Course Description for the WISE Program

                                                                        By Matthew Evangelista & Ronni Witkin

 

Politics Component of the Course:

 

 

  1. Each week of the course, including the second semester when the students are doing their internships, the student will be responsible for reading a current events article.  They will have to turn in, along with the article, a written component that includes both a summary of the article and a reaction to the article.  This reaction generally includes personal feelings about the issue, how this relates to the class or internship, how the subject of the article is going to be influenced and/or what effect the subject of the article will have on something else.

      (Standard 5.4)

 

  1. As part of the curriculum many typical politics topics are covered including:  political systems from around the world as compared to the United States, the political spectrum, the various political parties, what type of people tend to be in which political party, which party (if any) the students feel that they should join, major issues in politics and how the different parties feel about them.  In order to achieve these goals the students must complete writing assignments, readings, and political quizzes/questionnaires.

(Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3)

 

  1. Students are encouraged to register to vote when they become 18 years old.  Students are also encouraged to actually vote if they have the opportunity. (Standards 5.1, 5.3)

 

  1. Students will be given readings (Constitution, Supreme Court Cases, etc.) that they will have to analyze, interpret, and discuss with the class or write reactions about.

(Standard 5.2)

 

  1. Students also have to choose a political issue that deals with the career that they have chosen and write about that issue as part of their I-search paper.

(Standards 5.1, 5.4)

 

  1. Relevant projects that incorporate current social and political issues as they relate to the students internship or to some of the economics subjects that will be covered.

(Standard 5.3)

 

  1. In the discussion of economic systems, and particularly the economic system of the Unites States, discussions will be held on the political issues that arise and are contained in these issues.

(Standards 5.4)

 

  1. Guest Speakers are brought in throughout the course to have the students keep in touch with what is happening in politics.  Ex. The League of Women Voters

(Standards 5.1, 5.2)

 

  1. Discussing budgets turns political when the class discusses the school budget (possible guest speaker) and the national budget.

(Standard 5.1)