These next two paragraphs will be incorporated into my lesson for discussion purposes:
Some of the reasons that the American and French Revolutions took a different turn have clear origins. The colonies were far away in a new land; Britain's hold on them was tenuous, so the Americans held large political sway, especially over the crown loyalists. The British class system had melted away in the colonies , in favor of religious freedom and entrepreneurship. Times were ripe in America for Locke's "life, liberty, and the pursuit of property (changed to "happiness" by Thomas Jefferson). America was isolated. Britain had gone through it's Parliamentary revolution in a previous century, and eventually rejected Parliamentary rule in favor of a return to the monarchy. So many Britains had seen successful revolution in their own country, and were convinced the Americans would win, and be left alone.
France, however, was locked in the middle of a constant struggle with other monarchies on the European continent. There were severe budget problems and food shortages. The nobility and the religious aristocracy owned pretty much everything, while the lower classes were taxed incessantly. Rousseau was more of an action avocate, but the people did not need much motivation to revolt. However, there had been no meetings of the Estates General for many, many years, so there was no structure to take over government. Not withstanding this, other monarchs on the continent were afraid revolution would spread to their countries; after all, the French had been executed, and so were actively involved at trying to return France to monarchial rule. So. many great Enlightenment ideas went by the wayside as the factions fought each other
I guess that by trying to put together a class like I am doing, I am reaching for the stars but bumping into the moon. That is, not only is this something I would really like to do, but that I am really interersted in. However, I also realize this may not be the case for everyone. So, as I do when I'm trying to teach social sciences in high school (when I get the chance), I like to take these classic ideas and relate them to something comtemporary, so as to avoid the repititious " Locke said this" and "Rousseau said this". After all, as Bob Dylan once opined, "the great books have all been written, the great sayings have all been said." Not that these things are unnessary to study, but they should be looked at from a more modern view in this complicated world we live in. So, in the topic replies, I would like to see some independent thought on how some current regimes and revolutions match up. I might stimulate the asychronous discussions with a comment "are Egyptians asserting their natural rights", or "why is the U.S. so vitally interested in human rights all of a sudden when it was glad to ignore Khaddifi for 30 years as long as the oil kept coming?" Will new regimes respect the rights of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?"
Rubric
IDEAS:
3
2 1
Topic questions answered; Topic questions answered; Failed to answer
kept focus throughout kept focus usually topic
3
2 1
Uses relevant, quality prose Support starts to but does not Limited or unclear
that supports main ideas fully validate key issues details
3 2 1
Analyzes; leads with ideas; Primarily analyzes; some over use Mostly retells the
cogently summarizes of summary events
3 2 1
Discusses proof and ideas fully Discusses proof to some degree; No or little discussion;
and deeply; reveals comprehension reveals basic understanding no comprehension
ORGANIZATION:
3 2 1
Strong sense of direction; Usually a good sense of direction; No direction;
key points stand out clearly most points can be determined no clear points
CONVENTIONS:
3 2 1
Errors, so few &/or minor, Enough errors to distract the reader, Errors distract the
do not distract the reader. yet message remains clear reader; mar message
Documentation is correct. Documentation has one consistent error. Documentation is flawed
TOTAL SCORE: = 18
So far, Noemi and Eman have agreed to the presentation. This is probably going to be in the last week of the session, the way things are going. I guess a one-week deadline will happen, like Monday to Sunday night. After that, a 1-point daily deduction penalty will occur. The account has already been set up by Dr. Leh.
Thanks to everyone who has helped with this.
Bob, let me know if you need one more student, although this is not my best subject or area of intetest. I would do my best. I'm confused by your rubric. Did it fail to render properly? The numbers seem to be in strange places and I don't know what they represent.
Posted by: Etec648shea.wordpress.com | 03/14/2011 at 02:29 PM