Unit 2 Summative Assessment
By Josh Overton
Analyze
Bullets and Ballots - For the Bullets and Ballots simulation, my role was the United States Government, our job was to make sure that a communist nation did not arise in Guatemala. We also had to sign treaties and cooperate with other social groups. Our group also had a take over card, which allowed us to take over Guatemala and put in place any government we see fit. I personally enjoyed the Bullets and Ballots game as it helped to show that even though their is a lot of conflict in an area there can still be cooperation.
Connections - Some connections between Bullets and Ballots and the Enduring Understanding for this unit are that if a person from a different social groups moved into another group, they would take their ideas, their "cultural mosaic" with them. Also, in order for groups to make treaties with others, they had to balance the forces of conflict and cooperation in order to sign treaties.
The Future of the United States after Bullets and Ballots - After the Bullets and Ballots game, an election was held to determine the next leaders of Guatemala. The Peasants won the election and took control of the government. Since the Peasants have never ran a government before they may fall to communism or allow the Army and Wealthy social group take over the county again. As the United States does not want the nation to fall into communism, the United States may take over the county and put their own government in place to prevent a communist nation from arising.
Application
Real World Connections to Bullets and Ballots - In the end, World War II and Bullets and Ballots are very similar. One of the main ways is that their was conflict and cooperation in both. Another big connection is that treaties were broken in the game. An example of this in World War II is how the Munich Pact was broken. The Munich Pact was a treaty signed by Great Britain, Germany, Italy and France signed a treaty that allowed Adolf Hitler to occupy part of Czecholslovakia, but not take the entire nation. In the end, Hitler broke the treaty and invaded all of Czecholslovakia. This example shows that what we did in Bullets and Ballots. In the game, my group broke a treaty with the Army and Wealthy group so then we could sign a treaty with the Gurellias. Both examples show that Bullets and Ballots had connections to real world events of conflict and cooperate.
Multiple Perspectives in World War II - An example of multiple perspectives in World War II is during the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler and Germany thought that they were doing a favor by killing of the "inferior races", but a different social group, such as the United States or Great Britain see this is an act of evil by destroying an entire social group. This conflict example shows that multiple perspectives are present in the world, and that you need to see both sides to an issue before making any assumptions.
Axis Powers
Allied Forces
End of the War
Transfer
How Enduring Understanding Connects to my Life - The enduring understanding connects to my life in many different ways. One example of the enduring understanding connecting to my life is when a person moves to a new place. When a person moves, the person migrates. As they migrate they bring their "cultural mosaic" with them to their new place. This is also present when a person goes on vacation to a different place. For example when I go to Florida, I bring my ideas from New Hampshire down to Florida. The people in Florida may not have the same ideas as me and may disagree with my views. This can cause conflict and cooperation between me and the native people of Florida since our views are different.
Connections Between Bullets and Ballots and my Life - During Bullets and Ballots there are many connections between the game and my life. One connection between the game is that treaties were broken. This can be represented in real life if a person breaks a promise. If a person promises not to go to a certain place, they are breaking that promise, just like if a person goes against a treaty in the game. Another example would be if a person goes to a new place, either moving their or going their on vacation, they bring in their ideas, which may cause the dominant social group to have conflict with the person who came to the new location. In Bullets and Ballots if a person moved to a different social group, they can cause the social group they move to too have a conflict with them. The following examples show how.
My Social Groups - I am a part of many different social groups with many different views on different things. Power shifts in many different ways and it usually depends on the issue at hand. For example in my family, during the election season, power in the family shifts more towards the parents or people who can vote as they make the decision. There are other reasons as to why the power shifts, which relate to the specific social groups.