This week, students will prioritize information and evaluate plans and actions. They will consider the new administration's diplomatic and environmental actions, first by asking how leaders decide what's most important, and then by assessing these leaders' decisions. This week's cover story on the sorry state of air travel in the United States provides an opportunity to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of proposals for its improvement. Finally, by studying a compelling photograph and reading about Suge Knight, students evaluate the role race plays in the criminal justice system in the United States.
Diplomacy requires a great deal of prioritizing.
Create a list in which you rank the factors from most important to least important. Compare your list with another student's, and discuss why you made the choices you did. Now that you have prioritized the factors involved in the situation, look at how the administration handled it. Fareed Zakaria's assessment of the administration's actions in the recent conflict with China focuses on the impact these actions will have on politics in the United States. It is also an example of a well-written persuasive essay.