Aug. 24, 2009
American Government (for homeschoolers)
American Government (for homeschoolers)
Time: Monday and Thursday mornings from 9:15am-10:30am
Dates: September 10th - December 7th, with the week of Thanksgiving OFF (24 classes total)
Location: Harvest Community Church in Oak Creek, WI (Room 200)
Grades: entering 10th - 12th grade in fall
Cost: $150 per student, plus used textbook and approx. $7 or $8 (total) throughout the semester for xerox copies of additional readings from other texts (see description)
Textbook: The text will be James Q. Wilson and John J. DiIulio, American Government: Institutions and Policies. This is the most widely used text in high school Advanced Placement American Government courses. We'll use the 10th Edition, ISBN: 0618556621. New college-level textbooks are absurdly expensive, but there seem to be ample used copies available via Amazon.com and Half.com. (If you are unable to find something that you feel is reasonable and within your budget, please contact me for options.) Readings not included in the textbooks will be available as a packet of xeroxes at about 3 cents per page, or available on the web.
Payment information: Checks should be made payable to John McAdams and mailed to Laura Vazquez, 1212 Michigan Ave., South Milwaukee, WI 53172 by September 9, 2009. This will hold your place in the class. Checks will be held until the first day of class and can be postdated to September 10th. Payment will be made to Professor McAdams on the first day of class, so we will not be able to provide refunds after the deadline.
Description from Professor McAdams:
My American Government course for home schooled students will be at the level of an Advanced Placement course in a good high school, which is about the level of a Freshman college course.
It will be similar to, but not identical with, my Introduction to American Government course at Marquette.
http://www.marquette.edu/polisci/documents/020McAdams.pdf
Testing will involve multiple choice quizzes, two essay tests (a mid-term and a final), and a couple of short (3 page) papers, on topics to be assigned. For essay tests, four possible questions will be provided to the students ahead of time, with two chosen for tests. A typical paper might be about media bias on a particular piece of breaking news, or (say) Obama vs. Cheney on the War on Terror. Special accomodations will be made for students with learning disabilities - please contact me for options.
Classes will consist of some lecture, and a fair amount of discussion. It's always good to have students who are interested in politics and want to discuss, but nobody will be "put on the spot" if they don't feel like talking.
Students who successfully complete the course should be well-prepared for the College Board Advanced Placement Test in American Government. Students will be provided with grades.
Laura Vazquez
levazquez76@hotmail.com |
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