How important is it to remain completely objective from a political viewpoint in the classroom? My political views are quite strong and I work with teenagers on a daily basis. One of my main goals is to present both sides of all political issues. This often means explaining positions that I am very much opposed to. If anything, I sometimes find myself overcompensating and favoring positions that I personally disagree with.
I read an interesting story today about the teacher's union in New York and the argument over a teacher's right to where political buttons at school. They argue that their 1st amendment rights have been violated. They probably have a good argument and if the case were to go to trial they would probably win. It does, however, make me wonder how a student can view a teacher as objective when they openly campaign at school for one candidate over the other.
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28/10/10 18:28
Personally I feel that teachers should remain neutral in the classroom simply because I feel it is the most professional thing to do. When political opinions/ beliefs are brought up by educators it opens a whole new realm of issues. Say for instance you belong to one party and they believe that abortion is wrong. You can be stating your views and inadvertently offend a student that has possibly had an abortion. Another issue that could happen is influencing your students to agree with one party over another for your reasons instead of presenting them with both sides and letting them choose. Lastly, I feel that allowing your political opinions into the classroom will only piss off parents and cause disruption. No one is saying you can't have an opinion. Just voice them outside of the classroom.
7/3/11 10:47
@Iko 100 - I completely agree. Teachers are there in the classroom to educate students. I am all for teachers being passionate about voting and wanting students to understand that we have the freedom to elect who we want to make decisions for us in government. Teachers who work in a public school though need to keep their personal political beliefs to themselves (at least from their students). Having a unit on "How government works" around election time is a great way to bring current events into the classroom and engage students but it should be from a stand point of these are the candidates running (candidate A & candidate B), the electoral college, and the steps to making it to the white house. You can also explain the running mate each of the candidates chose and how the elected vice present's role will play out (1st in line if the president passes away, or is removed from office, votes to break a tie in the senate, etc). Teachers can also make students aware of all levels of government - present the candidates running for local government not just presidential (go over district, county, state level politics).