About This Lesson
ABC's new sitcom, The Mayor, is a fun and engaging way to get students thinking about issues in civics and local government. It features a young rapper who decides to run for mayor to promote his career. But he ends up winning.
The plot may seem a bit far fetched, but once you get past that the show deals with some real issues in local government. It's a great vehicle for discussing these issues with your students. Here are some discussion questions you can use to teach about civics and government with episode two of The Mayor.
First, you'll need to determine the best way to have your students watch the show. You could stream it in class. It's available on ABC's website, and you can also purchase episodes for download on Amazon. You could also assign it for homework. It's available on a basic broadcast channel, so your students shouldn't have many issues with access. Here are some other thoughts on creative ways to incorporate movies and shows into your social studies class.
Once you've figured that out, here are some questions to guide the discussion with the class.
If the music program isn't cut, what should be? The central plot element in this episode is that the music program at the local school is going to be cut. The mayor and his team try to come up with alternative things to cut in order to save the music program. What do your kids think? What should the city's priorities be? You could also use this as an opportunity to explore your own city's budget.
Who has more power - the Mayor or the City Council? This episode involves a stand-off betwee the Mayor and the City Council. American government is about checks and balances, and you can use this episode to discuss some of those. It's also a chance to think about when those checks and balances are effective. For example, the mayor tries to veto the budget, but he's overridden by a united city council.
What is the purpose of government? This is a broad, essential question in civics. This episode hones in on the idea of constituent services. One of the main characters is the new director of constituent services, and he has to figure out what his job actually is. This is a good opportunity to stop and think about what governments can and should be doing for us.
Once you've had the discussion, assign your students to write up a review of the episode. This can become a weekly, recurring writing assignment that your students complete each week after the episode airs.
