Fairfax County Public Schools
Social Studies Program of Studies:
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The public agenda can be thought of as the "to do list" for the nation. Individuals and groups (both inside and outside the government) attempt to exert influence on decision makers by seeking out ways to get their issues—from gun control and abortion to installing a traffic light at the corner—on the agenda. These efforts will, or will not, sway public officials and direct the actions of local, state, and national governments which must then decide what action, if any, they should take. The policy decisions that might or might not be made are affected by current trends in political ideology, the leaders themselves, and by the types of influence citizens are able to exert. Students study public policy, therefore, to investigate how the public policy agenda is set; what are the responsibilities of government at each level; how the government raises and spends money; and how the government formulates policy, both domestic and foreign.
Students will know, understand and explain current debates over government policies dealing with the economy, domestic issues, and foreign affairs.
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NOTE: Red Bolded content in the indicators is considered essential and must be taught in all classrooms. Content which is not bolded goes beyond the scope and sequence of the state standards.
Benchmark 6.1: Students will explain how the public agenda is set and how it affects public policy.
6.1 Indicators:
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Explain that the public agenda consists of those matters that occupy public attention at any particular time.
- Describe how the public agenda is shaped by political leaders, political institutions, political parties, interest groups, the media, and individual citizens.
- Explain how the public agenda influences the decisions of the government related to the economy, domestic issues, and foreign affairs.
Benchmark 6.2: Students will describe the various ways the government influences the economy.
6.2 Indicators:
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Explain the following characteristics of the U.S. market economy by.
- assessing the importance of entrepreneurship, the profit motive, and economic independence to the promotion of economic growth
- comparing types of business organizations
- describing the factors of production
- explaining the interaction of supply and demand
- illustrating the circular flow of economic activity
- interpreting indicators of economic importance including productivity, consumer price index, and stock market averages
- examining productivity and the standard of living as measured by key economic indicators;
- examining the role of property rights and contracts in the market economy
- explaining the relationship between economic freedom and political freedom
- evaluating the impact of government’s role in the economy on individual economic freedoms
- Identify fiscal policy as the taxing and spending policies of the national government as found in the annual budget.
- Identify major sources of revenue for the national government, i.e., individual income taxes, social insurance receipts, borrowing, taxes on corporations and business, and estate and excise taxes.
- Explain provisions of the United States Constitution that authorize the national government to collect taxes, i.e., Article I, Sections 7 and 8, Sixteenth Amendment.
- Evaluate the equity of various taxes, i.e., progressive, regressive, and flat.
- Analyze the impact of the government’s tax policies on individual economic well-being, including employment opportunities, purchasing and credit power, interest rates, and opportunities for investment and savings.
- Identify the major ways the government spends tax revenues it receives, e.g., direct payment to individuals (social security, Medicaid, Medicare, retirement benefits to federal employees, etc.), national defense, debt interest, interstate highways, and national parks, etc. as outlined in the federal budget.
- Identify the causes and consequences of budget deficits and the national debt.
- Analyze the impact of the government’s spending priorities on individual economic well-being including employment opportunities, purchasing and credit power, interest rates, and opportunities for investment and savings.
- Identify monetary policy and other ways the government can influence the economy.
- Explain monetary policy and the purpose and function of the Federal Reserve System.
- Define business cycle, recession, depression, inflation, and productivity.
- Interpret indicators of economic performance including gross domestic product, consumer price index, balance of trade, and stock market averages.
- Analyze the role of government in the U.S. economy such as regulating commerce and international trade, promoting economic growth, protecting the environment, maintaining competition, and providing goods and services.
- Analyze the impact of monetary policy and other government influences on the economy on personal economic well-being including employment opportunities, purchasing power, interest rates, and opportunities for investment and savings.
- Analyze the impact of fiscal and monetary policy on the economy as a whole.
Benchmark 6.3: Students will analyze the formulation of domestic policy and the impact it has on business, local and state governments, and individuals.
6.3 Indicators
Students reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Describe how domestic policy is made in the United States.
- Explain the process by which the president and Congress formulate domestic policy.
- Explain how federal agencies, interest groups, the public, the courts, and the media influence domestic policy.
- Describe and evaluate the role of the federal government in major areas of domestic policy.
- Describe the conflicts that arise out of the government's attempt to both promote and regulate private industry, e.g., SBA, SEC, FTC, etc.
- Describe the role of the government in mediating disputes between business and labor.
- Describe the ways in which the actions of the government affect farmers and agricultural business, e.g., price supports, subsidies, foreign policy and international trade agreements, etc.
- Explain the role of the government with respect to protection and regulation of the environment and natural resources, e.g., EPA, energy policy, etc.
- Analyze the role of the government in providing a “safety net” for citizens through social programs such as Social Security, Head Start, and food stamps.
- Explain the role of the government in providing health care to citizens and regulating health care industries, e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, health care reform, etc.
- Evaluate the impact of federal domestic policy on state and local governments, e.g., block grants, federal mandates, etc.
Benchmark 6.4: Students will describe the various ways the government formulates foreign policy.
Indicators 6.4:
Students will reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Explain the concept of national interest and the major responsibilities of government for creating and maintaining a foreign policy and national security.
- Evaluate the role played by national interest in shaping foreign policy and promoting world peace.
- Describe the process by which the president carries out his responsibilities in formulating foreign policy and the advisors who assist in that task, e.g., Secretaries of State and Defense, the National Security Advisor, Central Intelligence Agency, Joint of Chiefs of Staff, etc.
- Describe how federal agencies, interest groups, the public, and the media influence foreign policy.
- Explain the tension between constitutional provisions and the requirements of foreign policy, e.g., the power of Congress to declare war and the need for the president to make expeditious decisions in times of emergency, the power of the president to make treaties and the need for the Senate to ratify them, etc.
- Describe the various means used to attain U.S. foreign policy goals such as diplomacy; economic, military and humanitarian aid; treaties; sanctions; military intervention; covert action; peacekeeping; etc.
- Describe the changing role of the United States in responding to global issues.
- Describe the relationship of the United States to principal international organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, NATO, and International Monetary Fund, with respect to foreign policy goals.
- Analyze one current U.S. foreign policy initiative.
- Describe ways Americans can influence foreign policy.
- Analyze effective means to bring about change in U.S. foreign policy.
- Describe efforts--both successful and unsuccessful--by citizens to exert influence on United States foreign policy decision makers; e.g., the peace movement, environmental activism, campaigns to end world hunger, etc.
Benchmark 6.5: Students will evaluate, take and defend in writing, discussion and debate a position the role of the government in economic, foreign, and domestic policy.
Indicators 6.5:
Students will reach this benchmark when they are able to:
- Analyze the tension between a citizen’s desire for government services and benefits and the citizen’s willingness to pay taxes for them.
- Analyze a current domestic policy issue with regard to the proper balance between what the government sees as necessary to protect the general welfare of the people and individual liberty, e.g., laws requiring motorcycle helmets or smallpox vaccinations, etc.
- Analyze possible tensions between American values, principles, and interests and the practical requirements of international politics, e.g., a commitment to human rights and the requirements of national security, the fight against international terrorism and the nation's tradition of no preemptive wars, etc
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