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Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime." - John Lewis
Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime." - John Lewis
Civic Literacy will probably be the most relevant and useful course you will take in your high school career! How can I make this bold claim? Well, we live in a democracy. And keeping a democracy requires the constant work of citizens and communities. And government touches almost every aspect of your life, whether you are aware of it, or not. Basically, a bunch of stuff you will use every day of your life before and after your graduate! Get excited! This is some useful stuff! Still think politics doesn't affect you? Watch this!
The most important thing you need to know about my classroom is that I expect all my students to put forth their maximum effort into everything every day. "Maximum effort" means you look at your path to accomplish a task, change direction if things aren't working the way you are doing them, then never stop moving forward no matter how tough it gets! Since we all love a good football metaphor...watch this video of what maximum effort looks like!
I expect all my students to tackle my course with the same motivation as that quarterback! You can put forth YOUR maximum effort by constantly using and improving 4 key skills, read on below to learn more...
ABOVE: For all students that earn A's in my course, free "We the People" tattoos!
To get through this class with your best grade and citizenship skills, you will need to complete a final project. Click here to learn more about this Final Exam Civics Engagement Project!
Skills & Expectations for Ms. Thrower's Class
Skills & Expectations for Ms. Thrower's Class
Skill #1: Find your INTERNAL MOTIVATION. Do you "know your why"? Watch Michael Jr explain and then think about what is YOUR "why". People that can self-motivate by focusing on internal incentives (or your "why") are FAR more successful in life than just “smart people”. Having motivation drives you to do your best and enjoy the challenging tasks more. Here's more about why intrinsic motivation helps lead to success. QUESTION TO ANSWER: What is YOUR "why"? Why are you here every day in school?
Skill #2: FOCUS your attention on all aspects of this class. ATTENTION is what helps you learn...not interest. But believe me, the more you learn, the more interesting things will get! Wanna learn some ways to help stay focused? Best way to tell your brain to focus...put your eyes where you need your focus to be. Don't believe me? Watch this experiment. QUESTION TO ANSWER: What are 2 things YOU will do in order to keep or regain your focus in the class?
Skill #3: READ for understanding. In today's easy-to-access info world, videos and skimming may seem like the easiest way to get through your high school years, but that will not help you build skills you need. Learning takes time. Reading for comprehension, not just to "get through" the assignment takes time. Reading directions saves time and confusion later. Don't believe me? Here's important reasons why building better reading skills will benefit your life. QUESTION TO ANSWER: What are two ways you will work to improve your reading skills?
Skill #4: Learn to DELAY GRATIFICATION. This skill is arguably the most important to your future success. The ability to do the challenging things, the boring things, the less interesting things while delaying those things you'd rather be doing is a skill you must build in order to be successful. Don't believe me? Watch this video on the classic Marshmallow Test and think about why kids that can delay gratification go on to have more academic success and higher levels of happiness. QUESTION TO ANSWER: What are two things you can do in class in order to help your brain delay gratification?
If you think learning new, complicated things is impossible at your age, you'd be wrong! Watch this funny video about "The Backwards Bicycle" to understand better how easy it is for your brain to learn and improve.
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