Ideas for Teachers for December 2022

Nov 9, 2022 | Ideas For Teachers

RESEARCH LINKS

Issue 1: Social Media
Medium.com OpEd: “Section 230 – Mend It, Don’t End It”
National Review: “Elon Musk and the Third Era of Social Media”
“Communications Decency Act Pros and Cons”
Electronic Frontier Foundation: “Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act”
Lawfare Blog: “Supreme Court … Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh”
NPR: “Democrats Hold Social Media Companies Responsible Health Misinformation”

Issue 2: Minimum Wage
Congress.gov: “H.R.603 – Raise the Wage Act of 2021”
House.gov: “Top Democrats Introduce Bill Raising Minimum Wage to $15 by 2025”
Senate.gov: “Raise the Wage Act of 2021 Fact Sheet”
Department of Labor: “History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law”
Economic Policy Institute: “Why America Needs a $15 Minimum Wage”
raisetheminimumwage.com: “Letter to Congress Support Raising Minimum Wage”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Issue 1: Social Media

  1. If the government were to have censorship authority over social media platforms, would that result in the protection of Americans’ rights or loss of them? Explain your reasoning.
  2. In your own experience with social media, have you encountered rude or abusive behavior from others? If so, what do you think is a good solution to this problem?
  3. Should the social media platform itself be responsible for the comments of users? Why or why not?
  4. How does the Bill of Rights’ First Amendment protect free speech in the U.S.?
  5. Do you believe Section 230’s protections for big tech companies need to be revised? How would you revise them?

Issue 2: Minimum Wage

  1. Do you support or oppose raising the federal minimum wage? If you were speaking to a person who disagreed, what is the strongest argument in support of your position?
  2. If you were a business owner, would you want the minimum wage to increase? Why or why not?
  3. What are two arguments against raising the minimum wage? What are two arguments in favor of raising the minimum wage?
  4. How would a minimum-wage worker’s life be changed as a result of lifting the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $15 per hour?
  5. Places like New York, Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle have raised the minimum wage in their cities. Why do you think these places have raised their municipal minimum wage?