Civics 101 Day 5: Our Executive Branch

We began the morning as usual, with our Current Events Seminar, where we discussed some very important current topics. After our seminar, we read a section from American Government 101, which discussed the powers and history of the President and Vice President. We also looked at some infographics in The Infographic Guide to American Government to gain a better understanding of the topic. We finished off the morning section of the class by holding a competition in the game "Executive Command", which is basically an over simplified version of what the President does on a daily basis.

We began the afternoon portion of class by reading another excerpt from American Government 101. This section discussed the powers of the Governor, which transitioned us into the largest part of our afternoon class. We looked at a presentation about the Texas Plural Executive, which is how the state's executive branch is set up. The system is organized so that one person doesn't have too much power, and it succeeds at doing that. The Texas governor is said to be the least powerful of all the 50 states! We used this slideshow to take notes on all of our individual representatives, both on a state and national level. Knowing how to contact your representatives is an essential part of being an American citizen.

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Civics 101 Day 2: The Creation of the U.S. Constitution

Today, in our seminar on government current events we discussed the possible $3 trillion infrastructure and jobs package, democrats working to lower drug prices and the Texas border crisis under the Biden administration. Then we started reading The Infographic Guide to American Government together which went over enlightenment, the American Revolution and independence process up to the development of the Articles of Confederation. In the afternoon, we watched a PBS documentary called A Constitution in Writing which explained how the Constitution was written with commentary from prominent government officials and law professors. Then we played Taboo which is a game played by explaining a term or phrase without using certain words. With our remaining time, we looked over the Amendments and tried to interpret them with their “originalism” and “majestic vagueness” in mind. We were able to learn not only about the process that created the basis of our government system but also the ...

Civics 101 Day 7: Voter Registration Drive

Today, in our seminar on government current events, we discussed whether we need federal mask mandates, the Texas George Floyd Act, and the new voter suppression law in Georgia which violates the For the People bill that hasn’t been passed by Congress. Then we read two chapters of our choice from American Government 101 and The Infographic Guide to American Government. I read about the evolution of the Democrat and Republican parties and the U.S. security agencies. After working on our personal representatives “Cheat Sheet,” we researched how to conduct a Voter Registration Drive. Then we shot a PSA and planned our drive. When the mask mandates were brought up, we were able to discuss whether the state governments should give local systems of government more power because within a state, urban, rural and suburban areas have different needs. During independent reading time, I got to read more about topics I wasn’t familiar with. Now I can differentiate between the FBI, CIA, NSA a...

Civics 101 Day 8: Power to the People

We began out day as usual - with a seminar about current events in American government. We discussed some important topics such as mask mandates, vaccine passports, and new tax increases. These conversations are always interesting as they serve as an easy way to stay informed on whats happening in our country. Afterwards, we conducted some research on our local governments. I was surprised with how little I actually knew about the Harris County & City of Houston governments before today. After our lunch break, we took a more active approach to learning about government. Writing to one of my representatives is something I have always wanted to do, but never I had the courage or commitment. It's awesome how easy it is to get involved in America's politics. We also created info-graphics about an aspect of our local government. I created mine about the Harris County Judge, as it's a position I didn't even know existed before taking this...

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