American gov social capital

Community Activity Requirement.html

Social Capital/Civic Participation Essay = 50/1000 (5/100) points on your final grade. 

• Why are you being asked to do this? Because Student Learning Objectives ask you to be able to do the following and this assignment is part of dealing with these SLOs:
  • 1. Explain the importance of civic responsibility in a participatory republic;
    2. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the American political system;
    3. Use computer technology to discover information relating to politics and government; and
    4. Describe how Georgia government works under the present state constitution
  • Student Learning Outcomes:
  • Students will analyze the nature of basic political aspects of society.
  • Students will be able to recognize the rights granted to, and restrictions placed upon, various components of government by the Bill of Rights in the U. S. Constitution.
  • Students will understand the concept of being a responsible citizen of the U. S., and the potential ramifications to our society of being (or not being) a responsible citizen.

What do you do?

First, read in Wikipedia about “social capital”:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_capital

DO NOT TRY TO LOOK THIS PHRASE UP IN A DICTIONARY.  DO NOT CONFUSE IT WITH CAPITALISM OR AN ECONOMIC THEORY.  PLEASE, READ ABOUT IT WHERE I HAVE TOLD YOU TO READ. OTHERWISE YOU ARE GOING TO GET CONFUSED.  YOU MAY FOLLOW FOOTNOTES IN THE WIKI PIECE TO FIND OTHER INFORMATION.  

Robert Putnam is the “guru” of the concept in POLS. In some of his writings he has expressed concern that we are losing social capital as a society, and that loss presents negative issues for democracy. 

Then,

• Write an essay at least 1 and ½ pages long (600 word minimum) 12 point font, double spaced, and discuss:
• 1st -  whether you believe we ARE losing social capital, or whether we are simply relating to people and building that sense of community and shared trust and norms in new and different ways; and
• 2nd -  discuss HOW social capital as described in the wiki article contributes to a healthy democratic American government in our republic.
• You may discuss ways you might have interacted with people in your community this summer that would have contributed to social capital if COVID had not required us to be more careful about social distance.   

If you have any questions, text or email me.

Here are some Georgia Examples of Community Activities that have aided in building social capital.  Each involved civic participation and or observation. 

• Library volunteer
• Appling Count High School track meet volunteer
• Volunteer work at senior citizen homes
• School Board Meetings
• City Commission Meetings
• County Commission Meetings
• Zoning Commission Meetings
• Civic Club meetings:  Lions, Kiwanis, Exchange, etc.
• Blood Drives
• Okefenokee Swamp park, or meetings for the community
• Any of the State Parks
• Theater productions (plays) locally or in other towns
•  Crystal River Wildlife Refuge
• Bass Tournament volunteers
• Satilla River Keepers clean up day volunteers
• Humane Society work
• Animal Shelter volunteers
• Relay for Life volunteers
• Okefenokee Heritage Center
• Southeast Ga. Barrel Racing  Event
• Work with the Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts
• Teaching/volunteering at the YMCA
• Boys and Girls Club of Altamaha Area, Jesup
• Volunteer work at school festivals
• Fall festivals
• Swampfest in Waycross
• Cumberland Island State Park
• Reading/volunteer work at family reading nights at elementary schools
• Ringing the bell for the Salvation Army
• Miracle League of Okefenokee
• Volunteer work at Food Banks
• The Sycamore Tree in Blackshear
• Habitat for Humanity volunteer
• Petsmart Volunteer on animal days
• Ware County School Summer Feeding Program
• Toys for Tots volunteer
• Any traffic court observation time
• Meals on Wheels volunteer
• Camp One Fifty One in Douglas
• Child Abuse Awareness Run
• Color Run for Kids Art Camp
• Wild Game Supper in Hoboken
• Parking cars for the Waycross Fair
• Pierce Co. High School Bear Booster Golf Tournament
• SGSC Basketball Camp work
• Ware Co. Special Olympics work
• Preparing book bags with supplies for school children
• "adopting" active military to send letters and care packages to
• Hurricane shelter work
• Fundraisers for local sick children
• Caffeine and Octane Car Show at Jekyll Island
• Pecan Festival in Blackshear
•  Ride Along with Police Officer or Sheriff's deputy
•   Volunteer Work with USO at Hartsfield International Airport  
•      Traffic Court
•       Meals on Wheels
•       Tax Assessor’s meeting
•      City Council Meeting
•       County School Board Meeting
•      Work for “Safe House” in Cartersville the day after Thanksgiving.
•      City sponsored Haunted Halloween Tour
•  City sponsored Fall Festival and Craft Fair
•   Recreation Dept. functions – volunteer work
•   State Parks 
•   Tractor Show
•  River and Lake Clean-ups
•  Bluegrass & Folk Festival
•  Marching Band Competition
•  Pet Smart Adoption Weekend volunteers
•  Blood Drive for Cure Childhood Cancer
•   Museums
•   Indian sites
•   County Republican or Democratic Party meetings
•  Georgia National Fair in Perry
•  Speakers sponsored by the college
•  Little Theater productions
•  Book Fairs
•  Eagle Scout Community Event
•  Woodmen of the World insurance meetings
•  Cattlemen’s Association Meeting or Ag organization meetings
•      Ride Along with Acworth Police Office
•   Volunteer Work with USO at Hartsfield International Airport  
•      Traffic Court
•       Meals on Wheels
•       Bartow County Tax Assessor’s meeting
•     Cartersville City Council Meeting
•      Douglas County School Board Meeting
•      Work for “Safe House” in Cartersville the day after Thanksgiving.
•      Cave Spring Haunted Halloween Tour
•  Cave Spring Fall Festival and Craft Fair
•  Charity Downtown in Cartersville
•  Bartow Recreation Dept. Halloween Festival – volunteer work
•  Fort Mountain State Park – Chatsworth, GA
•  Gordon County Antique Engine – Tractor Show
•  Amicalola State Park
•  Great Lakes Allatoona Clean-up
•  Cartersville Bluegrass & Folk Festival
•  Peach State Marching Competition
•  Pet Smart Adoption Weekend
•  Blood Drive for Cure Childhood Cancer
•  The Southern Museum – Kennesaw
•  Etowah Indian Mounds
•  Kennesaw City Council Meeting
•  Bartow Co. Republican Party Convention
•  City Council Meetings
•  Georgia National Fair in Perry
•  Muhammad Yunnus speaking event at Berry College
•  Rocky Horror Show – Rome Little Theater
•  Book Fair in Burlington, NC
•  Eagle Scout Community Event
•  Woodmen of the World insurance meeting and Christmas dinner
•  Polk County Cattlemen’s Association Meeting
•  Fricker and Cobb Recreation Centers in Pensacola, FL & what they contribute for kids.
•  Gold Rush Days event in Dahlonega, GA
•  Corn Boil event sponsored by Nathan Deal Campaign
•  Cumming Fair
•  Riverfest Arts and Crafts Show in Cherokee County
•  Ball Ground Christmas Parade
•  Head of the Hooch sporting event in Chattanooga
•  “Live on the Green” in Nashville, TN to promote new musical talent
•  Iron Man event in Chattanooga for athletes
•  “Screen on the Green”
•  Christmas Parade
•  Dancing in “The Nutcracker” in Cartersville
•  The Great Locomotive Chase Commemoration in Adairsville
•  Court Hearing about Dog Kennels
•  Middle School basketball game
•  Boo Fest
•  Public Works & Transit Committee and Traffic Meeting
•  Rome City Commission Meeting
•  Floyd County Commission Meeting
•  Rolling Hills Soil and Water Conservation Meeting in Bremen
•  Tellus Museum
•  Zoning Meetings
•  Terry Ferrell Annual Stair Climb in Atlanta
•  Heavy Metal Car Show at Tellus
•  Gordon County Chamber of Commerce program “Drugs Don’t Work”
•  Lake Allatoona Clean-up
•  Owl-O-Ween Hot Air Balloon Festival at KSU
•  Gordon County Board of Education Meeting
•  Taste of Home Cooking School at the Rome Forum
•  “Paranoia” in Canton, GA
•  Volunteer at Cherokee Co. Thanksgiving Dinner for the needy
•  Senior Citizen Center in Holly Springs
•  Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History
• Kroger Softball Tournament for Breast Cancer Awareness
•  North GA State Fair
•  Summerville Christmas Parade
•  “The Nutcracker” in Rome
•  Rose Lawn Arts Festival – Cartersville
•  GHC Student Government participation
•  Johns Creek Turkey Trot Road Race
• Toys for tots volunteer
•  Night-time Hayride at Etowah Indian Mounds
•  Paulding County School Board Meeting
• Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain Park, sponsored by Humana, a Medicare Advantage Organization.
• Veterans’ Day Program at the American Legion
•  Euharlee Covered Bridge Festival
•  Terrorism Symposium on GHC Cartersville Campus
•  Hiram City Council Meeting
•  Paulding County Industrial Authority Meeting
•  Paulding County Airport Authority Meeting, and steering committee meeting
•  Breast Cancer Walk in Atlanta
•  Cherokee County Criminal Court
•  Zombie-thon
•  “Night of the Living Dead” play in Cartersville
•  “Suddenly Last Summer” play put on by Rockmart High School
•  Rockmart Farmers’ Market (This is more than just a food stand!)
•  The Drunken Unicorn – a music venue in Atlanta for local bands
•  The “Love Feast – Feed the Hungry” at the Rome Civic Center
•  Wild Animal Safari at Pine Mountain, GA
•  Calloway Gardens Fantasy in Lights
•  Transition Fair for Floyd Co. Special Education Department, held at NW GA Tech
•  Skills for Life Organization to help fund work autistic adults
•  Floyd County Board of Equalization property tax hearings
• Booth Western Art Museum Cowboy Festival
•  Georgia Apple Festival in Elijay
•   Dalton Kiwanis Club Pancake Supper
•  Cherokee Board of Commissioners Meeting
•   Observation of Superior Court in Cartersille
•  Trout Unlimited Chili Cook Off
•  Wings Over North Georgia Airshow
•  First Friday Concerts – Rome, GA
•  Chiaha Harvest Fair
•  The Coosa Valley Fair
•  Trion Middle/Elementary School Book Fair
•  Rome Art Coterie Event
•  Floyd Medical Center Labor and Delivery Unit (one student had a baby & wrote about this J)
•  Sports players may write up 1 of their 3 requirements about their sport and what it contributes to the college and community.
•  Turkey Trot for United Way
• Cartersville criminal court at the courthouse
• Soup kitchen volunteer
• YMCA teaching swimming
• Multiple Sclerosis walk
• Floyd Sheriff ride along
• VFW rebuilding a Huey Helicopter
• Eastman Gun Show benefitting Shriners International
• March of Dimes and K-Mart employee support
• Breman Holocaust Museum in Atlanta
• Rome Planning Commission Meeting
• Fast and Furious Cart Show – benefit for Paul Walker’s Reach Out Worldwide disaster relief fund
• Middle school cheerleading coach and judge
• Special ed math tutoring
• Victim assistance at Cartersville Courthouse Volunteer
• Keep Kennesaw Beautiful
• Summerville Rec Dept. girls’ softball for 10 and under
• Cleaning NW Park in Cedartown
• Fundraising for Cedartown High Soccer Team
• Winter Jam Christian Concert
• Cedartown Board of Education Meeting
• Heart and Sole 5K for New Hope Fellowship Church for mission to Dominican Republic
• Welsh Festival
• Child Abuse Awareness Walk sponsored by Exchange Club
• “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” play re: life of MLK Jr.
• Trash Pick-up with Cedartown Junior Service League
• Clean up volunteer after Cedartown Arts Festival with Junior Service League
• Wood Badge adult leadership program through the Boy Scouts