This editorial is not in response to the teaching practices of any professor at WOU. Since we are nearing a Presidential election, The Journal’s Editorial Team felt it was necessary to address the topic of politics and opinions in the classroom
It is inevitable that one’s own personal beliefs about a subject will come into play during a conversation, even if it happens subconsciously.
We are affected and influenced by our own biases whether we like it or not. The challenge then becomes how we control them in an academic setting, where a neutral stance is best for optimum learning.
In the ideal classroom, students should be exposed to the facts, and then exposed to the techniques to be able to decide for themselves what sort of personal conclusions they wish to draw from them, rather than have a professor tell them what they should or should not believe without explanation of the procedure by which that conclusion was reached.
Now, take into account a professor’s’ opinions in the classroom. Although not facts, it’s important to know that when an opinion is presented, it should always be taken as such. Opinions are merely a piece of information that can be used to expand on a student’s understanding of a subject, but not as something to sway them in a particular direction of correct or incorrect.
The line where opinions and politics blend together in the classroom is tricky. Teachers should be welcome to give students the unbiased facts on candidates, policies, et cetera that lead to a health conversation between students and professors. But it’s important to avoid creating situations where a professor tries to purposely lead students to side with their own political stance.
When a person in power, like a college professor, takes their power and encourages students to believe a certain political opinion, it takes away the student’s right to decide for him or herself.
A classroom is a place to learn, not to be preached at. It’s important for the people facilitating our learning to consider all the different opinions on a subject fairly.
This is why it is so important that the classroom remains a safe setting for opinions, conversation, and debate. In order for students to gain the maximum amount of information from multiple sources and points of view, they must be exposed to different elements. If a professor wishes to share something from a liberal-oriented news source, it would behoove them to also examine a conservative-oriented source.
Students and professors should be welcomed to express opinions, as long as they are willing to hear and understand the opposite point of view. Keeping a classroom safe and neutral is important. Allowing students to be in a place where varied beliefs are welcomed, without the authoritative voice of “you should believe this,” or “you should believe that.”
Most liberally-oriented people aren’t going to watch The O’Reilly Factor for their political commentary, just as most conservatively-oriented individuals probably aren’t going to tune into The Daily Show for theirs. People tend to seek out information that is going to reinforce what they already believe; they don’t want to hear opinions that conflict with their own. So, it is important to examine multiple viewpoints with different underlying ideologies. It may also be beneficial to view news from neutral sources that are not owned by a politically-affiliated parent corporation, such as Reuters, BBC, or The Real News.
