#3: Health Law Stands

Big news today as the Supreme Court upheld President Obama's health care plan (that some people call Obama-care), including the mandate where everyone has to have health insurance. Some people found this to be too intrusive (we want the liberty to not have health insurance!), while others saw that as necessary to helping create a more equitable health care system. This argument echoes a lot of what we'll see throughout history, as people complain about the government doing too much, or not enough.

Read a short (1-paragraph!) summary of the court's decision here and more thorough coverage here. Let's focus not on whether the Court's decision was the right one or not, but how this will effect the future of the law and the presidential campaigns. Does it strengthen Obama's position? Or will it just increase Republican resolve? What do you think?

Current Event #2: Immigration Reform

Obama and Romney are out to differentiate themselves this week, aren't they? Read this article on the change in immigration policy and tell us what you think. What should America's immigration policy be? Should we be more welcoming, or less so? How should the nation deal with undocumented immigrants? What change does this policy offer, and is that a good thing for the nation?

Current Event #1: Education Reform

Okay future APUSHers, here is your first current event.

Read this article about Romney's proposed education policy. Using your expert knowledge as students, what do you think? Will more competition between schools help create better schools? Is it fair for taxpayer money to go towards tuition at private schools? Should the federal government have a role in education, or should it be left more to the states?

Remember: You will need to write 3 comments responding to articles over the course of the summer. Comments should be 100-200 words and can offer your opinion on the topic at hand, respond to a classmate’s comment, or ask questions related to the material. Remember that your writing will be posted for all to see—therefore it should be carefully proofread, reflect thoughtful analysis, and be respectful of others ideas.  Please do not wait until August to write all three responses, post your answers directly to the site and sign with your first name and last initial.

Summer Assignment is posted!

See the tab above. Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to meeting you all in August!

--Ms. Harris

A print by Austin Kleon, that our discussion 3rd period reminded me of.....

do the course evaluations, below!!

Course Evaluations

Please find some time over the next few days to fill out a course evaluation. Thanks! I really do appreciate and try to adapt to your feedback.

Link to evaluation (again).

Some random questions that you guys asked...

• What are your political views? I leave that up to you guys to figure out. 
• Magnolia grill is closing!! Do you like Magnolia Grill, Ms. Harris? Of course. Especially if other people are taking me there. 
• What does it take to become an FBI agent? Guts. And a badge. See this link.
• Will ya gurl Iz-e succeed in her future rappess career? Of course.
• Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea: who will win? Chelsea. In PKs. 
• Name 5 hobbies of yours. Running and going to the gym, cooking and baking, (the first two cancel each other out), reading, sewing/making things, and traveling. 
• What’s up Connor?
• When does the alien invasion start? Ask Mr. Clark.
• For real though, is the world gonna end? See above. 
• What is the annual income of an urban bartender? Google tells me it ranges from $13,000 to $48,000.
• Is going to war a possibility in the next decade? Yes.
• Can we talk about wars? Can we talk about WWII? Is my name Kevin?
• Why did you hit me with a marker? I don't know what you are talking about. That never happened.
• What is outside the universe? I'm not sure. Erin might be able to tell you what is across it, however. 
• Who is going to win the most gold medals at the Olympics? U-S-A!!!
• Do you rap? Can you rap real quickly? Fo-shizzle. But not as well as Ms. Hurley.

Okay, with those out of the way, we will talk about some of the more in-depth questions in class over the next week!