Today I attended a session of All School Forum, which is a group of New Trier students, faculty, and parents that get together once a month to discuss various topics relating to school. The topic of this afternoons discussion was "Politics in the Classroom." Following this discussion, I was able to conclude that people feel very differently about this issue. Some people feel very strongly that teachers remain unbiased towards their political stances in the classroom, while others feel that teachers should express their political opinions as a means of discussion.
Going in to this discussion, I had not previously given it a lot of thought. Personally, I think that it's okay for teachers to share their political views with the class as long as they do not impose their values on their students. But at the same time, knowing that your teacher doesn't support a certain political stance gives more students the confidence to talk about their own political views without feeling that they are being judged by someone superior to them-- their teacher. In my modern world history class last year, my teacher was very adamant about not sharing her political views with the class. However, her apparent lack of an outward political stance helped propel political discussions in class. As a group of students, we were able to share our own political views with one another and have debates that revolved around politics. Since our teacher didn't support either side of the arguments, she was able to be an objective voice of reason, asking questions that pertained to both sides of the discussion. This helped to guide discussions in a way that I think is more helpful and educational than if she had supported one side of the discussion over another.
Do your teachers often express their political views in class? Do you think that it's appropriate for teachers to share their political views with their students? How does doing so (or not doing so) effect what we learn as students? If you're interested, read Mr. Bolos' blog post about this issue.
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3 comments:
In English last year, my teacher didn't really express her views on controversial topics; she remained reluctant to take a side. Too long have we had to sit in class, being lectured by unbiased teachers. I would like to have a teacher to voice his/her opinion on an issue. It would be interesting to see if students attempt to refute the argument or to just back away due to intimidation. I think it's perfectly fine because it adds excitement, a more experienced perspective, and a chance for students to respectfully disagree with not only their classmates.
My history teacher last year made it very clear who she was planning on voting for and her political views. Since I had similar views I didn't really mind, and it was kind of nice knowing that she agreed with my comments during class. However, I can see how someone with opposing views would feel intimidated by this. I think sometimes teachers can't help expressing their views just as long as they can put them aside for the sake of their students.
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