SUSIE & TYLER’S CURRENT EVENTS
May 5, 2015
THE BASICS
Topic: Ethics and government
Political ethics: the practice of making moral judgments about political action and political agents. It
covers two areas. The first is the ethics of process (or the ethics of office), which deals with public
officials and the methods they use. The second area, the ethics of policy (or ethics and public policy)
concerns judgments about policies and laws. (Wikipedia)
Articles
Oregon
 “Oregon ethics laws are not the problem; people are” (Statesman Journal)
 “Oregon Senate passes first of Kate Brown’s ethics bills” (The Oregonian)
 “Oregon House committee holds first hearing on GOP ethics fixes” (The Oregonian)
National
 “New Jersey can teach us something about ethics” (opinion) (Newsday)
 “Hill Ethics Investigations on the Rise” (National Journal)
 “Maine legislators want stricter ethics code for state workers” (Bangor Daily News)
Questions to Consider
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What are ethics?
Why are ethical actions important in promoting the rule of law?
Why do government officials need the trust of citizens?
What is the ethical framework for the US Constitution?
What ethical issues are now being argued before the US Supreme Court?
How do the Amendments known as the Bill of Rights reflect ethical considerations?
How is money an issue in ethical behavior?
What standards should we use to judge our public officials?
Are public ethics different from private ethics?
What behaviors are questionable when holding public office?
What is favoritism? What is equal treatment?
How does government oversight prevent ethical violations?
How does transparency encourage ethical actions?
What is the distinction between ethical and non-ethical actions?
How does an Ethics Commission work? Under what authority does an Ethics Commission
function?
What are the major ethical issues for students?
What are the challenges of using technology ethically?
THE EXTRAS
Pre-teaching, Extensions & Further Reading
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“Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington” (CREW)
“The Ethical Citizen: Can You Make a Difference?” (Public Affairs, Missouri State)
“Ethical Issues for Political Candidates” (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics)
“Ethics program aims to teach children to ‘think well’” (The Age, Victoria)
Lesson Plans
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“Ethics! Ethics! Read All About It!: Suggestions for Younger Students” (New York Times)
“5 questions about teaching ethics to kids” (Christian Science Monitor)
What’s the connection?
Constitution
 “Leadership Ethics Online”
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(Religious site; does great job of linking the common good and the Constitution)
(Leadership Ethics Online)
Oregon
 “Oregon Government Ethics Commission” (Oregon.gov)
Students
 “Teach Students Ethics” (NY Times)
Oregon State Social Science Standards
8.26. Examine a controversial event, issue, or problem from more than one perspective.
HS.27. Examine functions and process of United States government.
HS.28. Evaluate how governments interact at the local, state, tribal, national, and global levels.
HS.33. Explain the role of government in various current events.
HS.59. Demonstrate the skills and dispositions needed to be a critical consumer of information.
CCSS Anchor Standards
2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key
supporting details and ideas.
3. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determine technical,
connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or
tone.
4. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or
to compare the approaches the authors take.
We the People Lesson Connections
Middle School, Level 2
 Unit 1, Lesson 5: How can we organize government to prevent the abuse of power?
 Unit 6, Lesson 30: How might citizens participate in civic affairs?
High School, Level 3
 Unit 2, Lesson 11: What questions did the framers consider in designing the 3
branches of the national government?