|
ADVANCED
PLACEMENT (AP) AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
Mr.
Nicholas P. Svetahor
Grafton
High School
Course
Description. This course covers the equivalent of the
standard,
one-semester college
course and provides advanced studies focusing on the American political
system. Emphasis will be to prepare the
student for
the "Advanced Placement United States Government and Politics
Examination," which is administered by the College Board and
Educational
Testing Service (ETS) near the end of the fourth quarter of the school
year. (A student who scores
"3" to "5" on this exam is qualified to receive college
credit for an equivalent course at any one of over 2,200 participating
colleges
or universities.)
The AP
program is based on the premise that
college-level material may be successfully taught to secondary-school
students. The course is, therefore,
restricted to seniors enrolled either in AP or advanced English courses
and who
have strong teacher recommendations based on reading, writing, and
reasoning
abilities. As such, the student will
experience assignments, activities, and testing which put a premium on
the
above skills. Since this is a
college-level course, full classroom attention may not be given to all
subject
areas within the classroom; the student will be required to self-master
certain
subject areas. In addition, a number of
classroom activities and assignments are designed to enhance subject
areas,
taking the student beyond textbook material.
Aside from
preparing the student for the AP
Examination, the structure of the American political system will be
examined
along with analysis of political behavior. Of
particular importance is the development of an
understanding of our
pluralistic society and how each "group" or "individual"
influences the policy-making process. Debate
and discussion will allow the student not only to
"look" at the system but also to "express" him or herself,
offering cogent remedies or solutions applicable to our governmental
system. The course is not designed to
provide "the way" but to enable the student to differentiate,
understand, and evaluate the competing arguments and viewpoints and to
form his
or her own unique position. Obviously, a
major by-product of this course will be the development of an informed
and
concerned citizen.
In addition,
the course material will
incorporate Virginia's Standards of Learning (SOL) for American
Government.
Text/Materials
Wilson, James Q. and John J.
DiIulio,
Jr. American
Government: Institutions and Policies, 7th ed. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin
Company, 1998.
We the People: The Citizen and
the Constitution by the Center for Civic Education, 1995
The Wilson
book is the primary text. We
the People will provide
enrichment of select political issues and will be issued on an
“as needed”
basis.
Outside
reading will be assigned to facilitate
discussion, debate, essay writing, and interpretive skills. The following works will be used to
supplement the text. (Students do not
have to purchase them.)
Bastiat, Frederic. The Law
Bowen, Catherine Drinker. Miracle
at Philadelphia: The Story of the
Constitutional Convention
May to September 1787
Hamilton,
Alexander, James
Madison, and John Jay. The
Federalist Papers
Ketcham,
Ralph, editor. The
Anti-Federalist Papers and the Constitutional Debates
Smith, Hedrick.
The
Power Game: How Washington Works
Tocqueville,
Alexis de. Democracy
in America
West, Thomas G.
Vindicating
the Founders: Race, Sex, Class, and
Justice in the Origins of America
The student
will be required to have access to a
daily newspaper of strong national and international scope. Examples of such newspapers are The
New York Times, The Washington Times, The
Washington Post, or The Christian
Science Monitor. These newspapers
are available on the Internet, and some are part of the standard
package of an
on-line service. In addition, the
student is encouraged to read weekly (such as US News and
World Report, Time, Economist, or
Newsweek) and
monthly (such as the New Republic or National
Review) magazines. Naturally,
subscription to an appropriate newspaper or magazine would ensure easy
access
for the student.
"Watching the
news" is critical! Doing it enhances the
political consciousness
of the student. In addition, the student
should search out "special" news programs on TV and the various talk
shows on radio. Please remember: A "balance" should be achieved
between "liberal" and "conservative" programs. The
course is designed to study
"all" of American Government. Therefore,
the student should be encouraged to pursue
divergent
views. This does not mean that the
student has to appreciate or adopt a particular viewpoint.
It does mean that the student should
understand or know the various arguments.
Finally, the
"family" is an
outstanding source of political views, knowledge, and traditions. The student is encouraged to explore this
wealth of information.
Requirements. There must be a clear understanding that
there will be extensive reading and writing assignments (which started
with the
"summer" preparation assignments).
Class tests
will consist of multiple choice,
true/false, completion, and essay questions. Since
the AP Exam and colleges put a premium on essay
testing, the class
will slowly transition to all essay tests by the fourth quarter. (Please note that I have graded the national
exams for the past three years. I can
assure you that you will learn to construct an essay to achieve maximum
points
on the “AP” exam.) Homework
assignments
will usually accompany each unit along with vocabulary quizzes. The following guide will be used to calculate
quarter grades on the York County "numerical score" basis.
* 3
to 5 unit tests (grade weight of 3)
* 2 to 4
"vocabulary" quizzes (grade
weight of 1}
* 1 to 2 handbook
assignments (grade weight of
1)
* 1
project/research assignment (grade weight of 2)
For example,
if a student received unit test
scores of 90%, 85%, and 96%, vocabulary quizzes of 80% and 75%,
handbook grades
of 99% and 92%, and a research paper worth 86%, the grade would be
calculated
as follows.
First:
(90 X 3) + (85 X 3) + (96 X 3) + (80) + (75) + (99) + (92)
+ (86 X 2) =
1331
Second: Divide 1331 by
15
(the total of the grade
weights) to get percent grade of 89%
Third: Convert to York
County
report-card letter
scale: 84 to 91 is a "B"
Cheating is a
violation of moral standards and,
therefore, incompatible with "citizenship." A
cheating infraction will result in the
student assigned a "zero" for work involved and referral to the
department head for further action.
"Extra
credit" will not be assigned on
an individual basis. The AP Government
Course stresses "citizenship" which, on analysis, emphasizes
"responsibility." In other
words, the student should do his or her work as assigned, not
beg for a handout. However, “extra
credit” may be offered on an
all inclusive basis (each and every student has the opportunity to do
it). In addition, the make-up policy of
three
school days after an absence will be strictly enforced.
Topics
and Chapters. The course will be subdivided as follows. Please keep in mind that this outline is
subject to change. Subject material
relevant to the AP Examination will be covered before the end of April. The pertinent chapters in the Wilson
text are also listed. The student should
make every effort to anticipate upcoming material.
* The
Study of American Government: 3 weeks;
Chapter 1
* The Constitution: 3 weeks; Chapter 2
* Federalism: 2 weeks; Chapter 3
* American Political
Culture: 1 week; Chapter 4
* Public Opinion: 2 weeks; Chapter 5
* Interest Groups: 1 weeks; Chapter 9
* The Media and
Politics: 1 week; Chapter 10
* Political
Participation: 2 weeks; Chapter 6
* Political Parties: 1 week; Chapter 7
* Elections and
Campaigns: 2 weeks; Chapter 8
* Congress: 2 weeks; Chapter 11
* The Presidency and
the
Bureaucracy: 3 weeks; Chapters 12 and 13
* The Judiciary: 2 weeks; Chapter 14
* Civil Liberties and
Rights: 2 weeks; Chapter 18 and 19
* Public Policy: 4 weeks; Chapters 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, and 22
Note:
At this
point,
material relevant to the AP Examination will have been covered. Review time and preparation
will take
precedence until the exam.
* State and Local
Government: 3 to 4 weeks; Chapter 25
Once again,
the mandated Virginia SOLs will
be covered in this course. Please
note that this course does not follow the same sequence as the regular
American
Government course. Needless to say, this
course is much more comprehensive.
Field
Trips. The
student can expect to participate in three scheduled field trips
designed to
enhance the learning process. The
tentative schedule is as follows.
* Docent
Program: A tour of the county's courts and regional
jail. To be
scheduled.
* Washington,
DC Trip: Tours of the White House,
Capitol, Supreme Court buildings, various monuments, and the Holocaust
Museum. Scheduled for 16 November.
|
