Laine McKay Norton

Today, many school classes are taught where a teacher stands in front of the class and rattles off facts for the students to memorize and regurgitate on a test. After the test, the students often forget what they have learned. How successful is teaching to a test? Teaching to a test does not produce successful people. Finland has one of the top education systems in the world. In a recent interview with Finish teachers, the teachers talked about how one of the top 5 reasons why the United States education system has not improved is because of standardized tests. Important information, like civics and debate, get lost because they are not tested in a test. Teaching students how to think does produce successful people. In law schools, students are taught how to think critically about the facts. Students are given a case to study outside of class. In class, the law professors ask hard questions that require students to think critically about the case. There is a reason why this method is...

Most people who live in democratic societies believe that free speech is a basic human right. The freedom of speech dates back to Ancient Greece; it became a fundamental part of the democracy of Athens. “Leaders, philosophers, playwrights and everyday Athenians were free to openly discuss politics and religion…”. In the United States, Freedom of Speech is ensured in the First Amendment. The only speech that is not protected by the First Amendment is child pornography, true threats, defamation, and plagiarism of copyrighted material. 1 This idea of free speech has been cherished by Americans for hundreds of years, but we are in danger of losing it.  Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education explained, “A generation is being raised not to believe in freedom of speech but rather that they should have freedom from speech.” 2 Should we ban things that are deemed hateful or hurtful? Safe spaces are "A place where anyone can relax and be fully...

A poll by Think Progress concluded that 16% of Americans identify as Progressive. This movement is seen as new and modern, when it is really only a reemergence of an old idea-- socialism. Progressive platforms are becoming increasingly popular, because they give a minority an advantage in society. In the late 19th century, politicians started emerging as Progressives. Their platform was to help American society progress in the workplace. The Progressive Movement hit America in 1890 with Teddy Roosevelt, and followed with William Taft and Woodrow Wilson. These men were the faces of the Progressive Movement and stressed government activism, regulation of trusts, improvement of urban sanitation and safety, labor regulation- especially for women and children, and conservation. In the 2016 presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders had at one point 45% of electors pledged to him. Sanders pledged tuition- free college and health care for all. He wanted a “political revolution” to reform our so...

The first recorded use of the term “terror” or “terrorist” was in 1795 during the French Reign of Terror and referred to anti- government activity (Levin). Throughout history, terror has been used to motivate people to change their behavior through fear. Normally in today’s world, terror is referred to as violent actions that are performed by anarchists to decrease faith in the government. Today, usage of the word terrorist has become common place in schools, at home, and in daily conversation. Although solutions to terrorism are controversial, the view of the American people towards terrorists and the United States government’s actions encourage the activity of domestic terrorists. The Islamic State, or ISIS, is a Muslim extremist group that implements Sharia Law. According to the U.S. State Department, there are 45 terrorist groups outside of the United States (Levin). The Islamic State is one of the most publicly known terrorist groups. Since 2006, ISIS aims to create an Islamic...

In 1776, Thomas Jefferson penned one of the greatest documents of freedom of all time, the Declaration of Independence. He states in that document that, “...whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” The American Colonies believed that their unalienable rights were being infringed upon and their original system of government was being deteriorated. Jefferson once again wrote about injustice that he saw in the new American Republic in 1798. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, and were a response to the unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts. Jefferson wrote, “whenever the [federal] government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no fo...

One thing that I have learned is how incredible our Republican system of government is. James Madison described America as a “mixed government.” By taking the positive attributes from each form of government, monarchy, democracy, aristocracy, and oligarchy, they are made into the best form of government for human life by checking and balanced the natural tendencies of each one. Just like government has its flaws, so do we. Our natural submission or rebellion hurts a republic more than anything else. When we say that the government has too much power, we are submitting to the monarchy. The government only gains more control when we give it to them. When people in government break constitutional boundaries by passing unconstitutional laws, they have created injustice. Obedience to limitless laws creates a limitless government by our consent. These limitless laws are either submitted to or fought against in democratic ways. We start to bash the president for creating a bad executive or...

Shortly after the Constitution was ratified, two major political parties arose, the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans. These two very opinionated groups were always fighting with each other because of their different interpretations of the Constitution. This tore the nation apart and created turmoil in America's early years. Because of the Federalists' and Democratic Republicans' different interpretations of the Constitution, their views differed on the subjects of assumes Constitutional powers and a Bill of Rights. The Democratic Republicans held strong to a strict letter of the law way of interpreting the Constitution, whereas the Federalists lived by the spirit of the law. This differing way of reading the Constitution was prominent when the thought of assumed powers came up. Alexander Hamilton, who was the first Secertary of the Treasury and a Federalist, established a National Bank to restore the nation's credit. Thomas Jefferson was strongly opposed to...

Lessons Learned Through Self Government As a sophomore in high school, I am required to take American History for my history credit. I have always loved history, and especially the history of our nation, but this class completely changed my view on government and human nature. On the very first day of class my teacher, Mrs. Denton made it very clear that period 4B history was now under what she called “Teacher’s Rules.” As part of the curriculum she developed a simulation replicating what the American colonies experienced with Britain. Mrs. Denton was the queen and we were her royal subjects. The class was divided into colonies. Mrs. Denton appointed a parliament, and started establishing laws. At first these laws were simple classroom rules with strict consequences. For example, if you got out of your chair without permission, you had to sit at the front of the room. I was fine with these rules, because they kept a focused learning environment. Soon, these rules extended to bein...