Posts Tagged ‘assassination’
We’re about to cover the Bill of Rights. There’s so much to do with this section. Sure, we’ll make the chart. We’ll go further.
I’ll use The Daily Show to hit up the First Amendment, The Colbert Report to hit up the Second Amendment and The Onion to hit up the Third Amendment.
I have a documentary-style movie which, as it addresses police procedure under extraordinary circumstances and a modified version of the USA PATRIOT Act, will very nicely hit the Fourth through Sixth Amendments.
While the bruhaha over this movie blew over some time ago, I’m wondering about how best I should introduce it in my classroom.
From Wikipedia:
“Death of a President” is a fictional documentary about the assassination of 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush. … The film covers topics of civil disobedience, racial profiling, the reduction of civil liberties, sensationalism and just-war theory.
It’s perfect for due process and freedom of assembly. It’s perfect for self-incrimination and the right to a speedy trial. Is it perfect for my classroom?
It isn’t like we’ve wholeheartedly avoided controversy. Remember which clip I’m using for the First Amendment. That’s already pretty hefty stuff.
Yes, I have approval from my master teacher. We’ll very carefully introduce The N-Word clip with a standard “This is meant to make you think” and the cursory “This does not represent the view of the establishment” and the relevancy-making “What do you understand about the First Amendment, now?”
Will this angle work on a movie about the assassination of the current president? This subject matter is potentially more sensitive. If the official movie blog is to be believed, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D — N. Y.) had this reaction:
I think it’s despicable.
I wonder if she even saw this movie. This movie isn’t about bashing Bush. In fact, most of the characters who are not suspects look up to the guy, nearly idolizing him.
The content is standards-based and, for once, the subject matter will immediately capture the attention of even my seniors. Why am I worrying, then?
Moral of the story? When in irreparable doubt, defer to your gut. What horrible advice.
The Onion has a nice little piece on how the candidates have been pandering to a crucial voting bloc. I’ve included the infographic.
This would be perfect as an introduction to a bunch of topics. In American government, you can move on to:
1. Presidential succession.
2. Voting blocs.
3. Pandering.
4. Swing states.
5. Campaigns and nominations.
6. Third-party candidates.
When teaching American history, there are a few more obvious threads:
1. History of presidential assassination.
2. Motives behind presidential assassination.
3. Shared fates of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Presidential assassinations don’t end there, either. Stephen Sondheim has a marvelous little musical on the subject, and there are a slew of books, too. Excerpts from either would fit marvelously, especially if you hit this as a thematic sort of unit.
My favorite excerpt from this article:
One assassin told pollsters that he is still hopeful that Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) will be elected in November. However, even if Paul fails to win the presidency, the respondent fully intends to carry out his plans to stab Paul to death in December.
Moral of the story? Never leave teacher mode. You’ll never know when you come across something useful.
