May 12

07 Studying Ideologies

There have been different philosophical thinkers who contributed ideas about the Social Contract countries should adopt, meaning how much power is given to an authority figure, what type of authority, and how many rights do citizens give up in order to gain freedom in their society.

Now we’ll transition to look at the different Established Ideologies – the established approaches to governing, like Conservatism and Liberalism.

What are the goals of the different Canadian parties?


Liberalism Kahoot Review (Link)

Shared Google Doc – Liberalism Individual Research

January 22

Soc 10: 10 Organizing an Economy

We’ve discussed for a long while the Social Contract that societies have to negotiate and adapt to suit their needs and wants as a group. It is the give and take relationship between government and the people, determining what each is responsible for in working together.

A society’s Social Contract will also relate to their Economic choices – determining how much or little government is involved in the main economic issues of What to Produce, Who to Produce it for, and How (best) to Produce it.

The following are resources to help support your learning/understanding of the main approaches to economics for countries.

 

  1. Planned Economy: also known as a Command Economy, since the government takes full command of the decision-making and planning for meeting the wants and needs of its society

     

  2. Mixed Economy: includes a range of involvement of government and individual ownership
  3. Market Economy: focuses more on individual producers and sellers making decisions about the market without government involvement or interference.
January 14

Social 10: 09.1 Guided Inquiry Activity – Comparing Economies of Neighbouring Countries

Canada has the good fortune to exist from “sea-t0-sea-to-sea”, so we benefit as a whole from the various types of geography, resources, settlements across a wide scale. Consider what it’s like, though, for a small country whose borders are surrounded by other countries. Geographically and resource-wise, they may be very similar, but because of differences in style of government, corruption, equality of the people, and other reasons, the living conditions in the two countries can be very different. One citizen of country A can live in comfortable wealth, while the citizen of country B only 20 kms away may live in extreme poverty.

 

Why can there be such differences between the living standards of citizens? That’s your question to find an answer to in today’s inquiry study. 

I’d like you to organize yourselves into two groups, Group A and Group B. 

  • You can join a Breakout Room and plan together how to break up the study information. 
    OR
  • You can join a group (A or B) and decide to study individually and then later share together what you each discovered.

In either group, discover the following: 

  • Take notes and keep track of the websites or sources you were able to use information from. (They can be added to a Google Doc or written down)
  • Group A: Study the difference between Botswana (a wealthy country) and Zimbabwe (a poor country)]
  • Group B: Study the difference between Haiti (a poor country) and the Dominican Republic (a wealthy country)

    Dominican Republic boosts security along Haiti border

    • Search to understand the following for each country in your group:
      1. their government style and method of decision-making for the citizens
      2. where the government leaders in power sit on the political spectrum (L        Center       R)
      3. what resources in the country do they have to produce and sell/trade?
      4. what is the state of Rule of Law in their country – is society orderly, is it chaotic, is there great corruption?
      5. has each country’s wealth been much the same for a long time or has it changed within recent decades? Is there a cause of that change, if so?
      6. what is it like for citizens to live in each country – do they have homes to go to? some wealth? do they rely on social programs to provide for them? is there great poverty?

Send a note through Teams if you are stuck and need support!

November 17

Soc 10 03.1 Reviewing Unit – Concept Mapping

One of the ways to really test your understanding of terms and concepts you learned about in a unit of study  is to try to visually see how many of them are interconnected. It is about more than just understanding terms, but also understanding how those terms relate to each other. Concept mapping helps with this! You’ll be surprised by how much better you’ll see a bigger picture after trying this!

Here is the list of terms we’ve used and studied so far in Unit 1. These are the terms you’ll pull from in your practice concept map in reviewing for our upcoming exam.

 

October 7

02.0 The Balance of Rights and Freedoms – Intro Activity

You may already be aware of how protected the rights are of citizens in Canada. We live a lifestyle free from much of the conflict that other citizens face daily in their own countries. Understanding the source of that protection is an important part of understanding your relationship with your country.

 

 

 

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – What’s it about?

 

The Student Voice: Peer Collaboration - YouTube

Before Studying it, Compare Your Understanding with a Peer/Group:

  1. Method of Collaborating: Decide to EITHER a) join a shared Google Doc together and develop responses collaboratively to the questions that follow OR b) go outside (in the beautiful fresh air) and audio record your discussion and shared thoughts to the following questions. OR alternative c) join an Online Teams Meeting and Record your session.
    1. Either choice of a or b – make sure you eventually share your collaboration with me directly.
      1. If choosing a – share the doc to my @gmail acct
      2. If choosing b – share the audio conversation to my @sunwest acc
      3. If choosing c – join a Breakout Room in our Social 10 Teams Channel. The recording you create will be accessible to me through the program.
  2. Discussion Questions to Ponder Together Before Reading: Record your responses in either the Google Doc, Audio Recording, or Teams call
    1. Background: What do you think the Canadian Charter is and/or what does it do for Canadians?
    2. Cause and Effect: Imagine if it did not exist in Canada or offer any protection to Canadians. Can you list ways (at least 4?) the lives of Canadians today might be altered?
      ex: You could be arrested and held indefinitely without a set trial date or even access to a lawyer.
    3. Judgement: The Canadian Charter offers many protections to citizens, protections from each other and from the government. Do you believe there is one area of protection more important than others?
      ex: Do you think protecting a person’s Legal Rights is more necessary/important than protecting a person’s Voting Rights or Language Rights?
      Yes/No: Explain your response
    4. Connection to Last Topic: What does it say of the relationship between Canadians and their government (our Social Contract) that this is a government protection offered to Canadians?
  3. Read the following article together and discuss: Document your discussion and answers by in either the Google Doc, a recording, or Teams call for parts 2-5. It is optional to also record step 1, the reading.
      1. Read the following article together. “Chalking on Sidewalks is Not a Crime” 
        1. Options for reading the text:
          1. You can use the Rewordify site to simplify the language of the article
          2. You can also paste the text into a Text to Speech website to listen/read along for better understanding
          3. The full text of the article is posted below as a Comment. You can copy it from there for any of the uses above.
      2. Summarize the main points of the article.
      3. What supporting points does the article provide to prove it’s point of concern?
      4. Identify the Charter Right protecting the behaviour described in the article and how you understand it protects Canadians.
      5. Your opinions: Do you understand the motivations of both sides of the conflict: the police motivations and the protestor motivations? Is there one side that is more in the right in these scenarios?
  4. After Reading:
    1. Personal Application: Consider for yourselves – what Chalk Messages would you write on Kenaston’s sidewalks, if you had the opportunity?
      1. Post responses as a Comment to this Blog Post at the bottom. Chalk Another One Up to Free Speech Hypocrisy — FAIR
      2. You can select more than one message you’d write.
      3. Give an explanation for each chalk message – what motivates you to want to share this with your community?

 

 

 

 


 


Narrated audio of the article. Male voice, Dyslexic-supportive font, and speed 0.

September 7

Social 10: Current Events Sources

Current Events Project:

Following world events helps us understand the relationship of countries and their Current Events Blog Intro | A\J – Canada's Environmental Voicecitizens more and we start to recognize how the differences in those relationships, like a country under dictatorship rules verses one as a democracy, impact the types of events reported from within them. There are also economic differences by regions in the world as well as different freedom levels. Following current event issues globally will give us a lot to discuss and connect to our class studies.

Our Units of Study will be the focus of the news articles you select. You’ll try picking events that relate to any of the issues that are part of the following Units:

  1. Political Decision-Making
    1. governing style
    2. decision making and control
    3. gaining power
    4. rights of citizens and the role of government
  2. Ideologies – political perspectives and parties
    1. Conservatism
    2. Liberalism
    3. Chaos
    4. Communism
  3. Economy styles and issues
    1. types of world economies
    2. supply and demand
  4. International Economic Relations
    1. foreign trade deals for Canada
    2. tariffs on imports
    3. NAFTA (CUSMA) (USMCA) (?)
    4. the wealth of nations – independence
  5. International Political Relations
    1. Canada’s security from threats
    2. Canadian sovereignty – economic-wise and land control (Arctic)
    3. interdependent world
    4. Canada’s role in foreign partnerships – NORAD

Websites for Current Events: You’ll rotate between Canadian National news one week and Global News the next. 

Worldwide News Sources: 

Canadian National News Sources:

 

 

Current Events/Mapping Outline:
You can use the following prompts to help you develop your analysis of each of your article choices. The topics cover the source of the article, the word choice use in reporting it, considering whether it is well detailed or a general reporting of an event, as well as connecting it to our topics of study in Social 10.

Use the link and Create a Copy of this Spreadsheet for yourself. Label it properly with your name and share it back to me via my gmail email.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mapping:

  • Mapmaker – National Geographic – interactive mapping

 


Current Events Mapping Project:

So far, we together have practiced a few Current Event activities, choosing a source for the search, filtering through a number of the news reports that day, and summarizing what’s happening and who is involved.

Now, you’ll have your own Current Events Project to continue with, but it will also include some Mapping. Following the locations of the events you are learning about is also a real-life way to learn a bit more about the locations of countries in the world, the types of issues they are dealing with, and also tracking within Canada where common news events are happening.

  1. This will be an ongoing project throughout the semester. It is part of your course assessment and valued at 20% of your grade.
    1. An Optional element of this project can also include a weekly Journalling extension; it would be space for you to reflect on the types of issues happening around the world and how you feel you relate to them or don’t relate because you have the privilege to live in Canada. 
    2. If you are concerned about being able to deliver enough content and demonstrate accuracy and understanding, this Journal Extension is an opportunity to pull some marks from the events and mapping and be assessed on your personal reflections of the week’s events.
  2. Assessment Plan: Let’s Co-construct how you will be evaluated and the requirements.

September 7

Social 10: 01 Social Contracts

Societies have to learn to work together to run smoothly, including a clear understanding of what citizens have to do to remain part of society and what the government will provide them in exchange. Because it’s worked like this for so long, it’s hard to recognize the give/take relationship between citizens and their government, but the Covid-19 experience was such a change from normal that it helps use recognize more clearly the role of government as provider and the responsibility of citizens to follow the expectations set for them.

Resources:

Comparing Country Social Contracts

 

 

December 6

Soc 10 05 Making Decisions in Parliamentary Democracy

We’ve just recently gone through our election process in Canada and you’ve been fortunate enough to have time to discuss and learn about this decision-making power through real, current events.

Some other examples related to parliament and the ways decision-making is fairly made and balanced in Canada are included below:

    1. Parliament/Provincial Legislative: What’s the difference between minority and majority governments? And what examples have we had of them in Canada’s recent government? Find out what number of seats the different parties had that allowed for the party forming the government to be designated as either a majority or minority government.
      • House of Commons Floor Plan – seats per party & per province
      • Per Federal Riding – number of voters per MP & area covered by their riding
      • List of Canadian Parliament of past years – look at the difference in composition through the decades
        • 1.For how many years did the Canadian government exist with just two parties, compared to more recent elections where there are more recognized, Official Third Parties? Pick one Canadian government term and comment on what you notice or find interesting about its composition or make-up.
        • 2. Look at the makeup of the 41st Canadian Parliament – what looks so different about that one or is so unique about how it came to be? Explain how it differs so much to the 42nd Parliament composition that followed it.
      • Canada’s 43rd Parliament – list of seats per party, etc
        • 3. Based on the calculation of seats per party in the current government, is it easy or more challenging for parties to carry out their desired decisions? Answer for the leading party and the opposition party.
        • 4. Based on the calculation of seats per party in the current government, is it easy or more challenging for parties, both ruling and opposition, to carry out their desired decisions?
      • Party representatives elected per province – look to see how varied, or not varied, the elected members representing a certain party are by province
      • Party Representatives elected per province – a better look per province on this seating chart here
        • 5. What observation can you make about the values or ideology of Canadians based on who/what party members they elected in their local ridings by province?
      • List of Standing Committees: these are the groups that meet to discuss issues and hear from experts in these areas before creating new bills or voting on them
    2. Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition:

    3. Regular Elections:
      • 7. Explain the circumstances behind Canada’s last potential election and how it was resolved without an election. How does the 41st Parliament outcome hint to reasons why government parties may want to avoid a triggered election?

4. Supreme Court of Canada:

    • SCC Cases in Brief website – decisions made on cases before the court
    • SCC home page – check for Live hearings video feed
      • Looking at the SCC page of cases ruled on located here, answer the following:
        • 8. Count how many cases the Saskatchewan Court of Queen Bench heard in 2020 so far. Then count how many cases the S.C.C.  heard in 2020, 2019 and 2018. What does it tell you about the types of cases this court chooses to hear or the access to this level of Canadian court justice, if the number of cases per year is fairly low? 
        • 9. Find/identify the following types of cases. In one sentence, summarize one of these cases.
          • two cases of the Crown versus an individual
          • one case of a province versus another party,
          • and one case of an individual versus Canada.

5. Freedom of the Press:

    • Public Safety Minister to investigate after serious offender moved to minimum security prison
      • 10. In December, 2018, Canadian media published the concerns of the father of a young girl who was kidnapped/murdered in 2009. His concern/anger was over learning the convicted killers of his daughter had been transferred to minimum and medium security locations. The issue was brought up by Opposition Party members (Conservatives) in the House of Commons in 2018 and responded to by Liberal party members. 
        • a) Search and list at least four Canadian media sources that published the reports of the initial move and concern of the father. Write their article titles, dates, and source publishers below. 
        • b) Identify the final outcome of the issue brought up by media and addressed by Parliament. Cite your source for your answer. 

 

November 1

Soc 10 03 Balance of Power – Review/Discussions

After watching the videos about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you should review a few key points, so you’re clear in your understanding.

  • Before the Charter existed, Canada’s Constitution document still belonged to the British. Decision-makers in Canada weren’t able t0 make bigger changes to reflect how Canad
  • Image result for canadian charter of rights and freedomsian society had evolved and grown, since the first Constitution document was written in 1867.
  • Pierre Trudeau campaigned in the Federal election saying he would patriate t
    he Constitution document
    – have it returned to Canada and refreshed through collaboration of the Provincial Premiers and renew that Constitution document – making it truly Canada’s own.
  • The Balance of (Decision-making) Power was established by Sections 91 (giving Federal responsibilities) and Section 92 (giving provincial responsibilities)
  • When the Premiers met together with the Federal government, understandably they were concerned with being asked to give up any/much decision-making power for their provinces, and a Charter of Rights and Freedoms did that – asked them to give up some powers provincially.
  • Only four provinces were part of the original Constitution document – all the other provinces and territories were gradually added into Canada’s Confederation. The balance of power remained as was originally given by the Constitution Act. Being able to “refresh” the Constitution Act, though, meant provinces could negotiate for more powers within Canada’s workings or, at least, fight against the Federal (central) government from taking too much power.
  • The idea of a Charter, an enshrined, unmovable new addition to Canada’s Constitution (balance of power) unnerved many premiers, believing it reduced their own powers provincially. And it did – it meant provinces couldn’t pass or create new laws that would violate any of the rights given/protected in the Charter. They c
  • ouldn’t pass new laws provincially on things like:
    • who could and couldn’t get married
    • language use per province, especially in multilingual provinces like Quebec and some Maritime provinces
    • who was allowed and not allowed to vote, provincially
    • what religious practices could occur or restrictions on any
  • Quebec was especially strong in their resistance to ANY changes or additions to the Constitution documents. Quebec had been given distinct status and unique rights by Britain before Canada as a nation (the four original provinces together) even existed. Anything to further reduce Quebec’s autonomy, power over their own decisions, was fought and, ultimately, Quebec was left out of some of the final decisions because of that resistance.
  • The “give” the Federal (central) government had to accept in order for the provinces to agree to accept the restrictions The Charter would put on them was a Notwithstanding Clause – an “out” that let a province violate certain Charter protected rights. This gave provinces the flexibility to keep enough decision-making power that they’d accept the Charter as a new part of Canada’s Constitution.
  • The Queen brought the document, the Charter was added to it, and all the premiers and federal leader signed it, except Quebec’s premier, though as an existing part of Canada his signature/acceptance of it wasn’t necessary.

 

What’s so great about the Charter of Rights?

  • It gives so many freedoms and protections to Canadians, even new Canadians, and it is a document admired by citizens of countries the world over.
  • The most significant part of The Charter – it creates greater equality in Canada when it doesn’t really exist.
    • The majority of Canadians cannot vote for new laws that restrict the minorities of Canada.
    • The Charter protects minorities from “the tyranny of the majority” – a quote from Pierre Trudeau.
  • Also, because it’s part of the Constitution document, it cannot be removed. It is entrenched in the Constitution.
    • Previous laws created to help protect minorities or Canadians were made in the form of Bills, but they could be removed or repealled by the next government if it didn’t agree with it.
      • Ex: The Conservative government under Stephen Harper passed the Same Sex Marriage Equality law, but it is only a Bill. When another Conservative government comes into power in the future, they could remove that bill if they had a majority government.
      • Ex: The Liberal government has ennacted a Carbon Emissions Tax Bill. When another Conservative government comes into power, they could remove that Bill.
      • Ex: Howerver, no federal government can remove the right to vote for all citizens – because it is entrenched as part of the Charter.
  • Canada is a country of diversity – we are made of many backgrounds and cultures. That means these protections for citizens are necessary, to protect their human rights.
  • There are limitations, though. The courts help government law makers interpret those laws and help identify times when some restrictions of rights are acceptable and/or when a province can use the Notwithstanding Clause to opt-out of supporting a protected right.

 

So if I asked you, could you develop a response to each of the following questions?

  1. Who is a minority group in Canada or what makes someone a minority?Image result for personal reflection
  2. In what kinds of ways does the Charter protect minorities, and all Canadians?
  3. What is your personal perspective of the Charter in Canada – would you say you’re proud of what it does for Canadians or does it concern you in some ways? And why?
  4. Is the Charter necessary in Canada, in your opinion? Why?
  5. Can you list specific occasions or groups that are protected by the rules within the Charter?
  6. Describe what Canada might look like as a society if there was no Charter. Identify three distinct behaviours or laws that couldn’t exist without it.

Brainstorm your responses and the reasoning behind them and then record an audio reflection discussing your thoughts. Submit making sure the audio file has your name and Social 10 in it.