<p>I am just about to embark on my first year as a history and civics teacher at an acclaimed public high school in the Boston area. I am very excited to be teaching civics during this, the election year of all election years. I have a question as to how politics should play in the classroom.</p>
<p>You see, I am a very, very liberal Democrat. I have been campaigning for Barack for well over a year and would join a socialist party should it become more developed. I am committed to presenting both sides of issues, playing devil’s advocate, and letting kids decide for themselves, however I worry that my personal politics will seep through into the lessons. </p>
<p>If you or your child were a student in my class which would you prefer:</p>
<p>A: Disclosing my personal politics on the first day of school and my promise to be “fair and balanced” in the classroom </p>
<p>or</p>
<p>B: Saying nothing and hoping that my opinions only play a minute role.</p>
<p>The district is very liberal in general, however, because of the demographics (a large Orthodox Jewish Synagogue, Mormon Temple, and Evangelical Church are nearby) I will have more conservative students too. WHat would you prefer be said on the first night of school and at PTA “Meet the Teachers Night”</p>
<p>I’d suggest keeping your political opinions to yourself. Don’t take on the role of devil’s advocate yourself. It can be very intimidating for a student to have his/her ideas challenged by the teacher. Play the referee instead. Assign students to take up certain positions at random, ask them to justify their positions, get the rest of the class to critique the performance, add arguments, etc… </p>
<p>On PTA night, you can say that you have your own political opinions, like everyone else but that you see your role as helping your students develop their own critical faculties through discussion and debate, that you will respect and expect all students to respect the opinions of others. If you know that a particular student is a fervent admirer of a particular policy or person, it might actually be a good idea to get the student to advocate for the opposite. </p>
<p>Is it Belmont, by the way? It has a huge Mormon temple visible for miles!</p>
<p>Thanks Marite. I am not in Belmont but close enough. My informal polling of faculty gave me the rough breakdown of diversity. The majority of students are reform Jews, Catholics, and Mainstream New ENgland Protestants, however sizable minorities have vocal voices in the school culture.</p>
<p>Did your k-8 school use “Facing History, Facing Ourselves”? We found that the kids in our very diverse school really benefited from studying that unit (it originated in the Brookline school system). I’m glad that minorities are involved in the school culture. In many schools, minority parents don’t get involved, for one reason or another, and it can make for some imbalance in the viewpoints that are represented.</p>
<p>Majority of my three kids best teachers have opposite views than my kids. Despite my kid’s political views, these teachers were fair and were really excellent mentors. The teacehrs disagreed with them and even discussed politics outside of the classrooms. My kids have to read newspaper to provide articles and the teachers provided counter arguments. The teachers and my kids respected each other views. The best part was that these teachers challenged my kid’s views and allowed my kids to better think and defend my kid’s political arguments. My kids love them for their fairness, mentorship, and above all showing them the ability to think well. These kinds of teachers are best who challenge the young mind. And to go to school is to nourish their minds by challenging them. Since you are asking on this thread, I am going to say if you are fair and provide leadership, your student from opposite viewpoint would love you more than the kids who share your views. I am sure many parents will disagree with me and many kids may be intimidated but find the kids who love this kind of challenge. Nurture these kids by challenging their minds. I would love to have you as a my kids’ teacher to challenge my kids minds provided you are fair and do not punish kids for having opposite views. This I am telling you based on first hand experience. If you do it, you are a gem</p>
<p>I taught US history for the past four years (now am teaching English) and I kept – and continue to keep – my politics to myself. I think it’s really important to present a neutral viewpoint to young people while presenting curriculum so that they feel the absolute freedom to draw their own conclusions. They are so impressionable at this age, and if they like you, they certainly won’t challenge your politics and may feel pressure to accept your views – or worse – they will simply adopt your views without any questioning at all. (I once convinced an entire class of gifted students that all clocks stopped at 2 p.m. to adjust themselves to the atomic clock. I did it as a little joke – told with all seriousness – because one student interrupted my fascinating lesson to blurt out that the classroom clock had paused. They bought my story completely, further proof of how much authority a teacher has in a classroom). </p>
<p>I treat my classroom authority with extreme caution, careful to present material in as unbiased a manner as I can. Invariably, students ask what political party I belong to and how I vote… I say I won’t tell them until the last day of school as they are walking out the door. When the last day comes, one of them usually remembers to ask, so I ask them to raise their hands if they think I’m a Democrat and then to raise them if they think I’m a Republican. The result of the informal poll is a 50/50 split. Half think I vote Democratic and half think Republican. Exactly the way I want it.</p>
<p>If a kid is not political, it may be right. But how do you teach a kid who start questioning the way book has been written. If the kids strat saying, he disgrees with the book, do you ignore his or her quest for the mind and to explore the world. They struggle with what is right and wrong. I am sure you have these kids in your classroom. These kids also need help in stimulating their minds. Unfortunately most of these kids are labelled as trouble makers and lost in the system.</p>
<p>I would never ignore a student’s concerns about a viewpoint in a textbook but would ask them to identify the areas of concern and write to the publisher of the material (and I would be happy to proofread the letter). The struggle with what is right and wrong is exactly what I strive to create in their minds and by withholding my own political beliefs (but not my interest and never my questions), the struggle is both provoked and allowed a respectful space to take place.</p>
<p>I’d prefer, and expect, option B - keep your politics to yourself. You may have to work extra hard at this since you admittedly have a more extreme alignment than most. Besides, you know that teaching one perspective and throwing in a lot of personal bias isn’t actually ‘teaching’ at all. Note also that some students will go home and regurgitate whatever you say to their parents - especially anything controversial in their minds. This could lead to problems for you as an employee when parents insist that their kid be switched out of your classrom. </p>
<p>
That’s funny and a telling experiment.</p>
<p>
I’d expect you to indicate your background - i.e. new teacher with an x degree from y college. I’d also expect you to give an idea of how you plan to conduct your class, the basic material you’ll go over (5 minute version), your expectations regarding HW, tests, and attendance, how to reach you if there are issues, etc. This is all very objective.</p>
<p>Momof2inca spelled out my own views about the importance of teacher’s neutrality. The more a teacher is loved, the more influence that teacher has. You don’t want to indoctrinate, but to help turn your students into critical thinkers.</p>
<p>Have you seen The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie? Great movie!</p>
<p>Agree completely, ucsd-dad. I would never speak of my politics or religion at Back to School Night. It’s a business presentation and an introduction. That’s it. Keep it strictly professional and keep your opinions close to the vest. And then keep it that way the entire year. Use your passion and energy to make the course material come alive and to make it relevant to their lives today. It’s the fair thing to do.</p>