By Wesley Cipolla Apparently, teachers aren’t allowed to mention their political beliefs in the classroom. You could’ve fooled me. I’m lucky enough to have teachers who are not afraid to talk about their problems with the way the school system is run, whether it be in this district, state or country. When teachers say that they struggle to understand the current state of the country, I am grateful because not only do we have the chance to have a conversation about it, but by admitting that they don’t have all the answers they are unwittingly teaching healthy self-reflection to their students (some of whom, might I add, definitely need it). With all the political talk in my classes I was surprised to find out that it was taboo. It absolutely shouldn’t be. The best high school teachers encourage discussions that allow students to have the chance to talk amongst themselves and with the teacher. The very best high school teachers challenge students’ beliefs and get them to see different perspectives, instead of letting faulty evidence or reasoning slip by. The absolute cream of the crop of high school teachers engage in debate as the students challenge them and defend their opinions. Teachers are human, as surprising as that may be when you consider how many papers they grade. Allowing them to express themselves emotionally with students, and allowing the students to talk back, can be a great thing. The real learning comes in when knowledge is used with other people to achieve a greater understanding of the world. Through having conversations with people, and getting acquainted with their knowledge, you see a different point of view than what you're accustomed to. Today’s group of high school seniors are going into a dangerous world -- in fact, so were yesterday’s, and so will tomorrow’s. To arm them, we need to let them have conversations about the issues that will affect them, with the people who are trusted to be their mentors. Teachers are, by-and-large, a reasonable bunch. My classmates will be voting not too soon, and they shouldn’t be going in blind. I was ecstatic when I saw a teacher bring a newspaper into the class and open it up, saying, “Did you see this?” and “What did you think?” I didn’t see a teacher. I saw a warrior, wielding the sword of conversation to slay the dragon of ignorance, the hydra of online junk-food news, the chimera of silence. These are the conversations that need to happen if we want a world run by thoughtful, dedicated people. How can those people happen if their teachers aren’t even allowed to state their beliefs about how that world is being run now? Who knows; if we let teachers speak, maybe even the teachers will learn something as well. Photos Courtesy Of: Public Domain Pictures; thebluediamondgallery.com
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Elena Caputo
Hi! My name is Elena, and I'm a senior at Wilson and one of the Editors of the Editorial section. If you have any questions or ideas or if you want to write, email me at [email protected]! Olivia MonosHello! My name is Olivia and I'm a junior this year, and one of the editors of the Editorial section! I'm really excited to write for the Paw Print again this year!
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