By Lavanya Lal Y12
It’s quite funny that your opinion to this question is a political opinion in itself, and this is a political discussion.
To answer the question, yes, I really think we need to have political discussions in schools.
Because I don’t understand how we can not discuss the Black Lives Matter movement when people of color in our school deal with racism every day? How can we not discuss the legalization of gay marriage, when there are students who belong to the community present in our school, scared to come out? How can we not discuss the lack of medical rights for trans people, when there are trans students present in our school attacked for their identities everyday everywhere? How can we not discuss the hijab ban and the growing islamophobia with Muslim students present in our school? How can we not talk about minimum wages? How can we not talk about women’s rights when half the population is female?
There is politics in everything. As students, we come to our school to learn. What is education without discussions about the present world?
For students, school is like a second home. A very major part of their lives. And contrary to the beliefs of many, politics cannot be separated from our daily lives. And it definitely cannot be separated from the lives of the non-privileged. Having political discussions is even more vital in a wildly diverse school like ours, where both children and adults come from so many various backgrounds. Having these discussions can make so many scared people at our school feel safe, welcomed and loved. It can offer them a platform to talk about their experiences, to share and to be heard.
However, when presented this question, I received 3 arguments:
“These discussions may harm the school atmosphere and create wedges among us.”
I do understand the fear of creating wedges between the students. The risk of having these discussions and them leading to disagreements which can cause hatred among students, or teachers, or even between students and teachers is present.
But I also think that politics is inevitable. We are all constantly talking about politics and expressing our viewpoints and opinions. The only way to overcome these differences is to discuss them. Having healthy discussions is the only way anyone can ever understand the viewpoints of the opposite sides, and finding a middle ground. As a school, we are one of the only places where we can provide a safe environment with responsible authorities looking after and ensuring no one is attacked or hurt. Democracy can be practiced in a classroom, and people can learn to agree to disagree in schools too like we do in the outside world.
Politics is a part of everything, and keeping politics out of a student’s lives also poses a risk of creating an irresponsible and unengaging adult in future. Ignorant adults who are unable to see past their privilege, who refuse to contribute to the welfare of the society, adults who don’t vote. Having these discussions contributes to preparing students for the future. Youth is the future, we need active citizens. And they will have to have these discussions someday. It helps them develop skills that are necessary for one to have for these future debates and simply for a life in general. Skills such being respectful, being engaging, being able to voice opinions, practicing freedom of speech responsibly, being a good listener, being able to communicate, being able ask questions, practicing democracy and fairness and critical thinking, something that is at the very base of our education.
“There is a risk of students being taught biased opinions and thinking in only one way.”
This is a very valid concern, but the solution to this is not to not have these discussions at all. The solution is to teach students how to think for themselves rather than what to think. Teaching students how to think critically is achievable. Making sure that people are presented with all the facts is achievable. The point of having these discussions is to have different opinions on the table, for letting people see the other sides of the same situation. Having these discussions is what allows people to analyze situations by themselves, so they can make their own decisions and form opinions by themselves.
“We are always talking about politics. I am apolitical because politics is boring and repetitive and full of fake news. I don’t think we need to talk about politics in classrooms.”
For people who share this viewpoint, I’ll just put up these viral screenshots of Edith from Enola Holmes that I borrowed from tumblr.
Not wanting to be involved in politics is in itself a privilege. It’s hard to see past your privilege. But you can learn, and it’s only possible through these discussions.
