The Politics of Education
I know that even the title of this blog is controversial to some. The idea of politics and education mixing is not a savoury thought for most. In our dream world of education many folks view it as a neutral and objective transmission of knowledge from teacher to student where the political issues of the day are absent as students learn and teachers teach.
Unfortunately, this is not reality. Even for those teachers who strive for objective neutrality in the classroom, what and how we choose to teach are inherently political decisions.
For example:
- Teachers make a political decision when they choose to have authoritarian instead of democratic classroom management style.
- Teachers make political decisions when we view students as a mind to be “filled” rather than a student who has ideas to offer and knowledge to share.
- Teachers make political decisions when deciding what stories and topics to be studied in their classroom. Including the stories of Indigenous, LGBTQ2S, and working-class people in our social studies courses are political decisions.
- Teachers make political decisions in establishing a classroom that is safe, welcoming and creates a sense of belonging for diverse students who identify and express themselves in all sorts of ways.
The point is, every decision we make as teachers is a political one. The choice to remain “neutral” or “objective” is just as political as deciding to disavow these values in the classroom. From my experience, I just care to deeply about how so many folks in our society face injustice and inequity. I can’t possibly attempt to to be neutral on the issues of poverty, racism, transphobia and other issues that plague our world. That doesn’t mean I’m telling students what or how to think. Quite the opposite actually because as an educator I’m guided by a code of ethics that empowers me to work with young people to explore the world and engage in a critical education where they not only question the way the world is, but they also start to question my power in the classroom as well. My role is to facilitate conversations, research and learning conditions where all students can thrive. In order to do that, I must ensure that the diversity of my students is represented in their learning. All students deserve to see themselves in their education and that is a political decision that I am happy to make.
Often times folks in education and those working with youth wipe their hands clean of the issues of society, as if they do not impact the four walls of a classroom. A teacher’s job is inherently political. If we are going to advocate for the rights of our students within our classrooms, then we have to make the political decision to advocate against the forms of oppression that limit their rights within our society. Poverty and discrimination based on race, class, gender, sexuality and (dis)ability) impact our students success within our schools.
From my ten years of experience in education across three provinces, I’ve been in many conversations where folks conflate the idea of education being political with teachers using their power in the classroom to indoctrinate their students with the reigning political parties doctrine. This is a horrible and extremely insulting accusation that folks in the public make of teachers. I have never been in an environment where a teacher did this and I could personally care less about any political parties wishes in education. I’m guided by a philosophy and a profession that does not cater to the whims of political parties. To think that teachers engage in this type of practice is ridiculous and let’s give our students a little more credit, they’re not as easily convinced by teachers as many think.
Part of the role of a teacher is to have an understanding about how the world around us works and how that impacts teachers and students. It is our duty as teachers to understand the contradictions that exist within our society and work with our students to teach them that the problems we face can be overcome. Many folks do not see this as part of our work as teachers. That students can be active members of their community and society in working to make it a better place. In my experience, I have found that young people not only care about the issues of the world, but have a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and determination to do something. My philosophy as an educator has most often been to follow the lead of the youth I work with. Because of that, I’ve worked with students on many issues in our local community to try and make a positive impact. Students can learn more by actively engaging in an issue they care about rather than just reading about it in a textbook.
Teachers cannot and must not be afraid of making political decisions. The idea that we are neutral in any of the issues within education is just plain wrong and even damaging to young people. Let’s use the collaborative nature of our profession to create more important dialogue on these issues that will benefit the students that we work so hard for. And yes, for those who know me and have read my blog in the past, teaching for equity and social justice is a political decision. It’s one that I’m happy to make and talk about with folks who are interested in learning more as I firmly believe that social justice education is for everyone. It’s just not objective or neutral.
