Memorial Day

This weekend is Memorial day. I would ask any and all who read this blog to take a few moments out of your weekend to honor those men and women who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the precious freedom we have in the United States. If you know someone who served in our military, call them up and thank them. If you see a soldier give them a hug.

Remember the blood soaked rags that covered the feet of the Continental Army during their march to Trenton in 1777. Remember soldiers who held up the flag at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. Remember the Alamo! Remember the 23,000 men who died at Antiem in one day and the thousands at Gettysburg to make the dream of freedom a realization for all people in the U.S. Remember the Maine! Remember those soldiers who blood soaked the sand at NOrmandy and the Pacific islands red to free the world from tyrany and others from death. Remember the soldiers who fought so that another 30 million people in the world could live under the freedom we have enjoyed for so long.

God bless our military and the men and women who serve. God bless the families of these men and women; protect them and sustain them in these times.

Pround son of a military veteran,

Adam J. Bulava

U.S. Government Curriculum

Hello fellow readers,

This year I have been a part of reorganizing and reissuing the social studies curriculum in the Clark County School District. Its been a fun, some what stressful and frustrating process but good. In preparation for my work on the social studies curriculum I created my own personal U.S. Government curriculum. It is posted below. Here are some key features to the curriculum.

• It is meant to be taught by following the U.S. Constitution from beginning to end. Teachers should have that as reference to everything they teach in the majority of this curriculum
• I include the least important items last since they are not mentioned in the Constitution and that they are more governmental theory than governmental fact.

U.S. Government Constitutional Curriculum

1. Importance / Goals of U.S. Government (Preamble) - 5 Objective
   Identify and give examples of functions of a government in society.
   Identify and describe the structures and features of different forms of governments.
   Identify the structure and major features of the U.S. Constitution.
   Explain and give examples of basic principles of the U.S. Constitution.
   Assess careers related to government.
2. Structure of Legislative Branch (Article I, Sections 1-3) - 4 Objectives
   Illustrate the structure and major features of the U.S. Congress.
   Identify the qualifications and terms of members of the U.S. Congress.
   List the responsibilities & privileges of Congressional members and Congressional leaders.
   Identify the members of the congressional delegation for our state.
3. Congressional Powers (Article I, Sections 4-10) - 3 Objectives
   Give examples of the expressed and implied powers of the U.S. Congress.
   Identify and describe the non-legislative powers of the U.S. Congress.
   Summarize the impeachment process of the U.S. government.
4. Law-making (Article I, Section 7) - 2 Objectives
   Describe the major steps in the law making process in the U.S. Congress.
   Evaluate the job of committees in the law making process.
5. The President & the Executive Branch (Article II) - 6 Objectives
   Identify the qualifications, terms, and privileges of the president.
   Evaluate the electoral college system.
   Describe the roles, responsibilities, and powers of the president
   Investigate the budgetary process of the federal government.
   Evaluate the confirmation process of presidential appointees.
   Categorize the components and responsibilities of the executive branch and the federal bureaucracy.
6. The Judicial Branch (Article III) - 7 Objectives
   Illustrate the structure of the federal courts.
   Explain the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
   Describe the origins of judicial review.
   List the major steps for a case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
   Identify the nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court.
   Evaluate the factors involved in judicial nominations.
   Describe acts of treason and its punishments from the U.S. Constitution.
7. Federalism (Article IV) - 4 Objectives
   Compare and contrast reserved, delegated and concurrent powers of the federal & state governments.
   Identify and describe the obligations of the federal government to the states.
   Identify and described the obligations of the states governments to each other.
   Explore issues, court cases, and/or current events related to federalism.
8. State & Local Government Subunit - 5 Objectives
   Compare & contrast the structure of the U.S. Constitution to the state constitution.
   Compare & contrast the structure/processes/powers of the federal and state legislative branches.
   Compare & contrast the responsibility/power of chief executive in the federal and state governments
   Compare & contrast the structure/jurisdiction/processes of the federal and state courts
   Compare & contrast forms of local government
9. Amendments Process (Article V & Constitutional Amendments) - 3 Objectives
   Describe the processes for amending the U.S. Constitution.
   Identify/evaluate rights protected within the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
   Explain and evaluate the importance of the remaining Amendments.
10. Supremacy of the Constitution (Article VI) - 3 Objectives
    Explain the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution.
    Examine the roles and responsibilities of citizens at local, state, and national levels.
    Identify and evaluate the symbols of the United States.
11. Ratification (Article VII) - 3 Objectives
    Explain the major historical events, documents, people, societies, principles and/or ideas that influenced that creation of the U.S. Constitution.
    Explain the compromises made during the creation of the U.S. Constitution.
    Describe the arguments made by the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
12. Election Processes - 3 Objectives
    Explain the major steps to being elected to a political office.
    Describe the role/power/responsibility of political parties, mass media, propaganda, public opinion polls, non-voters and/or other various influences on elections in the U.S.
    Identify the qualifications to vote in the U.S.
13. Political Parties - 4 Objectives
    Identify and describe the characteristics and functions of political parties.
    List political parties, both major and minor, found in the U.S.
    Compare & contrast political platforms of different political parties in the U.S.
    Describe and evaluate the processes of political socialization in the U.S.
14. Public Policy - 6 Objectives
    Explain the major steps in the formation of public policy.
    Compare and contrast domestic and foreign policy.
    Evaluate the role of political parties, mass media, public opinion, citizens and other various influences on public policy.
    Compare and contrast different types of domestic policy.
    Explain various strategies and instruments used in foreign policy.
    Examine the role of international organizations on foreign and domestic policy in the U.S.
15. Government Skills - Assessed throughout the entire school year.
    Develop vocabulary related to the study of government.
    Defend oral and written positions on government topics and current events.
    Develop and evaluate questions from multiple perspectives and thinking levels.
    Work individually and in groups to acquire and present information.