It’s hard to understand how local, state, and federal governments all interact with each other until you really look at your day-to-day life. I decided to take a look at my schedule at Pershing on an average day, and I was surprised to see how each level of government affects my life. I was surprised. What about you?
Write your own daily schedule and identify where the different levels of government interact with your day. Use Jordan’s schedule below as an example.
You might want to think about it this way: How does local, state, and federal government interact with the things we do every day? Something as simple as taking the bus to school (we’re talking either the yellow bus or the DDOT bus) brings us in close contact with government –– whether we realize it or not.
| Time | Schedule | Level of Government |
| 7:00 AM | Wake up and shower. The water comes from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department whose responsibility also is to ensure the water is clean. | City of Detroit |
| 7:20 AM | Eat breakfast. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the federal agency that regulates nutrition labels and packaging. Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development regulates food safety on the state level. | Federal and State of Michigan |
| 7:35 AM | Take out the trash. The Public Works Department manages solid waste pickup. | City of Detroit |
| 7:40 AM | Walk to school. The Public Works Department maintains the sidewalks, street signs, and roads that I take to school. They receive funding from the state and federal levels of government. | Federal, Michigan, and the City of Detroit |
| 7:55 AM | Get to Pershing. The school receives federal and state funding, as well as funding from local property taxes. | Federal, State of Michigan, the City of Detroit, and the Detroit Public Schools Community District |
| 8:00 AM | First three classes. The Michigan Department of Education sets academic standards, which is required by federal law. The Detroit Public Schools Community District and its Board of Education make local decisions. | Federal, State of Michigan, and the Detroit Public Schools Community District |
| 11:20 AM | Eat lunch. School lunches must meet federal and state requirements. The school district chooses the contractor (business) who provides the food for the school. | Federal, Michigan, and the Detroit Public Schools Community District |
| 12:20 PM | Last three classes. My teachers are hired at the local level, but the State sets the qualifications, and they administer the exam for teacher certifications. | State of Michigan and the Detroit Public Schools Community District |
| 3:15 PM | Done with classes! The Music Production program is new at Pershing, so I stay after school to mess around with the new software and equipment that they have. The equipment was bought by the school district. | Detroit Public Schools Community District |
| 4:30 PM | Walk home. I pass by a park, which is owned by the City and maintained by the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department. | City of Detroit |
| 6:00 PM | Eat dinner. The meat in my dinner was inspected by both the Food and Drug Administration and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development | Federal and State of Michigan |
| 7:00 PM | Do homework. The electricity in my house, though provided by a private utility company, is regulated by both the state and the federal government. | Federal and State of Michigan |
| 9:00 PM | Play video games until I fall asleep. Video games don’t have a ton of government regulation, but my internet access does. The federal, state, and local governments all coordinate with and regulate internet providers in some way. | Federal, State of Michigan, and the City of Detroit |
Create your own schedule and think of all the ways you interact with our local, state, and federal governments.
Share this with a partner.
- What things do you share in common?
- What’s different?