Educator Ethics in a Politically Charged World

Former educator and celebrated author George Orwell once noted, “In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues. If you are an educator in the classroom, you know this all too well. It is how we talk about the world. In the Preamble to the National Education Association’s Code of Ethics, the classroom teacher is expected to recognize and embrace “the supreme importance of the pursuit of truth”. And yet, between modern political rhetoric and the uncompromising power of the Internet and social media’s constant information stream, finding the “truth” has never been more complicated. The new challenge to the mindful modern educator is: in the process of that discovery, how do we encourage inquiry without inadvertently pushing our own personal or political agenda? Well, it’s harder than you’d think.

You see, in that same document, Principle I suggests educators “shall not unreasonably deny the student's access to varying points of view”. This means our students must have access to all sides of any given argument. As educators choose content for students, ethically they must provide a fair balance to the discussion. Principle I also goes on to say that we absolutely “shall not use professional relationships with students for private advantage”. This suggests we keep our opinions to ourselves. Our job is to encourage students to thinking critically—and independently. And balancing advocacy of new ideas and a neutrality that respects the needs and wishes of the community you serve...is really tough. Today, Education World explores ways to encourage thoughtful inquiry into complex socio-political issues in your classroom without infringing upon our code of ethics.

Why Your Neutrality Matters

Let’s be clear: your students can be aware of your political leanings. It is healthy for them to realize that their teachers are human beings and citizens of the world that care about the status of that world, with them in it. “Apathy” is the opposite of what an educator peddles in the classroom. And yet, don’t forget that you are in a rare position of respect and authority. You are one of the model academes in a student’s early life, and your ability to argue and present your personal “truth” to a group of impressionable kids comes with a taxing responsibility. Although you might premise these thoughts with “it’s just my opinion”, you must understand that that opinion is held in such esteem, it is often embraced as an unwavering truth. At very least, your students might worry that an opposing argument to your “educated” conclusion might be unwelcome. Either way, the power structure within our traditional school systems favors your point of view.

We must also remember that we are public servants. At the end of the day, our work needs to be mindful of the beliefs and values of the communities we serve. If your foray into the education system is a part of a personal “crusade against”, you need to be careful. You have not been hired by this community to “fix” or indoctrinate. You were hired to make sure a specific set of skills and concepts are beings transferred to the future leaders of our world. Now, does that mean an educator can’t take risks or push students outside of their comfort zones and into the realms of new thought? Fortunately, most state standards suggest just the opposite. But there is a very palpable tension between the role of education as a logic-based institution and the values of a school’s immediate community. The key is to encourage critical thought, encourage students to challenge ideas, and supply them with the tools to thoughtfully formulate, research, defend, and revise their own ideas.

Passion in an educator can spark a passion in students, but be mindful of proselytizing.

Encourage Thoughtful Debate

No matter where your district curriculum leads you, you always have the opportunity to have students engage in debate. Generally, the purpose of this practice is to make sure students are exploring new ideas. But that can’t be its limit, not anymore. Students need to not only “discuss”, but must learn how to discuss. For starters, teach your students to listen: to hear opposing arguments, respectfully share reservations, and be open to changing their thinking. You don’t “win” or “lose” arguments...you participate in them.

Students must also be held accountable for their claims. No assertion should be brought to the table without evidence and sound reasoning to back it up. Too often, educators can get so excited students are engaging in a subject, that they forget to hold them to the standards of an argument. If you’d never let a politician get away with a statement, don’t let your student either. “Because I just feel that way” has no place in the modern classroom, at any age. Your students need to dig deeper. Encouraging this level of discourse and explicitly teaching and practicing how to have these conversations will allow you to facilitate a “student's access to varying points of view”, without decidedly using “professional relationships with students for private advantage”. And if your students can construct a valid argument with sound reasoning that makes you question your own thinking, all the better for your community.

Research, Research, Research

Be very clear with students that all ideas are not created equal. They each get a chance to be heard, but understanding our socio-political world requires a whole lot of careful research and evaluation. Having evidence to support your claim is no longer sufficient. You need strong text evidence, and you need to be able to defend its use.

Despite the POTUS’s clear abuse and overuse of the term, “fake news” is absolutely a real thing. So is weak credibility and ethos. Utilizing news resources must be mindful of potential political biases. Finding “trusted professionals” in a field must be a careful, measured part of the process, being sure that their contributions are directly related to the discussion at hand. Scientific studies must be well-vetted to avoid pop science clickbait. Too often we assume that titles like “politician” and “doctor” yield an unquestionable trust. Your students need to go beyond these “easy answers”. We’ve given some tips on teaching source credibility to help your students thoughtfully evaluate what they find online.

The trap here is that students might begin to feel like nothing can be trusted. What can ever be considered a universal “truth”? That’s a fun place to be. And this is exactly why logic needs to be taught from a very young age. Through the process of logic and the scientific method, students can begin to understand that argument is more about explaining how things are more likely to be true. When you encourage students to explore this process themselves, they start constructing their identity as a well-informed citizen, whether or not it agrees with your own leanings.

Teach students how to access and thoughtfully evaluate the information they find.

Choosing Content

More often than not, this is the hardest part. Many times, as educators, we are tasked with the responsibility of choosing content for students. We need to learn about “revolutionary movements”, but which do we focus on for the semester? We need to debate, but what exactly are we going to debate? UDL practices suggest we give students choice as much as possible, which would allow them to pursue their own agenda, as opposed to a teacher-inspired one. But is that a truly balanced approach?

There’s no “perfect solution” to deciding upon content with a class, but you can make a conscious effort to balance the arguments. Many of us will feel a nurturing need to protect students from information and viewpoints that we deem illogical or even harmful. And yet, that information is still out there and, given time, they will come across it. Think about how you could use your class time to honestly evaluating all sides of an argument, without focus on taking a stance. Many teachers of logic will suggest that if a student cannot argue for an opposing claim, they have no right to their own claim. The idea is that facing and understanding opposing beliefs is key to having a full and holistic point of view. You should not only avoid proselytizing, but have the direct responsibility of providing all claims.

Know When It’s “Too Much”

Finally, know when the turbulent times we live in are appropriate for the classroom. Education World did an extensive piece on this particular issue earlier this year. In some cases, your students may be excited and ready to discuss what’s going on in the world stage. It can feel both authentic and exciting. And yet, for some, it could be way “too close to home” and even aggravating trauma.

Reach out to your community to find out what state it is currently in. Talk to your parents, your administration, your counselors, and your co-teachers before embarking on deeply political or divisive content. Assure them of your pedagogy around embracing these ideas, share your concerns, be clear about your intentions around providing balance in the argument, and explain how it will help your students to meet their learning objectives.

Written by Keith Lambert, Education World Associate Contributing Editor
Lambert is an English / Language Arts teacher in Connecticut.