Welcome to Civics

1. Welcome to Civics CHV 2O5

2. Ways to be successful… • Assignment checklist • Keep an agenda • Attend class

3. Reminders….. • 0.5 credit = every little bit counts • NEED THIS CREDIT TO GRADUATE • Anything written in a different colour is important = COPY IT DOWN

4. What is Civics? Key Definitions • CIVICS - the study of the rights and duties of citizenship • CITIZEN – an inhabitant of a nation, state, city or town who owes allegiance to its government and who is entitled to its protection and privileges

5. What is Civics? • CITIZENSHIP – the condition of being vested with the rights, duties, and responsibilities of a member of a state or nation • SOCIETY – a group of humans broadly distinguished from other groups by mutual interests, participation in characteristic relationships, shared institutions, and a common culture

6. Why Study Civics? • To become a better citizen • To learn about your rights and responsibilities • To learn about Canadian government and politics

7. Citizen • What does it mean to YOU to be a citizen Submit: • Brainstorm • Reflection

8. How are decisions made? • There are different ways that decisions can be made. • 3 types of decisions : • Democratic • Autocratic • Laissez-faire

9. Types of decisions • Democratic decision – where a group decides together, generally by voting (i.e. You vote to choose what movie you want to watch and select the film with the most votes) • To share the decision • Direct democracy: when everyone involved has the option to vote to make decisions • Representative democracy: when individuals are elected to make decisions on behalf of a larger group (A student council is an example of representative democracy)

10. Types of decisions • Autocratic decision – one person decides for a group (i.e. Your teacher sets an assignment) • Dictatorship is when an autocracy bans all forms of opposition to gain absolute power

11. Types of decisions • Consensual/Collaborative or “Laissez-faire” decision – everyone in the group must agree before a decision is made (i.e. You need a unanimous vote) • discuss the options to arrive at a common agreement • Historically, consensus was the preferred decision-making process of the Iroquois Confederacy and it is still used by many First Nations today

12. Types of Leaders

13. Check Your Understanding • Consider the following scenarios: • a class is trying to choose one activity for fundraising. • a family is trying to decide how household duties will be shared. • a soccer team must decide who will be the starting players for the game. • Which form of decision making (democratic, autocratic, or consensual) would you suggest for each scenario? Give reasons for your answer.

14. How are decisions made – Assignment: PART A • You will be given different scenarios that a young person might have to face in his or her personal life. • For each scenario, state which of the three leadership choices (i.e., Autocratic, Democratic, or Laissez-Faire) would be the best suited to address the given scenario and give at least two reasons for your choice.

15. Assignment – Part A For each scenario, state which of the three leadership choices (i.e. Autocratic, Democratic, or Laissez-Faire) would be the best and give at least TWO reasons for your choice. • You find yourself in a group in a class that has to write and put together a dramatic presentation that will be filmed on video. There are people of all types of abilities in the group and most seem pretty keen on doing the project. b) You are a camp counselor assigned with a group of rookie campers. You will be competing against other cabins in a scavenger hunt held in half an hour. The other cabins have older and more experienced kids, but your group would like to show them up.

16. Assignment – Part A c) Your boss is away in the hospital, but everyone has done the job before. Everyone really likes their job and the group is close - in fact, the employees often socialize after work as a group. A major crisis occurs that involves everyone, but you can't call the boss. d) You find yourself in a group doing an assignment that nobody wants to do, including yourself. Unfortunately, this assignment will decide whether you and only a few others pass the course. e) A committee is planning the annual Christmas party for employees and their families. Last year was one of the better parties and all of the people who are working this year had a job on last year's committee. f) You have thirty minutes left to decorate your house for your best friend's surprise birthday party. Other friends have started decorating, but they keep asking you what to do.

17. How are decisions made – Assignment: PART B • You will have to identify leadership styles employed by various forms of governments in relation to given political and social scenarios. 

18. Assignment – Part B For this activity identify whether these scenarios are more likely to describe the response of a democratic or an authoritarian system of government. Be sure to provide an explanation for your answer.  1. You and your friends are students at university. You have decided to organize a protest calling for the release of prisoners of conscience, arrested the year before for criticizing the government's policies. During the peaceful public protest the government sends in the army with tanks to break up the demonstration and to arrest your group. 2. People are complaining about a river that has begun to swell in size. They circulate a petition demanding that the government build a barrier wall. 3. You gather a group of people together to protest the forced draft of young people into the army. The police show up in riot gear, but allow the protest to continue. 4. You learn that there is an election. You arrive at the polling station and are told that you can vote in secret, or vote out in the open. Police are standing around. You decide to vote out in the open. You go to cast your vote and notice that there is only one name on the ballot. 5. The government leader has been convicted of taking bribes for special favours. Under pressure from the people he decides to resign. 6. A group of students complain that they are not allowed to gather together after curfew. They protest before the city hall. All of them are arrested and jailed after being clubbed by members of the army.

19. Power • natural part of being human • some have more power than others • use power to: • achieve personal goals • deny certain groups equal opportunities to meet their needs • misuse of power can lead to discrimination and inequalities • can be very destructive in the wrong hands, but it can also be constructive if it is used to promote equality and improve lives

20. Power Key definitions: • Power – the ability of an individual or group to get what it wants • Discrimination – the unfavourable or prejudiced treatment of an individual or group based on race, sex, appearance, income, etc. • Inequalities – a term often used to refer to the differences in our society where some people have more money, education, and other resources than other people; these differences may be the result of discrimination

21. Are Humans Good or Evil? • Thomas Hobbes, a famous British philosopher in the 1600s, felt that all people are born selfish and will seek only their own interests. This selfishness often leads to violence and war. Hobbes thought people should be taught obedience, enforced by a supreme ruler, in order to avoid chaos. • A hundred years later, French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau disagreed with Hobbes’ ideas and argued instead that the natural state of humans was one of peace and harmony. He saw democracy as a reflection of our basic sense of fairness and equality.

22. Are Humans Good or Evil? • Do you agree with Hobbes or Rousseau? Why or why not? • What are 3 things you see in your life and in society that support either Hobbes or Rousseau? • Do you think it is possible for people to be both good and evil? Why or why not?

23. A look at Society A society is a community of people who share basic needs and wants. Their psychological needs also need to be met. • Basic needs – things people need for physical survival (i.e. food, shelter, clothing) • Wants – goods or services that people desire but that are not necessary for survival • Psychological needs – things people need for emotional reasons (i.e. safety and security)

24. A look at society • Not easy for societies to work out how to meet the basic needs and wants of their citizens • How will a society balance the needs of its citizens with their wants • In a democracy, people should uphold human dignity, respect the rights of others, work for the common good, and have a sense of responsibility for other people • Human dignity – the feeling that one is respected and valued in a society • Common good – what will make the most people, safe, secure, and happy

25. The Moon https://courses.elearningontario.ca/content/Canadian_World_Studies/Public/CHV2ON/CHV2OP/CHV2OPU1/chv2opu1a01/mme/moonSurvival.html?_&d2lSessionVal=P6QcGq6nHeYk8NomZYAmJN2B9&ou=7382

26. The River Picture a valley. The year is 8,000 B.C. A river that tumbles from a distant range of mountains feeds life in this valley. Along the banks of this river five villages have developed. Each village has its own customs, leaders, and religious beliefs. While the villagers have little contact with each other, often mistrust their neighbors and seldom speak. In a normal year, the river provides an ample supply of water to irrigate the fields of grain that surround each village.

27. The River In an ideal year, each village is able to easily feed every member and to gradually increase its population. This, however, is not a normal year. A drought has descended on the valley and the river has been slowed to a trickle (a drought is a very long spell of dry weather).The villagers understand the danger that this drought poses to their survival. If any village tries to take from the river the amount of water that it would ideally need to water its fields, the impact on the other villages will be immediate and severe.

28. The River The villages range in size from 110 citizens up to 300 citizens. Each village is led by a single male leader who was chosen for his position because of his age and the wisdom gained during his life in the village. The leader is responsible for maintaining peace and harmony in his village, and has two diplomats to assist him. The diplomats are young men who travel to the other villages two negotiate and trade information. The remaining village members work to provide for themselves, their village, their leader, and their diplomats.

29. The River In the valley, a severe drought means that there will be many deaths. This stark reality has compelled the leaders of the five villages to call an emergency meeting. At this meeting, a leader from each village will eventually declare what his/her village plans to do in order to respond to the drought. There are many strategies that might be followed. Not all of these strategies are peaceful. Some people in the valley think that one or more villages may combine and declare war on their neighbors. Rumours about secret deals are already circulating. Others think that the villagers will be able to work out a peaceful strategy to resolve the problems created by the drought.

30. The River: PART A • After reading "The River", construct a chart in which you develop 6 points of comparison between the government of 8,000 B.C. to government of today. Some of these differences you focus on might include in: • the methods used to choose leaders • characteristics of the leader • size of government • government responsibilities • the way governments deal with problems • you are challenged to create a 6th point of comparison on your own.  

31. The River: PART B • Generate a list of 5-10 world leaders. Choose one person from your list and answer the question, "what makes this person a good leader?" It might be helpful here to conduct some additional research on your own to focus on the leader's experiences, skills, qualities, and challenges, as well as important issues and events he/she has faced. • Write one paragraph outlining how you currently make choices about leaders. What factors do you consider important? Look up the word "charisma" in the dictionary. What is the role of charisma and character, and how does it influence your choice of a leader? • Here are some world leaders you might wish to examine in more detail: (The links below are from Wikipedia. You may want to use your favourite search engine (e.g., Google, Ask, Bing) to learn more.) • Pierre TrudeauNelson MandalaQueen Elizabeth IIJosefStalinWinston Churchill

32. Opinion Paragraph Use the Hamburger Paragraph Model to help you write a proper paragraph. Topic Sentence (main idea or purpose) Body of Support Statements (arguments, explanation, facts, or examples that clearly relate to what you are trying to prove) Conclusion (sum up, or answer the question “What have I proved?”)

33. Opinion Paragraph – this will be submitted for marking! Using the structure of the hamburger paragraph, write an opinion paragraph about ONE of the following statements. Remember – we live in a democratic country, you should present an opinion that is in the best interest of everyone! Opinion topics: • School boards should be allowed to decide what students wear to school • Cell phones should be allowed in class at all times • The driving age should be raised from 16 to 18 • Physical Education should be mandatory in every year of high school • Every person should have to spend 2 years in the military, immediately following their graduation from high school • Another topic of your choice – simply get it approved