Democracy as
a Value
Dr. Linda K. Steinmann,
A.P. Government 1998 China Project Teachers Program
Forest Hills High School, Forest Hills, NY
Aim
Is
democracy an absolute value?
Students
will be able to:
- Define
"democracy"
- Describe
features of the American democratic system
- Analyze
a current news report on China
- Compare
and contrast Chinese view of democracy with our own
- Posit
conclusions about the China's political future
Motivation
Teacher
writes on board "America, the home of the free"
Leading questions
- What does
that phrase mean?
- America's
political system is defined as a democracy. How would you define
that term?
- Is freedom
the same as equality? Are all Americans equally free?
- Would
you be willing to give up some freedom for more equality? More
prosperity?
- Would
your decision be different if you had never lived in a democratic
society?
Reading
"A
Great Irrelevant Wall" (New
York Times, Oct. 25, 1998)
Questions for Reading
- How has
Chinese society changed since 1972?
- What do
you think these changes mean?
- Does the
author think more democracy will come with China's new prosperity?
- Take a
position. Agree or disagree with one of the following statements
All
countries should become democracies.
You can't have capitalist prosperity without democracy.
You can have free enterprise and equality of all people
at the same time. |
Application(Homework)
Go
to any current issue of the New York Times, or your local
newspaper, and find an article about China that either supports
or negates one of the above statement.
