Teaching International Relations Program

Dear Tiffany,

Thank you for participating in TIRP outreach! This folder is for your four session reports. This is a public forum and we encourage your professors and teachers to review your journal entries for feedback. Make sure your report of classroom activity is appropriate for public viewing.

Remember:
1. Each entry must be submitted within a week or before the next session, whichever comes first.
2. Entries need to be at least 500 words. It is your responsibility to save a copy of your report.
3. Your reports should focus on the content of the TIRP session. Spend no more than one paragraph discussing logistics. Include the key IR concepts and specific student responses.
4. Select "Post Reply" not "New Topic" when submitting each entry. This will ensure that all your
reports are posted in a way that will be easy for CALIS staff, professors and teachers to read.


A CALIS staff member will review your entry each week and leave a posted message approving it toward your extra credit. Thank you for your participation in TIRP!
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Report 1 -- APPROVED -- 11/09/2009 -- Scarlett
I'm glad to hear that everything is going well in your class and that your team was able to facilitate a fruitful discussion. In your next journal, please try to focus solely on your TIRP experience and not on what you have learned from other situations (ex. IR325 class). Good luck on your next session!

Report 2 -- APPROVED -- 11/13/2009 -- Scarlett
Thank you for your feedback, it seems your team chose a very interesting activity with a lot of interaction and I'm glad that it worked out well! Good luck on your next session!

Report 3 -- LATE/CONTENT APPROVED -- 11/23/2009 -- Scarlett
Sounds like you had a good session, and it's great that your team is getting better at facilitating discussions. Please try to turn your last report in no later than a week after your last session.

Report 4 -- LATE/CONTENT APPROVED -- 12/4/2009 -- Scarlett
Thank you for your participation in TIRP!

For our first TIRP assignment at Hamilton High School, we introduced ourselves to a diverse class of around 21 students. Our first activity is called “Foreign Aid—How Much and to Whom?” The reason why we chose this activity is because the most effective way to interact with students is to provide simulation exercises – it proved to be successful. As a group, we went over the introductory pages “US Foreign Aid, 2004” and “Dilemmas and Decisions.”

The first question we asked the class was --what is foreign aid? Students had different answers that brought up debate if foreign aid was a good or bad thing. A girl said that foreign aid’s intent was to give money to countries that needed help economically. She also raised the question asking why the United States provided money to help other countries when the U.S is having financial problems of its own. We then opened the floor up to discussion, and my teammates and I gave our input on the issue of foreign aid.

I believe that foreign aid today is having problems with the way it is implemented in developing countries such as those in Africa and Latin America. Many NGOs are pouring money into countries such as Kenya and Uganda; but the results of poverty have worsened. The more aid that’s being given somehow creates a deeper poverty problem. The problem lies within the corrupt governments – the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. In my IR 325 class, we learned that foreign aid as a whole is not helping the ones that need help. Necessary infrastructure, education, and institutions are not being invested in as they should be. That’s why there is a perpetuating poverty cycle for unskilled laborers that cannot contribute to the economy; thus, there is a lack of economic growth within the country. Without economic growth, a country is not en route in being a developed country.

A student brought up a question—why can’t we stop giving foreign aid to other countries? It brought up another discussion. One boy said that we cannot leave poor countries without aid because people in poor countries need assistance to live. That discussion was a segway to our activity of delegating certain amounts of the budget to Country #1, 2, 3 and 4 based on their needs and position with the United States.

After the students discussed in their groups, they strategically distributed aid to countries that needed the most and that supported the westernized values of the United States. Most of the groups gave country #1 the most amount of aid because it was pro- United States. They wanted to help build and sustain infrastructure to promote an industrial economy. Groups gave Country #2 a little less than Country #1 because it was the country wanted aid mainly for military support. Some students believed that aid should be focused more on the betterment of people’s lives rather than the military. Country #3 received the third least because it was significantly well off than #1 and #2. The class believed it was important to fund some aid to encourage education and human capital which will result in economic growth. Country #4 received the least because its economy was already developing rapidly and it would be in competition with U.S exports which the students acknowledged would be a disadvantage for the U.S.

All in all, students were inquisitive about foreign aid, and I did not expect the great participation from each person. It was definitely a great experience and a success!

In our second session, we decided to do another group work activity—intelligence gathering. We split the groups: the National Security Council, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, and Defense Intelligence Agency. After distributing the specific information to each group, they mobilized and discussed what action to take towards Concordia—each department received different information. They used a “Decisions Choices Chart” to determine on a scale from 1-16— from nothing to invading—the country of Concordia.
CIA’s information included an unexpected visit to Moscow and suspicious activities in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Yega. After reading the information, the CIA group decided that the best choice was to “call for negotiations.” When asked why, they responded that they did not want to take any extreme measures based on limited information. They wanted to directly speak with Concordia and figure out all the skeptical behavior. Some of the students did not want to take the chance and invade the country, but the rest of the CIA group advised it was too rash of a decision.
The FBI’s set of information dealt with foreign exchange students from Concordia in the United States. The Concordian Minister of Education advises all the students to come back to Concordia. With that information, students felt that it was not a threat to the United States. They said that it was suspicious but it was not alarming. Therefore, the group decided to also “call for negotiations” to solve any misunderstanding. Someone pointed out that there might have been cultural differences that might have insulted Concordia. We discussed that bringing the educated students from United States back to Concordia would help the country. Bringing the well-educated students back to the country will build innovation, economic growth, and increase entrepreneurial skills.
The DIA’s group also called for negotiations. With their information, some of the group members wanted the troops to mobilize and use the troops in case of an emergency. The group was worried because Concordia was communicating deliberately with countries such as East Germany, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. There has been an increase in air-force traffic. They felt that was a threat to the United States, but they did not want to assume any harm. Negotiation was the answer.
In the end, the statement made by Concordia announced that they wanted to sever all ties. It surprised all the students and they responded with offense—they then wanted to invade Concordia. Students learned the information was too vague and they needed to share information and intelligence amongst each department. They realized that they only relied on their own group.
As for my group, I feel that we are very pro active with the group. There is room for improvement in terms of addressing other IR issues. We hope to improve in our next session.

For the third TIRP session, our group did the Contemporary International Issues Survey. Because the class does weekly current events, we thought it was a great idea to have some students share their current event papers. Students brought up issues in Berlin, North and South Korea, and Iran. It was very evident that the class was well aware of current international issues—which made discussion very alive for our group activity.
The objective of the simulation was to formulate an agenda for the US foreign policy for the President’s eight year term. As a class, we brought up some international policy issues that the administration should identify as “high priority.” Most students listed Iran and North Korea’s threat of having nuclear weapons was a huge issue. Students voiced that if these countries are building nuclear weapons, it puts the United States and other countries in danger. Students believe that the United States goal for North Korea is to invade, negotiate, or overthrow the president. They feel that although the United States have negotiated—the only way to get the message across to stop building nuclear weapons is through extreme measures such as invade or intervene with their government.
A second policy issue that should be identified is Mexico’s drug wars. Students feel that the United States should intervene because the lives of innocent civilians are in danger. Also, Mexico’s high rate of illegal immigration sparked debate in the class. Students felt that immigrants should be let into America because they could find better opportunities and better living conditions. Other students felt that the United States need to control the influx of illegal immigrants because it can contribute to overpopulation. In addition, it is the taxpayers’ money paying for the welfare of illegal immigrants. For this issue, students believe that the goal of increasing border security will help tremendously. Also, we should target drug lords because the Mexican government is not doing much to alleviate drug war problems.
Another issue that is of high priority is the war in Iraq. When asked if we should bring troops home or sends more troops—students unanimously agreed that the United States should bring troops home. It was also mentioned that our country cannot afford losing more troops and also losing more money where there are other important issues on the country’s table.
When we asked the class what regions the US should consider giving foreign aid, they all responded that Africa should be the 1st region to receive aid. They felt that direct money aid was not as important as humanitarian aid such as food and medicine. The second region was South East Asia because of their natural disasters that ultimately destroy cities and leaves many injured and homeless. Students felt that the US should bring relief to these cities.
It was another successful activity and students were very engaged. I felt that our TIRP group has improved in answering IR questions and facilitating a group discussion.

For our final TIRP session, our group facilitated the Defense Budget Simulation Exercise. We split the class into groups: Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Air Force, Secretary of the Navy, Secretary of the Army, and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. In this simulation, we told the group that the U.S allotted $420.7 billion for the defense department that is unequally distributed among each defense team. Each group’s task was to argue why they should increase, decrease, or keep their budget proportion.
The Air Force received 28.8% of the budget. This team was proud to be representing the Air Force – they believed that they deserve every penny because they need to fund many aspects of the Air Force. The students argued that the air force division that is mostly used amongst the defense department. The Air Force is capable of covering a vast amount of land and is extremely effective. They need funds to advance technology for their weaponry, airplanes, and budget for the soldiers. The team also mentioned that research and development of technology require a chunk of the funds because of the trials and material needed to build objects. It also costs a lot to train everyone and investing in education is very important. . The students believed that the Air Force is the most efficient department and should receive the most out of everyone.
The Navy receives 27.5% of the budget. They Navy team was content with their funds and explained why they needed it. The group stated that the funds were towards the maintenance of current ships, and the development of new, safer ships. Also, the funds will compensate housing, food, education, and all the basic necessities for each Navy soldier. Guns and weapon systems are needed, as well as missiles for the ships. The Navy also need funds to maintain and build more submarines because it is a skillful Navy tactic. The group mentioned that in order for the Navy to maintain the freedom of the seas, they need a good portion of the budget.
The Army receives 23% of the budget. The team felt that in comparison to the Navy and the Air Force, they deserved an increase to their budget. The group said that they are putting just as many or more lives on the line in comparison to the other lines of defense. The Army has three branches: the active duty troops, reserve troops, and the National Guard. The total of all troops gather to be just over 1 million soldiers. The Army group feels that it is imperative to increase the budget to compensate for personnel costs. Also, the army needs money for their tanks, armored carriers and other advanced weaponry to defend them.
The Marines receive an insufficient 1% of the budget. This group seemed the most outraged and argued their hardest because they were surprised and appalled that they received 1% whereas the Air Force received 28.8% of the budget. They felt that since the Marines were one of the first men in line for battle, soldiers should be paid a generous amount. The group believed that this division would have the most casualty—therefore they need a package that will support families of lost Marine victims. The pay should also be high because this job is the least attractive. They also need to fund their weaponry and automotives to be an effective and efficient force.
This was a great simulation to end TIRP because I felt it was the most heated discussion. Each group was vying to increase or keep their budget because they felt an attachment to their division. The students were amazing—they even asked us about four year colleges and guidance. It was truly a great experience doing group work and discussion.