Flores, Ruben - Social Studies

Federal Government

FALL 2016

GOVT 2305
MWF Blocks 1 and 2
 
1st Block 8:07 a.m. - 9:37 a.m.
2nd Block 9:44 a.m. - 11:14 a.m.
 
Pre-AP GOVT/ECONOMICS 
MTWRF Block 3 
11:21 a.m. - 12:51 p.m. 
 
GOVT CP
MTWRF 4th Period
1:33 p.m. - 2:18 p.m.

ECONOMICS CP
MTWRF 5th Period
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
 
Tutoring Schedule
 
Tuesday 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
 
 

South Texas College

Political Science Department

Federal Government

GOVT2305

Texas Government

GOVT2306

Sharyland High School

AP U.S. Government 


Pre-AP U.S. Government/ Pre-AP Economics

GOVT/ECONOMICS CP


Ruben G. Flores, MPA, MBA, Ph.D. 

Sharyland ISD Govt Dual Enrollment Instructor

STC Adjunct Faculty – Political Science Department

Office: Bldg. 200, Room 206

Office phone: (956) 580-5300 ext. 1392

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

Office hours:            Tuesday 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

                                 Thursday 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.


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Dr. Flores' undergraduate work is in criminology and business administration and his graduate work is in clinical psychology, public administration, business administration, and business organizational leadership.

Dr. Flores has been teaching at Sharyland High School for six years. He has extensive experience working in local government, in state government, and at the federal level. He has worked in the criminal justice system, both in corrections and in law enforcement.  In the private sector, he has been a manager in the healthcare industry and in the insurance industry. He is the principal owner of an independent insurance adjusting firm, is a licensed insurance adjuster in the State of Texas as well as a certified mediator. He teaches at the higher education as well as the secondary education levels.

STC DE Course Description

Origin and development of the U.S. Constitution, structure and powers of the national government including the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, federalism, political participation, the national election process, public policy, civil liberties, and civil rights.

 

Student Learning Outcomes

 

The students will explain the origin and development of the constitutional

democracy in the United States.

 

The students will demonstrate an understanding of our federal system.

 

The students will describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both

theory and practice.

 

The students will demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial

branches of the federal government.

 

The students will evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups and political

parties.

 

The students will analyze the election process.

 

The students will describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

 

The students will analyze issues and policies in U.S. politics.

Class Policies

 

Please refer to the “Government DE Classroom Procedures” PowerPoint posted on

my webpage on the Sharyland ISD website.

 

Course Requirements

 

  1. Attend class.
  2. Participate in class discussions.
  3. Read assigned materials by due dates.
  4. Completion of three (3) exams, ten (10) short quizzes and a cumulative final examination (see schedule below).
  5. Completion of written paper on chosen political topic.
  6. Additional guidelines and procedures will be disseminated in class.

The four (4) scheduled exams assigned in the syllabus are 80% of the final grade. The remaining 20% is divided among the quizzes and a research paper. The ten (10) short quizzes will be unannounced, will focus on current course reading assignments and will be 10% of the final grade.  If you miss a quiz, exam or assignment it is your responsibility to arrange for a make-up with me. Makeups will either be done with Ms. Tricia Guerrero, SHS Counselor or at STC at the Centers for Learning Excellence if Ms. Guerrero is unavailable to proctor the makeup. The research paper will be 10% of the final grade. The course grading scale is:

A         90-100

B         80-89

C         70-79

D         60-69

F          59 and below

As mentioned above there will be short objective quizzes consisting of short answer and multiple-choice questions. The quizzes will be for the purpose of testing you on your reading assignments. 

 

There will be three exams comprised of objective, multiple-choice, short-answer and essay questions.  The final exam will be cumulative in nature, in other words, it will test you on all the material that we will have covered in the semester.

 

There will be an assigned political activity where you will research a salient political issue.  You will be expected to write a research paper on your findings.

 

The South Texas College website warns that it is a violation of the STC Student Code of Conduct to plagiarize.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated and be penalized if you are found to have plagiarized in any of the material that you submit for this class.  Please refer to the site at

http://library.southtexascollege.edu/services/reference/Pages/writing.aspx

 

Plagiarism is when you takes someone else’s language, ideas, or thought and present them as your own without proper acknowledgement. It includes taking someone else’s work or a portion of their work and submitting it as your own. It can also include submitting a work that does not contain sufficient citation or the misuse of source material.

 

It is also wrong to submit a paper that you have written for another class as your fulfillment of an assignment in another class unless you have discussed it with the professor and have obtained prior permission from the professor to submit the paper.

 

It is also improper to list an author, title or page reference as the source for obtained material, when the material came from another source or from another location.  This includes the use of fictitious material and passing it off as a real source.

 

The following are some guidelines:

 

You may only use two quotations in the paper.  When you do use quotations those quotes must be identified as quotations by either surrounding it with quotation marks or by being clearly indented, and the complete source must be cited either in the text or in the references page.

 

Any material that is summarized, restated, or reworked must be cited as such, whether it is used in written or oral form. Even if you cite the work from which you took the idea you must properly paraphrase it and not use the exact wording in your source or just change a few words.  You must write it completely in your own words.  It is best to put the original source aside and write the material in your paper in your own words without referring to the original source so that it is your words and wording from the original source does not creep in to your final submission.

 

All sources that are cited in-text must be cited in the references page of the paper. 

 

For some more direction on plagiarism and examples of how the proper use of quotations and paraphrasing please refer to https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/ .

 

Sharyland High School is also requiring that you write three expository essays.  Those essays will only count for the high school grade.

 

Students with an excused absence from school (including off-campus suspension) will have the opportunity to make up missed work at the rate of one day for one day missed, with a maximum of five days.  Students who are absent but had prior notice of a major or minor assignment must complete the assignment on the first day back to school. Students will receive a zero for any major or minor assignment not made up within the allotted time. It is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements to take any missed assignments not the teacher’s nor the counselor’s responsibility.

 

Students with an unexcused absence may not make up missed work; however, if the unexcused absence is determined to be caused by an extenuating circumstance, makeup work may be allowed, but the grade for the makeup work will be no higher than a grade of 70.  This policy only applies to Sharyland High School grades and is not applicable to South Texas College grades.

 

Students will be given up to three additional school days to redo a failing major assignment, which in this course is one of the four exams, but the grade will be no higher than a grade of 70.  This policy only applies to Sharyland High School grades and is not applicable to South Texas College grades.  The initial grade that is earned by the student will be the grade submitted for the student to South Texas College. 

 

Students will be given 3 additional days to make up a major assignment, which in this course is one of the four exams, but the grade will be no higher than a grade of 70.  This policy only applies to Sharyland High School grades and is not applicable to South Texas College grades.  The initial grade that is earned by the student will be the grade submitted for the student to South Texas College. 

 

If 50% or more of students in a class fail a major assignment, which in this course is one of the four exams, the entire class will receive reteaching of the content using a different instructional strategy from the original presentation. All students will be given an alternative major assignment. The students will receive the higher of the two grades earned. This policy only applies to Sharyland High School grades and is not applicable to South Texas College grades.  The initial grade that is earned by the student will be the grade submitted for the student to South Texas College.

 

Since Sharyland High School requires a minimum of two grades per week and that exceeds the number of South Texas College assignments there will be more Sharyland High School grades than South Texas College grades issued for the course.

There will be no extra credit assignments offered for either the high school grades or the South Texas College grades. 

Students are responsible to submit assignments in a timely manner.  Should you not be able to submit your work in a timely manner it will be your responsibility to contact the instructor to notify the instructor why you will not be able to submit the work in a timely manner.  If the instructor approves a late paper then fifteen points will be deducted for the assignment.

 

Student Responsibilities

 

  • Come to class on time, and refrain from packing up belongings before class ends.
  •  Turn off all electronic devices that might create a disruption in class.  
  • Be quiet and give full respectful attention while either instructor or another student is speaking.
  • When speaking, use courteous, respectful language and keep comments and questions relevant to the topic at hand.

 

Instructor Responsibilities

 

  • Treat all students with courtesy and respect.
  • Be open to constructive input from students in the course.
  • Ensure that opportunities to participate are enjoyed equally by all students in the course.


Required Textbook

 

Edwards, George C. et al., Government in America, 15th Edition, New York, NY: Pearson Education Incorporated, 2009. ISBN#0-558-38787-X.

Program Learning Outcomes

This class contributes to the following program learning outcome within the Political Science major:

  • Students will identify the topics studied in the American politics subfield of political science and the tools used to study those topics.

 

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

  • Explain the origin and development of constitutional democracy in the United States;
  • Demonstrate an understanding of our federal system;
  • Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice;
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government;
  • Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties;
  • Analyze the election process;
  • Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens;
  • Analyze issues and policies in U.S. politics.

 

 

Core Objectives

In completing this course, the students will demonstrate the following core objectives:

  • Critical Thinking Skills - to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information;
  • Communication Skills - to include effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication;

 

Title IX Statement

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects individuals from discrimination based on sex in any educational program or activity operated by recipients of federal financial assistance.  Sexual harassment, which includes acts of sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX.  More information on Title IX policy and procedures can be found at http://www.southtexascollege.edu/about/notices/title-ix.html.  Questions regarding Title IX or concerns about accommodations, including complaints of sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual violence, or other sexual misconduct should be directed to our Conflict Resolution Center at 956-872-2180 or [email protected].

 

Pregnant Parenting Students

South Texas College does not discriminate against any student on the basis of pregnancy, parenting or related conditions.  Pregnant or parenting students seeking accommodations should contact the Conflict Resolution Center immediately at 956-872-2180 or [email protected].

 

Developmental Studies Policy Statement

The College’s Developmental Education Plan requires TSI Liable students who have not met the college readiness or exemption standards in reading, writing, and/or mathematics to enroll in Developmental Studies courses including College Success.  Failure to attend these required classes may result in the student's withdrawal from ALL college courses.

 

Statement of Equal Opportunity

No person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity sponsored or conducted by South Texas College on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, gender, disability, genetic information, or veteran status.

Alternative Format Statement

This document is available in an alternative format upon request by calling 872-2536.

ADA Statement

 Individuals with disabilities requiring assistance or access to receive services should contact disABILITY Support Services at (956) 872-2173.