APGOV&POL MR.O’GRADY
APUSGOVERNMENT&POLITCS
SUMMERASSIGNMENT,DUE:Wednesday,AUGUST9th,2017
WelcometoAPGovernment!Thiscoursewillconsistofacollege-levelsurveyofAmericanpoliticsand
government.Youshouldbepreparedtoworkhard.Therewillbemanydifficultandcomplexreadingsand
conceptstoanalyze,andthecourseismeanttoprepareyoutoexcelontheCollegeBoard,APUSGovernmentand
PoliticsExam,whichyouwilltakeinMay,2018.Standardswillbehighandcannotbealteredtosuitindividuals,so
youshouldexpecttodocollege-level(NOTcollegepreparatory,butactualCOLLEGE-LEVEL)workifyouareto
succeedintheclass.Inpreparationforthecourse,youwillneedtocompletethefollowingsummerassignment
(BOTH#’s1and2):
1. CURRENTEVENTSJOURNAL
APGovernmentismoredirectlyrelatedtocurrenteventsthananycourseyouwilltakeinhigh
school.Everythingthatwewillstudyrelatestohowpoliticsandgovernmentworksinmodern
America.Accordingly,knowledgeofcurrentpoliticalandgovernmentalaffairswillsignificantly
helpyoutounderstandthethingswestudy,andwill,infact,benecessarytosucceedinthis
course.Ifyouknowwhatisgoingoninthecountrywithrespecttopoliticsandgovernment,you
willdobetterinthecourse.
Youshouldfollowmajorcurrenteventsbydoingoneormoreofthefollowingonasclosetoa
dailybasisaspossible:
-
Readeitherprintoronlineversionofamajornewspaper.
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Readmajornewsmagazinesorpoliticaljournals(TheAtlantic,TheEconomist,
Newsweek,TheNewYorker,USNewsandWorldReport)
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Watchdailyorweeklynews/currentaffairsprogramming(FacetheNation,Meetthe
Press,Hardball,O’ReillyFactor,Hannity,etc.)
Watchanational/internationalnewsbroadcast(ABC,BBC,CBS,CNN,FOXNews,
MSNBC,PBS)–notalocalnewsbroadcast.
th
Duringthecourseofthesummer(beginningtheweekofJune5 andendingtheweekofAugust
th
4 ),keepacurrenteventsjournal.Attheendofeachweek,typetwoparagraphs(minimum)
aboutthemajoreventoreventsinAmericangovernmentand/orpoliticsfromthepastweek.In
thefirstparagraph,youshoulddescribetheeventorevents,and,inthesecondparagraph,you
shouldanalyzethesignificanceofit/themandstateanyopinions,thoughts,oranalysisthatyou
mighthaveaboutit/them.Youmustintelligentlydiscussoneimportantissueeachweek.
YourjournalshoulddealwithissuesthatareaofsignificantimportancetoAmericanpoliticsand
government.Suchthingsincludewhatthepresidentisimplementing/proposing,etc.;what
Congressisdebatingorlegislationthattheyarepassing;constitutionalissuesormajorfederal
courtdecisionsconcerningthem;debatesoverpoliticalissuesinAmerica;internationalcrisesor
foreignpolicyissuesthatsomehowaffecttheUSorthatourgovernmentmustdealwith,etc.
Witheachweek’sentry,youmustincludealistofnewsmediasourcesyouusedduringthat
week.Also,toshowyourprogress,youmuste-mailme([email protected])acopy
th
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ofyourjournalthroughtheweekthatbeginsonMonday,July10 byWednesday,July19 .The
fulljournal,whetheryouhavemefirstorsecondsemester(doesn’tmatter),willbeduethe
th
firstdayofschool,August9 .
2. HardballAssignment
PickupacopyofHardball:HowPoliticsIsPlayed,ToldbyOneWhoKnowstheGame(1999orafter
Edition),byChrisMatthews,andreadit(paperbackorkindle$10orless).Thebookisalivelyand
entertaininganalysisofhowthegameofpoliticsisplayedintheUnitedStates.Itisintendedtoencourage
youtodevelopaninterestinthegreaton-goingpageantofAmericanpolitics,whichyouwillalsobe
followinginyourobservationofcurrentevents.
Writea3-5pagepaper(typed,double-spaced,12font,reasonablemargins)onthe
followingtopic(YoumustincorporateBOTH“A”and“B”intoyourpaper!):
A. ChooseTWOofMatthews’maximsorlessonsaboutpoliticsfromthebook.Foreachmaxim,explain
whatitmeansanddiscussanexamplefromcurrentpoliticalaffairsthatshowsthemaximbeing
eitherfollowedorignored.
Choosefromamongthefollowingmaximsorlesson:
It’sbettertoreceivethangive.
Dancewiththeonethatbrungya.
Keepyourenemiesinfrontofyou.
Onlytalkwhenitimprovesthesilence.
Alwaysconcedeonprinciple.
Hangalanternonyourproblem.
Spin
Triangulation
Positioning
B. ProvideyourownanalysisofMatthews’takeonhowtosucceedinpolitics.Doyouagreewithhis
points?Doyouseeanyflawsinhis“politicalwisdom”?Wouldyoubeinclinedtofollowanyofhis
particularbotsofadviceornotfollowthem?,etc.Ireallyjustwantyourownthoughtfulreflection
uponcompletingthebook.Youshoulddemonstrateanunderstandingofthebookandanabilityto
analyze/thinkaboutit.
Grading
ThecurrenteventsjournalandtheHardballassignmentwillbeworth100points(50pointseach).
ThisgradewillberecordedintheAlternateAssessmentcategory.
NOTE
Howyoudoontheseassignmentswillbetakenasanindicationofhowwellpreparedyouaretotakethecourse.
Studentswhodonotperformuptoexpectationsonthesummerassignmentswillbeaskedtodropthecourse.
Thissummerassignment,Parts1&2,isduethedaywereturnfromsummerbreak,
Wednesday,August9th,regardlessifyouhavemefirstorsecondsemester.
YOUWILLTURNINAHARDCOPY.NOEXCUSES!
Thefollowingpage,thereisabriefinsiderviewofHardball,byChrisMatthews.
Thankyou,andhaveawonderfulsummer!