Professional Development : Best Practices :

The Basics of Government
By Mary Ellen Bafumo

Do your students know or understand the branches of government and the specific purposes they serve?

By the time you read this issue, our nation will be on the verge of the presidential election. Media saturation of the event makes it a wonderful teaching opportunity. Students will recognize major party candidates and will be able to identify the winner, but how many know what the President actually does? What do your students know about the branches of government and their functions?

The basics
Every state has different guidelines for teaching about our government, its processes and functions, but the bottom line is that it's obvious there isn't enough teaching about the government of the United States going on. Here's critical baseline data to help students understand our government.

  1. There are three branches in the United States government: executive, legislative and judicial.
  2. The three branches provide for separation of powers, so that each branch can check or balance the other two.
  3. The Executive Branch is comprised of the President, executive departments and independent agencies.
  4. The Legislative Branch is comprised of Congress (the House and Senate) and several administrative agencies.
  5. The Judicial Branch is made up of the Supreme Court – the highest court in the nation – and a host of other Federal courts.

The roles of the President
Here are the major roles the President plays in our government.

  1. Chief of State – represents the U.S. at home and abroad.

  2. Chief Executive – enforces acts of Congress, judgments of federal courts and treaties.

  3. Foreign Policy Director – directs diplomatic initiatives.

  4. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Services – heads all branches and activities of the military.

  5. Legislative leader – influences Congressional legislative action.

  6. Political leader – heads and influences his or her political party.

If you need to refresh your facts, log on to www.google.com and key in "U.S. government" or "U.S. Presidents" for lots of websites that will fill you in. Do it now, before the inauguration in January. There's still time to ride the wave of the election and engage students in the most dynamic governmental processes. Have fun!

Mary Ellen Bafumo is Executive Director of Professional Development in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District.

November/December 2004, Vol.35, No.3