I think we talked in class a little bit last time about whether it's OK for teachers to openly express support for one political candidate or another. Read this short article about a current controversy surrounding this issue in NYC and see what you think. Is this a matter of freedom of speech? Should that freedom be curtailed in this case?
UFT Sues N.Y.C. Over Political Buttons
New York City teachers have taken to federal court their fight against a school district policy that bans teachers from wearing campaign pins in schools, saying it violates their rights to free speech and political expression.
The United Federation of Teachers today filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Manhattan seeking a temporary restraining order against the policy, which, according to the UFT, has been on the books but has not been followed for decades. But on Oct. 1, city schools Chancellor Joel Klein asked principals in an e-mail to enforce it.
UFT President Randi Weingarten told reporters today that “it doesn’t matter whether you support Democratic Senator Barack Obama or Republican Senator John McCain. As voters, we all should have the right to express our views."
There have been similar incidents in other districts: Just last week, teachers in Soquel, Calif., were asked to leave their political buttons behind when entering classrooms. But the issue raises interesting questions about freedom of expression for teachers....
(taken from Education Week)
14 comments:
I agree that teachers should not be allowed to wear political buttons during class time. I also believe any religious affiliations need to be left at home or concealed. Teachers are role models and by displaying their political views, they are influencing their students. I believe they should be neutral in the classroom. A teacher would not want his/her students swayed one way simply because that is the way the teacher thinks. Nor does a teacher want to be looked down upon by students for his/her beliefs. Imagine if a student had a parent mention that people that vote for so-and-so are murders because that candidate is pro-choice. That does not necessarily make the teacher pro-choice, nor does it make him/her a murderer. However, the fact that politics is a touchy subject and can be a passionate subject for some parents, means students may look at their teacher a way that the teacher does not wish to be looked at. Without going in-depth about his/her values, a teacher risks presenting him/herself differently than intended. I don't think a teacher should be prohibited from having views or expressing them outside school hours, but during class, a teacher needs to present a neutral facade.
I agree with Katie because I don't believe teachers should be able to wear political buttons during school hours. I understand that teachers have a freedom of speech, but I don't feel like school is the time to push their views onto their students. I do think that political issues should be discussed in class, but not the teacher's views. The students should be encouraged to look up information on both candidates and make decisions for themselves. Isn't that what learning is all about? Making school fun and educational is our primary concern as teachers. I know that they want to express their political beliefs; I just don't think while they are in school it is appropriate. I feel like during school hours teachers need to be careful with what they say and how they say it, which is sad, but that's the way it is. Maybe if students are really curious about their teacher's viewpoints on the issues they could stay after school and talk. I believe that during school hours a teacher needs to monitor the learning of their students and help them to make their own decision with the resources they were given.
I also agree that teachers should not be allowed to wear political buttons during class time. It is a very controversial subject to address about in class. Like Katie said, the teachers may influence students who do not have background information on candidates. For students who might hold very strong opinions on a certain candidate there may be tension in the classroom among students and teachers. As a teacher it is important to discuss elections and politics so students can form their own perspective on candidates and the presidential election. Have students research candidates and issues that interest them. Have students debate as a class, and address topics that concern them and you as a teacher. I think that there is a time and place for teachers to discuss their own views and it should not be in the school where it may influence or cause problems with students or families of students.
I believe that teachers should not where political buttons in favor of one political party over another. I think that as professionals, teachers should educate students on both sides of the argument and not show favoritism of one over the other. I believe the same goes for all other controversial topics; teachers should inform students and let them base their own opinions off of the facts they learn. This controversy goes beyond educators, during the 2000 election, my brother’s co-worker whom was a police officer for a northwest suburb was “let go” after getting into a heated argument with a pedestrian about the republican supporting button he wore. While I am sure they had other reasons for “letting him go” they said that his unprofessional attitude was inappropriate and unacceptable. I went to a few discussion boards to view how others felt on the topic. Many people were asking if teachers can’t wear these buttons, than should students be able to? What do you think?
My answer to “Is it OK for teachers to openly express support for one political candidate?” is yes and no. I do believe that not allowing teachers to express their political views goes against their freedom of speech. Many teachers may not feel comfortable sharing that information, which is fine, but if a teacher wants to, they should be able to. However, a question I have is why would a teacher feel they should display this information to their students? What is the motive?
Just like religion, politics is probably not appropriate for school, because it is controversial. For teachers of younger students (elementary), I believe it is a bad idea, because if a child has parents with opposing viewpoints it might cause conflict. Plus children are very influential and they may follow the teacher’s beliefs just because it is the teachers. For example, if the students were discussing the candidates or doing an activity and they know the teacher’s preference there is going to be a bias. Also, students will want to know why the teacher likes one candidate over the other and this may be difficult to explain in terms the child would understand. For older grades, especially high school and above I do not see a problem with it because students at this age can usually make their own decisions and I do not think it would have a negative effect.
I personally would not share that information with my students because it would make me uncomfortable and I believe students understand this. For example, I had a student ask me who I was voting for and I responded by asking, “Do you think that is a personal question?” and he said yeah, and left it at that.
I do find it ridiculous for a school to sue over wearing political buttons; I think Americans are sue crazy. I understand where the teachers are coming from, I just do not think it is a good idea. If a teacher is comfortable wearing a pin supporting a given candidate and ready to defend that decision, then that teacher should be allowed to wear the button.
I also do not feel that teachers should display political buttons at school. I agree that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and some might want the world to know their opinions, however, this is a workplace. There are teachers who are going to disagree with you, which could cause controversy. There are also students who may go home and tell their parents about your political beliefs, which may stir up some opinions from parents about you as a teacher. I agree with Katie E. that the teacher should be neutral in the classroom. This is a safe way to express openness to the different opinions students may have about politics. Students are often influenced by their teachers, which is another reason to stay neutral. If a student goes home and their parent has another viewpoint and feels strong about their choice, the student may look differently at the teacher for his or her political choices. Students need to make their own decisions, and the best way to ensure this is to keep your opinion to yourself.
I do not think that teachers should only display buttons for one political party or candidate; however, I do feel like it is important to have media from many political viewpoints in the classroom.
If teachers display a variety of materials with a diverse beliefs and stances, I feel that this will allow the students to create their own opinions of these important issues.
If teachers simply leave out political badges and posters, I feel that the students may not be as politically involved as they could be. Yes, the political images should be neutral-but they still should be present in the classroom.
I do not think that teachers should express their opinions about their political choice leaders because teachers are influential people to students and is not fair for students to make their own choices when a role model is arguing for a particular person. I know my parents were never open about who they would vote for and never remember my teachers having buttons or any examples of their choice of candidate. I learned for myself which candidate to vote for based on my research and beliefs. Buttons, although they are a small part of expressing their opinion, it is still an opinion that should be left out of the classroom. Students are very influential and even though they may not be able to vote, students remember particular information about their teachers and may remember that their favorite teacher was a democrat or republican. I remember one of my professors last semester at ISU carried a tote bag with a particular candidate on it and we had a discussion in class as to whether that was acceptable to show to students, and she did turn it around so the person's name faced the wall. We decided that it was not appropriate because it is a personal decisions and everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion.
I believe that teachers should not wear the campaign pins in schools. I know that we have freedom of speech, but what are we telling our kids if we wear the pins? Are we making an impression on their decision of who to vote for? I totally agree that yes, we do have freedom of speech in schools, but there are lines drawn so it is not chaos. For example, in school, it is a rule that you can't swear. If we chose to argue it for the freedom of speech arguement, than everyone would be swearing. There are situations in school that are very sticky and they are mainly politics and religion. If we are not allowed to flaunt our religion off in schools, than I do not think we should be able to wear campaign pins. I think it would be better to teach the kids or have them research, both sides of the story and have a more global view of what is going on with the elections.
I do not believe that teachers should be able to promote or endorse any specific political party. I believe in our freedom of speech, however in the right place at the right time. We are teachers. It is our responsibility to teach our students of the election process and educate them of both political party candidates. In our fifth grade class, we have talked and read about both Democratic and Republican candidates. In no way did my mentor or I establish who we would be voting for. I think that it is important for students to learn about all possible political candidates and be able to make their own decision. At such a young age, it is too easy to sway a child’s opinion. If the child does have an opinion, it is already influenced by their parent’s views, the media, or any other external factor. If teachers begin expressing their views, it is simply another way for the student's opinions to be manipulated.
I also would agree with everyone by saying I don't think teachers should be able to wear political buttons. I know some teachers that have certain campaign posters in their classrooms. A teacher should and can talk about the political system. Like we said in class one day, I think it is important for teachers to help students understand an election. I think it is especially important for teachers to do this during grades that would understand it such as third and up. I remember us talking in class one day about how certain students and even us as younger children would just agree with our parents on a political party. Teachers can be a huge inspiration on a child and it is important a child understands both sides of a campaign. If a teacher wears a certain button a child may say they understand that just because a person they admire does. I agree with Amanda when she said that students should be encouraged to research both sides. This allows for students to find out about both political sides and allows for them to make a decision by themselves.
I do not believe that teachers should push their political views on their students. As a teacher we are teaching students to think for themselves and investigate and analyze. If students see how we feel about a candidate they may be swayed and go along with what we believe rather than forming their own opinion. We want our students to be critical learners and some of that may be taken away if we openly show who we are supporting. I agree that you should have the freedom of speech but I don't think it is necessary in the schools, especially when you are a role model to students. Politics are a sensitive area for many people and there could be some backlash from parents if your beliefs differ from theirs. If you support one candidate that they strongly disagree with they may not respect you as much because of your political beliefs.
I think it's important to let your students know that you value politics and it is your civil duty to vote, but I don't think you need to persuade them in any way of who to vote for. Rather than wearing buttons supporting a specific candidate they should wear generic buttons for the 2008 election. That way students know that you do have political beliefs and you are sending the message that the election is important to you, rather than a particular candidate.
I agree that teachers should not be allowed to wear political buttons during class time. I feel that students look at teachers as role models, and wearing a political button during class only imposes a view on students that they may agree with just because they want to be like their teacher. I feel that it is very important for teachers to present students with both sides of a candidate, and allow students to become educated with politics. After that I feel that it is the students choice who to side with, and their choice to not be interfered with. I don’t think religion should be brought into the classroom, or imposed on students, and I don’t see how this is any different
I am in middle school now, and in a classroom the teacher told her students who she was voting for. I felt that this was so wrong, because politics is a personal issue. Telling student’s information like this is so impressionable on them, and they will often do what they see. Students agreed with this teacher, and only two out of a class of 24 said they would vote opposite of their teacher. I am really curious to see how many of those students would vote differently if their teacher did not tell them who she was voting for.
Wearing a button or publicly supporting a candidate around adults is one thing, because adults have the ability to vote and make up their own minds. Adults can maturely educate themselves on the issues of the election and in turn really see how it feels to be affected by each candidate. Students are not as mature to make educated discussions and take the time to realize how each candidate will affect their lives. Students are impacted enough by adults in their lives, but their teachers are someone they look up to as a role model, and someone who is supposed to know everything. Sharing personal information, such as politics impacts a student greatly, and only allows them to form a not very educated belief.
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