POLS 321—Democracy & Citizenship
POLS 322—Public Achievement
Term: Fall & Spring, 2008-09
Instructor: Tony Filipovitch, 106d Morris Hall, (507) 389-5035, 388-2264 (home)
Office Hours: My office hours are posted here
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSES
1. Motivation: Students should develop an increased sense
of civic responsibility and want to be more involved in public activity.
2. Empowerment: Students should feel more powerful and
effective. They should become more optimistic about their potential to
influence public events.
3. Skill:
Students should improve their political skills and be more able to influence
public affairs.
4. Understanding: Students should better understand
and appreciate democracy and related concepts.
TEXTS
Erlanson, Bridget and Robert Hildreth. 1998.
Building Worlds, Transforming Lives,
Making History: A Coaches Guide to Public Achievement. (The “Green Book”). Center for
Democracy
and Citizenship.
Dahl, Robert A. 1998. On
Democracy.
Bishop, Bill.
2008. The Big Sort: Why the Clustering
of Like-Minded
Gertson, Larry N. 2002. Public
Policymaking in a Democratic Society: A Guide to Civic Engagement. M.E.
Sharpe Publishers. (Spring Semester)
GRADING
You will receive a separate
grade for POLS 381 and for POLS 382.
Grades will likely follow
these percentages of the total points.
A = 130-117 B = 116-104 C = 103-91 D = 90-78 F = below 78
REQUIREMENTS
|
Pols
381 Democracy & Citizenship |
Points |
Pols
382 Public Achievement |
Points |
|
Class Attendance &
Participation 15
classes to attend (1 points each) 12 classes to participate (max 2.5 point
per) |
20 min 40 max |
PA Coaching Practice
(includes attending Saturday workshop) |
50 |
|
9 Reading Summaries in Journal (one reading dropped) |
90 |
Issues Report |
20 |
|
|
|
10 PA Reports in Journal |
50 |
|
|
|
Email Paragraph on team |
10 |
|
TOTALS |
130 |
|
130 |
RELEVANT TO BOTH COURSES
PAIRED COURSES
You cannot take Pols 381 without simultaneously taking Pols 382. Students must also register for these courses spring semester.
JOURNAL WRITING
Each course requires writing assignments which you are
to combine in a journal.
We will divide the class into
two groups with different due dates for the first collection.
Required Details:
· All writing assignments should be typed/word processed.
· Write your name clearly on the front cover. If you use a dark color binder your name must be easily legible.
· Only the type of journal binder shown by the professor will be accepted.
· Pages must be bound together. No loose pages accepted.
· Reading Summaries and PA Reports should be separated by a divider.
· Each piece of writing should be labeled following these examples.
September 2
Reading Summary #1 Dahl, chs. 1 3
September
4 PA Report #2 React to Green Book
October 9 PA Report #7 Reaction to Team Meeting #1
- Length: Write a minimum of 600 words (one page
single spaced, two pages double spaced) for each Reading Summary and PA
Report.
- Include the Journal Cover Sheet as the
first page of your journal.
Scoring of Journals
- You will lose points if you do not complete each
writing assignment on time; On Wednesdays your student-colleagues will
check and sign off on the Journal Cover Sheet. If you have not
completed the previous Friday’s PA report and that Wednesday’s
Reading Summary you will lose 5 points. (3 points penalty for reading
summaries 2 point penalty for PA reports.)
- The Professor will collect your journal twice.
For the first collection the class will be divided into two groups due on
different days. If you complete a piece of writing that you did not have
completed when colleagues checked you can earn 7 points for reading
summaries 3 point for PA reports.
- Over the whole semester you may ³SKIP² one reading summary and one PA Report (except #s 1, 2, 3 or 8 which you must do).
Pols 381 Democracy & Citizenship
CLASS ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Class discussions will allow assessment, sharing and
enhancement of your learning and that of the professor and class. Sometimes these may be whole class
discussions. Sometimes these may be simultaneous small groups, Sometimes these
may be small groups taking turns before the rest of the class. All students
should come to class and try to join in discussion. I will keep a record noting
1 points for attendance and up to 2.5 points for informed discussion. Informed
discussion of the readings in class will be particularly noted.
READING
Write a review of each of the
reading assignments relative to our course objectives. Each review should have
two parts.
1. Summarize what the author thinks is most important in the reading
and tell why it is supposed to be important. (about 3/4)
2. Evaluate or critique the information or ideas in the reading assignment. Do not say it was boring or too long or too wordy. Relate it to Public Achievement or other contemporary experiences or news about democracy. (about 1/4)
The summaries are worth 10 points each if completed when checked in class; 7 points if completed by the time the professor collects them.
Pols 382 Public Achievement
ATTENDANCE AT DMMS EVENTS
You must attend and participate in the Public Achievement Site Orientation, Student Orientation, Issues Assembly, and all PA Meetings, unless excused. You must be on time and prepared for your PA meetings. You must let the professor know as soon as possible if you must be absent. Absences happen only very rarely if at all. Your PA students will be depending on you and the professor and mentors may not be able to effectively arrange for a substitution.
BACKGROUND CHECK
Without a background check
you will not be allowed to be a PA coach. You need to go to Lori Bird (COE
Clinical & Field Experience Office) in AH 119
SATURDAY WORKSHOP
You are required to attend at least our Saturday Orientation workshop
on September 6. You also may participate in other workshops if sponsored by
Minnesota Public Achievement.
PA SCHEDULING
On most Fridays we will go to
First shift/8th grade: team meetings 1:20-2:05 pm,
coaches’ meeting 2:10 to about
2:40
Second shift/7th grade: team meetings 2:09-2:54 pm, coaches’
meeting 3:00 to about 3:30
GOOD PA COACHING PRACTICE
The professor and your mentor
will visit your team meetings nearly every week. We will be trying to discuss
what we observe with you in order to be helpful. We presume that if you meet
with your team and give your best effort you will get the points for good
coaching practice.
· Your grade does
NOT depend on the success of your PA team in accomplishing any particular
goals. We recognize that your efforts are important, but are only part of the
equation.
- Conduct yourself in a professional manner.
Observe all school rules. Act like the adult authority in the group.
Beware of trying to be a friend. Do not tolerate flirting, teasing,
inappropriate language.
- You must be reliable, prepared, active and show
initiative.
- You must follow directions and respond to
feedback.
- Your team should write in the weekly log reports.
PUBLIC ACHIEVEMENT REPORTS
IN THE JOURNAL (600 words each)
PA Team Reports
Your writing should address all of these four areas in identified sections.
1) Experiences
/Descriptions
What did you (and/or your team) experience? What happened? What did you do?
2) Reflections
/Evaluations
What is the meaning of the experiences? Evaluate: What's going well? What needs improvement? How do you (and/or
your team) feel?
3) Connections/Generalizations
What are you/your team thinking and learning about democratic citizenship? Use
core concepts. Mention your reading for PA or the more academic reading for
Democracy and Citizenship.
4) Applications/Experiments/Strategies
What are your plans and strategies? What skills are you and your team
developing?
PA Issue Research Paper
You will have MEA week (October 17) to do advance research on
your teamıs issue or problem and think about possible projects or actions.
Effective PA coaches must learn about the issue and possible resources in the
community. You canıt just wait for middle school students to discover this
themselves.
1. Describe the issue or problem.
2. Predict how the issue or
problem might be either broadened ³up² from the particular concerns of your
team to connect to some larger concern (Think globally). Also, imagine
ways to make a broad problem or issue more focused, immediate and actionable by
youth (Act Locally). (1 2 paragraphs)
3. Research and Learn about
the issue.
Provide a list of community
groups/individuals who have expertise and interest in the issue. Learn what has been done previously on this,
or related issues. Find on-line and/or printed sources to help you learn about
the issue. Brainstorm some actions or projects.
EMAIL PARAGRAPHS FOR PA
NEWS AND WEBSITE (due
date to be announced)
By a date to be announced
submit a short update on your PA team. You may write this or have your team
write it with your supervision. These should be well written paragraphs of 150
-250 words. These should tell a public audience about the mission and
activities of the team. These will be posted on our PA website and send home in
the school newsletter to families. You may write these or help your team to do
so. We are keeping the number (one or two) and the dates open, until we learn
the deadlines for the DMMS newsletters.
FINAL REPORT (Spring Semester)
The
final report is intended to help you integrate and record your learning from both
POLS 381 and 382 from both semesters. The report should be typed,
double-spaced, 10 or 12 point font, one inch margins, five pages in length.
Think about the course objectives, the four types of writing you did for the
journals and the Social Studies standards relevant to your portfolio. In
writing discuss and evaluate both
a. What you experienced and learned and how you were
changed.
b. What your Public Achievement team experienced,
learned, attempted and accomplished.
c. What went well/not so well? What you might do
differently.
Also include a one page letter addressed to an MSU,M
student who will be a PA coach next year. Tell them what should they expect
from these courses and PA in particular. What advice do you have?
ASSISTANCE
TO STUDENTS
The professor is here to help students learn. All students
are encouraged to visit with the professor if they need help. Students with
disabilities are particularly invited to meet with the professor to discuss any
special instructional needs they may have, or to contact the office of
Disability Services.
|
Wednesday POLS 321
at MSU |
Friday POLS 322 at Middle School |
Saturday |
|
August 27 Course Introduction |
August 29 Intro to Public
Achievement Read: Green Book chaps. 1-6 PA Report #1 Write on: Kunkel, Johnson et al. Collaboration, Action, Civic Education |
|
|
September 3 Democracy: What & Why?
Reading
Summary #1 Dahl, On Democracy chs. 1 - 3
|
September 5 Orientation
to DMMS PA
Report #2 Read & React to Green Book, All |
September 6 |
September 10
Ideal Democracy
Reading
Summary #2 Dahl, On Democracy chs. 4-7 |
September 12 PA
Student Orientation to PA (Temporary shift assignments) PA Report #3
Reaction to Student Orientation |
|
September 17
Actual Democracy
Dahl, chs. 8-11
|
September
19 PA
Issues Assemblies (Temporary
shift assignments) PA Report #4
Reaction
to Issue Assembly |
|
September 24
Conditions for Democracy Dahl, chs. 12-14 |
September 26 PA Students Issue Voting PA Report #5 Reaction to Issue Voting
|
|
October 1Choose PA Teams
& Shifts
Team Builders & Ice
Breakers In-Service |
October
3 No class/No PA ·
Begin research
Your Team’s Issue |
|
October 8
Populism
as a form of democracy
|
October 10PA
Team Meeting #1 PA Report #6 Reaction to Team Meeting #1 |
|
October 15Researching Issues
Journals due |
October 17
MEA Days-- no PA
|
|
October 22The Strength of Diversity
|
October 24 MSU Issue Paper Report |
|
October 29
|
October 31 PA Team Meeting #2 PA Report #7 Reaction to Team Meeting #2 |
|
November 5
Election Results: What Have We Done? David Mamet, “Why
I Am No Longer a Brain-Dead Liberal”
|
November
7 DMMS
Teachers’ Day—no PA |
|
November 12
The Big Sort: Way We
Live, chs. 7-9 |
November 14PA Team Meeting #3
PA Report #8 Reaction to Team Meeting #3 |
|
November 19Weakness of Democracy: Tragedy
of the Commons; “The Melian Debate” The Big Sort: Politics of People Like Us, chs. 10-12 |
November 21
PA Team Meeting #4 PA Report #9 Reaction to Team Meeting #4 |
|
November 26The Miniapple Game
|
November 28
No Classes -
Give Thanks
|
|
|
December 3 Course Evaluation Final journals due David Mamet or Melian Debate |
December
5
PA
Team Meeting #5 Paragraph describing Team due PA Report #10 Reaction to Team Meeting #5 |
|
Second Semester CALENDAR
İ 2008 A.J.Filipovitch
Revised 13 August 08