Lesson
Materials (word document)
LESSON
DESCRIPTION
This
lesson is the third of three lessons in a small Social Studies unit
on the Campaign for Fiscal Equity [CFE] lawsuit. The unit was formulated
with the New York State curriculum in mind, to be used in an 11th
grade class in U.S. History and Government, a 12th grade class Participation
in Government class or an Advanced Placement US Government and Politics
class. It is particularly suited for the study of state government.
The focus of this
third lesson is how to overcome the obstacles in the way of settling
the CFE case. The lesson examines the amounts of money which would
be required to address the issue of school equity, and what that would
mean in terms of raising taxes and/or shifting governmental funds
to education. It considers why elected officials would be reluctant
to do what needed to be done to achieve equity, and how changes in
school funding that addressed school equity would involve a major
reversal of ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ in the
current system of school funding. The lesson then discusses why it
is difficult to attain such a reversal, when the current ‘winners’
with the most to lose in a change are wealthier New Yorkers. It inquires
into one of the major logjams in the way of a CFE settlement, the
controversy between the state and city governments over how much each
side should have to contribute to the settlement. Another controversy,
one over the efficacy of using the courts as opposed to the legislatures
to effect social change, is then studied. Finally, the lesson concludes
by having students synthesize their ideas on the best approach for
achieving a CFE settlement.
The lesson plan
was written in the format of a developmental lesson, with parallel
columns of contents, the concepts and information students should
be learning, and questions, which the teacher should employ to initiate
student discussion and induce higher order student thought. Those
questions could just as easily be used as a basis for leading a seminar
discussion of the topic. The lesson plan contains two full days of
material, so it should be edited down if the teacher wishes to teach
it in one day.
SOCIAL
STUDIES STATE STANDARDS ADDRESSED
Standard 1: History of the United States and New York [Commencement
Level]
1. Students will describe the evolution of American democratic values
and beliefs as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, the New
York State Constitution, the United States Constitution, the Bill
of Rights, and other important historical documents.
Standard 5: Civics,
Citizenship and Government: [Commencement Level]
2. Students will trace the evolution of American values, beliefs,
and institutions; analyze the disparities between civic values expressed
in the United States Constitution and the United Nation Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the realities as evidenced in the
political, social, and economic life in the United States and throughout
the world; identify, respect, and model those core civic values inherent
in our founding documents that have been forces for unity in American
society; compare and contrast the Constitutions of the United States
and New York State; and understand the dynamic relationship between
federalism and state’s rights.
3. Students will
analyze issues at the local, state, and national levels and prescribe
responses that promote the public interest or general welfare, such
as planning and carrying out a voter registration campaign.
4. Students will
evaluate, take, and defend positions on what the fundamental values
and principles of American political life are and their importance
to the maintenance of constitutional democracy; take, defend, and
evaluate positions about attitudes that facilitate thoughtful and
effective participation in public affairs; participate in school/classroom/community
activities that focus on an issue or problem; prepare a plan of action
that defines an issue or problem, suggests alternative solutions or
courses of action, evaluates the consequences for each alternative
solution or course of action, prioritizes the solutions based on established
criteria, and proposes an action plan to address the issue or to resolve
the problem; and explain how democratic principles have been used
in resolving an issue or problem.
AIM
What should be done to achieve equity in school funding and in school
quality in New York?
Instructional
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- explain why
the amount of funds needed to establish funding equity in New York
State have made it difficult to achieve a settlement;
- identify the
winners and losers in the current system of school funding, and
explain why the inners would resist the development of a more equitable
system;
- describe how
a majority coalition on behalf of funding equity in New York might
be mobilized;
- explain how
the sharing of governmental power over education in New York has
led to legislative gridlock over a CFE settlement, and offer a reasoned
opinion on the portions of the settlement that New York State and
New York City should provide;
- discuss the
relative advantages and disadvantages of efforts to achieve civil
rights through the courts as opposed to through the legislature,
and offer a reasoned opinion on which route would have the strongest
possibility of success in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.
Motivation
There is a saying, money is the root of all evil. Do you agree or
disagree? Why? Would you agree that money is the evil which prevents
a solution to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit?
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Subject
Areas:
Social Studies
Grade Levels: 9-12
About
the teacher:
Leo
Casey is currently Special Representative for High Schools
at the United Federation of Teachers. Prior to his work at the UFT,
he spent 14 years teaching Social Studies at Clara Barton High School
in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, NY. During his teaching
stint, his classes of inner city students regularly won New York City
and New York State championships, and placed as high as fourth in
the nation, in the national "We The People: The Citizen and the
Constitution" competition. He has received several awards for
his teaching, including being named the Social Studies Teacher of
the Year in 1992 by the American Teacher Awards. He holds a Ph.D.
in political science from the University of Toronto, and is the author
of several published articles on politics and education.
leoecasey@optonline.net
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