James Madison Fellowship

There is a tremendous scholarship by the name of the James Madison Fellowship scholarship which funds teachers up to $24,000 for a master's degree.  The group selects up to one person per state each year.   So if you are looking for help, you might want to check it out.  One of my department colleagues, Doug Zywiol, just won the grant from Virginia.  

My Newspaper Editorial

I have been seeing a lot of negative editorials recently on technology use in the classroom and, not being a shy person, I wrote one and with the help of the Smarter Schools Project it was published today in the Richmond Times Dispatch.  As with many states, Virginia (where I live) has been grappling, in our legislature (as has our Congress), to protect students, often at the cost of using technology.  While it is a fine balance, my thoughts are printed here in full.  About the only thing missing is that I wish a start-up would develop to vet our burgeoning ed tech needs.   

Iran's Government

Today we are starting our last country in AP Comparative - perhaps my favorite - Iran.   To help my students I have this site from Harvard that gives you everything you need to know about the Iranian government.   For those of you who want more depth, this is a great site.  If you want a visual, this one from the NYTimes is a great one, even though the people in the positions are now outdated. 

RealClearPolitics

RealClearPolitics gives you all you could want to discuss with your students about government. Basically it aggregates stories from many many sources and will allow you to give a real world application for some of what you are teaching. 

Great Britain's Upcoming Election

There will be a general election for Parliament in Great Britain on May 7th.   To that end 538Blog has a new page on the elections and are going to forecast the results, much as the site has done for US presidential elections.  This article is a great primer on GB as well as the issues behind the May election.  The article discusses devolution, the three major parties, the EU and politics beyond England.

538 also has a great glossary of British politics, most terms of which need to be known for the AP comparative exam.   Here, also, is a political history of GB since 1945 - again all fair game. 

Iran - US Deal & Covering Iran in Class

With the US-Iranian nuclear deal now complete (graphic) as I will tell my students, it will not be on the AP exam since that was in the can last April.  On the other hand there are plenty of related items that will make either the US or the comparative exam.  For example:

• What is the legislature in Iran: 
• Who is the president of Iran: 
• Who is the Supreme Leader of Iran:  
• What is the role between the two above
• Why is the economy in Iran a driver in the nuclear deal?
• What is the Green Revolution and how might it have been connected to the deal?
• What US position initiates treaties?
• What US cabinet position has been negotiating with Iran
• What US body normally makes treaties? 
• What # of senators must agree to a treaty?
• Since the deal with Iran is not a treaty, what is the name of a presidential agreement that circumvents Congress?

AP US Government Review

Next week we finish AP Comparative and then pursue our review of US and comp in earnest.  Below are some of the items we use to study for the exam.

• Comprehensive review sheet.  I no longer know where I found this, but it goes to the AP Comparative students.  They only do the parts they do not know as it is too long to do otherwise.  Mostly it is a way for them to remember items we may not have thought about during our comparative journey.
• Frank Franz and Randy Smith's review of the released multiple choice exam questions which really is a good study guide as well. 
• One hundred question review.  I got this from a Rebecca Small in-service years ago and break it up into four days.  The problem we have had is that kids have only used a few words or a line to answer the questions.  This year we broke up an old AP exam into four parts and let the students use their answers on it.  Magically the students were much more thorough in their answers! 
• Barron's AP Government review guide.  I feel the summaries and the multiple choice questions (the essays are not in line with the real free response ones).  All year my students have done mc questions and been using the summaries as a review guide.  You also could use Quizlet questions, but know that you should vet them to pick the best ones. 
• Time permitting we also give them some old AP free response questions. 
• Finally we briefly go through my AP exam test tips.
• If you prefer review videos, up top is part one of seven (the rest of which you can find here).  Here is another set.  If you want a shorter review, there is a fourteen minute below.

Mr. Betts' Bill of Rights

My wife once learned the periodic table through verse and while it would be hard for me, I see how well my own daughters learn from singing.  Mr. Betts has figured this out with a series of videos like the one above - which is on the Bill of Rights sung to the Proclaimers.  

Buhari Wins Presidential Election

Not that it was a surprise, but above is a short overview of Buhari's (APP) victory over the incumbent Jonathan (PCP).  Even though Buhari used to rule when he was a military leader this is the first defeat for the PCP party since the military gave up power with the new constitution in 1999.

Here is a great Economist article on the subject which also includes graphics on GDP, where the Muslim population lives, Boko Haram, etc.

The video below from the Economist argues that the election has moved Nigeria to a more liberal system, but remind us Buhari was repressive the last time he was in power.

Comparing Two Countries

This might be a fun exercise for your AP Comparative students to try.  Pick any two countries in the world and compare them.  For example, here is the US compared to Nigeria.  

Add Text to Images

You can add text to photos with this app called Phonto Photo. It's available for both Apple and Android devices and very easy to use. You can place the text anywhere on the photo and size it. And it's free!

Thanks to my colleague, Jeff Feinstein, who sent me the link.

Tank Man

This is amazing CNN footage of "Tank man" whose whereabouts are still unknown.  "Tank man" became a huge search item in China to the point that the sensors took the name off of the Internet. After that point "Duck man" replaced it (see image below) and until that too was scrubbed.

Wiki for Your Govt and Comp Classes

If you are newer to AP Comparative or AP US Government this might be a great page for you as it has all of our countries with links to videos, briefing papers, PowerPoints, CrashCourse and Larry Stroud videos.  It was put together by Crystal DeLong. 

10 Things Mexico, GB, Russia Do Better than the US

Thanks to Crystal DeLong for the video above which is a nice hook to start your unit on Mexico. There are also ones for Great Britain, China and Russia. 

New NYTimes Series on Iran

The NYTimes just started a seven part series on Iran centered around a Dutch journalist who is married to an Iranian.  The first part, above, shows some great scenes around Tehran and is fairly open, even mentioning the jailed American writer as well as how illegal good get into Iran.  For me it is a double winner as we start Iran as soon as we get back from spring break and it is a nice chance for me to get a glimpse into a place where I spent four wonderful years as a young boy.