Concepts of Democracy

If democracy is so great, why isn't it everywhere? Some places don't have the belief systems in place that allows democracy to flourish. Here are some examples of concepts in place that a democracy believes in:

Worth of the Individual
Everyone, no matter who they were born to or what characteristics they were born with, is important. They are a separate distinct being with worth and dignity.

Equality of all Persons
Even though we are not neccesarily born of the same intelligence or ability, regardless of the arbitrary characteristics of gender or race, we all have the same opportunity and equality in the eyes of the law.

Individual Freedom
We are not absolutely free because that would be anarchy. However we are free to act within the law. On the flip side, government cannot create law that encroaches on our inalienable rights.

Majority Rule, Minority Rights
In a democracy, the power is in the hands of everyone rather than just one or few. But not 100% of everyone is going to agree all the time. This means that the majority is going to rule. But, if the majority takes away the rights of the minority the democracy starts to destruct. For example, most of the United States does not agree with the KKK about their beliefs but we cannont take away their right to talk about them even if we hate what they say. In a democracy the rights of the minority are protected.

Necessity of Compromise
Again, with power in the hands of many instead of a few there are going to be disagreements. Compromise is where two sides of a disagreement find a way to come to an agreement even if it isn't what both sides originally argued for. If we do not agree to give up some of what we want to find an agreement we could regress into violence and the democracy collapses.

Free Enterprise
In a democracy, businesses are run by private people and not the government. It would be a paradox and improbable for people to be free within the law but business run by the state. The businesses are extended the freedoms that people have in a democracy.

Classic Forms of Government

Today we learned about he classic forms of government that are most commonly used by a state.


Feudalism-
The dominant political system in medieval Europe. Based on the rule of local lords bound to a king by ties of royalty. Peasants are ruled by the feudal lords, and lords are ruled and given title by the king.

Classical republic-
A representative democracy in which a small group of elected leaders represent the concerns of the electorate.

Absolute Monarchy-
A form of government in which a king or a queen hold total control of the military and the government.

Authoritarianism-
A form of government in which an individual or group has unlimited authority. No effective restraint on the power of government exists

Despotism-
Rule by a despot, a ruler with absolute power who uses his rule tyrannically.

Liberal Democracy-
Based on the protection of individual rights and freedoms and the consent of the governed. This form of government focuses on protecting individual rights from the tyranny of the majority.

Totalitarianism-
A type of government that attempts to control all facets of citizens’ lives.


Here are some things you should be thinking about when you study these. Who is ruling? and Who is getting ruled? What is the relationship: In a democracy or a republic general populations participate where in the other forms of government the rulers have unlimited power over the people.

the State

Have y'all ever seen Will Smith in the movie Enemy of the State? The state referred to in the title is the Political Science definition for the State. There are 4 requirements a place must meet before it can be considered a state:

It has to have definite borders.
It has to have a population
It has to have a government or in other words an institution that makes and enforces public policy.
It must be sovereign or in other words it rules and controls itself.

This is confusing because most of us already think of states as places like Texas, Florida, New York and California, but this is a different definition. By the definition of "state" that we learned today none of these places is a state because they're not sovereign; they are ultimately part of the United States. For our purposes, examples of a state include the United States, Mexico, Canada, England, France, etc...

There are several theories about how the state came to be.
Force theory says that someone used violence to create and control the first state.
Evolutionary theory says that being the head of a family evolved into a government and when tribes became stationary rather than nomadic, the state was born.
Divine Right theory says that God created the state and kings get their power from God to rule.
Social Contract theory says that men started in a anarchic state then used reasoning to decide to start a society. The state is accountable to the people. This is the most important theory for us because it is the foundation on which our democracy (and most democracies) is built. Philosophers like Hobbes, Rousseau and Locke are famous for writing about it.

Assignment #2 today was:
1. Pick the political theory you think is the most likely. Why is the one you chose the most likely? Are there any flaws in the other theories?
2. Define the state.

Government Class Expectations

Today we went over the class syllabus. All class expectations were exlplained. By tomorrow you should have a notebook so that you can keep all classwork in for notes to study from. Remember you'll need it because tests and projects are worth 50% of your grade. If you need a reminder of what the classroom rules are, here you go:




Assignment #1 today was:
1. Finish the sentence, "Government is..." Include your notion of government. It could be our government or government in general. What do you think government is for. Include all your thoughts.

First Day of School

It was so nice to meet everyone today. I am really glad I made the move to Northbrook. Don't forget to bring back all your papers signed by your parents to your first period teacher. Tomorrow we will be going over the class syllabus.

Thing #23: I've made it.

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
My favorite exercise was the exercise on commenting on other blogs. Before that thing I wasn't really looking out for blogs to read or find applicable one for me. Now I'm looking for blogs and even subscribing to them through an RSS feeder.

How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
This program has assisted me in my lifelong learning goals by giving me tools through which to learn.

Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
I was surprised that there was so much I didn't know about. I'm pretty technology savvy (or at least I thought I was) but this has opened up so much more.

What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
Actually I thought it was an excellent concept. The format is fine too. Some times I'm kind of overwhelmed by the amount of links included in an explanation of a thing. Some seem repetitive. It looks a bit cluttered sometimes. Also, I'm surprised that there was nothing about Skype a tool with a lot of potential for the classroom.

If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
Yes, most likely.

How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote 23 Things learning activities?
This is the program for any teacher who wants to effectively integrate technology into their classroom

Thing #22: Nings

I use both Facebook and MySpace pretty often, but I had never thought of putting together a website where professionals can communicate. I explored the teacher ning and I found a lot of blogs to subscribe to. (I have finally got on board with google reader). I know my school's librarian has created a ning for our school to so I could use it to communicate with students more.

Thing #21: Podcast

This took forever. But at least I think I'll get to use it again. Tell me what y'all think!

I've got the correct file extension and I think I've got it. So here it is...

Thing #20: YouTube, TeacherTube and zamzar

I searched "Government Education" YouTube to see if there were any interesting videos that I could use on my government class. Instead I found a lot of commentary about government role in education, but that turned out to be interesting too. Here is a cool one I found about what Scotland is trying to do in their schools. Even cooler, notice that the government's title for the position of the woman speaking is Cabinet Minister for Education & Lifelong Learning. How cool is that? In Scotland it isn't just education. It's education and lifelong learning. Sounds like Scotland is on the right track.



Also, just for fun: I'm a little freaked out that there is a video on YouTube that I can be seen in, but there it is. I am a member of the Houston Swing Dance Society and here is a video of some of us dancing. See if you can figure out which one I am.

Thing #19: Web 2.0 Awards

I took an in-depth look at Zillow, a real estate website. I looked at this one since it caught my interest because within the next year or so I am going to be a first-time home buyer. This website is a lot more interactive than har.com even after har.com's recent improvements. This website does a better job of allowing the user to compare homes. It shows different map views and shows a line graph history of the homes' values. It has a discussion board where users can find information and experiences of buying homes and even discussions about how to utilize the website. I think I'll start using this website.

As an economics teacher I can use this website in a unit about personal finance. Students can use interactive functions like mortgage calculators and see what it takes and see what it costs to own their own home.

Also a side note, I saw a website that I might not be interested in but one for my dad. My dad is by hobby a genealogist and one of the award winners was myheritage.com. He's going to check it out.

Thing #18: Online Productivity Tools

I looked at Google Docs and it seems like the only advantage of these kind of online tools is the ability to share the documents. Otherwise, it's just as easy to use the Microsoft Office that's already on the computer. It seems like if I wanted to share the documents, I'm guessing that other people might be like me in thinking that I would create the document with the office program that I'm already familiar and comfortable with and turn it into a google doc so I can share it. I probably only need the share feature if there are a lot of people that need to be shared with as well. I'm thinking I could just as easily email the regular document. Unless I want anyone with access to it to be able to change it too. In which case it seems like a wiki page would be in order. I think I would continue to use Office or Adobe programs.

Thing #17: Rollyo

This thing was tough for me because I was not sure what sort of search roll would be useful for me. I had a hard time thinking of which websites I would want to put in one or what kind of things I would want to search for. I'm satisfied just searching for whatever I need at the moment from a regular search engine. I can't think of anything I would regularly search for. In the end I just decided the best thing to do would be to think of this as a lesson plan because I do think this would be useful for limiting a student's search parameter like the video by Bruce Goodner said. I put a search roll together that puts the white house and house of representative websites together. I searched earmarks and found a page about earmark reform in the house of representatives. I think this could be a neat tool in the classroom but something I think I'd be unlikely to use personally.

Thing #16: Wiki Wiki

I posted in the sandbox my ideas for how wiki pages can be used in the classroom. Stuff about brainstorming and reviewing go to the sandbox to check it out. But I want to reiterate my idea about how staffs can use a wiki page for sign ups to events and potlucks and that sort of thing. If your school is anything like mine, throughout the year when it's someone's birthday or at TAKS time there is a sign up in the the teachers lounge or even worse over email. A wiki could make this process a lot easier.