Oct 16

DOL

--ann landers a syndicated columnist is very popular throughout the country her success is due to her common sense solutions to everyday problems

Class activities
--the following activity will begin today, and students will hand in their writings on thurs 10/17

Informal Persuasive Speech/Essay Topics 

Below are some categories with various topics.  Take a few minutes to read through them.  You may make notes, underline, or highlight anything you like.  

Goal for today:  Choose a topic that you can write about based on personal interests that you have previously read about, heard about on the news, or had conversations related to the topic. 

Remember:  these are informal, so formal research will not be required; therefore, choose a topic that you have enough knowledge and opinions about in order to intelligently write.  Be sure you can think of at least 3 different points for your topic.    

 

Physical Education and Sports

• Should physical education be mandatory for all students every day of the school week?
• Should students on sports teams be required to carry a certain grade point average [GPA] in order to play?
• Should coaches be required to give equal playing time to athletes at the secondary school level regardless of skills (middle and high school)?
• Are sports athletes role models?
• Is mandatory drug testing of all athletes on a secondary, collegiate, and professional level necessary?
• Are spectator sports overemphasized in America today? 

The First Amendment

• Controversial T-Shirts – If a student wears a controversial T-shirt, does the school board have the right to ban offensive and controversial clothing or does the student have the right to wear it under the first amendment?
• Cyber Bullying Statutes – If a student is bullying someone do they have the right to claim they have freedom of speech to say what they wanted?
• Posting Videos Online – Is This a Right & Your Freedom of Speech? – Does anyone have the right and freedom to post videos online even if the person taking the video does not have permission and the videos are of people in personal or compromising actions – a school fight, personal encounter. 

 

National Security and Civil Liberties

• Does the US federal government have the authority to either detain without charge or search without probable cause?
• Should a wall be built between Canada and the US and Mexico and the US to keep out all suspected terrorists entering the US illegally?

 

Technology and Education

• Should students be allowed to use mobile devices in class?
• Should there be a filter on the internet in school?
• Are textbooks obsolete?
• Should teachers friend students on Facebook?
• Should schools provide technology devices (i.e. tablets or laptops) for all students?

 

School & Educational Issues

• School cafeterias should be transformed into food courts with fast food companies supplying meals.
• Students should be required to wear school uniforms.
• Schools should shift from a nine month school year to year-round schooling.
• Video cameras should be put into all classrooms to record student and teacher interactions at all times.