Issue: Opinions in the Classroom

Teachers in some area school districts have openly campaigned for school board candidates and complained about district decisions. Others have been outspoken on topics from abortion to the presidential election. Considering their influence, is it right for teachers to express opinions on controversial subjects in the classroom?

Jose D. Lopez, Compton High School senior

I think teachers should say what they think about things because it informs the students and opens up the question to debate. If they don’t open up the questions, we become ignorant of what is happening in the world. And I don’t think students are so naive as to accept everything a teacher says as fact. Like, we were reading “Paradise Lost” in class and the book brought up all kinds of religious subjects, like creation versus evolution, and the devil. There was some talk that maybe the devil has sex with Eve, and that was really what the apple from the tree of knowledge was all about. Some of the students were quiet during the discussion and the teacher thought maybe they were disturbed by the talk. But I think you have to discuss things like that. One teacher was telling us about the politics behind the school board and about how there was money (misspent) in the school district. Then I knew why some teachers and secretaries were getting pink slips. So I understood better what was happening around me. That’s how we learn.