Laws in Canada

We first examined this presentation on Types of Laws in Canada.

And then we had a look at this assignment on Criminal and Civil Laws in Canada.

Charter of Rights and Freedoms

We spent Thursday and Friday on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

First was the Charter Assignment.

Then the Charter Case Studies.

Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Canadian

We went through this presentation today on the Rights and Responsibilities that you have as a Canadian citizen.

Your Rights and Responsibilities as an Intelligent Citizen

Here is a short biopic of Nelson Mandela and his struggle for human dignity and human rights for all South Africans.



"I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." - Nelson Mandela, Statement to the Supreme Court of Pretoria, April 20, 1964

Here's today's presentation on Your Rights and Responsibilities.

NIMBY - Final Project for Government and Citizenship

Today and tomorrow we are in the Library Lab to complete your work on the NIMBY Project (Not in My Backyard).

NIMBY Project.

When you're done remember to change the share setting to "Anyone with the link can access" before sending me the link to your project to   kovichm@hdsb.ca

Levels of Canadian Government

We spent some time working on the Levels of Government in Canada - all of that information is on this presentation:

Branches of Government

Here's a list of the levels of Government and Their Powers.

We did Cornell Notes on this information and this time they were marked.  Here's the rubric for that:

Cornell Notes Rubric

And here is the Flow Chart of Levels and Powers of Government.  You can download it if you like as it's a pdf and your machine might not display it correctly.

Canada's Political Structure

You will be taking notes in a new way today - Cornell Notes.  Here's a funny little video on the topic of Cornell Notes - this method of taking notes is, in fact, the most effective way to take good notes and then study from them afterwards.

Today we'll look at the Structure of the Government in Canada and how it got that way.

Here's  link to the Google Presentation - Structure of the Canadian Government.

Leadership Styles

In this activity we will focus upon three main leadership styles: Autocratic, Democratic, and Laissez-Faire. Each style has its strengths and weaknesses.

The "authoritarian or autocratic leader" is a boss who rules absolutely does whatever he/she wants. Though others may react strongly to this dictatorial style the autocratic leader holds firm to his/her approach. In an authoritarian society a great deal of activity is invested reinforcing the power position that the authoritarian leader has assumed.  Think of Syria today.

The "democratic leader" encourages the members of his or her group to discuss matters in an environment that stresses sharing ideas and respecting opinions. In terms of decision-making, votes are taken when consensus cannot be reached through discussion. Value is placed upon the opinions of others and the rights of individuals to disagree. 

Democratic - seeks others' opinion, tries to build consensus, may have a vote to make a decision.

The "laissez-faire leader" basically "leaves alone" the task of making decisions for the group believing instead the group is best qualified to make decisions for itself. He/she refuses to accept a leadership role and accordingly abdicates assisting with task setting or decision-making. 

Laissez-Faire - "hands off" style, leaving decisions to the group.




Here's a nice example of an effective leadership style from the Dancin' Guy. 










Please complete this chart in your notes - Leadership Styles.

AUTOCRATIC - Characteristics
- tells others what to do
- new ways of doing things
- group does not feel like a team

EFFECTIVE WHEN
- time is limited
- the group lacks the skill
- group does not know each other

INEFFECTIVE WHEN...
- trying to build a team
- the group already has the skill/knowledge
- group likes to be spontaneous


DEMOCRATIC - Characteristics
- much involvement of group in decisions
- leader asks first, may "tell" afterwards
- promotes a sense of team

EFFECTIVE WHEN...
- there is sufficient time
- group is motivated
- sense of team already exists
- skill and knowledge exists within the team

INEFFECTIVE WHEN...
- not enough time
- group is not motivated
- conflict within team


LAISSEZ-FAIRE - Characteristics
- gives little / no direction to group
- does not offer opinion unless asked for it (the leader)
- no one seems to be in charge

EFFECTIVE WHEN...
- the group is motivated
- the group is highly skilled
- the routine is familiar to team

INEFFECTIVE WHEN...
- poor sense of team
- low level of skills/knowledge
- group expects to be told what to do

Part A - My Scenarios:

After reading over the background information, consider each of the six scenarios listed below. For each scenario, state which of the three leadership choices (i.e. Autocratic, Democratic, or Laissez-Faire) would be the best and give at least two reasons for your choice. 

a) You find yourself in a group in a class that has to write and put together a dramatic presentation that will be filmed on video. There are people of all types of abilities in the group and most seem pretty keen on doing the project.
Democratic - sense of team, have the time, high skill

b) You are a camp counselor assigned with a group of rookie campers. You will be competing against other cabins in a scavenger hunt held in half an hour. The other cabins have older and more experienced kids, but your group would like to show them up.

Autocratic - time is limited, lack skill, newbies don't know each other.

c) Your boss is away in the hospital, but everyone has done the job before. Everyone really likes their job and the group is close - in fact, the employees often socialize after work as a group. A major crisis occurs that involves everyone, but you can't call the boss.

Laissez-Faire - lots of skill, high team feeling

d) You find yourself in a group doing an assignment that nobody wants to do, including yourself. Unfortunately, this assignment will decide whether you and only a few others pass the course.

Democractic - sufficient time, motivated, team/skill.

e) A committee is planning the annual Christmas party for employees and their families. Last year was one of the better parties and all of the people who are working this year had a job on last year's committee.

Laissez-Faire - everyone knows what they're doing and they know each other and they have past success

f) You have thirty minutes left to decorate your house for your best friend's surprise birthday party. Other friends have started decorating, but they keep asking you what to do.

Autocratic - time crunch,

Part B - Social Scenarios:

For this activity identify whether these scenarios are more likely to describe the response of a democratic or an authoritarian system of government. Be sure to provide an explanation for your answer.  
1. You and your friends are students at university. You have decided to organize a protest calling for the release of prisoners of conscience, arrested the year before for criticizing the government's policies. During the peaceful public protest the government sends in the army with tanks to break up the demonstration and to arrest your group.

Autocratic 

2. People are complaining about a river that has begun to swell in size. They circulate a petition demanding that the government build a barrier wall.

Democratic

3. You gather a group of people together to protest the forced draft of young people into the army. The police show up in riot gear, but allow the protest to continue.

Democratic or Laissez-Faire

4. You learn that there is an election. You arrive at the polling station and are told that you can vote in secret, or vote out in the open. Police are standing around. You decide to vote out in the open. You go to cast your vote and notice that there is only one name on the ballot.

Autocratic

5. The government leader has been convicted of taking bribes for special favours. Under pressure from the people he decides to resign.

Democractic

6. A group of students complain that they are not allowed to gather together after curfew. They protest before the city hall. All of them are arrested and jailed after being clubbed by members of the army. 

Autocratic

Power, The Moon/NASA & The River

Consider these scenarios and write a sentence or two for each outlining the method that power is used to persuade someone of something.

Each sentence should include a description of how one of the following is connected to the scenario.

1. in a forceful way
2. a persuasive way
3. based on rewards

1. A mother insists that her children go to be by 8:00 pm or they will lose their television privileges.

2. A student persuades the class to stop buying hamburgers at McDonald's because the extra packaging used by McD's world-wide harms the environment.

3. You know that if you speak out against the government leader in a certain country, you are likely to "disappear".

4. You buy Nike running shoes because Raphael Nadal wears them for tennis (he just won the US Open).

5. After watching pre-election TV ads for several weeks, you vote for a particular political party.

6. Your parents give you extra money for the As on your report card.

7. After an earthquake, looters are imprisoned without proper trials.


Next we'll pretend that you're an astronaut and have crashed on the moon 300km from the mother ship.

Could you Lead a Group of Survivors on the Moon?


Here's the list ranking that NASA came up with:

1. Oxygen – need it to live, even more than water
2. Water – need it to live
3. Map – no hope without a map
4. Food Concentrate – another basic need, it’s a long journey
5. Radio – helpful to communicate with home base or send SOS signal
6. Rope – to tie things, drag them
7. First Aid – may be helpful
8. Silk – keep the sun off you, without an atmosphere the sun is very dangerous
9. Life Raft – use CO2 to propel you
10. Flares – last ditch rescue is near home base
11. Pistol – make little rockets from propellant?
12. Milk – might be useful
13. Heater – you’re on the lit side of the moon so it’s warm all the time
14. Compass – no magnetic poles on the moon, useless
15. Matches – cannot work without Oxygen in atmosphere

Assignment:
Next let's have a look at the Origins of Government going back to a river 10,000 years ago.

Power - Is it Good or Bad?

Here are some examples of power . . .

You Ain't Never Had a Friend Like Me!

Prince Ali !

The Absolute Power!



In any group of people some people have more power than others.

1. What is power?
The ability to make change (for better or for worse).  Example, "pretty girls have power over willing young fellas" (Dawson).  The ability to get what you want.


2. Why do some have more power than others?
Wealth, political position, military strength, physical looks and/or strength, socio-economic status, persuasiveness, leadership qualities (charisma), reputation


3. Power is natural, how do we use it?
To get what we want, to meet our needs & wants.  Sometimes this can be discriminatory and can highlight inequalities.  It can also be constructive.

4. What types of power are there?  And who decides how to use it?
Military - government (democracy, people choose) (dictatorship, leaders choose)
Government - democratic vs. autocratic
Religious - Pope, Dalai Lama
Seniority at Work - "the boss"
Corporate - profit



On large chart paper, answer these three questions as a group:

1. List your goals in this course.


2. Who will ensure that these goals are met?

3. As a group, what will we do to ensure that most goals are met?