Government & Society
(grade 12) .5 credit each; Required
In the government section of this offering the student will examine the principles of government and the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship. Students will learn about their role in our nation through examination and discussion of current events in local, national, and international settings. Newscasts will become important in student's lives, and contact with students and politicians in other states will provide fresh insights regarding how the world really works. An examination of the baltic ideas embodied in our constitution will be balanced by first-person projects examining the way these ideas have shaped current law and behavior in our country.
The section of this class that deals with American society examines our cultural and historical roots and the process of change which has brought us to today's world in an attempt to better understand current events and our own place in today's world. Concepts explored include social structure, group dynamics, conformity and deviance, social stratification, belief systems, law, and modernization and social dislocation. Students will have an opportunity to participate in a number of independent projects dealing with one of the main subject areas in this discipline, and may be required to participate in a local service project during the school year.