June 9, 2004
by Daniel Brujis

Teachers must not "teach" opinion
Most kids in this school will happily and loudly shout out their views when politics are discussed. Most of the time, these debates are some of the most interesting and memorable class periods we have. But sometimes, some teachers tend to include their views in the discussions.

To what extent can they do this? What is a teacher’s position in this situation? Does s/he “teach” his/her views to students or simply share them as “just another point of view?”

A teacher’s point of view is always respected and appreciated by the students, but they should leave these issues open to discussion and allow students to have and express their own opinions. While in many cases teachers can successfully contribute to discussions without imposing their personal political and ethical beliefs, sometimes they can be very smothering.

Some days ago, during drisha minyan, we started out discussing the history of segregation and “separate but equal” rulings. Our minyan leader then showed us the front page of The Washington Post, which had an article on the gay marriages in Massachusetts. The leader compared the issue of same-sex marriages to that of ending legalized segregation.

She discussed the “uncomfortable” feeling around gay marriages, saying that legalizing gay marriage is morally necessary. Likewise, in her view, ending segregation was initially uncomfortable before becoming accepted.

By doing this, I felt that she was too-strongly implying the idea that allowing same sex unions is the right thing to do. While I am personally for gay marriages, I felt that this was an inappropriate statement to make in a JDS classroom. This was a clear case of a teacher preaching political and ethical beliefs to a group of students, and not just leading an objective discussion.

While her intentions might have been to start a discussion on the matter, which was not entirely successful, the “lecture” ended shortly after her point was made, and without any rebuttal. I could not help but feel that she had done nothing but throw her own view on us.

Political discussions are a very positive thing at JDS, and I think it is very good for teachers to step out of the curriculum from time to time to conduct them. But serious considerations, if not precautions, have to be taken by the faculty to keep the line between participation and sermon clear.

I am sure that there are some students who might actually take offense to the comparison between the end of segregation, which has come to be considered an absolutely correct act, and gay marriages, which to some are unholy and forbidden by God.

Political discussions in class are good and we should continue to have them, but we must avoid them becoming “lectures.”

There could definitely be forums where teachers, as well as students, can have debates and can present their points of view in assertive and persuasive manners, but these should be optional and separate from class.