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Today, in the United States as in other countries populated largely by immigrants, the culture is influenced by the many groups of people that now make up the country... Time in the Unit

GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY

How would you define culture?

Culture is the characteristics of a particular group of people, defined by everything

from language, religion, cuisine, social

habits, music and arts… Today, in the

United States as in other countries

populated largely by immigrants, the

culture is influenced by the many groups

of people that now make up the country

Think, pair and share

Government History

Holidays Houses Literature Music

Other?

Types of Culture: Academic

Types of Culture: Popular

• Radio and Television

• Ordinary life

Types of culture: Folk

• Traditional materials, customs, music, dances, art

• Passed from person to person

or within members of a group

American geography

50 U.S States and District of Columbia

Louisiana (LA)

Maine (ME) Maryland (MD)

Massachusetts (MA)

Michigan (MI) Minnesota (MN)

Mississippi (MS)

Missouri (MO) Montana (MT) Nebraska

(NE) Nevada (NV) New Hampshire (NH)

New Jersey (NJ)

New Mexico (NM)

New York (NY) North Carolina (NC)

North Dakota (ND)

Ohio (OH) Oklahoma (OK)

Oregon (OR) Pennsylvania (PA)

Rhode Island (RI)

South Carolina (SC)

South Dakota (SD)

Tennessee (TN)

Texas (TX) Utah (UT) Vermont (VT) Virginia (VA) Washington (WA)

West Virginia (WV)

Wisconsin (WI)

Wyoming (WY)

temperate, but some

arctic and tropical

Basic facts (Area)

• Total 3,717,813 sq mi 9,629,090 km2

• Land 3,536,294 sq mi 9,158,960 km2

• Water 181,519 sq mi

470,131 km²

• Latitude 38°0' N

• Longitude 97°0'W

Basic facts (Borders)

• Canada 5,526 miles8,893 km

• Mexico 2,067 miles3,327 km

• Coastlines 12,380 miles

19,920 km

U.S Time Zones

Time in the United States, by law, is divided into

nine standard time zones covering the states and its possessions

• UTC-11: Samoa Standard Time

• UTC-10: Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (HST)

• UTC-9: Alaska Standard Time (AKST)

• UTC-8: Pacific Standard Time (PST)

• UTC-7: Mountain Standard Time (MST)

• UTC-6: Central Standard Time (CST)

• UTC-5: Eastern Standard Time (EST)

• UTC-4: Atlantic Standard Time (ATC)

• UTC+10: Chamorro Standard Time

Declaring Independence 1776

“ We hold these truths

to be self-evident, that

all men are created

equal, that they are

endowed by their

Creator with certain

inalienable rights, that

among these are Life,

Liberty and the pursuit

of Happiness”

The American Civil War

southern slave states

- Slavery was abolished

- National unity was

restored

• Impact on Anglo Americans

Industrialization-Immigration-Urbanization (1865-1900)

• American seen as the ―land of opportunity‖ for immigrants

• Industrialization contributed to class

formation (poor, middle class, wealthy)

The Great Depression (the

Post-war:

Prosperity—Protest Technology

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

IN THE UNITED STATES

Warm-up questions:

1 Do you agree with the quotation by Thomas Jefferson? Paraphrase the quotation in your own words

2 In the United States, who has more power, the president or

Congress? Why do you think so?

3 What are the two major political parties in the United States? What is the main difference in their beliefs?

• ―A wise and frugal Government shall restrain men from injuring one

another, [and] shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvements.‖

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

The Organization of the American Government

• The United States is a federal union of 50 states, with the District of Columbia as the seat of the federal

government

• The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and activities, and defines the relationship between the national

government and individual state governments

• Power is shared between the national and state

(local) governments

• Governmental power and functions in the United

States rest in three branches of government: the

legislative, executive and judicial

Three Branches of Government

1 The legislative branch (the Congress: the

House of Representatives and the

Senate): to make laws

2 The executive branch (the President ): to

administer/ carry out the laws

3 The judicial branch (the Supreme Court):

to interpret and determine the laws

Balance of Power

The U.S Congress at work

The Bill of Rights

• It is designed to protect specific individual rights and freedoms from government

interference

• It is another statement of the American

belief in the important of individual

freedom

The U.S has many levels of

• Town and Village (town meeting)

Meeting the needs of the people is seen as the responsibility of the whole community, acting through government

Political Parties

• There are two major political parties:

Republican and Democrat

• There are many ―third‖ political

parties—the Reform party, the Green

party, etc.—each advocating a

special cause

The Presidential elections

• A presidential election is to be held once every four years

• The process of electing a president and vice-president,

however, begins long before election day

• At the national party conventions, traditionally held in the

summer, the delegates from the states cast votes to select the party's candidate for president

• On election day (the first Tuesday in November of an election year) every citizen of legal age who has taken the steps

necessary in his or her state to meet the voting requirements has an opportunity to vote

• However, the president is not formally chosen by direct

popular vote The constitution calls for a process of indirect

popular election known as the electoral college

Responsibility of the citizen

• Do public service—serve in the military,

the Peace Corps, volunteer organizations, etc

Traditional Values & Beliefs

Individual Freedom & Self Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson on Self-Reliance

Henry David Thoreau,

Walden Pond

Inventiveness & Can-Do Spirit Life on the American

Equality of Opportunity &

Competition

• Immigrants believe that everyone has a

chance to succeed in the U.S

• Equality means that everyone should have

a chance to compete and win

Proverbs & sayings about competition, winning, or success

• It’s every man for himself

• May the best man/woman win

• To the winner belongs the spoils

• It’s a dog-eat-dog world

• Take care of number one

Material Wealth & Hard Work

• Many people see the U.S as a ―land of

plenty‖ because of its natural resources,

consumer goods, monetary prosperity

• Material wealth is often seen as a measure

of success

The American Dream

• The idea that each generation will live a better and more

successful life, often defined by home or land ownership, a good job, and happy family

American cultures & beliefs

are diverse

• It’s difficult to generalize

about American people &

American culture

• The media often distorts

reality and perpetuates

stereotypes

• The U.S is a melting pot

Activity: Proverbs and saying

What do the following mean to an

American? Are there Vietnamese

equivalents?

1.Pull yourself up by the bootstraps

2.If at first you don’t succeed, try and try

again

3.Actions speak louder than words

4.Life is what you make it

5.When the going gets tough, the tough get going

ETHNIC AND RACIAL

DIVERSITY

IN THE UNITED STATES

So in this continent, the energy of Irish,

Germans, Swedes, Poles and all the European tribes, of the Africans, and of the Polynesians- will construct a new race, a new

religion, a new state

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803- 1882)

Warm- up question:

How did people from so many

different countries create the

American culture?

The U.S is a melting pot

(Tiger Woods’ mother is Thai, his father is African American and Native American)

―The melting pot‖

- America is often referred to as ―the

melting pot‖ due to its unique blend of

different cultures, nationalities, and

Native Americans

Europeans settlers in the 1600s

(British, Spanish, French)

African Slaves

Hispanic/Latino Migration

People from South

Education in the United States

“ Americans regard education as the means

by which the inequalities among

individuals are to be erased and by which

every desirable end is to be achieved.”

George S Counts (1889 – 1974)

•Monetary Value of Education

•Educating the Individual

•Racial Equality & Education

•Standards

•Multicultural Education

college or vocational school

Students are encouraged to

participate in team sports,

marching band, or other

organizations

Organization of U.S Education

The United States has a decentralized

education system based upon:

- the federal Constitution, which reserves

power over education to the states and

local authorities,

- the individual schools and higher education institutions

Structure of U.S Education

• Preschool

• Elementary school: 6 years

• Middle school (junior high school): 2 years

• High school (senior high school): 4 years

 Master’s degree/ Doctoral degree (graduate studies)

Types of Institutions

• Colleges (private and public)

– Community Colleges: many have agreements to

allow students on transfer programs to move easily into the third year of a bachelor's degree at the local state university

– Technical and Vocational Colleges

• Universities

– State Universities

– Private Universities

• Institutes

Institutions and Programs

In the United States, there are:

• Over 124,000 public and private schools

• Over 2,000 postsecondary non-degree career

and technical schools

• Over 4,000 degree granting institutions of higher education

• Of the higher education institutions, over 1,600 award associate degrees and some 2,400 award bachelor's or higher degrees

• Over 400 higher education institutions award

research doctorates

Accreditation and Quality Assurance

Accreditation is the process used in U.S

education to ensure that schools,

postsecondary institutions, and other education providers meet, and maintain, minimum

standards of quality and integrity regarding

academics, administration, and related

services

Academic Calendar

• The academic year will be slightly different for each

university or college but normally runs from early

September to the end of May

• It may be divided into two terms of 18 weeks called

semesters

• In addition, universities very often provide six- to

eight-week summer terms These are optional, and students attend if they wish to get through their degree faster, to

decrease their course load during the regular terms, or to make up for courses not completed successfully during the regular academic year

• There are at least two main holidays during the academic year: a two- to four-week break over Christmas time

and a one-week "spring break“ sometime between early March and mid-April

The Credit System

• Students at American universities complete their

degrees when they have accumulated a certain

number of "credits." It usually takes somewhere

• Sometimes the terms "semester/quarter hours" or

• Each individual course you take each semester earns

a specified number (usually three or four) of

credits/hours/units

• Your academic adviser will help you plan your course schedule for the academic year

Degree courses

• Core courses: These provide the foundation of the

degree program and are required of all students

Students take a variety of courses in mathematics,

English, humanities, physical sciences, and social

sciences Some colleges require students to take many core courses, while other schools require only a few

• Major courses: A major is the subject in which a student

chooses to concentrate Most students major in one

subject; however, some colleges offer the option of

pursuing a double major with a related subject Your

major courses represent one quarter to one-half of the total number of courses required to complete a degree

Degree courses

• Minor courses: A minor is a subject in which a

student may choose to take the second

greatest concentration of courses The number

of courses required for a minor tends to be half the number of major courses

• Elective courses: These courses may be

chosen from any department They offer

opportunities to explore other topics or subjects you may be interested in and help make up the total number of credits required to graduate

Grades

- American universities employ a system of continual assessment and assign grades for each course taken Almost everything you do for a class will influence your final grade

- Examinations and tests, essays or written assignments, laboratory reports, laboratory or studio work, class attendance, and class

participation may all be used to determine your final grade

- This means it is essential to keep up with the reading and course work and to attend classes on a regular basis

- The following is a general percentage/letter grade scale for classes taken at U.S colleges:

Follow-up Questions

1 Should universities be free or have very low tuition? Why or why not?

2 Are most schools in Vietnam coeducational? What are the

advantages and

disadvantages of having boys and girls in the same classroom?

3 Is it possible for college teachers and students to be friends? What do you think the role of a teacher should be?

4 Are students vessels to be filled or lamps to be lit? Which do you

think is more important – learning a large quantity of facts or learning

to think creatively? Why?

5 What should the requirements for entering a university be? Should extracurricular activities in high school or personal characteristics be

considered? Why, or why not?