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Last Updated: May 2, 2001

LINKS

Study Questions on Nathanson, Exam #3

Study Questions for Exam #2

2001 List of Agencies for Service Learning.

Rimmerman ch1 Terms
Rimmerman ch2 Terms
Rimmerman ch3 Terms
Rimmerman ch4 Terms
Rimmerman ch 5 Terms
Rimmerman ch. 6 Terms

OFFICE HOURS SPRING SEMESTER

Monday 10:00-11:00 am 3:00-3:30 pm

Tuesday 2:00-3:00 pm

Wednesday 10:00-11:00 am 1:30-3:30 pm

Thursday

Friday 10:00-11:00 am 1:30-3:30 pm

TEACHING ASSISTANT: Cindy Story 212 A Morris Hall Phone: 387-8609
Email:
cynthia.story@mankato.msus.edu
cstory@gotocrystal.net
cmi@city.mankato.mn.us

COURSE OBJECTIVES
1. Learn ways to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship
2. Think about the meanings of democracy and their roles as citizens
3. Learn about strategies and tactics of political organizing
4. Think about where you stand on questions concerning government, political legitimacy and involvement as a citizen
5. Understand some key themes of political philosophy and views of significant thinkers
6. Examine, articulate and apply their ethical and political views.
7. Learn and use core political and democratic concepts.
8. Participate cooperatively in a public and political group activity.

GENERAL EDUCATION CATEGORIES
9. Ethical and Civic Responsibilities
11. Performance and Participation

REQUIRED READING

GRADING Course grades will be based on your percent of the total points. To calculate your final average, divide your total points by the maximum total points.

A = 90-100 ?B = 80-89?C = 70-79?D = 60 - 69?F = below 60

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

	Points	Percent
Exam #1	80	22%
Exam #2	80	22%
Exam #3	80	22%
Participation (3 options)	80	22%
Participation Paper/Report	40	11%
TOTAL	360	100%

 EXAMS
There will be three exams. Each exam will cover the book and class material since the previous exam. The final will not be comprehensive. The exams will probably consist of multiple choice questions. The exact format of each exam will be discussed no later than one week before the exam.

PAPERS
Each of the three participation options requires a paper or papers. The papers will be evaluated on:

• Organization: Sentences organized into coherent paragraphs, paragraphs organized into coherent sections. Transitional statements (intro/summary).
• Good English usage: Sentences, Grammar and Spelling
• Form: Neatly typed, double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 10 or 12 point font. Sources must be identified at the end and in the text using a consistent style.
• Learning shown: Integration of extra research, participation experience and other course readings/learnings.

ORAL REPORT/PARTICIPATION

The last two days of class issue groups, simulators and service-learners will share their experiences with the class. Nonparticipation will reduce your 80 participation points by 5 points each day.

PARTICIPATION & PAPER OPTIONS

Students will participate in a public and/or political group activity and write a short paper reflecting on that learning experience. Students will choose one of three options by February 5:

1. CONGRESS SIMULATION

The Congress simulation is part of P.S. 473 Legislative Process. The main players in the simulation, students in PS 473 The Legislative Process, will all be members of the House Ways and Means committee considering President Bush's tax cut proposal. Their debate will be more meaningful if they are trying to persuade other undecided "members." Students from Intro to Public Life who choose the simulation option will be playing supporting roles as other members of the U.S. House. To fulfill this assignment you must complete all of the following:

February 14 Orientation During Regular Class time
Choose your representative and Get Oriented

March 7 Simulation paper #1 (2 1/2 pages)
Write a paper describing your congressional district and member. Research by using the internet and The Almanac of American Politics. Describe the district geography, political and other history, economy, and the social makeup. Introduce your member's personal, professional and political background. What party is he and what issues and ideology does he/she emphasize? How long has he/she served? Have their recent elections been close? What Congress committee and subcommittees? Include a map of the district and photo of the member on the cover page.

Participation days Meet in class for orientation to discuss paper assignments, view C-SPAN Videos of congressional action or prepare for participation.

March 27 and 29 Observe Committee Hearing 10:30-11:45 am . Attend Dr. Kunkel’s Legislative Process class. You need only be present and observe.

April 10 and 12 Observe Committee Markup 10:30-11:45 am (6 points)
Attend Dr. Kunkel’s Legislative Process class. You need only be present and observe.

April 21 Simulation paper #2 Search the internet and read handouts from Dr. Kunkel on the issue of tax cuts and the economy. Write a 2 1/2 page paper explaining the major policy options. Discuss the pros and cons of the various options and what position your representative is likely to take.

April 22 & 26 Participate in House Floor Simulation, 10:30-11:45 am. Attend Dr. Kunkel’s Legislative Process class. On June 2 and June 4 you should come prepared to listen to the debate on the bill, join in the debate and vote on any roll call votes. "Professional dress" is required (e.g. suit or coat/tie, or skirt/dress).

April 30 Simulation Paper #3 due. Reflections on Good Citizenship (1 page)
Use your learning from this course (readings, discussions, speakers, videos) to discuss these questions:
Discuss various concepts of good citizenship.
How does your service experience correspond with these concepts?
Does your service experience have a political dimension? Discuss it in terms of these (or other)concepts: democracy, power, government.
Make any other connections from the class learning that seem relevant
Evaluation of the Requirement (1/2 page)
Evaluate the simulation option and participation requirement in this course.
What was valuable and beneficial?
What problems were there? What or improvements are needed?

2. SERVICE-LEARNING

This option involves a short-term collaboration with an agency, organization or citizens in the community helping them provide some desired community service.

Goals

1. Think about what it means to be a good citizen.
2. Think about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
3. Examine, articulate and apply their ethical and political views.
4. Participate cooperatively in a public group activity.
5. Learn about some issue or problem and its practical and ethical aspects.
6. Meet and learn about people in the wider community.

Time Commitment
The experience involves a minimum of ten hours of direct service. This does not include the time you may invest in finding a service agency or in your orientation. This service could be work on one particular project or on several different projects.

 Placement
Students are responsible for finding an agency or organization. The service should address a public problem or issue. Students interested in this option are advised to visit MSU’s Service Learning Fair on Thursday January 25. Students may provide the service as individuals or with a group classmates.

Approval of the Service experience
Two service-learning agreements must be completed by the student and approved by the professor. Other paperwork may be required.

Service -Learning Paper
The service experience is the basis for a paper in which you reflect upon, learn from and report on the experience. The paper should include these sections. Page-lengths are suggested.

9. Introduction (1/2 page)
   Give a brief overview of the broader issue or problem; who you worked with and what you did
10. Research on the problem (1 & 1/2 pages)
    What public problem did you learn about? What seem to be the causes of the problem? Who is affected? Who can affect the problem? What values are at stake? Include what you learned about the issue or problem and identify any sources you used. ?
11. Goals (1/2 page)
    Report on what you intended to accomplish.
    A. Goals and Objectives B. What you expected. What you hoped for.
12. Outcomes (1 pages)
    Evaluation of the impact of the actions and project
    on other people
    on you
13. Evaluation of Goals & Expectations
    Compare reality of experience with goals and objectives?
14. Reflections on Good Citizenship (1 page)
    Use your learning from this course (readings, discussions, speakers, videos) to discuss these questions:
    Discuss various concepts of good citizenship.
    How does your service experience correspond with these concepts?
    Does your service experience have a political dimension? Discuss it in terms of these (or other) concepts: democracy, power, government.
    Make any other connections from the class learning that seem relevant
15. Evaluation of the Requirement (1/2 page)
    Evaluate the service-learning option and participation requirement in this course.
    What was valuable and beneficial?
    What problems were there? What or improvements are needed?
16. APPENDIX: Include a copy of your time sheet from the agency or organization,?and the initial faculty-student and student-agency agreements.
    The agency or organization will send an evaluation form to Dr. Kunkel.

3. ISSUE GROUP
This is a group assignment giving students the opportunity to gain practical experience with participation in public life on an issue about which they care. This option lets you experience democratic collaboration, organization and public participation.

We will invest some time with the whole class in brainstorming and discussion to help identify issues and problems of interest to the students.

Students who choose the Issue Group option will then form small groups, (4 -8 members). Together you will set rules for the group, research your issue, write a mission statement, set goals, and develop an action plan. You will attempt some actions or implement a project to make a difference.

Criteria for issues and actions

Issues should meet three criteria:

• The ideas should arise from your interest. They should be something you care about. They may come from some shared ideological, political or ethical perspective. But they may originate in the personal experiences of people like you who want to change something for the better, or keep something good from changing. They may serve your self-interest or your interest in helping others.
• The problems or issues should be public. Your actions should be visible and make a community impact. Public issues affect and are affected by other people, groups or institutions. But issues need not be political in the narrow sense of involving government.
• Issues or problems should be practical concerns that can be acted upon. Most issues or problems involve both very broad challenges and more specific aspects. For example the broad problem of environmental protection can be seen in a narrower focus on Minnesota River cleanup or even more specifically on campus litter. The cliche’ "Think globally, act locally" applies here: It’s best to work on a specific and manageable local aspect of a problem with an awareness of the larger, and often more difficult, problem.

Actions
The actions or project you plan should potentially affect the larger issue or problem.

Issue group actions should involve planning, stages, and have identifiable results or products. Actions and projects should be manageable and possible to complete in the available time. Publicizing an issue, raising awareness, trying to influence decision-makers are useful actions. Some examples of actions or projects include meetings with officials, letter writing campaigns, web sites, newsletters, organizing a debate or conference, petitions, getting media coverage, or providing a service or event for some group.

You may work with existing groups or organizations. If you decide to join in on activities you should do so as a group. Don’t simply participate in their activities as individuals. At that point it becomes more like a service-learning experience. If in doubt discuss this with the professor.

Internal Democracy
Groups should collaborate on the basis of democratic equality. Equal speaking, equal listening, equal work is the ideal. You should try to rotate leadership roles. Everyone should be treated with respect.

Meeting times and Places
Several "participation days" are on the course calendar. On these days teams should meet in the regular classroom.

Nonparticipation
Don’t feel obligated to cover for someone who does not participate. Let the member know your feelings and/or let the professor know the situation. Students who are not going to be active team participants should not choose this option. The professor will try to meet with all concerned and will make a final determination. ??

Each active member of the group will fill out an evaluation of the other group members’ participation (distributed by the professor). The scores for each student will be the average of the scores given by other team members. This will be 16 points toward your grade. Of course a student who receives very low scores from other group members will likely loose more of the participation points.

Issue Group Grading

Participation	64	16%
Individual Rating from team members	16	4%
Participation Paper/Report	40	10%

 Issue Group Paper
The final paper should be a group project. You may want to divide labor and have different people work on different parts of the report. But the group as a whole is responsible for it.

The Report should include these sections. Page-lengths are suggested.

9. Introduction and overview (1-2 pages)
   Give an overview of the issue or problem, identifying who is affected, who affects it and what values are at stake. Include your Mission Statement.
10. Research Report (2 pages)
    Include what you learned about the issue or problem and what sources you used.
11. Goals and Objectives (2 pages)
    Report on what you intended to accomplish.
    A. Goals and Objectives
    B. Actions and/or Projects planned
12. Outcomes (2 pages)
    Evaluation of the impact of the actions and projects
    on other people on you and the members of your group
    
    Evaluation of how well the group accomplished its goals and objective
    What went well and why
    What problems did you encounter; what could have gone better
13. Reflections on Good Citizenship (1 page)
    Use your learning from this course (readings, discussions, speakers, videos) to discuss these questions:
    Discuss various concepts of good citizenship.
    How does your service experience correspond with these concepts?
    Does your service experience have a political dimension? Discuss it in terms of these (or other)concepts: democracy, power, government.
    Make any other connections from the class learning that seem relevant
14. Evaluation of the Requirement (1/2 page)
    Evaluate the issue group option and participation requirement in this course.
    What was valuable and beneficial?
    What problems were there? What or improvements are needed?
15. APPENDIX: Timeline showing at least ten hours involvement. Include meeting minutes form (from professor) that gives date, time, place, who attended, paragraph on what happened.

LATE WORK
It is your responsibility to complete work on schedule. If this is not possible you must speak with the professor before the work is due to make other arrangements. If this is not possible you must speak with the professor very soon after the work is due. Failure to meet your responsibilities will result in a 5% penalty for each school day (MTWRF). If you are unable to reach the professor before a due date, leave a message with the P.S. Department Office (389-2721).

ASSISTANCE and ACCOMODATIONS
The professor is employed by the university to help students learn. Too often students wait until they are in academic trouble before seeking assistance. You are encouraged to visit with the professor or graduate assistant if you need help. This goes for everyone. If you are a student with a documented disability, please see me as early in the semester as possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services Office at (507) 389-2825 (v) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY)�0

ALWAYS BRING TO CLASS The book we are studying at that time.

MONDAY	WEDNESDAY		FRIDAY
	January 17 Course Introduction		January 19 READ: New Citizenship ch. 1 Intro to the Core Dilemma
January 22 READ: New Citizenship ch. 2 Obstacles to democratic participation U.S. Constitution Political Socialization	January 24 Democratic Elitism & Participatory Democracy SERVICE LEARNING FAIR JAN. 25 10:30-12:30p.m CSU		January 26 READ: New Citizenship ch. 3 Civic Indifference & Youth
January 29 EXPLORE SIMULATION & ISSUE GROUP OPTIONS	January 31 EXPLORE SERVICE-LEARNING OPTIONS Speakers: Pam Determan Volunteer Interfaith Network Claudia Collier — Volunteer Ctr.		February 2 READ: New Citizenship ch. 4 Civil Rights Movement
February 5 Video Civil Rights Movement A Force More Powerful "We Were Warriors" CHOOSE PARTICIPATION OPTION	February 7 Video Civil Rights Movement A Force More Powerful		February 9 Discuss Video and Unconventional & Uncivil Activism
February 12 PARTICIPATION DAY Issue groups meet Simulators meet Service-learners meet SERVICE LEARNERS CONFIRM AGENCY	February 14 READ: New Citizenship ch. 5 Neighborhood Organizations Student Organizations		February 16 Video Democratic Promise: Saul Alinsky & His Legacy
February 19 Discuss video	February 21 READ: New Citizenship ch. 6 Service-Learning		February 23 EXAM #1
February 26 READ: Co/Motion ch. 1, 2 Power	February 28 PARTICIPATION DAY Issue groups meet Simulators meet Service-learners meet		March 2 READ: Co/Motion ch. 3 Identifying & Researching Issues
March 5	March 7 READ: Co/Motion ch. 4, 5 Organizing Techniques Networking & Coalitions CONGRESS SIM PAPER #1 DUE		March 9 Speaker on Organizing?
March 12 Spring Break	March 14 Spring Break		March 16 Spring Break
March 19 READ: Co/Motion ch. 6, 7 Strategy/Goals Power Mapping Tactics/Actions	March 21 READ: Co/Motion ch. 8 Conducting Meetings		March 23 PARTICIPATION DAY Issue groups meet Simulators meet Service-learners meet
March 26 READ: Co/Motion ch. 9, 10 Communication & Writing Using Media   CONGRESS SIM HEARINGS MARCH 27	March 28 READ: Co/Motion ch. 11, 12, 13 Managing Conflict Fundraising & Budgeting Evaluation CONGRESS SIM HEARINGS MARCH 29		March 30
April 2 EXAM #2	April 4 READ: Consent, ch. 1 Personal Choices & Political Philosophies		April 6
April 9 READ: Consent, ch. 2 Superpatriotism CONGRESS SIM MARKUP APRIL 10	April 11     CONGRESS SIM MARKUP APRIL 12		April 13 READ: Consent, ch. 3 Cynicism
April 16     CONGRESS SIM PAPER #2	April 18 READ: Consent ch. 4 Anarchism		April 20 READ: Consent, ch. 5 Case Against Anarchism SERVICE SHOULD BE COMPLETED
April 23 PARTICIPATION DAY Issue groups meet Simulators meet Service-learners meet CONGRESS SIM FLOOR DEBATE APRIL 24	April 25 READ: Consent, ch. 6 Critical Citizenship   CONGRESS SIM FLOOR DEBATE APRIL 26		April 27 READ: Consent, ch. 7 Critical Citizenship Perspective
April 30 PAPERS DUE	May 2 PARTICIPATION REPORTS		May 4 PARTICIPATION REPORTS
MONDAY May 7 10:15-12:15 EXAM #3 101-02	TUESDAY May 8 8 — 10:00 EXAM #3 101-01