This document discusses the concept of a social contract and has students imagine creating a social contract for their classroom. It prompts them to consider what they want and need from their education and time in class, what expectations they have of their teacher and classmates, and what environment is needed to get the most from the class. It then has students share their ideas online and look at what other groups discussed. Students are asked if there are any shared ideas or ideas they had not considered but like. Finally, it considers expanding the social contract to represent the whole school or school district and discusses the relationship between social contracts and constitutional documents.

1. Our Social Contract US Government September 16, 2010

3. Life at Home Create a list of 3 to 5 rules your parents have for you. If you do not have many rules, come up with a list of rules you know parents have for your friends. Partner up with 1 person and share your list with one another. Why do you think parents have rules like those? Are there any rules you wish you could change?

4. What did we talk about so….. long ago (Monday) What is the State of Nature? Name some examples of contracts? Contracts are between two parties. What kind of parties are we referring to? What would a contract look like between yourself and yourself? What do we mean when we talk about a social contract? Can you think of any examples of a social contract?

5. Our Social Contract Now it’s your turn! Imagine this class does not have any structure to it. We exist in the state of nature, but we have decided we want to spent our 45 minutes a day, not self-interested, not wanting to hurt one another. We decide we want to develop a social contract!

6. Questions to Think About What do you want from your education? What do you want from your time in this class? What do you need from your education? What do you need from your time in this class? What expectations do you have of your teacher(s)? What expectations do you have of your fellow students? What type of environment do you need in order to get of this class what you need from it?

7. Sharing your Ideas Have one member from your group visit the following website: governmentde.ietherpad.com. On the right side of the page you’ll find several different pads (Our Social Contract). Find your correct class period and click on the link. Share at least 3 of the ideas your group came up with during your discussion. Pay attention to what the other groups wrote.

8. Not done yet…. Look at the list you created. Look at the lists other groups created. Are there any ideas that you all seem to share? Which ones? Are there any ideas you had not considered then, but see now and like? Which ones? Why? Are there additional ideas you would add? What is missing? Explain. Would you be willing to sign this contract?

9. What if….? Now consider this class was to represent the whole school. Your purpose was to design a social contract that the entire school would read and accept. Would you include the same ideas for our classroom social contract? Explain. Would it still be considered a social contract if not everyone was directly involved in crafting the it? What if we represented all of the Roanoke County Schools?

10. One Last Matter to Consider What is the relationship between a social contract and a constitutional document? Are they the same thing? Or are they different? Explain. Does it matter whether or not a social contract is written down?