The American Front Porch

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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Introduction British Prime Minister, Winston
Churchill once said, "Democracy is the worst form
of government except for all those others that
have been tried. This encapsulates the
understanding that our form of government,
although imperfect, offers people their best
chance for liberty in the modern world.
Democracy, however, is fragile. In order for it
to serve the people that created it, it must be
protected and nurtured. It depends deeply upon
the participation of the citizenry to realize its
full potential. This begins at the local level
in our homes and around our neighborhoods on
our American front porch. Today, our democracy is
at a crossroads. Considering the political
turbulence of our time (scandals in the Congress,
Intelligence failures in the Executive Branch and
a controversial war in the Middle East) Americans
must pause and ask, where is this country headed
and who should we place at the helm?
Unfortunately, the majority of Americans are
disconnected from this discussion and in turn are
neglecting their civic responsibility. Over the
last 20 years, the average voter turnout in
presidential elections is a disappointing 48.
Using the most basic analysis, this means that
less than half of our population is determining
the countrys, and arguably, the worlds future.
This trend can not be allowed to
continue! Americans must engage in the necessary
political conversation that makes our democracy
work. Without everyones participation and
understanding of the issues that confront our
country today, we will certainly fail in our
quest to create a form of government of the
people, by the people, and for the people. In
this assignment, it will be your task to
reconstruct the American front porch in order to
encourage a return to the communal roots of this
nation.
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Task In early American society, out of necessity,
people built local communities through which all
aspects of life intersected. This
interdependence precipitated a communal spirit
that could often be observed on a hot summer
evening as people met on their neighbors front
porch to discuss the days events and debate the
current issues of the time. Throughout history,
however, Americans have lost this connectedness.
In the wake of todays technological
advancements, the American front porch is
vanishing both literally and figuratively. The
cultural translation of this trend in American
society is waning civic involvement and political
participation. This presents a major obstacle for
our representative democracy. When the populace
is disconnected, uninformed and apathetic to the
policies and procedures of the government, our
system can no longer function. In order to
reverse this trend, Americans need to rebuild our
collective front porch thereby revitalizing our
communal and civic commitment. But how? In this
WebQuest, we will begin working on the
restoration of the American front porch. We will
start by informing ourselves on the pressing
issues our nation faces today. In addition, we
will research the historical underpinnings of
these events in order to better understand the
context in which each event is unfolding. We
will discuss these issues in group and through
informal presentation debate the topics with the
entire class. We will then go one step further
and take our quest to the community at large. We
will discuss with family members, friends and
neighbors the importance understanding our past,
present and future, staying connected to our
community, and participating politically. All of
this will be completed in order to analyze the
impact these things have on our democracy at
large.
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy

• Process
• In groups of four or five, students will complete
  the following assignments

• Each group will be assigned a thematic unit of
  study that we will be investigating throughout
  this course. Each member of the group will read
  the provided articles highlighting current events
  relevant to the assigned theme and prepare for a
  discussion using the provided questions. Be sure
  to use your time in the lab to also research the
  historical context of each issue presented in the
  articles.
• In groups, students will discuss the answers to
  the discussion questions and develop consensus on
  the issues in order to present a coherent
  explanation and analysis of the issues to the
  class. The goal is to underscore the importance
  of understanding our past so that we can make
  informed decisions regarding our future.
• In group, students will informally present and
  discuss each current event topic, the historical
  significance and why it is relevant to the
  designated unit of study.

• Individually, students will work on the following
  assignments

• Students will interview neighbors, family
  members, or friends of voting age (totaling
  three) regarding their particular current event
  topic using the provided questionnaire.
• Using what they have learned through the
  interview process, students will participate in a
  Socratic seminar that investigates their
  findings.
• Students will be assigned a date throughout the
  semester to present an individually prepared
  current event.

Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Assessment Group Discussion Rubric
Current Event Presentation Rubric
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Assessment Current Event Presentation Rubric
Current Event Content Summation Rubric
Group Discussion Rubric
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Assessment Current Event Content Summation Rubric
Current Event Presentation Rubric
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Resources
http//www.minnpost.com/craigwestover/2008/08/29/3
232/obamas_misuse_of_the_tax_system
http//www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/06/26/supreme
court/printable4211588.shtml http//www.boston.com
/news/local/articles/2008/08/22/barnstable_eyeing_
smoke_free_beaches/ http//www.nytimes.com/2008/08
/09/washington/09inquire.html?_r1pagewantedprin
torefslogin http//www.washingtontimes.com/news/
2008/aug/21/quest-for-iraq-status-deal-tests-legal
-limits/?page2 http//uk.reuters.com/articlePrint
?articleIdUKL557283920080905 http//news.yahoo.co
m/s/ap/20080831/ap_on_re_us/garment_factory_monito
ringprinter1_yltArheNVg0BCwkfEKhJZmSc41H2ocA h
ttp//www.nytimes.com/2008/09/01/education/01schoo
l.html?refeducationpagewantedprint
http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26439767/ http//www.
nytimes.com/2008/08/29/us/29texas.html?refeducati
onpagewantedprint http//www.nytimes.com/2008/08
/11/us/11ballot.html?pagewantedprint http//www.g
reeleytribune.com/article/20080827/NEWS/108279991/
1051/FOODparentprofile-1 http//www.ipsnews.net/
print.asp?idnews43732 http//www.washingtontimes.
com/news/2008/aug/31/africans-harness-enthusiasm-f
or-obama-1/ http//www.boston.com/news/nation/arti
cles/2008/03/18/obama_says_pastor_wrong_and_divisi
ve?modePF http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26186087/ h
ttp//www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/us/politics/25rac
e.html?empagewantedprint http//www.sfgate.com/
cgi-bin/article.cgi?f/c/a/2008/08/31/BURQ12K9B8.D
TLtypeprintable http//www.nytimes.com/2008/08/3
0/us/politics/30assess.html?_r1hppagewantedpr
intorefslogin http//www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll
/article?AID/20080829/NEWS07/808290375/1035 http
//www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/us/politics/07schmidt
.html?_r1hpadxnnlx1220799995-UE1VJld/8dhD0iJA
iQeatQpagewantedprint http//www.ledger-enquirer
.com/251/v-print/story/424230.html http//www.bloo
mberg.com/apps/news?pid20601070sidayx1bu.ANjrs
referpolitics http//www.alertnet.org/thenews/new
sdesk/LT666072.htm http//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/265
66312/ http//www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/au
g/30/civilian-casualties-hurt-nato-efforts/ http/
/www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26570811/ http//www.msnbc.m
sn.com/id/20822561/
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Conclusion After completing this WebQuest,
students have covered the assigned readings and
discussed the many current issues that face our
world today. They have analyzed the historical
causes and potential effects of these events in
order to better understand the importance of
learning about our past. This activity has
prepared students for a semester of learning not
only on the events that precede us, but also on
the reverberating effects of those events. In
addition, students now recognize the
interdependence of issue awareness, public
debate, and political participation and attribute
these elements to the survival of American
democracy. Students have also gained a greater
appreciation for the power of communal
participation and the necessity of debating the
issues publicly through multiple presentations.
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Picture Gallery
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Thematic Units of Study and Current Event Article
Titles Thematic Unit One Foundations of
American Studies Presidential Power / 2nd
Amendment / Right to Smoke / FBI Seizes Phone
Records / Troop Protection in Iraq / CIA
Prisons Thematic Unit Two The American Dream
the Place of the Individual Garment Factory /
Hard Times / Native Americans / Guns in School /
Ballot Questions / Clintons Ascent Thematic Unit
Three America in Black and White Obama Echoes
King / Africans for Obama / The Race Speech /
Minority Majority / Civil Rights and Obamas
Rise Thematic Unit Four Economics and Politics
in America Labor Unions / McCain's VeeP / Obama
Nominated / Steve Schmidt / Bank Failures /
Freddie and Fannie Thematic Unit Five The
American Character During Wartime Freedom v.
Fear Russia v. Georgia / Sons at War / War in
Afghanistan / Pakistani Presidential Election /
The War's Toll
Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy

• Group Discussion Questions
• Who are the major players in this story and what
  are their special interests?
• What is the major issue for debate on this topic?
• What is the historical significance of this
  current event?
• How can what we know about past events inform our
  decision-making on this issue?
• What is your opinion?
• How does this topic relate to your American
  Studies thematic unit of study?

Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery
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The American Front Porch The Forgotten Forum for
Political Debate in a Democracy
Interview Questions Use the following guidelines
to write a script for and conduct your
interviews.

• Demographic information age gender race
  education political affiliation, etc.
• How often does this person access the news? What
  are their sources?
• What is their familiarity with the event you are
  describing?
• What is their position on the issue (a brief
  explanation might be in order)?
• Does the historical context of the issue
  influence their opinion?
• Do they think they could be better informed on
  the issues in general?
• What is their opinion regarding the connection
  between American political engagement and the
  future of our democracy?
• Others questions?

Introduction / Task / Process / Assessment /
Resources / Conclusion / Gallery