Teaching the Articles of Confederation– with an assist from MLK

Last post we had Einstein assisting MLK to teach the  Letter From a Birmingham Jail.  For this post we’re using a MLK quote to teach the Articles of Confederation, another required document in the AP government and politics course.

 

 

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.“

Tell students to…

1. State the claim that MLK is making by putting it in their own words

2. Establish a counterclaim which goes against MLK’s thinking.

3. Share responses privately in groups of three

4. Share out with the entire class

MLK’s quote is clear enough: if you want freedom, you have to go out and get it, which is exactly what the colonists did when frustrations with England boiled over. To expect those in authority to give freedom is naive and the colonists knew it.

Now let’s connect this theme of freedom to the student:

Most students know all too well the futility of expecting authority figures– parents, coaches for example–to give them freedoms. A good part of growing up is spent demanding privileges while knowing that few may be granted and that the better thing to do is to obey the rules. Granted, sometimes demanding freedom yields success but other times the requests end up with a resounding ‘No’.  Encourage students to share their frustrations and successes in this opening conversation. We know they’ll have a wealth of experiences from which to draw.

For the third and last step, introduce a question which encapsulates the themes of freedom and oppression AND connects to the personal experiences of students which were unearthed in the opening conversation.  Here’s one that might get their attention: Can too much freedom be dangerous?

Now pivot to the Articles of Confederation…

This essential question gives you the ideal tool to open up student understanding of the Articles.  As the document makes clear, the states were obsessive about demanding their freedom and sovereignty, often at the expense of the federal government’s power.  As we know, that obsession with freedom will eventually lead to all kinds of governing problems later.

Give out excerpts of the Articles  along with the essential question and tell students to find examples in the text of the states trying to assert authority at the expense of the federal government, which essentially was relegated to the role of weak referee.  As a support for this text you may want to show a short video like this one from C-Span which provides some context. In the short discussion that follows you’ll definitely want to refer back to the personal experiences of the students to make extemporaneous connections.

These are great teaching moments waiting to happen because you are linking their lived experiences with otherwise lifeless curriculum.

This doesn’t have to be a long lesson at all and certainly– depending on the student ability level– we shouldn’t expect that students will pull out all of the necessary information from the document. But at the very least, this approach will generate some interest on the theme of freedom and its limits, something that you can come back to when studying how the Constitution fixed the problems.

————————————————————————————————————————

Don’t do this when a student interrupts you with a great question…

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

I totally screwed up last week. We were studying the basic differences between judicial activism and judicial restraint.  We had just finished up making the point that a judicial restraint oriented court is typically more conservative in that it is less likely to overturn precedent and more likely to see the law as static. A student disrupts the chain of thinking with this question…

“Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of men’s desires, but by the removal of desire.” Epictetus

Seems counter-intuitive to me.

But maybe I’m missing something.

Inspired by stoic philosopher Epictetus, I worked through the 3-Step conversation technique from Teach Different to create an essential question for a US history unit on imperialism.

Sample prompts for Supreme Court comparison FRQ

Roscoe Pound

Roscoe Pound, former dean of Harvard Law School, famously said “The law must be stable but must not stand still.”  Designers of the Supreme Court comparison FRQ for the AP government exam must have been listening.

Consistent with the expectations for this response, I’ve created a few sample prompts, each of which includes one the of the 15 required cases along with a case related to it.

I will add to this list leading up to the exam. Here is a chart with all of the cases– facts, holdings, precedents and significance.

(I’ve also posted samples for the argument essay FRQ here )

“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting” Sun Tzu

(This conversation comes from Teach Different where you can get a full curriculum of conversations.)

Was the Chinese philosopher and military strategist Sun Tzu onto something? John Kennedy thought so.

A few weeks ago I shared a Three-Step method used to design essential questions and create great memorable conversations in class.

Here’s another example of how you might follow this process in a unit on the Cold War in US history.

Step One: Quote and claim

Pick a theme, primary source and a quote aligned to the theme.

You’re teaching the Cold War and you think your students would be interested in the theme of fighting— when to do it and how to do it to make sure you achieve maximum benefit. Kennedy’s Cuban Missile Crisis speech is your target primary source because it demonstrates the value of using words, not violence, to solve problems.

Ancient philosopher Sun Tzu has a provocative angle on this theme:  “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting”

Now pick apart Sun Tzu’s quote. Find the claim being made. 

Claim:  The best way to deal with your enemies is by not fighting them.

Step Two:  Counterclaim

Now articulate the counterclaims which assert competing perspectives.

Example Counterclaim:  Attacking your enemy– trying to overwhelm him– is the best path towards victory.

Have a silent conversation with yourself over the different ways you and your students may view this quote…It might sound like this:  It seems very counter-intuitive to claim that you can actually win over your enemies without fighting. Surely many students are under the impression that direct confrontation with others is the only way to win.  Sun Tzu is offering a different perspective here, one that must somehow incorporate other means of getting your way.

Step Three: Essential Question

After exploring the claims and counterclaims of the philosopher quote, slow down and think back to the primary source– Kennedy’s Cuban Missile Crisis speech.  Think of a question that draws out the theme.

Here’s one:  Is fighting the best way to get what you want?

1. Is it accessible?  Can students understand the question easily?  Does it make them want to share personal experiences?  √
2. Is it provocative?  Does the question force students to take a stand on something and provide evidence to support their position?  √
3. Is it complex?  Can the question be answered by multiple perspectives?  √
4. Is it transferable? Can the question be re-purposed to apply to different contexts?  √

This question pulls students into an interesting conversation about the value of fighting and violence as a solution to problems.

To implement this lesson, post the quote on the board and engage the students’ ideas on fighting. What you are doing is preparing the soil for the introduction of your primary source.

Now, introduce the question as you share Kennedy’s Cuban Missile Crisis speech. With the Big Question and Sun Tzu quote in hand, students have the tools to explore the historical importance of Kennedy’s decision and connect all of it to their own personal experiences.

---

This conversation method comes from Teach Different where you can learn how to make these conversations a routine in about 5 minutes.

Other posts you may like:

“Your silence will not protect you.” Audre Lorde

“Freedom is secured not by the fulfilling of men’s desire, but by the removal of desire.” Epictetus

The Kavanaugh Hearings: Let Questions Turn Chaos into Opportunity

The Kavanaugh hearings have rocked the country.  The Supreme Court, that one place where politics is supposed to be off limits, has succumbed to partisanship. We are a government flirting with chaos.

In these times it’s useful to take a step back and remember some age-old wisdom by the great Chinese philosopher and military strategist Sun Tzu:

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”  Sun Tzu

Using Questions to Conquer Fear

For some students there is nothing that inspires more abject fear than participating in a class discussion.

You can almost predict the sequence of events…

The discussion starts. There is a mad rush for attention. Students obsessed with earning participation points shoot their hands up. Others wait back a little and contribute a few ideas here and there.  Some talk constantly just to be heard; others simply repeat what’s already been said.

And then there’s your quiet students…