AP Government’s

Webquest

CREATE YOUR OWN

PUBLIC POLICY

Jonathan Dobbs

The Bronx H.S. of Science

INTRODUCTION

The purpose and the function of government is to make policy – that is to create and implement the rules and programs under which society is to be governed. Governmental institutions, either or singularly or in combination, to create policy and the constitutional foundation in which they operate.

There have been a number of turning points in American history. In terms of the relationship between each of the three branches was defined by the case of Marbury v. Madison. The federal - state relationship was defined by the case of McCulloch v. Maryland. These cases defined the requisite powers to define and implement public policy.

Domestic policy making in the United States has undergone several transformations in the United States. The case of Marbury v. Madison established the Judiciary as a policy making body with its power interpretation. The federal - state relationship was defined by the case of McCulloch v. Maryland. The New Deal expanded the federal government’s role in economic regulation and social policy making During the civil rights era various policies were developed to achieve a more equitable society. President Johnson’s Great Society widened the scope of federal welfare programs only to be cut back by President’s Clinton and Bush. The struggle over social policy has intensified over recent years as the Republicans have gone from a minority party to the governing party policy. The country is now going through a monumental shift in its policies evidenced by affirmative action and the controversy over abortion rights, policies that involved Congress, the Supreme Court and various private institutions (i.e. the Sierra Club).

TASK

Domestic policy making in the United States involves a broad range of issues, including healthcare, education, the economy, and criminal justice. Your task is to identify a policy that is currently being debated by either Congress, the Executive Branch, the states – individually or collectively, the Supreme Court or a private institution or individual by conducting research using the suggested websites. Please note that you should not limit yourselves to the posted websites, feel free to conduct your own searches. Subsequent to finding a policy, you are then going to either defend or oppose the policy and conduct research to support your position. Finally you will present to the class your policy position and conduct a discussion in order to debate the efficacy of the selected policy.

PROCESS

The class will be divided into groups of 4 students per group and assigned one of the following tasks. Each group will first;

· Select a policy currently being debated by either Congress, the Supreme Court or various private institutions.

· The group will formulate arguments for both pro and con.

· Two of the four students in the group will prepare a ‘position paper’ advocating the policy.

· The other two will prepare a ‘position paper’ opposing the policy.

· Finally the two sides will present their positions to the panel and allow for questioning by the panel and the class-at-large in order to decide on the efficacy of the policy.

· All ‘position papers’ will be distributed to a student panel one day prior to the groups presentation. Each member of the student panel will then formulate three questions.

· IN ORDER TO COMPLETE YOUR PAPER AND PREPARE FOR YOUR PRESENTATION, YOU WILL USE THE PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST, COMPLETE WITH FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS, TO GATHER INFORMATION FOR YOUR TASK.

· Complete the PPA worksheets for each step in the Public Policy Analyst; You will use these sheets to complete the task (just ‘click’ the sentence and you will taken to the correct form with instructions):

1: DEFINE THE PROBLEM YOU CHOOSE

2: GATHER EVIDENCE FOR THE PROBLEM

3: FIND THE CAUSES FOR THE PROBLEM

4: EXAMINE EXISTING PUBLIC POLICY RELATED TO YOUR PROBLEM

5: DEVELOP YOUR OWN PUBLIC POLICY TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM

6: SELECT THE BEST POLICY FROM THE ONES YOU HAVE DESIGNATED

SUGGESTED TOPICS

· Healthcare

· The Military Draft

· Mandatory Sentences for Convicted Criminals (“Sentencing Guidelines)

· Death Penalty

· Tax Policy

RESOURCES

Suggested Websites

Public Agenda

Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania

The Cato Institute

Rand Corporation

Google Search ☛ “Public Policy”

CONCLUSION

From your research, you should have learned the process of creating a coherent policy that will fulfills DeTocqueville’s idea of “enlightened-self interest” -- a policy that not only benefits your interests but also takes into account your community. In creating this policy you now know how difficult the process is of implementation. Government is designed to be slow, in order for the process to be deliberative -- for the benefit of all.

EVALUATION

GRADING RUBRIC	Exceptional	Admirable	Acceptable	Amateur
Organization	Extremely well organized; logical format that was easy to follow; flowed smoothly from one idea to another and cleverly conveyed; the organization enhanced the effectiveness of the research	Presented in a thoughtful manner; there were signs of organization and most transitions were easy to follow, but at times ideas were unclear	Somewhat organized; ideas were not presented coherently and transitions were not always smooth, which at times distracted the audience	Choppy and confusing; format was difficult to follow; transitions of ideas were abrupt and seriously distracted the audience
Content Accuracy	Completely accurate; all facts from the case were precise and explicit	Mostly accurate; a few inconsistencies or errors in information regarding case	Somewhat accurate; more than a few inconsistencies or errors in information	Completely inaccurate; the facts in this project were misleading to the audience
Research	Went above and beyond to research information; solicited material in addition to what was provided; brought in personal ideas and information to enhance project; and utilized more than eight types of resources to make project effective	Did a very good job of researching; utilized materials provided to their full potential; solicited more than six types of research to enhance project; at times took the initiative to find information outside of school	Used the material provided in an acceptable manner, but did not consult any additional resources	Did not utilize resources effectively; did little or no fact gathering on the topic

New York State Standards

Social Studies Standards

Standard 5:   Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts Standards

Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.