Politics in the Classroom

    Today I participated in #edchat on twitter, the topic was politics in the classroom. My initial response to this prompt was that as a teacher you should explain and allow students to investigate both sides of an idea. Teachers have so much power that expressing your opinion may shut down students from offering theirs. It is important to teach students to thin critically by offering them facts and letting them form their own opinion. The teacher should serve as a facilitator for discussion, and by focusing on the topic or content, personal beliefs will not be the forefront of the conversation.

      After hearing others comments on this topic, I have rethought this stance. In some situations I thinks it is appropriate to share your viewpoint, especially if you explain how you arrived at it. This models metacognition and actively engages students. I don’t want to model that it is ok to be neutral; I want to discourage apathy and silence about politically charged topics. I think that creating an environment where students are free to express their opinions and teaching that its ok to disagree as long as you have a voice is the best method for facilitating discussions.

      Here are a couple of good quotes from the chat that I would like to share…

“Our job is to open minds, not close them.”

“You can be hard on issues but soft on people.”