NYT > Home Page

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Humped

Not feeling well at all today. I will take a sick day tomorrow. Mr. Cisneros will sub for me. You may have the first 15 minutes to work in pairs in order to finish Federalist 10. The last 35 minutes shall be dedicated towards watching a video on the First Amendment. Talk to you soon.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tuesday's Post

Well, I am glad we did a C-SPAN classroom today. This was an opportunity for me to use the Socratic Method with you guys. I feel this is a better way to learn. Initially, I felt some "push back" from a few students who didn't understand why I didn't want them to copy the questions. I think students have to be more open-minded when I come up with something new. Usually, I have "field tested" my teaching strategies (with five years under my belt) in other classes. At the college level, the instruction is "non-negotiable."

The lecture was better today. We covered limited government, judicial review as well as introduced formal and informal ways to amend the Constitution. I smell a practice FRQ on the ways in which the Constitution can be amended (formal vs. informal).

Tomorrow, we will cover Federalist 10. It is a little longer than Federalist 51. I heard at the weekend conference that James Madison really wrote the Constitution (rather than Jefferson). I'll have to look into that. Make no doubt, Madison had a huge impact on the writing as well as the ratification of the Constitution. You will be paired in groups of two to get the reading done. This will take all class period (hopefully with a shorter transition time than last week). See you tomorrow.

Monday, September 28, 2009

It's Monday Again...

The quiz scores seem to be fairly impressive. The average score is 8/10. Remember to concentrate on the federalism chapter in Subato (pages 66-72). Additionally, you need to complete the assignment from today's class (the jigsaw reading). The constitutional scavenger hunt will be due on Friday. I will be collecting it and assigning up to 30 points for its completion. The homework will keep coming throughout the week as well. Today, I felt went well. Keep up the good work.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Conference

Just a quick note-a very quick one at that. I have returned from my "We the People" conference in Morro Bay. I am inspired with some new curriculum. I take note of students who have some difficulty with teacher-centered curriculum, where I stand up front and lecture (it's been called 'spray and pray'-the teacher sprays out his/her lecture and prays that the students learn the content). While I will continue to give lectures (not every day!), I also plan to have more student-centered learning take place. We will be getting a classroom set of "We the People" textbooks. You will also have one to take home as well as one copy inside the class. These units are designed with more student-directed activities. For tomorrow, after our quiz, I will put you to work on a jigsaw reading on the federalists and their "struggle for ratification." You will be working together to teach each other some of the material for a change. Just so you know, I am willing to adjust my teaching however necessary to ensure the best success for you guys.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Constitution Scavenger Hunt

If for any reason, you were unable to obtain the worksheet, "Constitution Scavenger Hunt" in class, I have added it to my webpage. Just go to the "APGO Workspace" link. It is the second to last link on the bottom. Remember, it's due next Friday. I will be collecting it and adding up to 30 points for its completion.

Off to my AP conference (with family in tow) in Morro Bay. Ciao!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Blow Up

Well, you can probably expect a few more blowups before the year is over. Don't take them personally. There's not one "bad" person in the class. You are all great people. Sometimes the behavior (such as I described) can be annoying. It's nothing fatal, however. We do seem to get quite a bit accomplished during our class sessions. This being my first attempt at teaching the course, I am paranoid that we will run out of time and not be able to cover a unit or something like that....

Great job for those who participated on Federalist 51. James Madison made some interesting points: (1) He was paranoid about tyranny (2) he believed that "if men were angels, no government would be necessary"-I love that quote! (3) he argued that the republican system proposed by the Founding Fathers contained sufficient "Checks and Balances"--most important. These checks and balances included (a) each branch checking each other, (b) national and state playing off each other (c) multiple factions in such a large country as the USA would prevent the 'tyranny' of one all powerful group from taking over.

Work hard on the "Constitution Scavenger Hunt." Remind students who missed today's lesson to pick it up at the big table in front before their weekend. It will be due on Friday, October 1st.
Cheers!!!

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Another Hump Day

The reading of Federalist 51 today was a good activity. It took a lot of concentration but the essay was definitely readable. I must say however, that a few students made it harder for some of us to get going. We need to better discipline ourselves and settle in faster. I mean come on. If you signed up for the class, you have to expect a lot more rigor in the curriculum. You have to work a lot harder in the AP class than in a regular class. This is a college course! I am doing my damnedest to stay on schedule as there is so much to cover within specific time frames.

Anyway, don't ever hesitate to mark up the document you are reading. When you buy the college textbooks, you should go through them with a highlighter and a pen. The highlighter is to cover the important general information. The pen is to make notes in the margins. You've got to read and re-read the material so that you understand it. Usually the books you read in college are a lot tougher than in high school-duh! So it takes a lot of self-discipline and concentration. You need to pace yourself. Set up a consistent time for studying and hold to it. Remind me to show you guys the movie, "The Paper Chase." This movie was made in the late 70's but really portrays life in college (at Harvard Law school) realistically.

Anyway, a long blog. Tomorrow, we will go over Federalist 51, take a quiz and have a brief lecture. On Friday I will be attending yet another AP conference. You will have Mr. Cisnero's brother subbing. He will show you a West Wing. Hooray!!!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Tuesday's Post

The results on the T/F quiz were all in all, postive. Students scored roughly in the 67% percentile. Remember, I will give you 10 points regardless of y0ur score. I want you to understand that you will be rewarded from time to time for keeping up on the nightly reading.

We covered some pretty important concepts today in lecture. Kind of the "meat and potatoes" of the Constitution or the "big ideas." Remember, the Founders had a real fear of tyranny. They had lived under colonial rule and did not want to replace "one tyranny for another." The ideas of the Enlightenment figured very prominantly in the formation of the Constitution. This was exciting stuff this idea of "unaliable rights"--downright revolutionary. Keep in mind though that the Founders did not equate women or slaves or even the poor into their definition of who was entitled to popular soveriegnty.

Anyway, tonight's Franklin primary source reading is a warm up for Federalist 51 for tomorrow. This will be somewhat challenging, but we'll muster through together. Pasen feliz noches...

Monday, September 21, 2009

It Monday Again?!!!

Well hello again. Not much inspiration to write about. I thought the Constitution video was an appropriate thing to watch. It provides a nice summary and puts things into understandable terms. I booed John Yoo as mentioned, because of his work in the Bush Administration in the Office of Legal Council. He helped Bush craft a justification on torture and called the Geneva Convention 'quaint'. Obama has supposedly reversed the policy. An official torture policy sets such a horrible precedent. As official policy it sends a message to the world loud and clear that human rights are not a priority for the United States. This is very damaging to our country which touts itself as a beacon of Democracy.

Tomorrow you will have a 29 question T/F quiz on Chapter 1. A little re-review is never a bad thing.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Chucky Cheese and Me

Took my son to Chuck-E Cheeses tonight. I wondered why they didn't serve beer there, and then it dawned on me. There is so much child-generated mayhem that serving alcohol to parents would lead to all sorts of problems...Anyway, we survived my son's seventh birthday party...

I hope you enjoyed the West Wing today. It's a great show in my opinion. Lot's of good, relevent information on how government works. A lot of it (the show ran for eight seasons from the early 2000's) the plots were taken right out of the daily news. One of the best episodes focussed on the killing of a gay teen (Mathew Shepard) and The White House's slow move towards enacting hate crimes legislation to include the GLBT Community. There were many other great episodes as well.

Anyway, I'm going to call it a night. Have a great weekend!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Can't Believe It's Thursday Again...

Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. Class went fine today, in my opinion. I enjoyed telling you my UC Santa Barbara professor story. Despite the shocking details that transpired and the fact that the described incident could never happen in today's world, the aforementioned professor deeply cared about his students, valued their opinions, gave generously of his time and was a true inspiration to me...

Our quiz in retrospect kind of bums me out. I shouldn't have "caved in" (giving you 5 free points) to the fact that you students had read ahead to Chapter 2. Big deal. The info on today's quiz is just as important and potentially likely to be on the AP exam as anything else. What's more, it's good for you to read ahead....

Huntington's thesis. I know that more than a few of you were probably offended by this guy's so-called thesis: that Mexican immigrants pose a danger to American society. I totally disagree with his contention. Look at history's past and the same things could be said about Irish- Italian- Polish-Americans at the turn of the Century. Cultural pride is nothing to bury away or tone down for that matter. It's what makes this country stronger--a confluence of many cultures, perspectives, and talents. I think Dr. Huntington is a reactionary....

Anyway, tomorrow we will watch the "West Wing." I hope you enjoy. Don't expect to see this too often. Just a special treat for once in a while....

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

It's Hump Day

Do you know why Wednesday is called "hump day?" Get those unclean thoughts out of your brain. "Hump Day" signifies Wednesday being at the mid-point of the week which is like a hump to roll over-like a roller coaster, as it were. Well, we have gotten over the hump of Wednesday. Please re-read the FRQ strategies page that I spoke to you about today. It is important to really understand the differences between the verbs such as "analyze" and"list" and so on. What do the readers want to see when those verbs are used?....

Make sure you read pages 26 through 34 in O'Conner and Subato. These pages should cover the Origins of the American Republic. You will be given your usual quiz tomorrow to start the day. That will be followed by alas, more lecture and then finally, let's watch some more of the video I introduced today. It is actually pretty entertaining.

On Friday, I will have some sort of a video for you (government related, of course). We all need a break from the daily grind, don't we?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

It's Tuesday...

So, I guess we all managed to survive the Williams visit. I had one Williams guy come into my second period class. He seemed slightly bewildered. No harm, no foul.

You guys got to see your scores on both the multiple-choice and the FRQ. I am hoping you take away a sense of resolution. You can improve. No doubt about it. It might mean bearing down a little more in the reading (like actually doing it), or perhaps paying a little closer attention during lecture. Most of the key information is found in the lecture notes. You need to study the notes and when necessary, ask for clarification from me.

Tonight's reading as per the schedule are pages 12-24. Double-check the lecture notes from lecture one to be even more prepared.

Oh, and I hope you saw how easy writing an FRQ can be. Each bullet point only needs one or two sentences to demonstrate your understanding of the concept. Peace Out, Mr. Barclay

Monday, September 14, 2009

Monday, Monday...

Happy Monday! Well, got the results from both the multiple-choice as well as the FRQ's. Not the greatest....About 50% of the class (15 students) received 50% or above on the multiple choice. I think that is a workable percentage. Five students received 30 to 40% on the multiple-choice. That's not very good. Eight students received 30% or below on the multiple-choice. Those scores are simply unacceptable. I will reiterate. Those students either (1) Were lazy and didn't study the material, or, (2) Don't understand the material (neither lecture nor textbook). I am available to tutor if necessary, but if this trend continues for the same eight students on the next exam, they should consider changing their schedules....

About the FRQ's. For a five point essay, about one-third of the class received 3/5's on their FRQ's. The rest of the class received two's or one's. I think we can continue to work on FRQ's. A good number of you wrote TOO MUCH. You can scale it down. That's the good news. I will work with you on this. USE THE OUTLINE FORMAT. Some of you wrote long paragraphs. Don't do it!!! For some students the bad news is that they tried to BS their way through the FRQ. IT WON'T WORK. The ironic thing is that the question was one in which we had covered already in class with a very similar FRQ from two weeks ago. Also, all of the factors leading to voter participation was read about as well as lectured about. So, we need to work on this more. I am more than happy to work with all of you to refine your skills. Check out the Free Response Writing Guide in the APGO workspace of the website ...We'll talk tomorrow. Remember, all is not lost. You guys have great potential. Let's get better.

OH YEAH, DON'T FORGET TO BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TOMORROW!!!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Sunday and Football

Unfortunately, here are only ELEVEN students who have signed in or commented on the Guestbook. They are the ones who will receive 20 points. Regrettably, the rest of the class will receive ZERO for this assignment (two quiz scores). If you see this message, you might want to text your friends in APGOPO and tell them to get the entries done before class on Monday.... Way to go Niners!!!

Friday, September 11, 2009

TGIF

I was pleased with class today. I'm glad we started with a tribute to 9/11. I remember pretty clearly what I was doing on that day. At the time in 2001, my wife and I both worked at UC Santa Cruz. We had to leave our house by 6:30 each morning to drive from Salinas to Santa Cruz. We were listening to the usual NPR broadcast when the announcer interrupted the program with news of the "accident" at the World Trade Center. Less than an hour later (we were still driving to Santa Cruz) the second plane hit and everyone had concluded that we were under attack. When I arrived to work at the Educational Partnership Center, we as a staff went outside to gather in a circle holding hands and reflecting (some of us prayed) for the victims of 9/11--a very Santa Cruzian thing to do. It was very cool that we spent the entire day following the news at the Center. We met in the conference room and talked about the attack. The director of the center, Carol Moran kindly asked if I had any family on the East Coast. My brother worked in DC for the Department of State at the time. He did some of his work at the Pentagon (very infrequently), but I was nervous nonetheless for him and his wife. Thankfully, he was not there on that day....A long story. Anyway, the memories of the incident are more vivid for me because of the generosity of my work environment allowed us a lot of quality time to reflect on this horrible event.

Anyway, I haven't graded the vocab quiz, but should have it done for Monday. Remember the Unit 2 test is Monday. Bring your textbooks if you would, please. Also, there will be an FRQ on voting behavior-for those of you who read this blog. Have a great weekend :)

Thursday, September 10, 2009

SoHappyIt'sThursday....

I thought the Obama piece was well worth watching. I was glad three students watched the address and brought in write-ups for 20 points apiece. The video on Campaign Finance Reform did not articulate very clearly the main issues behind the problem: Corporate access to candidates, "Soft money" (a loophole which allows millions of dollars to be given without real oversight. The McCain-Feingold bill of 2004 does not have any teeth. The video focused on how Arizonans are trying to deal locally with the issue-they have courage. It was cool to see both Democrats and Republicans there agreeing to campaign limits. Please double-check the lecture notes from today on Campaign Finance Reform. Don't forget that tomorrow, you will have your terms quiz. On Monday, you will have your unit exam. Peace out.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Today is Wednesday 9/9

Well, I thought the FRQ would go well. I guess there was an error in construction. I should have taken an FRQ from our unit on Political Socialisation instead of Civil Rights. I couldn't find one that was dissimilar to the first FRQ we attempted last week on low voter turnout. Anyway, I think the practice was all in all, well worth the effort. I am feeling that you need something else this week besides quiz taking and FRQ's. I will look for a Frontline special on campaign finance issues. We'll see. Anyway, continue reviewing chapters 11 and 13, study your terms for the unit as well as review your notes for this unit. Remember, our unit test will be on Monday. Laters

P.S. I hope some of you got to catch Obama's healthcare address with write up summary for 20 pts!!!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Homework Assignment

Read and complete Chapter 13 ("Voting and Elections") in O'Conner and Subato Text; Pages 461 to 507.
Study your flashcards for quiz on Friday.
For Tomorrow be prepared for FRQ voting rights and African-Americans
Monday 9/14: Unit Test for Unit 2
Study all notes and re-read Chapters 11 and 13