WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

I typically start the class with the preliminary check of the course
section. After, I introduce myself and pass around the index card. I
require the students to write their:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

SECTION
FIRST NAME, GIVEN NAME, MIDDLE INITIAL
NICK NAME
CELL NUMBER
POL SCI INTEREST RATE 1-10

I usually call them by their nickname. After they submit the index
cards, I emphasize that political science is also a public speaking class
because they get to argue and express their opinion on matters of
public importance. I then call them randomly to simulate class
recitation. I ask them to state their nickname and choose a country
where they wish to be born in aside from the Philippines. They do not
need to explain their choice.
After a light introduction, we then proceed to the 4 basic questions we
want to answer in this course. These are:
1.
2.
3.
4.

How to run a country

What is power?
How to gain, manage and deploy power
And how to understand and predict forces that exert power over
us.

Following this enumeration. I then begin the discussion with Aristotles

quote starting with the word politics. Politics is a derivation of the
Greek word polis which means city or a community. I push the idea
further by quoting Aristotles saying that if you do not live in a polis,
you are either a beast or a god. I then ask students how they would
interpret this saying.
Aristotles point then was that we can never reach our fullest potential
if we do not live in a polis. It means that we do not need a community
if we are a god or a beast because there is nothing more to develop in
that sense. He is trying to tell us that we human beings need the
community, need the polis and need the politics which is really how
communities decide to make the most of the human experience.
Politics is ultimately about decision making as a community - managing
conflict and allocating resources. I also differentiate it with the
personality development class, which deals with decisions as
individuals while new con is about decisions as a community of people.

I then ask students to give examples of forces that exert power over
them in the aim of trying to make them see how politics touches our
everyday lives from breakfast to going home from womb to tomb. All
these require decisions of authorities.
Then also, I synthesize by talking about POVERTY. I then relate this to
their answer earlier about which country do you want to be born in
aside from the Philippines. This demonstrates that these nations have
achieved a higher level of standard of living and this begs the question
why have they achieved that? That is something we have to
understand. The Study of New Con is also a study about power and
poverty and how the constitution tries to fix this imbalance. I
emphasize that at the end of the sem, we should see how forces and
decisions long ago actually affect us today in the most personal and
comprehensive manner so we cannot just look at poverty as something
of a choice or something because of our own limitation. It is MAN-MADE
and a produce of political decisions. That we will uncover.
I then share my immersion story where the lack of power is actually
the reason of poverty. Farmers were forced to march from Bukidnon to
Manila to get attention, there is something fundamentally wrong about
it. Why do hard working farmers own so little? It is not something manmade I guess.
I end with the introduction of the history of the development of the law
through the story of nomadic living, agriculture and private property.
This also gave the foundation of why some have more and some have
little. This also gives the introduction for the activity in class next week
which is Tara na sa Talipapa. This activity hopes to touch on 3 things:
1. The origins of democracy and poverty
2. The inherent power of the state
3. The relations of politics and economics