In class we talked about how J.F.K. came into the Presidency and drastically changed the way the United States viewed foreign policy. It was quite different from Dwight D. Eisenhower "brinkmanship" which put out country on the edge of nuclear war. J.F.K.'s Flexible Response policy made it easier for the U.S. to respond to a crises anywhere in the world using conventional military mean such as out Navy, Air-force, or ground forces and not nuclear weapons.
How is this relevant today knowing this happened all the way back in 1960? With a new election cycle coming up in November and the primaries yet to be decided we are going to be faced with a new leader to our country who will implement there own foreign policy goals and procedures just as J.F.K. did as he entered office. The only difference is J.F.K. was dealing with communism our new leader will be dealing with terrorism. So, how would you go about choosing a new foreign policy for our country? Through our planned activity I believe you will find that choosing a foreign policy is much harder that just declaring a phrase such as "brinkmanship, flexible response, and the Bush Doctrine".
Overview: Students will examine the broad outlines of foreign policy making; they will consider the types of interests that shape foreign policy goals and the tools available to policymakers for pursuing those goals.
Central Question: What do we want American foreign policy to accomplish in the world and what means should we use to achieve our aims?
Instructional Outline of Procedures and Major Objectives: Students will:
1. Undertake an initial consideration of the central question of the lesson (see “Central Question” above).
2. Take and explain initial positions on a series of general foreign policy propositions and formulate an initial list of general foreign policy aims1 (see Step 2c of procedures and Attachment 1).
3. Apply foreign policy aims to standard categories of national interest (Attachment 2A).
4. Apply national interest reasoning and use tools of foreign policy (Attachment 2B) to address selected current foreign policy cases (Attachment 3).
5. Reflect on questions related to the central question: In light of questions of practicality and national values, appraise tools of foreign policy and assess potential approaches to the formulation of national interest (see step 5 of procedures).
How is this relevant today knowing this happened all the way back in 1960? With a new election cycle coming up in November and the primaries yet to be decided we are going to be faced with a new leader to our country who will implement there own foreign policy goals and procedures just as J.F.K. did as he entered office. The only difference is J.F.K. was dealing with communism our new leader will be dealing with terrorism. So, how would you go about choosing a new foreign policy for our country? Through our planned activity I believe you will find that choosing a foreign policy is much harder that just declaring a phrase such as "brinkmanship, flexible response, and the Bush Doctrine".
Overview: Students will examine the broad outlines of foreign policy making; they will consider the types of interests that shape foreign policy goals and the tools available to policymakers for pursuing those goals.
Central Question: What do we want American foreign policy to accomplish in the world and what means should we use to achieve our aims?
Instructional Outline of Procedures and Major Objectives: Students will:
1. Undertake an initial consideration of the central question of the lesson (see “Central Question” above).
2. Take and explain initial positions on a series of general foreign policy propositions and formulate an initial list of general foreign policy aims1 (see Step 2c of procedures and Attachment 1).
3. Apply foreign policy aims to standard categories of national interest (Attachment 2A).
4. Apply national interest reasoning and use tools of foreign policy (Attachment 2B) to address selected current foreign policy cases (Attachment 3).
5. Reflect on questions related to the central question: In light of questions of practicality and national values, appraise tools of foreign policy and assess potential approaches to the formulation of national interest (see step 5 of procedures).
National Interest Foreign Policy Lesson Planvfinal.pdf |