The down of British History

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President  is  elected  directly  by  the  voters(through  state  electors)In  other  words, the  political  party with  the most Senators and  Representatives  doesn’t choose  the   President. This  means  that   the  President   can  be   from  one  party and the  majority  of  those  in the House of Representatives  or  Senate(or both)from  another. This  is  not   uncommon.

Thus, although  one  of  the  parties may  win  a  majority  in  the  midterm election(those  held  every two  years),the  President  remains  President ,even  though  his  party  may  not  have  a  majority  in  either  house. Such a  result  could  easily  hurt  his  ability  to get  legislation through  Congress, which  must  pass  all  laws, but  this  is  not necessarily so. In any  case, the  President  policies  must  be  approved  by  the  House  of Representatives and the  Senate  before  they  can become law. In domestic   as  well  as   in   foreign  policy, the  President   can  seldom  count  upon  the  automatic support of  Congress, even when his  own party has a  majority  in  both  the  Senate  and  the House. Therefore, he must  be  able  to  convince  Congressmen ,the Representatives and Senators  of  his  point  of  view. He  must bargain and compromise. This  is  a major  difference between   the  American  system and those in which the nation’s leader  represents  the  majority  party  or  parties, that is   parliamentary systems.

Within  the  Executive  Branch, there  are a number of  executive  departments. Currently  these are departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture ,Commerce ,Labour, Health & Human Resources ,Housing  &  Urban  Development, Transportation, Energy and Education. Each  department  is  established  for a  specific area. The  head of  each   department  is  appointed  by the President .These  appointments, however ,must  be  approved  by the  Senate. None  of  these  Secretaries ,as  the   departments  heads  are  usually  called ,can also be  serving  in  Congress  or  in  another  part  of the  government. Each is  directly   responsible  to  the  President and only  serves  as  long  as  the  Presidents wants  him  or her  to. They  can  be  best  be  seen  ,therefore  as  Presidential  assistant and adviser. When  they   meet  together ,they  are  termed ”the  President’s Cabinet “Some  Presidents  have  relied  quite a  bit  on  their  Cabinets for  advice and some  very  little.

                                                   THE PRESIDENCY

Term of  office: Elected  by  the  people. Through  the  electrical   college, to  a  four-year term; Limited  to  two  terms.

Salary:$ 200.000 plus $ 50.000 allowance for  expenses and  up  to $  100.000 tax-free for  travel &  official  entertainment.

Inauguration: January 20,following   the  November  general  election.

Qualifications: Native-born American citizen at least 35 years old and at least 14 years 

a resident  of  the  United  States.

Chief Duty: to protect  the  Constitution  and enforce  the  laws  mode by  the  congress.

Other powers: To  recommend  legislation  to  the  Congress; to  call special  sessions  of  the  Congress; to  deliver  message to  the  Congress; to veto  bills; to  appoint federal  judges; to appoint  heads of  federal departments and agencies and other  principal  federal  officials  to  appoint   representatives  to  foreign countries; to  carry  on official business  with   foreign  nations; to exercise  the  function  at  Commander –in-chief of  the  armed forces; to grant  pardons  for offences  against the US.

The Presidential term  of  four years begins  on  January 20 following November  election. The President  starts  his  or  her  official  duties  with  an inauguration  ceremony, traditionally  held  on  the  steps  of   the  US. The President  publicly   takes  an oath  of  office, which  is  traditionally   administered   by  the justice  of  the  US. 

3.THE  FEDERAL  JUDICIARY.

The  federal  judiciary is the third  branch  of  government ,in  addition  to  the   legislative (Congress) &  executive(President ). 

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It’s  main  instrument   is  the  Supreme  court, which matches  over  the  other  two  branches .It determines whether  or  not  their laws and acts   are  in  accordance  with  the  Constitution .

Congress  has  the  power to the   fix  the  number  of judges sitting  on  the  Court ,but  it  cannot  change  the powers given to the  Supreme Court  by  the  Constitution  itself. The Supreme  Court  consist  of  a  chief   justice and eight  associate  justices. They are  nominated  by  the  President  but  must   be  approved  by  the   Senate .Once approved, they  hold  office  as  Supreme Court  Justices  for life. A  decision  of  the  Supreme Court  cannot  be  appealed  to any   other  court. Neither   the  President  nor  Congress  can change  their  decisions. In  addition   to  the  Supreme  Court, Congress  has  established  11 federal  courts of  appeal and below  them, 91 federal  district  courts.

The Supreme Court has  direct  jurisdiction in  only  two   kinds  of  cases. Those involving  foreign   diplomats and those  in  which  a  state  is  a party. All   other  cases   which   reach  the   court  are  appeals  from  lower  courts. Most  of the  cases  involve  the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution .The Supreme Court  also  has  the “power of  judicial  review” that it  has  the  right  to  declare  laws  of  actions  of  the  federal  state and local governments  unconstitutional .While  not  stated  in the   constitution ,this power  was  established  over  time. 

4.CHECKS &   BALANCES.

The  Constitution  provides  for  three  main  branches  of  government  which  are  separate and distinct  from   one  another. The  powers  given    to  each  are   carefully  balanced  by the   powers  of  the  other  two.

Each branch serves  as  a  check  on  the  others. This is  to  keep  any branch  from  gaining  too  much  power  or  from  misusing   its  powers. The  Chart  below  illustrates   how  the  equal  branches  of  government are  connected and how  each is  dependent on  the  other  too .Congress  has  the  power to make  laws, but  the  President  may  veto  any act of Congress. Congress in  its  turn ,can   override a  veto  by   two-third vote  in    each  house. Congress  can also  refuse  to  provide   funds  requested  by  the President .The President  can appoint   important  officials of   his  Administration ,but  they  must   be  approved  by  the   Senate. The  President  has  also   the  power  to name  all  federal  judges; they also must be   approved  by  the  Senate. The courts  have  the  power  to  determine  the   constitutionality  of  all acts   of  Congress and  of  Presidential  actions and to strike  down  those  they find  unconstitutional.

The  system  of   checks and balances  makes compromise and consensus  necessary. Compromise  is  also  a  vital  aspect of  other   levels  of  government  in  the  US. This  system  protects  against  extremes. It  means, for  example, that  new  presidents  cannot  radically   change  governmental  polices just  as  they  wish. In  the US. therefore, when  people   think  of ”the   government”, they  usually  mean the   entire  system, that is ,The Executive  Branch and the  President, Congress and The Court. In fact and in  practice ,therefore ,the  President (i.c. the  administration ) is  not  as  powerful as  many   people  outside  the US seem  to  think  he  is. In  comparison  with  other  leaders  in  system  where  the  majority  party  forms ”the  government” he  is  much  less  so.

5.POLITICAL  PARTIES.

      The  constitution  says  nothing  about  political  parties, but  over  time the US has in fact  developed  a two-party system. The two  leading  parties  are  the Democrats and the Republicans .There  are  other  parties  besides  these  two, and foreign observes  are  often  surprised   to learn  that  among  these  there are  also a Communist  party and several  Socialist  parties. Minor  parties   have  occasionally  won  offices  at  lower levels  of  government  but  they  do  not play  a  role  in  national   politics. In fact, one  does  not  need  to be  a  member  at a  political party  too  run  in  any election  at  any   level  of  government .Also, people can  simply declare  themselves  to  be  members of one of the  two  major parties   when  they  registered  to  vote  in a district. Sometimes  the  Democrats are  thought  of  as  associated with 

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labour and the Republicans with  business and  industry. Republicans   also   tend  to oppose the  greater  involvement  of  the  federal  government  in  some areas  of  public  life  which  they  consider to  be  the  responsibility  of  the  states and communities .Democrats ,on  the  other   hand  tend  to favor  a more  active  role  of  the  central  government in  social  matters.

To distinguish between the parties is often difficult. Further  more, the traditional European  terms  of  “right” and “left” or “ conservative” and ”liberal” do  not quite  fit  the  American  system. Someone  from  the “conservative  right” for  instance, would  be  against  a  strong  central  government. Or a  Democrat  from  one  part  of the  country  could  be very “liberal», and  one  from  another  part  quite ”conservative. While  some  voters  will  vote a “straight  ticket», in other  words, for  all  of  the  Republican  or  Democratic  candidates   in  an  election ,many   do  not. They  vote   for one   party’s candidate   for  one  office, and  another’s  for  another. As  a  result ,the  political parties  have  much less  actual  power  than they  do  in other nations. In the US the parties cannot win. 

In  about  70% of   legislative  decision, congressman  will  vote with the   specific wishes  of  their  constituencies in  mind, even   if  they  go   against  what  their  own  parties  might  want  as   national  policy.

It’s   quite  common, in  fact,  to  find  Democrats  in  Congress  voting  for a  Republican  President’s legislation, quite  a few  Republicans  voting  against  it and  so  on. 

5. Бақылау сұрақтары:

    1. The judicial branch

    2. Checks and balances

    3. political parties 

6. Лекция тақырыбына  сәйкес  СӨЖ тапсырмалары:

        Elections in the USA

7. Қажетті әдебиеттер:

1. Stevenson D.K American Life and Institutions

2. Tomakhin Y.  Across the USA  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Лекция 14 

1.Лекция  тақырыбы: The educational system of the USA 

2. Лекция жоспары:

  1. History of education

2. Elementary and Secondary Education  

3. Лекция мақсаты: 

 Тәуелсіз немесе “паблик скулз” туралы әңгіме өткізу

4. Лекция мазмұны: 

1. History

     Americans have shown a great concern for education since early colonial times. Among the first settlers, in fact, there were an unusually high proportion of educated men. In the Massachusetts Bay colony in the early 1600-s, as  the British historian Rowse has pointed out, “there was an average  of one university man to every 40 or 50 families much higher than in Old England”. Some of these men, many of them graduates of Cambridge, came together and in 1636 founded Harvard College, 140 years before American independence. Other early institutions of higher learning were the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, established in 1693, and Jate, founded in 1701.

     Before the revolution in 1776, nine colleges had already opened in the colonies; most of them later became universities.

     From the1640’s on, Massachusetts required all towns with more than 50 families to provide a schoolmaster at public expense. In the course of the 17th century, for instance free schools had been established in a number of places such as New Haven, New London, and Fairfield. Many academies (schools, offering a classical education, as well as practical training) opened throughout the next century, including the one established by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1775.

     The importance of education in American life was also reflected in Ordinance of 1785 and 1787 which guidelines for organizing the new lands to the west. They provided for one square mile of land in each township to be reserved for public schools. The movement for free public schools gained its greatest moment in the 1830s, however. By 1850, every state had provided for a system of free public schools open to all and paid for by public taxes.

     By the same year, state-supported colleges and universities had already been established in many states. These included recently settled states such as Florida, Iowa, and Wisconsin which were admitted to the Union in the late 1840s. In 1862, Congress passed a law which provided states with public (federal) lands to be used for higher education, especially for the establishment of agricultural and mechanical-arts College. As a result, many “land-grant colleges “ were established. These new state-supported institutions joined the large number of older, well-to-do private universities. They were important in the democratization of higher education in the United States.

     By 1900, there were almost a thousand institutions of higher education in the U.S. Among them were law and medical “schools” and hundreds of small, four year Liberal Arts College. There were many other institutions of higher learning which emphasized everything from the training of teacher to the pulling of teeth.

     Today, there are some 43 million pupils and students in public schools at the elementary and secondary levels and another 6 million at private schools throughout the country. In other words, 88 percent of American children attend public schools and 12 percent go to private schools. Four out of five of the private schools are run by churches, synagogues, or the religious groups. Any year, about 12 million Americans are enrolled in the over 3.000 colleges and

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universities of every type:  Private, public, church-related, small and large, in cities, and states. Close to 80 percent of the college students attend public institutions, while a little over 50 percents of all high schools graduates enter colleges and universities. The early emphasis given to education remains today. United Nations figures (1980) show that in the amount spent on education per capita, the U.S. is in ninth place in the world (behind Qatar, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Denmark, Switzerland and Canada). Most historians agree that a great deal of the economic, political, scientific, and cultural progress America has made in its relatively short history is due to it’s commitment to the ideal of educating as many Americans as possible, to the best of their abilities. From the early times on, especially in the northern and western states, the public policy was to produce and educated people. In these States, the large majority of adults were literate at a time when an education was still bended to most Europeans. There can be little doubt that American education in its aim to provide equality of opportunity as well as excellence has raised the overall level of educations of Americans. It has encouraged more Americans than ever before to study for advanced degrees and to become involved in specialized research. The belief that the future of society depends on the quantity and quality of its educated citizens is widely held. It explains why a great many Americans are still willing to give more money to education, even during times of economic difficulty.  

2. Elementary and Secondary Education

     Because of the great variety of schools and colleges, and the many differences among them, none of the institutions can be singled out as enough basic similarities in structure among the various schools and system to permit some general comments.

       Most schools start at the kindergarten level. There are some school districts that do not have this beginning phase, and others which have an additional “pre-school” one. There are almost always required subjects at each level. In some areas and more advanced levels, students can choose some subjects. Pupil who do not do well often have to repeat courses, or have to have special tutoring usually done in and by the schools. Many schools also support summer classes, where students can make up for failed courses or even take extra courses.

     In addition to bilingual and bicultural education programs, many schools have reading difficulties. These and other programs repeat the emphasis of American education on trying to increase equality of opportunity. They also attempt to integrate students with varying abilities and backgrounds into an educational system shared by all. At the same time, high school student are given special advanced coursework in mathematics and the sciences. Nationwide talent searches for minority group children with special abilities and academic promise began on a large scale in the 1960 s. These programs have helped to bring more minority children into advanced levels of university education and into the professions.

     Like schools in Britain and other English-speaking countries, those in the U.S. have also always stressed “character” or “social skills” through extracurricular activities, including organized sports. Because most schools start at around 8 o’clock every morning and classes often do not finish until 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon, such activities mean that many students do not return home until the early evening. There is usually a very broad range of extracurricular activities available. Most schools, for instance publish their own student newspapers, and some have their own radio stations. Almost all have student’s orchestras, bands, and choirs, which give public performances. Spanish, or Germans clubs, groups which meet after school to discuss computers, or chemistry, or amateur radio, or the raising of prize horses and cows. Students can learn flying, skydiving, and mountain-climbing. They can act as volunteers in hospitals and homes for aged and do other public service work.

Many different sports are also available and most schools share their facilities-swimming pools, tennis courts, tracks and stadiums- with the public. Many sports that in other countries are normally offered by private clubs are available to students at no cost in American schools. Often  

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the students themselves organize and support school activities and raise money through “car washes”, baby-sitting, bake sales, or by mowing lawns. Parents and local businesses often also

help a group that, for example, has a chance   to go to a state music competition, to compute in some sports championship, or take a camping trip. Such activities not only give peoples a chance to be together outside of normal classes, they also help develop a feeling of “school spirit” among the students and in the community.  

5. Бақылау сұрақтары:

   1.The importance of education

   2. Legal influence

   3. Cultural influence 

6. Лекция тақырыбына  сәйкес  СӨЖ тапсырмалары:

  Public schools

7. Қажетті әдебиеттер:

1. Stevenson D.K American Life and Institutions

2. Tomakhin Y.  Across the USA