We began today's session by briefly reviewing of the prior weeks' main topics. We reviewed that the separation of powers refers to the division of government into three distinct branches in order to limit any one branch from exercising too much power over the other two. Ben recalled its primary purpose as that of preventing the concentration of power and to provide for checks and balances. We next discussed the judicial branch, which was created by Article III of the Constitution. We summarized its main purpose as one of interpreting laws and determining whether they've been appropriately followed. Ben found it interesting to learn that federal judges are appointed, not elected, and that they stay on the bench until they retire, die, or are removed for bad behavior. We discussed Ruth Bader Ginsburg as a notable example as she served as US Supreme Court Justice and just recently died (in September of 2020). We discussed that she was known as a trailblazer since she fought for gender equality and became a hero for the progressive movement, and briefly discussed the progressive movement as one characterized as one furthering social and political reform. Next, we read how Article IV of the Constitution describes how states should interact with each other and that each state has to respect the laws and court decisions of other states. A vocabulary term that came up during discussion was 'extradition.' Article IV states that if a criminal flees from one state to another, the state where the crime was committed can request that the criminal be returned, or 'extradited,' to that state to face charges. We concluded our session talking about changes to the Constitution can be made. Ben answered questions correctly regarding the material. He agreed that our Founding fathers did allow for changes to be made, but correctly added that such changes, or 'amendments' are very difficult to pass as they take a lot of agreement from the states to ratify.

After a brief review of the key points from yesterday's session, today's lesson concentrated on the powers of Congress. We read materials and learned that Congress is a law-making and chief legislative body. It establishes procedures for passing bills and places various limits on the powers of Congress and the states from abusing their powers. We listed some of the powers of Article 1, including collecting taxes, paying debts, and providing for the common defense. Ben found some of the duties on the list humorous, such as Congress's ability to punish pirates. We defined some relevant vocabulary terms, such as 'ratify,’ which came up in discussion. Ben had heard the term but needed help with its definition and use in an example. We defined it as signing or give formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement in order to make it officially valid. An example of this would be that if somebody 'ratified' the Constitution, it would mean that they accepted it and made it valid. We next discussed Article II of the Constitution, and described the job of the Executive Branch as one that 'executes' or carries out, and enforces laws. Ben learned from his readings that the president heads this branch. We also noted that Article II describes who qualifies to be president, what powers the office has, and what happens if a president misbehaves. It also explains the Electoral College, which is the process of how the president is elected. We concluded today's session summarizing some of the duties of president outlined in Article II, one of which is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Next week, we will learn additional duties that Article II gives the president. When queried, Ben demonstrated his understanding of material reviewed. We summarized that the purpose of giving the three different branches of government separate powers is so that each has to cooperate with the other two in order to accomplish policy-making goals, and that this ‘check and balances system’ ensures that no one branch can become too powerful because each branch has the power to check the other two. Ben was very polite, responsive, and cooperative throughout our session. Before leaving, he thanked me and wished me a happy Easter.

Ben and I reviewed yesterday's introductory lesson about the Preamble to the Constitution - the document that created our nation's government. We began by discussing the Articles of Confederation and learned it was an agreement among the thirteen original states and served as its first constitution. We described the Preamble's job as one of introducing the Constitution and that it explains what it's meant to do and describes the purpose of the new government. We also learned some key phrases. Ben found it interesting to learn that the Preamble was written and added at the last moment, and that it was not voted on and has no legal meaning. We examined the language and noted that the first three words of the Constitution, "We the people," contain the most important idea of self-government and includes all citizens of the United States. An important take-away from the lesson was the knowledge that even after the US became independent from England, many of the Founding Fathers thought the states had too much power under the Articles of Confederation. During this part of the lesson, Ben learned about Shay's Rebellion, and its causes (economic policy, aggressive debt and tax collection; political corruption, and 'cronyism.' 'Cronyism' became our vocabulary word of the day and was defined as the practice of appointing friends and associates to positions of authority (i.e., jobs), without considering their qualifications. We ended the session by reviewing Article 1 of the Constitution, which creates the Legislative, or law-making, branch of our government. Ben learned how important this branch is because it represents the citizens, and that its members are responsible for turning citizens' wants and needs into laws. He learned that it's comprised of Congress and the House of Representatives, which we reviewed and compared in a chart. I introduced the term 'representative democracy' at this point in the session, which places power in the hands of representatives who are elected by the people and the three branches of government - the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches. As a lot of material was covered in today's lesson, these branches will be reviewed in greater detail in follow-up sessions. Ben was cordial, interested, and engaged in today's discussion.

Jonathan created postcards for urban, suburban, and rural communities. He pretended that he visited each community and created a picture for each postcard and a letter describing what he saw and what he did in each community.

After lunch, we began our review by discussing discussed government - why it is necessary, and the purposes it should serve. This topic is aligned with Florida State Standards in Social Studies. Ben offered his explanation of the purpose of government. He explained that he's done a lot of research about the dilemma facing our society and went on to state that it's set up in a way to benefit the wealthy. He summarized it as follows, "it's easier to be poor than rich in America, but it's harder to get out of being poor." We went on to discuss some reasons why this might be the case and one example that was cited was that the rich have access to more opportunities than the poor. Feeling this is unfair, Ben wondered why government doesn’t embrace more of the teachings of philosophers. When queried further about this, Ben brought up the philosopher, Socrates. When we researched Socrates to see if we could find principles in common with the principles of the constitution, we found a connection to both being wanting to serve the common good. Socrates believed that philosophy should achieve practical results for the greater well-being of society, and we were able to relate this to one of the founding principles of the US – that of promoting the general welfare of the people. In researching the Preamble to the Constitution, we learned that it includes its primary purposes as: providing leadership, maintaining order, and providing public services, national security, and economic security. We then discussed some examples to connect this to current events today (i.e.; the government’s provision of stimulus checks for people to fiscally assist them during the Covid-19 pandemic). We concluded our discussion by noting that the Preamble to the Constitution is an introduction to the highest law of the land but that it does not define government powers or individual rights. Ben connected this part of the discussion to his friend, Joshua, who was almost deported due to his immigration status; however, Ben was happy to report that the issue has since been resolved and the two remain good friends today. It was a productive and engaging session through which to address, discuss, and construct points of view, and then to validate arguments, from a historical and multi-discipline perspective and framework.

Kip completed his assignment assigned by his teacher in New Jersey. Kip reviewed different communities in his social studies textbook. He completed the activity questions at the end on the textbook pages. We discussed jobs in the different communities and where he would want to live if he had a choice.

Jonathan described the type of communities in the different types of regions in The United States. Jonathan created a poster on cities. He added buildings, pollution, lots of people, cars, and harbors for goods. Jonathan researched different famous cities in The United States.

Baylie reviewed the 37-page article read yesterday concerning Sir Issac Newton and the plague that ravished Europe starting in the 1300s. She then wrote a one-page paper summarizing the essential points of the article.

Kip finished the brainpop video on communities. He took the brain pop quiz. Kip created a poster for Urban communities. He added pictures that represent urban communities such as buildings, cars, traffic, pollutuion, and harbors.

Kip read an article about the West Region. Kip created a poster using land characteristics, weather, and national landmarks symbols to represent the West region. Kip reviewed communities in his textbook and watched a brainpop video on different communities in regions.