Tag Archives: policy

Do Now #77: What is the Definition of Terrorism?

April 26, 2013, 8:24 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Photo by Aaron Tang/commons.wikimedia.org

Photo by Aaron Tang/commons.wikimedia.org

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Do Now

How should the U.S. government define terrorism?

Introduction

Two weeks ago, on April 15, two bombs exploded at the finish line during the Boston Marathon, leaving three people dead and injured at least 250. It was a horrific act that brought the nation together in support of the families of the victims as well as the Boston community. As the aftermath unfolded, questions were raised whether this was a terrorist attack or not.

As Howard Koplowitz mentions in his article in the International Business Times, "When he addressed the country around 6:15 p.m. EDT, President Barack Obama was criticized in some circles for not using the words 'terrorism' or 'terror' to describe the explosions that rocked Copley Square during the Boston Marathon Monday afternoon….But just 15 minutes later, the Obama administration said the twin bombings were 'acts of terror.'"

Consequently, this shift in identification of the act raises questions about the way our government defines terrorism. In the 1980s, during the Reagan Administration, journalists and scholars claimed that perhaps the definition of "terrorism" is quite subjective, depending on a person's political point of view. Clarence Page wrote in a Chicago Tribune article in May 1986, "When President Reagan decided to use the term 'freedom fighters' to describe the Nicaraguan contras, he fell into an old word trap. One person`s 'freedom fighter' is someone else`s 'terrorist.'" Page references that both geographic location and ideology factor into the definition of "terrorism."

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Do Now #75: Immigration Reform - The Path to Citizenship

April 19, 2013, 7:10 pm • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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Naturalization Ceremony, Commander US 7th Fleet/Flickr

Naturalization Ceremony, Commander US 7th Fleet/Flickr

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Do Now

Who should be considered for a path to citizenship? Do you agree with the proposed immigration reform bill? What is a fair/equitable approach?

Introduction

The Gang of Eight, as the eight bipartisan US Senators have been termed, has managed to reach a compromise on immigration reform after months of negotiating. Their immigration reform bill is a trade off between the four Republicans and four Democrats allowing many of the 11 million undocumented immigrants to seek U.S. citizenship, in exchange for way stricter border security standards.

"This is a very balanced bill," said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the lead Democratic negotiator. "The American people have told us to do two things. One, prevent future flows of illegal immigration, and then come up with a common sense solution for legal immigration. And that's what our bill does."

The bill also makes changes to how foreigners can legally immigrate to the United States going forward. These changes are intended to make the process easier. However, only immigrants who came to the country before Dec. 31, 2011 can apply. To process the application undocumented immigrants will have to pay $500 plus assessed taxes, as well as processing fees and then it would take 10 years to obtain a green card. Gaining full citizenship would take another three years. Those convicted of serious crimes are not eligible to apply.

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Filed under: Do Now, Do Now: Government and Civics, Social Studies/Lang. Arts
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Do Now Round Up: North Korea

April 16, 2013, 9:29 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Do Now #72 Round Up

Last week's KQED Do Now investigated North Korea's threat to attack their neighbors and even the United States. In recent years, North Korea has made several threats to develop and deploy nuclear weapons on countries like South Korea, Japan, and even the United States. These type of threats were never met with major concern as it seemed clear that North Korea was not close to building weapons grade nuclear materials nor had the capability to fire long range missiles outside its border. Well, things have changed.

Students' responses to North Korea's warning varied greatly in terms of how the US should respond and whether the threat is crebible. Below are some of their ideas.

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Do Now #73: An Acidic Ocean For All?

April 10, 2013, 6:47 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences

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Do Now

Why does ocean acidification matter? What role can you play?

Introduction

Over the past one hundred years or so, the ocean has absorbed the carbon dioxide (CO₂) released into the environment from burning fossil fuels. Absorbing these emissions makes our oceans more acidic. This change in the ocean’s pH level is called ocean acidification. As the pH levels change, we face increasing threats to our ocean health, marine life and even our economy (i.e. industries such as fisheries and tourism).

One of the most harmful effects of ocean acidification is a decrease in marine organisms’ ability to grow structures like skeletons and shells. Corals are especially under attack; higher acidity slows their growth and makes their skeletons weaker. Since coral reefs are home to at least a quarter of all marine species, losing such a habitat would have drastic effects for our global food chain.

Though ocean acidification is a relatively new topic of discussion for scientists, it has caught the attention of several groups around the world to speak and act in support of our oceans. In an article in Scientific American, Virginia Gewin writes, “Washington State, a leading U.S. producer of farmed shellfish, has launched a $3.3-million, science-based plan to address this growing problem for the region and the globe.” There are other actions and studies taking place in the scientific community as well. The Science Daily writes that at Stanford University, scientists are seeking the sea urchin's secret to surviving ocean acidification.

How much of a threat does ocean acidification have on our ecosystem and food chain?

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Do Now #68: Would Stricter Gun Laws Reduce Gun Violence?

March 8, 2013, 4:38 pm • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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photo by HeatherHeatherHeather/flickr

photo by HeatherHeatherHeather/flickr

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Do Now

Would stricter gun laws reduce gun-related violence? Why or why not? What is the central issue around this problem?

Introduction

There have been a series of tragic events these past few years that have really brought the issue of gun violence onto the national stage. Most recently, the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut has reignited this debate. It was one of the worst mass shootings in American history, 20 of the 27 people killed were small children.

The question that comes up over and over about gun violence is whether we should have stricter gun laws in place. The main issue comes down to two points: maintaining our rights and ensuring our safety. Specifically, the issue is about the balance between Americans' constitutional right to bear arms - as it is written in the Second Amendment - and the desire that almost all of us share to live safely without the threat of being harmed by gun violence.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who has been a leading gun control advocate and authored an assault weapons ban in 1994, which lapsed in 2004, is now expected to offer an updated version of this legislation. "Now is exactly the time," says New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an advocate for gun restrictions, "Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough. We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before." There need to be controls over the sale of weapons and assault weapons do not belong on our streets – this is the clear position of gun control advocates.

But as KQED’s The Lowdown asks, what is it with America’s Love of the Gun? The article points to the figure that “there are 89 guns for every 100 civilians," according to the 2011 Small Arms Survey. That amounts to roughly 270 million guns owned nationwide, far and away the highest gun ownership rate in the world. Mitchell Rycus, a University of Michigan professor emeritus who studies violence and terrorism, agrees: "We've been a gun-toting society for hundreds of years," he said. But the focus on guns is misplaced. “The point," Rycus said in an article in the San Francisco Chronicle entitled Can We Do Anything to Prevent Massacres?, "is that America needs to look harder into the mental instability that often marks a mass killer, and to figure out how to address it.”

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Do Now Round Up: Minimum Wage

March 5, 2013, 8:53 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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Do Now Round Up 65

Should there be a minimum wage? was last week's question in our weekly Do Now. The issue addresses a few points: should there be one at all? Should the Federal Government raise the current minimum wage. Who would be affected by this? Students responded with insightful comments covering the full spectrum of this issue. Most of them identified how a minimum wage increase could be helpful and/or harmful.

President Obama endorsed the idea in his State of the Union address. He called for increasing the federal minimum wage in stages from $7.25 to $9 by the end of 2015, and then linking further increases to the rising cost of living. Right now for most workers it is set at $7.25, where it has been since 2009. This adds up to $15,080 per year which is just about equal to the poverty level for a family of two.

Read student responses below.

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Do Now #67: The Sequester Begins

March 1, 2013, 6:10 pm • Posted by Matthew Green
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www.whitehouse.gov

www.whitehouse.gov

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Do Now

The sequester is now in effect. Some of the key spending cuts will be in areas of air traffic, early childhood education, health, food safety, environmental services, recreation, criminal justice, research, and defense. What area will affect you, your family, community, and/or the country the most and why?

Introduction

Late Friday evening, President Obama signed an order required by law that set in motion the automatic, government-wide spending cuts known as the sequester. While it won’t lead to across the board tax hikes – as the fiscal cliff threatened to do – it will result in sweeping cuts to government services that millions of Americans rely on.

What is going to happen? More than $85 billion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts to military and domestic programs over the next seven months ($42.7 billion from each). Of course, there is some dispute over the extent of the damage, and a number of conservative groups – particularly those advocating for smaller government – argue that the impacts are grossly exaggerated as a political scare tactic. While seemingly large, they say the cuts are still but a tiny percentage of the federal budget – a mere 2.3 percent.

However, a series of independent analyses have made clear that these cuts will exact a pretty large toll throughout the country. An article in the Texas Tribune illustrates the extent of various cuts in each state, as well as the impact per person. Generally speaking, the sequester is expected to stunt America’s already sluggish economic recovery by reducing our growth (in terms of GDP) and killing approximately one million jobs over the next two years, according to estimates by the Bipartisan Policy Center.

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Do Now #65: The Bottom Line (A Minimum Wage)

February 22, 2013, 9:11 pm • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Do Now

Should there be a minimum wage? Is it time to raise the federal minimum wage? How might this be a good or bad thing? For whom?

Introduction

Is it time to raise the federal minimum wage? President Obama endorsed the idea in his State of the Union address. He called for increasing the federal minimum wage in stages from $7.25 to $9 by the end of 2015, and then linking further increases to the rising cost of living. Right now for most workers it is set at $7.25, where it has been since 2009. This adds up to $15,080 per year which is just about equal to the poverty level for a family of two.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, 19 states and the District of Columbia have a minimum wage above the federal level.

The Lowdown presents the key arguments in favor and against raising the minimum wage.

The arguments in favor:
Since the economy has grown, wealth should be shared…. Full-time workers deserve to earn a living wage and be able to afford basic necessities like food, gas, and health care. It would boost the economy by increasing purchasing power, creating the need for more production and consequently more jobs. This would reduce dependence on social services. It is only fair since corporate profits have grown making the gap between rich and poor wider.

The arguments against:
It would hurt those it intends to help…. Raising the minimum wage would hurt already struggling small businesses by increasing their overall costs. Many American businesses might cut workers’ hours and outsource jobs to countries where labor is significantly cheaper. This would increase the unemployment rate, especially among younger workers.

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Do Now Round Up: Video Game Violence (from students at Berkeley High School)

January 29, 2013, 9:52 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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VideoGameRoundUp

This week's Do Now Round Up focuses on one particular Storify project from Berkeley High School's Arts & Humanities Academy Fall 2012 Senior Interdisciplinary Project. For their final papers, students were assigned to explore the multiple narratives surrounding a variety of socio-political issues, with particular attention to how these narratives are developed, articulated, and perpetuated. They worked in groups of four and were responsible for first selecting a topic. This did not have to be an issue with a clear pro and con, but students were encouraged to consider topics that seemed to generate completely distinct interpretations based on audience or intention. One of the topics investigated video game violence...which fits perfectly with last week's Do Now. To view the other projects and better understand the assignment, you can access it all from this Storify post.

It may be poignant to add that Amanda Levin, the teacher who facilitated this project, is part of the advisory committee of KQED Do Now. Her students have been active participants in the weekly Do Now conversation. Her Storify assignment is a clear progression from Do Now as her students continue to explore social media as a viable resource for information gathering and distribution.

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Do Now #60: Online Learning

January 26, 2013, 8:39 am • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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Online Learning

To respond to the Do Now, you can comment below or tweet your response. Be sure to begin your tweet with @KQEDEdspace and end it with #KQEDDoNow

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Do Now

What are the advantages or disadvantages of taking courses online? Would you prefer that classes be given online or in person? Please explain your thoughts.

Introduction

The virtual classroom is really catching on in the U.S. with more than two million K-12 students taking classes online as an alternative and flexible way of learning.

In California, Governor Jerry Brown strongly supports this move away from the traditional classroom. He sees online college courses as a way to deal with the problem of overcrowded classrooms and hopes that through providing low-cost online classes, education will become more affordable for students. With this in mind, he is fostering partnerships between online learning programs and higher education, such as the partnership between San Jose State University and the startup Udacity. In his budget, he has allocated $17 million for community colleges and $10 million each for the UC and Cal State systems to expand online learning.

But as KQED’s MindShift points out in Where is Technology Leading Higher Education?, these dramatic changes in teaching and learning practices are traumatic for colleges. They are struggling to keep up with the pace of change. “Terms like historic, seismic and revolutionary now pop up in descriptions of the challenges that higher education faces in the coming years.”

Reuter's post Online schools face backlash as states question results claims that in many states, Maine, New Jersey and North Carolina, there has been a backlash with educators and officials questioning and challenging standards in the new cyber-schools.

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