Schedule through end of semester

March 16

Review midterm. Governors. In-class workshop on Research Project.

DUE: Chapter 7 Governors.

WEEK TEN

March 21

State Legislatures. Before the Flood – part 1.

DUE: Chapter 6 State Legislatures

Blog: How are California’s State Legislature and/or local governments using their power to preserve state and local values in the face of conflicting Federal policies?

March 23

Before the Flood – the rest. Watch either in classroom or in Gallery theater.

DUE: Research Project Proposal: Brief project proposal (2 pages). What is the question you propose to answer? What has already been written about it? How is your question unique? What kind of research will help you answer the question? How will this research be conducted? How might your findings be used?

WEEK ELEVEN

March 28

Local government structure and leadership. Local government role play.

DUE: Chapter 11 Local Government Structure & Leadership

Blog: Describe the community in which your CP operates… is it a city, a town, a rural area? What kind of mayor does the community have? Does your CP have any interaction with local government officials?

March 30

Guest Speaker Debbie Bacigalupi. Climate issues as they impact global and local government.

WEEK TWELVE

April 4

Public administration: budgeting and service delivery. Local government role play.

DUE: Chapter 8 Public Administration: Budgeting & Service Delivery

Blog: “A budget is a statement of values.” What values underlie the way your CP gets and spends its money or resources? Which Hallmarks, if any, are expressed in the way your CP manages its budgeting and service delivery?

April 6

Taxing and spending. Local government role play.

DUE: Research Project Status Check – bring draft write-up… whatever state it’s in

DUE: Chapter 12 Taxing & Spending

Blog: Does your CP rely on money or services provided by any other entity (public or private)? Are the money or services provided in a consistent and reliable manner or is the CP subject to periodic application, approval, re-application, etc.? How does this consistency, or lack thereof, affect your CP’s operations? Do other people or organizations rely on your CP to provide funding?

WEEK THIRTEEN

April 11

Guest Speaker John Phelps on school districts and Charter Schools. DATE IS ON REQUEST.

DUE: Research project write-up

April 13

Research project presentations – first group. CPs will be invited to attend. Final exam study guide posted to class blog today.

WEEK FOURTEEN

April 18
UPDATE: CLASS WILL BE HELD IN THE NORMAL CLASSROOM THIS DAY. INSTEAD, STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO COME TO MS. ANDREWS' HOUSE AT 8PM THIS EVENING (TUESDAY, 4/18) FOR A LIGHT DINNER AND CELEBRATION OF THE END OF THE SEMESTER.

Class at Ms. Andrews’ house: 781 Green Street, East Palo Alto.

DUE: Essay in response to Guest Speakers. Summarize and respond to the talks of three of our Guest Speakers. In your response, indicate where you agree and where you disagree with the Speaker. Be sure to discuss why you agree or disagree with the Speaker. Ground your discussion in specific content from our textbook and a formal system of ethical values such as the Hallmarks. (3 pages.)

April 20

Final exam. Research project presentations – second group. CPs will be invited to attend.

DUE: Study for the final

Blog: MVE reflection. Worksheet with questions will be posted to class blog.

WEEK FIFTEEN

April 25

Research project presentations – third group. CPs will be invited to attend. (Rose & Meda will attend.)

Status of political parties

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/kasich-political-parties-are-disintegrating-235974

Research Paper prompt

Student’s Name

State & Local Government

Research Project & Paper

Original Title for your Paper

            Please develop a question that can be answered through a small primary research project. Quantitative research is preferred; however, some qualitative research projects will be approved where this form of inquiry is most appropriate. Your project should be designed such that the results of your research might be of use to your Community Partner. Your Community Partner contact will be invited to join us when you present your results.

            Your final paper should be 8 double-spaced pages in length with standard font and font size.  Margins no greater than 1 inch, please.  Your final paper MUST include proper in-text citations and a Bibliography. Any paper that does not include them will be returned unread.

            Include the following required sections:

1)         Introduction & Background. Provide background and context for your project. Include in this section the problem to be solved, the question you have posed, any assumptions that structure your inquiry and your initial hypothesis.

2)         Review of the Literature. What have other people already written about your topic?

3)         Method. How was your research conducted? Include a copy of your survey or questions, and describe in detail how you conduct the survey. Explain why this is the best method. If there are known weaknesses to your method, explain what they are as well as why it is necessary to proceed with known methodological weaknesses.

4)         Results. A factual summary of your results. Include a graph or chart or other visual display of your data. Also include any factual description needed to explain the data.

5)         Analysis. So what? This is where you will interpret your data. What do the results mean in the context of your initial question? Can you situate your own data within the context of the information you cited in your Literature Review? If methodological weaknesses were present in your study, indicate whether and how they limited the usefulness of your results.

6)         Conclusion & Areas for Future Research. A summary conclusion and indication of what if any additional research avenues your project has created. Did your research create more questions than it answered? What future studies might be useful in answering these new questions? In what ways do your conclusions support, expand or contradict the research of others?

7)         Bibliography and Contacts. Include all items consulted for this project and list contact information for your Community Partner and any interviewees.

Midterm

State and Local Government / Andrews

Spring 2017

Midterm

You have 40 minutes to respond to 4 questions – i.e. 10 minutes each.

1) What is “devolution?” Which of our speakers so far has addressed topics relating to devolution most explicitly? What perspective did he or she share on this topic?

Must be clear in which direction this goes... devolution is movement of authority from federal to state or local levels. Lewis was a good example of something going up from local to federal (marriage equality) and and also something going up (transgender bathroom use) and then being thrown back down to state level.

2) Distinguish between “lobbyists,” “interest groups,” and “PACs.” Provide concrete examples of each using either your community partner or one of our speakers. Is your CP/the speaker a lobbyist? An interest group? A PAC? Does your CP / the speaker hire such individuals or groups?

Lobbyists are generally paid. They may not necessarily agree with the position they lobby for. Interest group members are generally not paid. They may engage in unpaid lobbying efforts on behalf of their interests.

3) The authors of your textbook note that “the condition of contemporary American political parties has been described with words such as decline, decay, and demise” (93). Do you agree that this describes American political parties in 2017? Give examples to support your answer.

Would your answer be different if the question were about the condition of the American two-party system, rather than the parties?

4) What is meant by the “capacity” of a government or an organization? Where does your community partner reach the limits of its capacity?

Limits on its ability to meet its goals and fulfill its purpose. Can be limits of space, manpower, budget, etc. Not necessarily imposed by regulations... one can easily imagine, for example, an organization that has the capacity to serve twice as many clients as it does, but is limited by government hurdles. So in this case it isn't a matter of it reaching its capacity but of government preventing it from achieving its capacity. There is a difference. Another way to look at it is that an entity that has more capacity is considered "underutilized."

5) In what ways is your community partner an active or passive participant in the community in which it operates? Use the criteria outlined in Figure 4.1 on page 71 of your textbook to guide your answer.

Be sure to use the terminology from the book in answer. The more descriptive and detailed you can be in sharing examples from your CP, the better.

6) In what ways does your community partner provide opportunities for citizen volunteerism? Do volunteers become active or passive participants in the community? Use the criteria outlined in Figure 4.1 on page 71 of your textbook.

As above.