating Americans' right to privacy? Was Wikileaks beneficial or harmful to the U.S.? Will O'Bamacare help or hurt the economy? Have the recent NFL rule changes taken the fun out of professional football? Should pedophiles be tagged with subdermal transmitters? Is a 30% tax on medical marijuana fair? Should a mother lose custody of her child for refusing chemotherapy treatments? Is Social Services failing kids to death? Should Facebook be able to use your images in its advertising without paying you?
Krishna: Some Wise Words
There was this Hindu who saw a scorpion floundering around in the water. He decided to save it by stretching out his finger, but the scorpion stung him. The man still tried to get the scorpion out of the water, but the scorpion stung him again. A man nearby told him to stop saving the scorpion that kept stinging him. But the Hindu said “It is the nature of the scorpion to sting. It is my nature to love. Why should I give up my nature to love just because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting?”
Moral of the story – Don't give up loving; don't give up your goodness, even if the people around you sting.
-Taken from Shree Prajapati Association
What Policies exist in other cultures around giving money to the poor? What would Mohammed, Krishna, Jesus, Moses and Buddha say? Examine other cultural attitudes here: