Read this article: Who will do more?

This ad aired 2 days ago and is still on the air.  If he knows that it's not factually true, why doesn't Romney pull the ad?  Why make it in the first place?  Did you believe the ad before reading the article about it?  Why do politicians tell blatant lies, especially since there are so many people who can, and will, get the facts out?  At this point in the campaign, does it even matter that the ad isn't true?

TV and Politics

 

Read this article: What Your Favorite TV Show Says About Your Politics

What do you think?

Unspun

 

Write about one thing that made you think from the reading.  It could be something that you liked, didn't like, surprised you...anything that elicited a reaction.

Debate! Debate! Debate!

For those of you that watched the debate last night, I hope you learned something about each candidate.  For those of you that did did watch it, now is your chance to catch up to speed.

If you watched the debate, read these two articles and answer the following questions: The 2012 Presidential Debate Awards and Facts Got Bent Again in Last Debate.

What did you think about the debate?  What did you learn, if anything, about each candidate?  Do you have any other "awards" for this debate? i.e. What was your favorite part about the debate?  Favorite line?  Were you surprised by the amount of facts the candidates got wrong or spun?

If you didn't watch the debate, read these articles about it and answer the following questions: Minute-by-Minute Presidential Debate Highlights,  Facts Got Bent Again in Last Debate, and The 2012 Presidential Debate Awards

Summarize three key points from the debate.  What was each candidate's position on them?  What did you learn about each candidate?  Were you surprised by the amount of facts the candidates got wrong or spun?

This I Believe Podcasts

Click on each student's name below to hear his/her This I Believe podcast. I'm so proud of the work they've done on these important statements of belief!

For the rest of this fabulous class who chose not to post your podcast--it's not too late to change your mind and let the world hear your voices!

Allie
Anna
Avery
Brian
Caleb
Caroline
Lindsey
Mackenzie
Morgan
Ryan
SarahT
Shelby
Tara

Facts. Do We Need Them?

Read the following articles: Facts do Matter in Politics and Do Debate Fact-Checkers Matter? Not So Much

What do you think?  Do facts matter in politics?

State the Facts

 

Read the article Fact Checking the Second Political Debate.

You don't need to read the entire thing, but you do need to read at least five of the lies Obama and Romney said and what the facts are.

Then answer the following questions:

1. Why don't politicians tell the truth?

2. If I didn't have you read the article, would you have bothered to find out any of the facts?

3. If you watched the debate, does this change the way you thought about it?  Did you catch yourself falling for some of the traps Unspun warned us about?  Why or why not?

4. If you didn't watch the debate, are you glad you didn't since so many lies or half-truths were told?  Would you have believed the lies if you had heard them in the debate?  Why or why not?

5. If politicians are not going to tell the whole truth, why have debates?

Are Politics Important?

Should we care about politics?  Why or why not?  Do people have to responsibility in a democracy to be politically informed, even if they are ineligible to vote?

After answering the post, take this survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RBYYN9R

Let's get informed!

Look to the menu on the right. Click on 'NPR--National Public Radio'. Search around and find an article or broadcast that is of interest to you, then read or listen (remember that this is a radio news program, so much of what you read can be transcripts from a news segment, which is not something we're used to reading--but you CAN listen!).

1. Provide a link to the article/broadcast.
2. Summarize the content (2-4 sentences).
3. Comment on what you heard. This can be 100% conversational, just keep in mind your audience and differences in beliefs.

Is it about the price tag?

After reading and discussing "College is a Waste of Time and Money", what are your thoughts? Does Caroline Bird make a compelling argument? Do you see her perspective? If you don't agree with her, were you able to be open-minded to her perspective and at least consider it, even momentarily? Share your thoughts.

Is it all in the eyes?

Read the two articles. What do you think?

http://www.thedaily.com/article/2012/09/29/100112-news-debate-blinking/

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/10/01/the-importance-of-facial-expressions-in-a-presidential-debate-a-story-in-gifs

Free write about the image above for 10 minutes. No stopping until the timer goes off.