Constitution Assignment - AWOL

Constitution Assignment to Post On Your Blog

Part A:
You've done - mostly in class - a longer assignment regarding the first chunk of the Constitution (listed below). Please post the following parts.

• Paraphrase preamble and list powers and responsibilities of the 3 branches of the federal government.
• Please describe your feelings while reading and taking notes on the Constitution - awe, excitement, boredom, frustration?
• Pick 5 of your best insights and questions from the 10 you constructed about the Preamble and first 3 articles.

Part B (Post separately from A):

• Select 2 of your responses to the questions regarding Articles 4-7. Develop each to become a brief but sharp and interesting 2 paragraph essay.
• Select 2 of your responses to the Bill of Rights. Develop each to become a brief but sharp and interesting 2-3 paragraph essay.

Part C (Post separately from A & B)

• Select 2 of your responses to the questions regarding the 12-15th amendments. Develop each into a brief but sharp and interesting 2-3 paragraph essay.
• Describe the amendment from the rest of the list (16-27) that you find most significant and make an argument for why we should consider it especially important.

Part D (Post separately from A, B, and C)

• Post your further-developed thoughts on question 1 in a 2-4 paragraph mini-essay.
• Post your further developed thoughts on question 4 in a 2-5 paragraph essay.
• Post your further developed thoughts on question 5 in a 3-7 paragraph essay.

Consider the habits of mind to start your thinking and writing process. What is the main point? What are other ways of seeing this - where might there be controversy? Why does this matter? What does this connect to? Then make a brainstorm list of topics or a concept map. Then write a rough draft. Print it out and add and change. Make a new draft. Share with someone smart and get them to make comments. Post the 3rd draft.

Post online the above. Do not post the below, which is just here to make a record of the original class assignments.

Deeper In the Constitution
A: Part 1: Preamble:

• Memorize Preamble – use chunking and sequencing techniques. Chunking - “we the people” – “in order to FORM a more perfect union” “ESTABLISH justice” – Sequencing - FEIPPSoe
• Paraphrase Preamble Effectively – look up words you don’t know. Read the blue ink. Write it down.
• Be able to explain various goals listed in Preamble to each other and instructor.
• Critical thinking about preamble – what isn’t listed? What is a lie or a distortion or spin? Think it through and write down a few ideas, a few skeptical questions.

Part 2: Articles 1-3 of the Constitution:

• Read through each article and take notes on each.
• List powers and responsibilities and facts about each branch in your notes
• Read explanations by textbook editors (blue ink) for each section
• Read crossed out (amended) parts.
• Create 10 questions or interesting analyses/ideas about the 1st 3 sections and the Preamble.

B: Part 3: Articles 4-7

• Read and paraphrase the “Full Faith & Credit” provision in Article 4. What does that mean for gay marriage? Explain.
• Read through the rest of Article 4 – Paraphrase the amended portion that begins, “No person held to … may be due.” Why does this matter?
• Article 5 – Please make a flow chart of the two processes for amending the Constitution. What is the one rule which can’t be amended? What would the Convention route look like today?
• Article 6: What is the Supreme Law of the Land? What is the significance, in your opinion, of the “No religious test” clause.
• Article 7: What was necessary for the ratification of the Constitution? Why “Conventions” not “State Legislatures?” Why 9? Does this seem like a fair process to you? Why or why not?

Part 4: The Bill of Rights

• Read and paraphrase in writing the first 10 amendments.
• Please draw all the things that the government can’t block, because of the 1st amendment – one image for each of the 6 clauses.
• Does the 2nd Amendment seem to you to allow “well-organized militias” to have guns, or to allow all people to have guns? Make an argument
• Is the 4th Amendment contradicted by MTA, library, and/or airport searches?
• What do the 6th & 7th Amendments show about US fears of a bad government which would use its powers to unfairly arrest and convict innocent people?
• Do “lethal injection” and/or the “electric chair” contradict the 8th amendment? Why/why not?
• What do the 9th remind us about where rights ultimately come from? Are they given by government? What are some of the “others retained by the people” in your opinion? Is abortion one of them?
• What does the 10th Amendment say about the national government’s powers? Can the federal government take over the public school system? Can the Congress pass a law allowing gay marriage or denying it?

C: Part 5

• What does Amendment 11 indicate about the relative power of the federal government versus state governments (a question which 65 years later led to the US Civil War)?
• Amendments 12, 13, 14, & 15 are often referred to as a major turning point in US government policy. Explain the importance of these amendments.
• Why do you suppose these amendments were passed when they were - given how popular white supremacy has been in the US?
• Does the 14th combine with the earlier "no religious test" clause to guarantee a vision of a diverse and equitable society with no government discrimination?
• Why do you suppose the US government betrayed these ideals so frequently and so deeply from 1868 to 2008? Provide 3 of these betrayals or, if you prefer, of times when the US government realized these promises during difficult times.
• Does the 14th amendment seem to you to require the US government to overrule state government laws against gay marriage? Should the US government also step in to protect fetuses - as "persons" - from states that allow abortions? What about stepping in to guarantee women's right to the liberty of control of their own body and reproductive choices? What do your answers to the gay marriage, fetus-as-person, and reproductive rights questions suggest to you about the potential and problems in enforcing the 14th amendment? Specifically consider the following section - "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Part 6: The rest of the Constitution

• Please read the rest of the amendments and write a sentence or two summarizing the meaning of each. If you get stuck check out some help from the textbook or wikipedia.
• Evaluate Amendments 11-27 - which are the most powerful? Which are the most important?

D: Part 7: Thinking Further

1. Given the distinction between a constitutional amendment and a law - if you had the influence how would you amend the constitution?
2. Is the Constitution a possibly divinely inspired document that provides a nearly perfect structure of freedom and responsibility to the US government? Describe 2-3 aspects of the Constitution and Amendments that could support this argument.
3. Is the Constitution an elaborate sham - a fake-out - a big founding fathers PSYYYCH!? Identify 2-3 aspects of the Constitution and Amendments that could support this argument.
4. What is the general tendency of the Constitution and Amendments in your view - general and steady expansion of human freedom and decency? Reverses and contradictions in no particular direction? Ever increasing betrayal of democratic ideals by corrupt officials? A record of an eternal battle between the evil and good sides of humanity? Explain your fundamental perspective regarding the Constitution and provide a few arguments (including some citations of the Constitution itself) that support your position.
   
5. How does the Constitution, as amended, create/constrain/shape the American Way of Life?

Grading Thoughts Pt 4 or so - Nov 14

As negotiated I created grades based 50% on class work and 50% on assignments. The assignments I graded are below and were graded according to the “General Rubric” that emphasizes insight and also careful revision. The class work was graded (unscientifically) based on the rubric I provided, which emphasizes having notebook out for review, nurturing your own questions and interests related to the class, being present and on time, and participating constructively in groups and whole class efforts.

Assignments – Both Courses:
Video & Writing Project 1 (x2)
Responses to VWP1
Other Peoples’ Perspectives

Additional AWOL Assignments:
I Pencil Summary, Quotes, Analysis

Additional LDH2NBMeaningless Assignments:
Music Video Analysis
Music Video Analysis Responses (1/2)

I was able to accurately construct high grades for some students (top was 98%) – with a handful of As. A second hands and toes batch of students had done all the work but not necessarily always consistently excellent and ended up with something between 75%-89%. Some students managed to pass without having done all the assignments (65%-74%). And some students were pretty close to passing based on having done well on a couple assignments or done poorly on a number. And some students published no work and failed by a large margin (36% was the low). In all more than 40% of students failed the course, pretty even by gender and I’ve not analyzed race and class – and this is roughly true of Jeremy Copeland’s class too.

There are two major alternatives for dealing with these grades to address the large numbers of students who failed. The first is that the teachers could lower expectations, and just pass everyone who shows up and doesn’t mess up the discussions, and so on. A person who used to teach at SOF called this “a gentlemen’s 65”. The other alternative is that the 40% of failing students lift their effort and get work done and try to learn as much as they can.
I’ve chosen, for my courses, the second option. SOF is aiming to be one of the best schools in the city along with Bard & Beacon & Baruch, for each of the students who is here roughly 9 students applied for their seat. We prepare all students for college and for completing intellectually challenging exhibitions. If you’re not willing or able to do work you should at least consider transferring to a school where you can be more successful.

Specific Questions:
What if I think my grade is unfair?
You’re entitled to appeal any specific assignment grade that you feel is off by 2 or more points. In other words if you got a 7 but believe you deserve a 10 you can appeal. But you can’t appeal if you think the score is off by 1-2 points. In general if you think a score is too low its probably a sign you should re-read the assignment and the rubric. There are no appeals of the class work scores.

How will these quarter grades affect my semester grade?
I will average the two quarter grades, perhaps with an extra “mid-term” final grade, to compute your semester grade. That will be an average of your exact score – and if you failed the quarter it will be with your actual 63% or actual 36%. I will make one exception to the strict averaging – I plan to allow students who earn above a 90% (and only those students) in the second quarter to do an extra credit project to offset the potentially lower first quarter grade.

But this isn’t fair, is it?
No, I don’t think grades tend to be fair or particularly helpful. We’ve talked about that. But what grades you are given will be at least accurate to the best of my ability.

But I had technological problems, that’s not fair!
There was class time, computer lab time, and plenty of help available. Computers and the internet are available at every public library and in many other locations as well. It is your job to solve problems that hinder your learning, not to use them as excuses for not learning.

If I want to talk to you about my grades what should I do?
You should write a polite and detailed email that states what you see as the problem, include your scores as of the mid-October grades, and seek to propose a clear and fair and just solution. My email address is at the bottom of the UTFL.net page.

Thoughts on the Election

Some More Thoughts on the Election by Andy

1. Compare this election to Bush v Gore – In 2000 Bush/Cheney (not strong candidates) almost beat the Democrats that were able to claim responsibility for a strong economy, no wars, budget surpluses, etc. Obama as the best candidate in U.S. history with huge financial support and a skilled grassroots organizing and vote-getting machine was campaigning against an unskilled and ludicrous Republican ticket that was allied to the super-unpopular President Bush II who was responsible for a disastrous financial crisis, a recession, two losing wars, record gas prices, Katrina, WTC, housing market collapse, etc. And Obama only wins 52% to 46% - 55,500,000 still voted for the Republican. This is not a massive swing to enlightenment among the American people that folks in NYC & Europe want to see.

2. my favorite comment on the election, from ranprieur.com -
"November 5. I might be the only Obama voter who is disappointed. He did not beat the polls, despite his massive ground game and all the cell phone voters, and he had short coattails, with Democrats doing a bit worse than expected in House and Senate races. In my own state, which Obama won by 16 points, two brilliant Democrats, Darcy Burner and Peter Goldmark, might yet lose to mediocre Republicans. California, which Obama won by 24 points, voted to ban gay marriage. I don't see a progressive surge -- I see the most exceptional presidential candidate in decades doing everything right and still needing luck to win. If McCain had picked Tom Ridge as VP, and the financial collapse had happened two months later, the pundits would now be saying that America is not ready for a black president, that the 50 state strategy was a blunder, that a massive volunteer network is a waste of time, that rural white voters are real Americans and
college students are out of touch.

This is not the dawning of a new era. We put out a fire, and there are more coming. It's going to be interesting to see what the Republican party does now. The smart move is to rebuke the wingnuts, move back to center-right, and be patient. If they do that, they'll be the dominant party again before 2020. The bold move is to go old-fashioned populist, culturally conservative and economically socialist. That would change everything, but I don't think they have the balls. And the stupid move is to go even farther to the right. That's also the most dangerous move for the country, because they might just get some lucky breaks and win."

3. Obama is going to be HATED by the lunatic-right-wing (already is - they shout "kill him" and "arab" when his name comes up) - maybe 15% of the population? he will be jesus to the 20% of liberals (occasionally a disappointing jesus, but if you read the gospels you can see that is also part of the role). and the rest of the people will believe a mixture of the right wing and the liberals, hope and fear in a bad tasting combination. i think his ability to carry out his idealistic but pragmatic reform policies such as universal health care through a federal program that is set up to move us towards single-payer like in canada, taxing the rich more, more diplomacy, some slow-down on greenhouse gases, some alternative energy, etc will be limited by the recession and financial crisis and by the ravings of the rightwing. but he might slow down the movement of the u.s. towards chaos and idiocy.

4. Compare Obama’s upcoming Presidency to Clinton’s – In 1992 Clinton won office over Bush I in the middle of a mild recession – raised taxes on rich people and created Family & Medical Leave policy but failed to pass his biggest promise – universal health care legislation and had to compromise on gays in the military. By 1994 the rightwing surged & won 54 additional seats and control of the House with the “Contract with America”.

5. There has been a lot of talk about the powerful effects on the culture of having a “Black President.” It is probably true that some people (ethnic minorities especially) who have been told not to dream too big will feel encouraged to dream bigger. But it is also likely that the election of this mixed-race President will be taken as an opportunity for people to say that Blacks and others should “stop whining” and “shut up and act like everything is fair”. But everything is not fair – African-Americans are far more likely to deal with the problems of poverty and discrimination than European-Americans – and that is a result of the historical legacy of slavery and white supremacist policy in the U.S. And that legacy doesn’t go “poof” just because we have another outstanding Black celebrity – just as Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, and Michael Jackson didn’t guarantee equal opportunities and basic dignity for all ethnic minorities. Bottom line – Black and Hispanic and Asian children still face an unfair burden of poverty and discrimination and Obama would have to be a miracle worker, not just President, to change that.

6. Obama and many of his supporters have pointed to the crucial role of engaged volunteers and activists in getting him elected and that his election is “not the change, just the chance to make the change.” But what are we all supposed to do? Its pretty clear how to organize volunteers to win an election – phone calls, door knocking, working at the campaign office, etc. How do we organize the millions of enthusiastic and principled supporters of the Obama campaign to end the war in Iraq? Create non-profit universal health care? Guarantee a decent childhood to poor Black and Hispanic and all other children? Transfer the economy from an Earth-plundering model to a sustainable ecological economy?

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