OPINIONS: Teachers should be able discuss political beliefs in the classroom, to an extent.
By Kate Doak, Staff Writer
How many times have you asked your teacher what he or she believes in? What holidays they celebrate, what their values are or who they vote for are all questions teachers are asked frequently by their students, especially those in middle and high school. Some teachers are more open about those personal subjects, but most shrink away from discussing what they believe in fear of parental rage and complaints. While teachers should not push their opinions onto students, they should be free to express themselves, especially when asked to do so by a student. A teacher’s job is to help students learn and to provide as many angles and as much information as they can so the student can develop his or her own ideas. A teacher’s opinion can be a big part of that process and denying students that opportunity could leave holes in their education.
Religion and politics are two of the most sensitive and argued subjects in the history of man. Everything has to do with one or the other, if not both. While religion, for the most part, should remain an at-home and in-church issue, politics should be a much more open field. By revealing personal political opinion, a student can get a more thorough explanation of why a certain group supports a certain side. Students are already so influenced by their parents’ beliefs that seeing another perspective would be a good thing. One of the best ways to learn is to compare different situations, and by hearing about these contrasting opinions they can better make a decision for themselves.
That being said, teachers should not force-feed their opinions. They should remain within a “student asks and the teacher tells” subject or one that stays within the relevance of the current lesson. Sharing too much information or being too “passionate” about a certain side of an issue can cause problems for teachers, so they need to be wary. More experienced teachers understand how sensitive parents can be about their children being exposed to an opinion different from their own, but anyone can get a little worked up about a specific topic. Debating should remain among the students, with interruption from the teacher only when his or her assistance and opinion is requested.