CONTEMPORARY ISSUES – JOURNAL QUESTIONS

Fall 2010

Journal Questions (JQs) must be a minimum of 3 lines of writing in complete sentences (unless otherwise specified), and are worth up to 3 points for each entry. Since you are given in-class time to work on these each day, they will only be accepted for up to one week after their due dates.

2nd Quarter

In progress – not yet collected

11/29: If you had a billion dollars, would you be doing anything to help others in today’s economical situation? If yes, what would you do? If no, why? Explain.

11/30: Do you feel that you are being sufficiently prepared for college or life after high school? Explain. What could/should the teachers/schools be doing differently that would help you? What could YOU be doing differently or better to help you?

Collected 11/19 – will NOT be accepted after 11/24

11/15: What should be the priority of Congress next session? Prioritize these and explain your order.

jobs, health care, national debt, tax cuts, government budget

11/16: Jobless benefits will expire Nov. 30 unless Congress extends them. Should they be extended? Why or why not?

11/17: How do you feel about government banning products such as Four Loko? Explain

11/18: Do you believe that the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy should be repealed? Why or why not?

11/19: How do you feel about our country scaling back on or eliminating nuclear arms? Should the Senate ratify the treaty Pres. Obama signed with Russia? Explain.

Collected 11/10 – will NOT be accepted after 11/19

10/4: Do you think our government “goes too far” in the interest of “national security”? Explain.

10/5: Why do you think some leaders or groups use terror as a tactic of achieving their goals?

10/11: Do you think that illegal immigration is a problem in the U.S. today? Why or why not?

11/8: Would you be willing to pay more taxes in order to pay down our country’s deficit? Explain.

11/9: Do you think Nancy Pelosi should be the Democratic leader of the House of Reps during the next Congressional session? Why or why not?


1st Quarter

Collected 9/17 – will NOT be accepted after 9/24

9/8: Some people believe that Americans are starting to forget about the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and that people should be reminded by watching videos each year. Do you agree? Why or why not?

9/13: After the attacks on 9/11, Pres. Bush said that our freedom had come under attack. What do you think he meant by this?

9/13: Do you think many people feel that the attacks on 9/11 were race related (a form of racism)? Have Americans since 9/11 turned it into a racial incident? Explain.

9/15: The U.S. has two major political parties – do you think that these two parties have too much power? Why or why not?

9/16: Would you rather be represented by a delegate or a trustee in Congress? Why?

Collected 9/3 – will NOT be accepted after 9/10

8/23: Do you think that we have been victorious in Iraq – can we now declare victory? Why or why not?

8/23: When faced with pending natural disasters (such as hurricanes or wildfires), should residents be forced to evacuate? Why or why not?

8/30: Do you think that people whose homes are destroyed by natural disasters (flood, tornado, wild fire, earthquake, etc.) twice within 5 years should still be eligible to purchase insurance? Why or why not?

8/31: How would you feel about a device implanted at birth to track your whereabouts? (It would be illegal to remove it.) In what ways could it be an advantage; and in what ways could it be a disadvantage? Explain.

9/3: Do you think that our society focuses more on protecting the rights of law-abiding citizens or the rights of criminals? Explain your answer, giving an example (or examples) to justify your opinion.

Collected 8/20 – will NOT be accepted after 8/27

8/16: How do you feel about the location of the proposed Islamic mosque in New York City? Explain.

8/17: Do you believe that school buses should have seat belts or other safety devices? Explain.

8/18: The Constitution guarantees us certain freedoms. Does the “right” of free speech mean it’s ok to be unkind or disrespectful to each other? Explain.

8/20: Do you think people can learn from the mistakes of others, or do people need to make their own mistakes in order to learn? Explain.