Review the four elements of “Focused Direction

Prepare:

  • Review the four elements of “Focused Direction” in Chapter 2 as you consider the mandates handed down by the district. Reflect on teaching and student learning and how you will involve everyone.
  • Review the Case Scenario, focusing on the school’s current academic progress for students with exceptionalities.
  • Review Choi et al. article focusing on the school-wide implementation of inclusive practices to improve student outcomes.

By Day 3 of Week 3

Post a learning plan addressing the elements of focusing direction:

Purpose Driven:

  • How will you develop a shared moral purpose and meaning focused on building relationships and getting all teachers to have a shared understanding?
  • Identify the steps you will use to connect regular education teachers around the purpose.

Goals That Impact:

  • Using the four-step approach to addressing the problem, outline your learning design plans to collect and monitor IEP goals and objectives.
  • Clearly identify the purpose and goals for data collection and progress monitoring of IEP goals and objectives.

Clarity of Strategy:

  • Identify the new collaborative plans for progress monitoring and data collection. Be sure the strategy/plans and steps are clear, specifying each member’s roles and responsibilities.

Change Leadership:

  • Explain how you will facilitate the change process.
 
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Democratic Republics and the Federalist/AntiFederalist Debate

Too Big to Fail? Democratic Republics and the Federalist/AntiFederalist Debate

In the wake of the Constitutional Convention, a ratification debate took place in each of the thirteen

United States. Numerous essays were published in newspapers and pamphlets arguing for the adoption

of the Constitution (a collection known as the Federalist Papers). An equally numerous, though less

centrally-organized, group of essays were published in the same fashion and opposed ratification of the

Constitution.

Read all four documents provided in the Scenario Files folder:

Excerpts from Brutus I

Excerpts from Cato III

The Federalist Papers-Congress No. 10

The Federalist Papers-Congress No. 51

Evaluate the Federalist/Anti-Federalist arguments with respect to the central question: Is the United

States governable as a large republic?

Write a response to the question, Is the United States governable as a large republic? in the form of an

op-ed, similar to those that appear in major newspapers. Your op-ed must address the following:

• What position did the Federalist and Anti-Federalists take with respect to whether or not

the newly formed United States was too large to be ruled by the people?

• What types of evidence did opponents of ratification provide to support their argument

that the United States was too large to govern?

• According to the Federalists, what mechanisms did the Constitution provide to assuage the

concerns of those who thought the United States was too large to govern?

• Is the Federalist or Anti-Federalist argument more convincing?

• If the authors of these essays were alive today, would they still believe their original

arguments regarding the Constitution, the size of the United States, and the ability of a

democratic republic to function? Why or why not?

Your op-ed should be no longer than 2 pages (excluding headers and references which should be on

Page 3). It should include a clearly developed thesis statement, as well as references. A sample op-ed is

provided for you in the Scenario Files.

 
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strength message’ and ‘strength-oriented action’

This week’s readings focus on the importance of the ‘culture shift’ that needs to take place in our communities in order to begin an asset-building initiative. Using your critical thinking skills, respond to the following questions:

  • What do the terms ‘strength message’ and ‘strength-oriented action’ mean?
  • What evidence do you see of this concept played out in your local school or organizational setting?
  • What about in your community?
  • What do you see as the predominant role of adults in your community? Are they more focused on strength or risk and deficits? Do they provide relationships and programs, or just programs?

Include two or three specific actions that you consistently practice, or could immediately incorporate into your daily routine, to support a “strength-oriented action” culture. If you get stuck, you may want to refer to the “Ask Yourself These Questions First” on Tip Sheet #1 located in the required reading for the week.

 
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Developmental Assets or “building blocks” of healthy development for young people

As stated in the required resources for this week, the Search Institute has identified 40 Developmental Assets or “building blocks” of healthy development for young people. These have been broken down in to eight broad categories, and then identified as external or internal values.
 

First, using the US Census Bureau’s American Fact Finder (Links to an external site.) (http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml), Pew Research Center (Links to an external site.) (http://pewresearch.org/), and the National Center for Education Statistics (Links to an external site.) (http://nces.ed.gov/) websites, write a short descriptive narrative that identifies the general demographic characteristics of your community based on the latest census. Include items such as average income, household size, and other interesting facts that help paint an accurate picture of your community and schools in relation to the 40 Developmental Assets.
 

Next, create a table that identifies the eight categories of human development, summarizes the importance of the asset to the development of all youth, and identify at least one existing organization or support model in your community where students can experience this asset. Post your narrative and table in your initial post.
 

*Note: We will revisit and build on this table in Week Four. Please see attachment of the full lesson work

 
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