Politics Belong in the Classroom; Teacher Political Bias Does Not

Photo and Story By Lila Qualteri

In today’s world, it is clear that people take a larger part in politics than ever before. Specifically adolescents. The topic of politics comes up extremely often in everyday conversation between peers, whether it is a comment here and there about what’s happening in a specific area, or it is an in-depth conversation on belief systems. Regardless, politics have never been talked about like they are today. Unfortunately, it is such a charged conversation that many students risk losing relationships with friends, family, faculty, and more just for political beliefs.

Because the world changes so rapidly, it is nearly impossible to keep politics out of the conversation. However, this, of course, raises the question of teachers. Is it appropriate for teachers to show a political bias in the classroom?

Especially in high schools, students need to learn about politics. The world moves around them, and they are the ones who will be taking it over eventually, so naturally, they must learn. However, it is the teacher’s responsibility, as an educator, to make sure that they feel safe to express their opinions and find their positions.

Historically, the Democratic Party has shown more support for the public education system. Because of this, approximately 58% of K-12 public school teachers identify themselves as Democrats, while around 35% lean toward the Republican party, according to Pew Research Center. These diverse views are what make it possible to teach politics in the classroom, and of course, we cannot expect both students and teachers to bow to each other’s beliefs simply because of fear. So, how does it harm students when teachers show their opinions?

Many students report that they feel uncomfortable when their teachers have an obvious political bias in the classroom. Teachers showing a clear political bias towards one party or another hinders what students write about, read about, and believe. A Harvard youth poll shows that one-third of students feel uncomfortable sharing their political opinions on campus. The study shows that Democratic students are least likely to feel this way, and many will participate in political activities such as rallies, protests, or student alliances.

Despite this, all students who face bias can have issues with making their political opinions known at any time. This hindrance to sharing political opinions is not due to a lack of political participation, of course, as about half of these young adults said they would vote in the 2024 presidential election.

Teachers sharing political bias is not only intimidating to their students, but it is also not protected under the First Amendment. The 2006 Supreme Court case Garcetti v. Ceballos concluded that teachers are not able to make political remarks with insulation from the First Amendment. The fact remains that politics are becoming increasingly talked about as they should be. Especially with social media presence growing and affecting adolescents more and more, it is important that students feel like they can learn things about the political landscape from an unbiased source. Students should feel free to ask questions, debate, and discover, without fear of isolation from their peers, and especially not from a staff member.

Teachers of all people need to be someone students can turn to and trust. Teachers eliminating their political bias from the classroom create students who are confident and well informed in their beliefs, and students who can understand the beliefs of others. The removal of political ideology from the classroom gives students more room to learn, teachers more room to teach, and makes school a better place to be.