In Parini's book, he talks about how, since 9/11 and the start of the "War on Terror," teachers need to be political. He says that teachers should express their opinions freely to their students. I have a slight problem with that.
For the record, I am someone that is very much in the middle on politics. It is not that I do not have strong opinions, in fact, I strongly support parts of both sides of the spectrum. On the flip side, I also strongly condemn other parts. I don't believe anyone has "got it right" (including myself) and that "right," actually exists somewhere in between.
I believe that the classroom can be a great forum to discuss and even debate politics, but I have a problem with the teacher pushing their own opinions. In my mind, a teacher should encourage debate and help students look at issues in ways they may not have considered, but it seems unethical for a person in authority like that to push any political agenda or ideology. Anytime I have seen it happen it has made me very uncomfortable.
Maybe I'm wrong on this (it wouldn't be the first time). What do the rest of you think? Where do you think you draw the line on what is acceptable and what is not?
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I have to comment here because I agree with you, Jeff. I hope to address this during our discussion about classroom politics.
Just to follow up a little bit, I got to thinking about this quite a bit while I was observing Christy's Pop Culture class. I really disagreed with one of the readings as I thought it pushed things way to far, but the students (who, in all fairness, hadn't read the assignment), didn't have a problem with it. I could tell that Christy was to get them to reach the same conclusions I had reached in my reading, but they weren't getting it. In the end, she let it go.
Granted, I think the student's agreement with the author was mostly because the students hadn't read the assignment, but it got me to thinking about what I would do as an instructor who is confronted by students that believe something completely contrary to my own views. Not racism or anything inherently wrong, but just an opposing political view.
What would the rest of you do?
Better yet, let's talk about teaching power.
Nothing can be discussed, much less taught, in a cultural/political void, if such a thing were to exist.
We all carry around various assumptions about the world and cannot help but communicate – consciously or otherwise – those assumptions. Attempts to increase the relevance of a subject, make points, illustrate concepts, etc., necessarily are rooted in the real world. The clothes I wear, the car I drive, and the food I eat all suggest the semiotic universe I inhabit – an ideology.
A conscious effort to purge politics from the classroom likely signals homage to powers with strong status quo interests, that perceive threats from the marginalized rabble.
Brigham Young University, for exampe, will never be considered a citadel of free and open thinking because it has a pattern of academic censorship based on one religious doctrine. And any college instructor, anywhere in Utah, is subject to a politically powerful backlash if he/she mentions that fact.
How’s that for a parroting of Stuart Hall?
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