In the history halls of Northwood, controversial topics are discussed daily. It may be antiquated issues such as slavery or suffrage, or new issues like police brutality, legalization of marijuana or abortion. Most recently, the main topic up for debate has been this year’s presidential election. With emotions running high, teachers must decide how necessary it is to keep their political opinions hidden.
According to history teacher Sara Keever, it can be more difficult for certain teachers to remain neutral when discussing politics, as the subject matter is already so integral to the class.
“It’s harder [as a social studies teacher],” Keever said. “I mean, it’s harder to hide yourself and your own beliefs because sometimes it just comes out in the way you talk about things and the information you are emphasizing or want [your students] to know.”
After the outcome of November’s election was announced, teachers and administration had to decide how to handle students’ reactions.
“We were pretty much told by administration that if anybody’s going to talk politics with the kids, it’s the social studies department, so they kind of left it up to us to handle it,” American History teacher Melissa Hayden said.
Sophomore Meera Butalia noticed that it was difficult for some of her teachers to conceal their emotions after the election.
“I had, at least the day after the election, two teachers cry in front of me,” Butalia said. “I feel like in the places that it happened, it was like, ‘I’m sorry for the people who are going to be negatively impacted, and I want them to know as a teacher that this is still a safe space.’ It wasn’t really like anyone was made to feel singled out [for supporting Trump].”
Teachers such as Keever felt like hiding their opinion about the outcome was harder this year than others.
“It was a lot harder to hide how you felt as a teacher [after the election],” Keever said. “Usually, it’s okay. It’s just two different opinions and different ways of doing things, and this time it was a lot harder to hide how you felt.”
Other teachers, such as history teacher Andrew Sandel, who chooses to never share his political affiliations with students, did not find it difficult to hide his personal views.
“For me it was business as usual: try to stick to the curriculum and if they have questions about how things work for certain policies we can talk about it, but I really try to stay middle of the road so they can have an open mind and come up with their own opinions,” Sandel said.
Some students felt that teachers voicing their political opinions would not be the best choice for the student body.
“I feel like [teachers] putting their political beliefs in before the election and doing it in a very formal matter is fine,” senior Hannah Urbas said. “But I think after the election, just saying your opinions can cause strife between students and cause even more separation in the school.”
Other students, such as junior Mariah Shobande, do not see a problem with teachers discussing their political beliefs.
“The difference between a teacher bringing in a political view and a student bringing in a political view is [nothing],” Shobande said. “They have their own beliefs too, and we shouldn’t be like, ‘No you can’t discuss this.’ As long as they aren’t saying anything derogatory to a certain party, it’s fine.”
Senior Cameron Bernstein agrees that as long as teachers remain respectful, they should be able to freely express their beliefs.
“I believe that it should be talked about,” Bernstein said. “You can’t just pretend that politics don’t exist for the sake of not arguing. We’re allowed to have civil debates, as long as it’s not insulting.”
Joseph Kiertekles is a history teacher who believes teachers can share their opinions as long as they are not pressuring students to align with their beliefs.
“I think I shared [my political affiliation] after I taught the class, not during,” Kiertekles said. “I want to be able to play devil’s advocate, share both sides of the story and let students make up their own opinions and minds, rather than forcing or pushing beliefs onto students.”
Sandel believes it is not his place to reveal his political opinions to students.
“I don’t think it’s my place to give them an answer,” Sandel said. “I don’t know, I just feel like I try to remain as neutral as possible, to talk about the facts and if we did talk about the candidates, then I let the kids run the discussion.”
Urbas understands that teachers have their own political affiliations, but believes students can feel out-numbered when a teacher chooses a side.
“I feel like if there’s a student in a certain classroom and a teacher has a different argument than them, and the teacher gives that argument, and the entire class joins in with them, I feel like that student would feel very ganged up on,” Urbas said. “So I feel like someone saying their political belief, if it is a teacher, should not do it in a biased way, so students can learn from it but not feel targeted if they’re in the minority.”
Junior Joseph Crawford also believes that teachers can make students feel singled out by sharing their views.
“A lot of teachers praise certain views and kind of tell people off for just random views that aren’t really hateful,” Crawford said. “[Students] aren’t really rude to a certain minority or anything, they’re just stating, ‘I believe that we should do this instead of this.’ Teachers should kind of stay away from talking about politics unless it’s in their job description.”
Kiertekles agrees that teachers should focus more on the course than their own personal opinions.
“If you like a teacher they could be influential in your life, but I shouldn’t push politics as being influential,” Kiertekles said. “I should push maybe liking the subject of political science and government rather than a particular political party.”
Either way, Hayden believes that the subject matter should be treated with care.
“I know I was not prepared for the bombardment of tears and I had no idea that this is how the kids would take [the election], so it prompted me to definitely stay a lot more neutral, and we were not talking about anything too harmful,” Hayden said. “This isn’t your favorite football team winning or losing. This is people’s lives.”
– By Sara Heilman & Jessica Kolomichuk
