Everyone has a viewpoint. Everyone. On everything. We all have values, beliefs, biases. You name it, we've got it. They shape the way that we see the world, interpret current events and most importantly, they determine how we interact with each other. But, should a teacher disclose his or her values to their students?
Here's the issue. In teaching Social Studies, there's a lot of controversy. Should we have dropped the Atomic Bomb? Was Roe v. Wade a good decision? Does Reaganomics work? Is George Bush a bad president? In the past, I've tried to always keep a certain neutrality in my teaching. The educational theory goes like this...you should never disclose your views to your students, for it will shape how they view the issue. You might have students try to get a good grade by adopting your opinion. Or, you might have a student accuse you of harshly grading them because they disagreed with your views. I see those points, but I have my doubts.
Would it be better to disclose my views and biases to my students? I mean, listen, I'm a pretty political person. I'm seriously addicted to the news. If I could mainline The Drudgereport, I probably would. Don't my students have a right to know where I stand? Should they know that because I'm a liberal / moderate / conservative, I see things a certain way? At least then, they could say, "well, he's a typical ________, so forget what he said!"
Your thoughts?
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yes, your students have a right to know where you stand. everyone is entitled to everyone's opinion in political science, the class is built on debate and arguing which requiring numerous different views. yes, there's always the possibility that a student will be influenced by your opinion and modify his own in order to gain your approval. it is also possible that a student will disregard your opinion as typical "liberal" (i think) propaganda and therefore declare it invalid. Does the same thing not occur in real life politics in washington dc? it is the nature of politics and it will continue happening either in a classroom or on capitol hill. As you stated in your post, everyone has a viewpoint, why should anyone be forced to hide it.
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