GOVERNMENT 2301
AMERICAN and
SUMMER 2008 INTERNET
Instructor: Dr. Terry Spurlock,
LOGGING IN TO YOUR E-COURSE
To log in to Trinity Valley Community College’s internet courses go to https://ecourses.tvcc.edu or click e-Courses on the TVCC homepage.
If you were enrolled in an internet class (e-Course) in the fall 2007 semester and created an 8-digit, strong security password, you may continue using that password. If you were not enrolled in an e-course in the fall 2007 semester, read the following instructions for logging in to your e-Course.
The log in and password information has changed. The new log in and password will now be the same. (Example log in: doej1234, Password: Doej1234), except the first letter will be capitalized on the password. Log in using your last name, first initial and last 4 digits of your Social Security Number. If you are a VCT student, use the last four digits of your college-issued ID. Upon initial login, you will have to create an 8-digit password that conforms to the strong password security requirements. If you don’t, you will get these error messages until you comply.
1. Please enter a password with at least 8 characters.
2. Your password does not meet the strong password requirement. It must include 3 of the following types of characters: Uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. For example: Pa55w*rd.
HOW TO SETUP E-MAIL RETRIEVAL OF FORGOTTEN PASSWORDS
Once logged in, on your homepage where your courses are listed, click on My Settings (upper right hand corner), this will open your My Profile page. Click on Edit Profile and enter your email address, click SAVE. This will take you back to your My Profile page. Click on Change Password, the Change Password page opens. Enter your current password and then create a new 8 digit secure password (see above), enter your new password again. Next, you will need to create a secret question, such as: What is my pet’s name? or What city was I born in? Enter the correct answer to your secret question. When you are through, click on SAVE. Now, if you forget your password, you can retrieve it through your e-mail account.
Scope and Emphasis
Do people need government? If so, why? What desirable goals “if any “can government achieve that individuals cannot achieve by themselves? What is the U.S. and Texas’s government’s record in furthering these goals?
This course grapples with these questions while surveying the broad and complex subject of American and Texas government and politics. This is difficult to do in one semester, especially when students vary greatly in their understanding of national, state and local politics. I will try to make the subject clear to those with little preparation while challenging those who already know a good deal about American politics.
In this course, you will analyze politics in the
Reading Assignments
The weekly reading assignments in your texts will be substantial (averaging about 150 pages a week) but not overwhelming. Assigned readings will are referenced in your syllabus. It is essential, therefore, that you read the assigned material in advance of the tests. Those who do not will be wasting their time and tuition money. The readings, study guides and any additional material posted will figure prominently in the course’s exams.
Texts
Kenneth Janda, Jeffrey Berry, and Jerry Goldman, The Challenge of Democracy, 9th ed. (
Maxwell, et.al. Texas Politics Today, 13th ed. (Thomson Learning, 2008) ISBN: 978-0-495-410676
Participation
Students should post to the discussion board if they have a question or problem with the course that other students might help them answer. You should also send one e-mail to the instructor per week. All communication about the course will be within the course shell.
Testing
1. Mid-term and final exams must be proctored. Quizzes are not proctored. Proctors will have a password that will allow you to begin testing.
2. You cannot directly sign in to the exam. Click the title of the exam. The proctor will then enter the password. After the password has been entered by the proctor, click begin exam.
3. TVCC students may test at Terrell (LRC), Palestine (LRC),
or
4. VCT students must test at their testing centers. Proctor passwords will be sent to the listed testing contact. If your home college has branch campuses, proctor passwords will be sent to all listed testing contacts.
Missed Exam
Students are expected to take exams as scheduled. Only under the most extraordinary circumstances will missed exams be made up.
Approaches to
Learning
The Challenge of Democracy is a general textbook about
government and politics in the
Practicing Texas Politics is a traditional structural
look at
Grading
Your grade will be based on your performance on the midterm and final examinations (50%); the assigned essays (25% and the chapter quizzes (25%). Chapter quizzes may be taken three times and the highest score will be used to average for grades. Under Assignments, you will find 6 Essay topics. You choose 4 of the 6 to write about. (You may skip two, but the deadlines apply.)
Study Guides
Study guides are available within the course shell.
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OUTCOMES and OBJECTIVES
COORDINATING BOARD CORE CURRICULUM EXEMPLARY OBJECTIVES (OUTCOMES) FOR
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES.
The objective of a social and behavioral science component of a core curriculum is to increase students' knowledge of how social and behavioral scientists discover, describe, and explain the behaviors and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, events, and ideas. Such knowledge will better equip students to understand themselves and the roles they play in addressing the issues facing humanity.
1. To comprehend the origins and evolution of U.S. and Texas political systems, with a focus on the growth of political institutions, the constitutions of the U.S. and Texas, federalism, civil liberties, and civil and human rights. Assessment: Satisfactory completion of this objective will be demonstrated by the students earning a grade of 70 or more on the chapter quizzes and the two major exams covering these topics.
2. To recognize and assume one’s responsibility as a citizen in a democratic society by learning to think for oneself, by engaging in public discourse, by obtaining information through the news media and other appropriate information sources about politics and public policy. Assessment: Satisfactory completion of this objective will be demonstrated by the students receiving a passing grade on short essays covering areas of civic responsibility.
Government 2301 Course Objectives*
* More specific unit learning objectives for are listed in the individual study guides.
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GOVERNMENT 2301 CALENDAR
JUNE 2: READ CHAPTER 1, 2 AND 3 OF JANDA (AMERICAN BOOK)
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JUNE 9: READ CHAPTERS 15 AND 16
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES+
JUNE 16: READ CHAPTERS 8, 9, 10 OF JANDA
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JUNE 23: MID-TERM WEEK
READ CHAPTERS 1,2,14 OF MAXWELL (TEXAS BOOK)
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JUNE 23: READ CHAPTER 3, (PPS. 80-96), CHAPTER 4 (PPS. 120-124) AND CHAPTER 5 OF MAXWELL
TAKE CHAPTER QUIZZES
JULY 7 AND 8: FINAL EXAM
1st Essay: Idealog. Maximum grade: 25.
Instructions: Go to Idealog.org. (http://idealog.org.) Click on Run Idealog. Do the Introduction and Tutorial to familiarize yourself with the purpose of the Idealog test. Next, click on the Self-Test. After answering the 20th question, STOP!
Hold down the CTRL key and click on the Print Scrn key. Open a document and paste (CTRL + V) the Idealog into it. Now write a short essay about your placement on the Idealog grid. No more than two pages. Grammar counts. Once finished, upload the file in the assignment area and it will automatically come to me. If you do not know how, go to the help menu and find out.
2nd Essay: Your Political Assessment. http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html. Maximum grade: 25.Two Part Assignment; Easy to do ......You'll be asked just 10 questions, and then it instantly tells you where you stand politically. It shows your position as a red dot on a "political map" so you'll see exactly where you score. The most interesting thing about the Quiz is that it goes beyond the Democrat, Republican, and Independent categories. The Quiz has gotten a lot of praise. The Washington Post said it has "gained respect as a valid measure of a person's political leanings." The Fraser Institute said it's "a fast, fun, and accurate assessment of a person's overall political views." Suite University said it is the "most concise and accurate political quiz out there." See if you land where you think you are politically. Write a two page essay agreeing or disagreeing with the assessment. Save your answer and at the end of the course write an additional paragraph stating whether your initial beliefs have changed as a result of taking the course. Deadline: See Calendar and/or Essays for Due dates.
3nd Essay: Choose Your Candidate Maximum Grade; 25.
This interactive quiz helps you decide which candidate you agree with most, based on their statements on issues including health care, Iraq.
Instructions: Click or cut and paste the following url into your browser: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/candidatequiz/?wpisrc=newsletter&wpisrc=newsletter. Take the quiz and write a short two page essay about the results. Show how the results did or did not match your Idealog outcomes.
4th Essay. Charting the Health of American Democracy. Maximum grade: 25.
Instructions: League of Women Voters "Charting the
Health of American Democracy" The League of Women Voters, founded in 1920
as an outgrowth of the suffragist movement, is one of the nation's premier
political education and advocacy groups. The League is non-partisan and neither
supports nor opposes candidates for office at any level of government.
Recently, the League's concern with the state of democracy in the
5th Essay: School Vouchers. Maximum grade: 25.
Instructions: Public school vouchers are one of the most controversial school reform issues on the political agenda today. Two groups that have opposing views on this issue are the National Education Association (NEA), and the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation for School Choice.
* Go to the NEA's web site at http://www.nea.org/ and click on Issues in Education. Next select Vouchers. Read this short piece.
* Then go to the Friedman Foundation's page at http://www.friedmanfoundation.org/. Following the link to "about school choice" will allow you to locate a series of frequently asked questions about school vouchers.
* How could a citizen who is against vouchers argue that vouchers sacrifice equality in an ill-fated attempt to promote individual freedom?
* How could a citizen who is pro-voucher argue that opposing vouchers sacrifice freedom and are an ill-fated attempt to guarantee equality?
6th Essay: Where Do You Fit? Maximum grade: 25. Due date: ___________________
Instructions: The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is an independent research group that studies public attitudes toward the press, politics, and public policy issues. The Center's "Where do you fit?" feature allows citizens to provide information about their personal values and attitudes, partisan leanings, and involvement in politics in order to place themselves among one of ten groups of American citizens. Go to the Center's "Where do you fit?" feature on the web. Read over the descriptions of the ten groups that the Center has identified. Based on your reading, which group do you identify with most? Least? Why? Next, follow the link to the "Where do you fit?" questionnaire and fill it out. Do you obtain the same result that you predicted for yourself? If not, was the result close to what you predicted? If the result of the quiz did not match your prediction, identify at least one question that you would add to the questionnaire in order to improve its accuracy. http://people-press.org/fit/fit.php3.