In Michigan, the schools have
used this election year for real-world applications:
- Programs such as these teach students to become critical thinkers and help them understand that voting gives them a voice in society. They quickly learn the relevance of specific issues like health care and the economy, issues many say they never paid attention to before getting involved at school. These are invaluable lessons our students will carry with them throughout life, learning how each decision will affect their future.
Which is all fine and dandy. I wonder, though, where political education just may overlap into the area of indoctrination. With the heavy feelings of commitment displayed by individuals toward each presidential candidate this season, is it possible that objectivity in the classroom can be thrown to the winds?
In the case of the student who tells me she objects to those who engage in alternative lifestyles (see post below), I try to remain as noncommittal as possible. I avoid telling her, "I think you're wrong, and here's why..." Because
that's indoctrination. My role does not involve telling students
what to think. Instead, I give her the freedom to carry out her research, make her arguments, support them -- while, at the same time, I play devil's advocate, instilling the need to anticipate opposing arguments, and to attempt to refute them, etc. Naturally, there are topics that are not only unsuitable, but outrageous -- (Example: "Hitler Didn't Go Far Enough" or something similar.) -- and I won't go there. All the same, I must be careful that I do not impose my own politics and personal values upon my students. That is not my mission.
