Government Class Reflection

I have not had much interest in politics until recently. Before last year, I did not care for anything related to politics; I thought that it was all boring and had little to no affect on me on a personal level. I am more interested in politics nowadays. I know better now that it does affect me and I should care about it. I had learned about the concepts of political socialization, party identification, political tolerance, political trust, political efficacy in government class and how they affect my political beliefs. My personal political belief has been shaped into what it is today and is still being shaped because of those six concepts.

My views have not changed in taking this class; I do however feel I now have a much improved understanding of my stand on issues. There is always room for comprise and improvement. The current make of House and Senate is divided along party lines and then also with in party lines. Our President should work on his deliverances of his opinion on healthcare and stop the negative rhetoric.

Have you ever asked yourself why is important for college students to know about the government in the state they live in? I believe that it is important for students in college to understand the way their state works because that will give them more knowledge when it comes to voting for the right candidates. For me, knowing what laws and policies are being passed in the state I live in and how those laws can affect me is really important. I am really familiar with everything happening in Texas, but I believe this class is going to help me learn a lot about the government. Most of the college students think that what happens regarding policies and laws does not affect them, but even if they do not affect them right away they might in the

I was taught how the state government works, but I was taught in a different way. We, the attendees, learned about the government by starting at the local level. A mayor was elected and other important roles for a city were also filled. Then we moved up to learning about counties. There were many jobs to fill, and I decided to run for the position of a District Supervisor. I won the election and I proceeded to meet with other elected district supervisors to begin making laws for our county. We had a room dedicated for us to create laws and run the county. After county, we made it to the state level. This is where positions like Senator and Governor were elected. I learned more than I had ever expected to, and that is because of how I was taught. The adults guided us, however, it was almost entirely the job of all the attendees to run the program and plan what we were going to do next to get an edge over the other counties and cities to fill as many elected positions with our own people. Not only did I learn how California functions, I made many great new friends along the

By the time I got to college, my decision to major in political science came as a surprise to absolutely no one in my life. But I knew that my major was more than just a field of study, it’s essentially a lifestyle. Studying political science requires so much more than reading textbooks and writing papers and doing quantitative analysis, at its very core it’s about how people live their lives. I knew that I would have to make concerted efforts outside of the classroom in order to truly understand the way things worked. My first effort at this was serving on the planning and zoning commission for the City of Coffeyville while attending Coffeyville Community College, which gave me a chance to understand local government at a level that most

As I have grown up, I have tried to be as perceptive of my environment as I can. One of the things I have picked up on is that people are quick to complain about any and all of their elected officials, but never attempt to become more involved or even vote out the parties that offended them so. It is because of instances such as these that I feel compelled to take a more active role in my government. I started the college search process a little less than a year ago, and in doing so had to refine my aspirations so that I could find a place that could help me accomplish my dreams. I, at first, was entirely unsure about what I wanted to do in life. Yet, in considering how much I believe in political activism and being responsible in civic duty, I realized that perhaps the only path for me is politics. To be successful in the political world, nothing is more helpful than a law degree. It was the same mentality laid out in this clause that led me to the decision to pursue law and

My time spent in the Clinical setting, so far, has been extremely inciteful as to how to become a better educator in a classroom setting. Through the data I collected I was able to connect Borich’s Seven Variables of learning to the students. By being in the clinical setting for nearly two months, I have been exposed to new ways of thinking when it comes to structuring a classroom and instructing a classroom. Within this reflection you will find out how I would better plan an effective lesson for the pupils in my future classroom. You will also discover what I will do about certain issues in the classroom and how I will address/fix them.

The great majority of students are sitting inside, with a total of 14 outside on benches and at picnic tables. Seating choices appear to be clustered by class. I am currently sitting with my AP Government class, while the entirety of the weight training class is sitting at the table adjacent to us. The majority of the students at my table are eating packed lunch with only 3 students eating school lunch. It seems that all of the weight training class is eating school lunch. The table directly to my left is composed of all freshman. Freshman seem to be concentrated in a very small area, with the tables completely filled. The lunch line is very long, ranging about half the length of the entire cafeteria. The people who are from rural areas are

As a firm supporter of the Republican party and the lasting success of this country, I have observed, questioned, and most of all been inspired by the new administration of the House and Senate. America’s founding fathers sacrificed their entire lives for a future of freedom for their families and generations to come. Roughly 250 years later, I see those same freedoms being revoked, misinterpreted, and taken for granted. The newly elected members of Congress are a breath of fresh air for America, and I would be truly honored and privileged to be selected as a 2017 summer intern for College to Congress in such a time as this.

It is so easy to go through daily life and just ignore how much the government affects the lives of so many people. It was really difficult to make a decision to focus on the ways the Government affects my life for a day. Life can become a routine and once I stopped to focus on the importance of Government I noticed how much it was imbedded in my life. I decided to take a class at the Palm Beach State Boca Campus for the summer. Living in Lake Worth it is a pretty long commute and deals with a bunch of traffic.

Before taking this class I never liked my English classes more specifically writing essays for them. I didn’t understand much of how to use strategies while writing essays and focuses little on learning it. By taking this class and using the strategies that I was provided with it made taking this class easy and enjoyable while writing analytical essays. I was willing to put in the effort and do my part in order to get a good grade in this English class and it worked. I feel that my performance in an English class has improved significantly.

So in high school, I took AP Government and Politics and I really enjoyed the class especially since it was during this last presidential election. So when I saw this Intro to American Government on my list of courses to take, I was really excited. I wanted to know more about my Government, but I don't think I was prepared for what my professor was going to bring to the table. After the first couple of classes, I realized that this class was going to be more challenging than I initially thought. The way the professor teaches really challenges me to do more than just think and compare different concepts but to do deep analysis as well. This was something that I was not used to. I know how to analyze, but I soon realized that when analyzing something as complex as the Government with all its institutions and ideals, it is a bit more difficult. There are many different pieces that all fit together to form this huge puzzle and you have to analyze each piece and see exactly how it's suppose to fit. It was a real challenge. In response to this challenge, I have taken the time to take the information that I learn in class and use it to analyze things that are happening in the government today. For example, if a new law is passed, I go over the whole process of a bill becoming a law. I think about the role of each branch and how each branch has the power to affect if that bill becomes or does not become law. It has been a great class that is pushing me to think differently than I'm used to, because before I always believed the Government controlled everything, and the President was the one in charge. I now know that there is so much more and it has expanded my way of how I think and interpret different

Upon looking back at my honors experience at Elgin Community College, I vividly remember the first honors class that I attended, American Government, or POS 150. I remember being extremely nervous to attend this class. At this point in my ECC career, I still doubted myself when it came to my academics and what I was capable of. I kept thinking that I was going to fail my honors class and ruin my honors experience. What I soon came to realize was that this class was going to be something completely different than the traditional classes that I had taken before. The setting of this class was mostly discussion, lecture, and reflection. We had our textbook, Democracy for the Few, and each week we were instructed to read a chapter and then come to class ready to discuss and share our ideas.

Taking a Government class can be beneficial in a number of ways. It can help students better comprehend, for instance, the basic structure of the institutions and authority figures that keep our great country running relatively smoothly. It can help them understand the viewpoints of their peers, their parents, and their community and the reasons behind these opinions. It can help answer the question, "Who has the power in America?". Government class not only teaches the bare facts, such as the procedures of the judicial, executive, and legislative branches, the requirements to hold office, and the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, but also what they mean and why things are the way they are in this nation. Why do we have a bicameral legislative branch? Why have almost all of our Presidents been middle-aged Caucasian males? Why do we have a Bill of Rights and how far do our "guaranteed" privileges extend? Teaching young people about their government is one way to spark an interest in politics. If politicians never learned about their profession, then why would they be inspired to have a job in that specific field? Government class is also one way to create a more informed public opinion. Although America's public is not one of the most knowledgeable in the world, that can certainly be changed. In class, teachers not only teach history and fundamentals of government, but current events as well. This small step towards cluing the young public in

To me, the ability to take a closer look at the history and progression behind the growing division within America in terms of politics and movements was the most important part of the course. Although I knew that America’s political literacy rate is at an all time low, I was able to learn more about the growth behind the divisions that have come to characterize the general public’s lack of trust in the American government. I also found it incredibly useful to be able to understand how exactly social movements work within the political realm, especially when it comes to elite support and anchoring alliances by examining different case studies such as that of the Christian Right.