November 27

Social 30-1

We did a class discussion today where everyone was given two Post It notes to write out their answers to two of the following questions:

• Should the voting age be lowered?
• Should voting be mandatory?
• Should everyone over the age of 18 be allowed to vote?
• Is the first past the post system democratic?

Next, I split you into four groups to summarize some of the viewpoints in the classroom, and then we had a whole class discussion about the issues related to these questions. I think that it was a really great discussion period. I would like to extend the classroom discussion to here on the blog. Here is your homework assignment: I would like you to post your answer to any one (or two or three) of the discussion questions that we did in class. I'd like you to also include the initials of your first and last name after your post (for example, "K.G. in Social 30-1"). I'd also like you to comment on someone else's post. This is for double homework check marks. You must post and respond to someone else's post before Tuesday of next week (remember you have a long weekend; the next time that I see you it will be December). Please be civil in your posting. Please remember that your American-Canadian Political Systems Comparison Charts are due on Wednesday, December 2nd.

Social 10-1

I finished up the PowerPoint presentation called "Globalization and Sustainability" today. I will be sending this to you by e-mail this afternoon. I also did a homework check on some previous PowerPoint presentations as well. Your Chapter 14 Key Terms and Questions are due on Tuesday. Enjoy your long weekend!

November 26

Social 10-1

We finished watching "Shipbreakers" today. I would like to take a little bit of time to properly finish off the "Globalization and Sustainability" PowerPoint presentation, so I will be doing that tomorrow, and as a result, I will not be sending this out by e-mail tonight.

Social 30-1

After looking at the blog feed last night it was apparent that a lot of you didn't get a chance to watch the U.S. electoral college video that I posted a link to yesterday, so that's what I started with today. I then also went over some other concepts related to the electoral college system, and how it is possible to win the popular vote but not win enough electoral college votes to become president. Your textbook uses the 2000 U.S. Presidential election as an example of this. In that particular case the key state was Florida. I talked a little bit about the differences between the types of ballots used in Canada and in the United States. In many counties in Florida during the 2000 election they used what's called a butterfly ballot where you punch holes in the ballot to indicate which candidate you are voting for. I tried to draw it on the board, but I think the following graphic illustrates nicely what I was trying to draw on the board.

I think you can see how this might have caused some confusion. If you can't see the ballot clearly, just click on it and you should see a larger view. If you want to look at past U.S. Presidential elections and see the U.S. electoral college maps for the past ten elections, have a look at Real Clear Politics. Have a look at the 1984 election, that was extremely one-sided!

I'm adding some links under the Social 30-1 Links on this page to help you out with your USA-Canada Political System Comparison Chart assignment (which is due next Wednesday). Here some websites that I think will help (permanent links will appear on the right-hand side of the blog under Social 30-1 Links):

• Ben's Guide to U.S. Government
• Elections Canada
• Real Clear Politics
• Canadian Parliament
• Canadian Senate
• Government of Canada: Democratic Reform
• The White House
• The United States Senate
• The House of Representatives
• The Electoral College System
• USA: How a Bill Becomes a Law

November 25

Social 10-1

I started a PowerPoint presentation today called "Globalization and Sustainability" which I will finish off in tomorrow's class. We also started watching a documentary called "shipbreakers" which tied into many of the themes in today's PowerPoint. We'll finish the film off tomorrow as well. Your TNC Dossier Assignment was due today as well. If you haven't handed it in yet, you will be facing a 10% penalty per day that it is late.

Social 30-1

I tied up some loose ends related to the Canadian political system, including the type of electoral system used in Canada and elsewhere in the world. We also looked at another version of re-casting a federal election (thanks for catching the mistakes in the Math people!) and then we finally looked over how a bill becomes a law in Canada. We then moved on to look at the structure of the American political system. We will continue this tomorrow. Here's a link to the video on the American electoral college system.

November 24

Social 30-1

Today's class was spent writing your Unit 2 Written Response Assignment II in the Blenheim Room. Tomorrow we'll tie up some loose ends in looking at the Canadian political system and then we'll move into the American system.

Social 10-1

We finished off watching "Globalisation is Good" today. I went through a PowerPoint presentation that corresponds to material in Chapter 13 called "The Impacts of Economic Globalization on Environments". I will send this presentation to you this afternoon. Please print it off and add it to your notes. Your Chapter 13 Key Terms and Questions are due on Thursday. Please remember that your TNC Dossier Assignment is due tomorrow.

November 23

Social 30-1

I did a homework check today on your Chapter 10 Key Terms and Questions. I gave you a handout today that looks something like this:

You were to take notes on some specifics of the Canadian government structure as I lectured. You were introduced to a lot of new concepts today, but most it should have been review for you since it was in Chapter 10. We talked about re-casting the November 2008 Canadian Federal election with a proportional representation system, and what political parties might be in favour of P.R. and what parties might be opposed to the idea of introducing this system to Canada. We also talked about general problems of P.R. in the Canadian political landscape, namely the difficulty of winning a majority government, and the susceptibility of minority governments to votes of non-confidence. I gave you the remaining time to do some small group brainstorming on tomorrow's Unit 2 Written Response Assignment II. I gave you the essay question sheet today. Remember, you are allowed to prepare for the essay, but you can't write it ahead of time. You're allowed to bring in point form notes on the essay question sheet as long as they are hand-written notes, and all of the notes are on the front side of the sheet under the line. DO NOT write on the back side of the essay question sheet. This is the last time that you get the text-based source in advance. You will be writing your Unit 2 WRA II in the Blenheim Room tomorrow.

Social 10-1

We went over the Word document that I sent you by e-mail over the weekend which gives you some idea of what the Written Response Assignment II will be like on your 30-1 Diploma Exam. You will be writing a Unit 2 WRA II on December 7th in the Blenheim Room. We started watching "Globalisation is Good" today and completing a film study. We'll finish this off tomorrow. Please remember that your TNC Dossier Assignment is due on Wednesday.