What is “AP”?
The Advanced Placement program is run by an organization called The College Board, in
conjunction with Educational Testing Service (“ETS”-- the good people who bring you
the SAT). It is designed to give motivated secondary school students exposure to collegelevel material through participation in an AP course. The College Board then offers
students the chance to show how well they have mastered this material by taking an AP
Exam, offered nationally in early May. Many colleges and universities participate in this
program by granting credit, placement, or both to students who have done well on the
exam. While the exam is not administered by Penncrest High School, and has no bearing
on your grade or credit for taking this course, it is expected that you will take it when it is
offered. This course will lay the groundwork for you to perform well on the AP U.S.
Government and Politics Exam.
Course Description
This course in AP US Government and Politics is about the contemporary American
political system as well as its constitutional underpinnings. We will discuss the historical
development of American government; political beliefs and behaviors; political parties,
interest groups, and the media; our democratic institutions, particularly, a careful
examination of the three branches of the federal government; the development of public
policy; and civil rights and civil liberties. By the end of the course, students will have a
clearer understanding of the role of the national government and its relationship to the
concept of liberty in a pluralistic society such as ours. You will also better understand
America’s changing political culture and its effect on voting patterns, trends, and the
processes of government. A pervasive theme this year, unfortunately, will be trying to
get a better understanding of the historical level of dysfunction evidenced in
contemporary American politics.
While we will attempt to place our modern political system within a historical context,
the main focus of the course will be to develop an understanding of American politics
and government in relation to contemporary events and issues. Because of the very
contemporary nature of the course and subject matter, close attention will be paid to
current political events and developments throughout the year. You would be well-served
to sign up for on-line access to the New York Times. Along with regular discussion of
current events as relevant to the curriculum, you will contribute to a current events blog
that will be worth one exam grade per quarter.
Textbooks/Course Materials:
Textbook:
American Government (10th edition), by James Q. Wilson and John J. DiIulio, Jr.
(Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
Primary and Secondary Source Reader:
American Politics: Classic and Contemporary Readings (7th edition), by Allan J. Cigler
and Burdett A. Loomis (Wadsworth, Cengage 2008)
The course textbook has been chosen in part because of the proliferation of charts,
graphs, maps, and other types of quantitative and visually-presented information that it
contains throughout every chapter. You will be instructed in the use of these visual
resources and will be tested on them regularly on the chapter quizzes and unit
examinations administered throughout the course.
Films, both fictional and documentary, will be included in the course where appropriate.
Much contemporary political analysis and ‘action’ takes place on the Internet. You will
frequently be asked to access a variety of political websites and blogs from both ends of
the ideological spectrum, such as DailyKos, MyDD, BoomanTribune, and HuffPost on
the left and RealClearPolitics, littlegreenfootballs, and FreeRepublic on the right.
Grading Policies:
As in a college course, there will be relatively fewer graded assignments than in many of
your previous classes—there will either be a quiz (multiple choice or FRQ) after a single
chapter, or a test after two related chapters (multiple choice AND FRQ). There will also
be a handful of short writing assignments and your blog assignment each marking period.
There will be a couple of research projects assigned, one per semester. Extra credit
opportunities will be made available from time to time. It is a full year course, so your
final grade will be the average of your four marking period grades and a final exam
grade.
If you would like to submit homework electronically, you may do so by emailing it to me
at my regular school email address: bdanson@rtmsd.org Please do not "share"
assignments with me via Google Drive unless expressly directed to do so.
A note on the use of technology
We are extremely fortunate to have the use of iPads for all students this year. However,
because the College Board AP Exam is still a paper and pen examination, our AP-style
written tests (multiple choice and "FRQs") will still be administered as handwritten
activities. You are also to use a traditional paper and pen style notebook for reading and
class notes. While this might seem retrograde or even like Ludditism, it is in fact in your
best interests and will help you to learn better. Please see the following articles for
evidence: To Remember a Lecture Better, Take Notes By Hand or Why Using Pen and
Paper, not Laptop, Boosts Memory. You will be expected to take reading notes on a
nightly basis and class notes daily. We will discuss a variety of different note-taking
models so that you find a system that will work best for you.
We will still rely on the iPad quite a bit, though. The iPad works best as a "consumption"
rather than as a "production" device, so everything that once was distributed as a paper
handout-- for your "consumption"-- including articles, primary sources and monthly
assignment calendars will now be posted to my webpage. You will also presumably use
the iPad to access and post to the class blog, although you may find it easier to use your
computer for that. I am learning about use of the iPads as we go along, so feel free to ask
me if you have a question or problem-- I may or may not be able to help you! Feel free,
also, to share any tips or useful apps with the class as we go along. We are all going to
be learning how to best integrate this new technology together.
Simply put, my classroom expectation on the use of iPads is that they will be used when
needed, as directed. The default, however, is that they are off and away unless we are
using them for an activity or assignment. Phones, too, are to be away at all times unless
you have some personal emergency that needs to be taken care of. That happens to all of
us, myself included. If you need to take a message or make a quick call, you may ask
permission and it normally will be granted. Other than that, however, phones are always
to be off and away.
I look forward to an exciting, productive, and challenging year with you!