U.S. GOVERNMENT CURRENT EVENT PROJECT
Your current events can be from the Orlando Sentinel, CNN.com or any other
credible news agency but must focus on a topic about U.S. Government or
politics. “Current” means within the last month.
Requirements for Students Presenting and Facilitating the Discussion
Based on the course schedule students must complete and post current events as
follows:
1. A meticulously edited, typed, report which includes:
a. An executive summary of your article
b. A brief explanation of why you chose this article
c. what you perceive to be the central issue of the article
d. what you understand to be the underlying (secondary) issues of
the article
2. Two carefully thought out, meticulously edited, open-ended questions,
which requires your classmates to apply critical thinking skills.
3. Facilitation of a discussion specifically responding to classmate
postings.
Tasks for Non-Presenting students
All non-presenting students are required to respond to at least one of the current
event questions each week.
EXAMPLE OF CURRENT EVENT WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Half page summary of article (why you chose the article, the central and
underlying issues)
The article entitled "Miguel's Mission" traces the journey of a Shipbo-
Conibo Indian’s journey to the San Francisco Bay Area. It focuses on the
cultural contrasts Miguel experiences as he adapts from a traditional isolated
cultural environment to the cutting edge lifestyle practiced on the west coast of
the United States. As Miguel prepares to return to his isolated rainforest
homeland, he must decide what cultural baggage from California to bring with
him and what to leave behind.
I chose this article because I am interested in the interplay between traditional
and modern cultures and the question of whether traditional cultures can
borrow ideas from the modern world and manage to maintain their traditional
values and cultural integrity.
The central issue of this article is how Miguel has changed as a result of his
journey and what cultural baggage he will choose to bring with him and what
he will discard when he returns to Peru.
Underlying issues include the tensions and struggles between developed and
developing societies and cultures, the problem of preserving tribal and
traditional wisdom in a rapidly developing world, the problems of
environmental degradation, the clashing of cultures, the price of change, the
looming extinction of indigenous societies and the potential of education to
preserve or destroy.
Two Critical Thinking Discussion Questions
1. How would you define culture? What are the main differences between
traditional and modern culture?
2. How would you define your family's culture– are you traditional, modern,
American? What is American culture?