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ESL forum >
Message board > Politics in class
Politics in class
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aliciapc
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Politics in class
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Hi all! I �ve been wondering what you teachers do in your countries when a political issue comes up in class. Do you give your opinion? Do you tell the st that it �s not a suitable topic for class time? I �m just being curious, here we are not supposed to "take sides" when we are in class, just state facts in any case but no opinions - I think it could cause problems if we did otherwise... What do you think ? |
25 Nov 2010
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magneto
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I generally try to avoid such discussions in class; they might end up in arguments and quarrels between students. However, if the students insist on discussing such issues, I simply answer any question on my opinion saying "My opinion is irrelevant. I don �t want to be accused of trying to �convert � you to my ideas."
I have to admit, though, that when I see some, for example, racist attitudes, I do try to subtly guide them to another way of thinking by suggesting counter-arguments in a casual, conversational tone...I try to avoid letting them understand that this is what I firmly believe in and that their attitudes make me angry.
But I must say that I �ve noticed students can pretty much understand where teachers stand, even if we make no comments on such issues. They have a sort of "sixth" sense about these things.
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25 Nov 2010
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GIOVANNI
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I think it is very important to know the political views of the world around us. This is one way of understading what is happening in the world. However, in my classes I try to avoid politics about my country, due to the fact that I live in a country where there is sometimes issues between the French and English language.
If the subject does come up about politics in another country and I am asked to comment, I simply state "I read or heard...... but, it is not necessarily my opinion". |
25 Nov 2010
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aliciapc
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You �re right about the "sixth sense", Elpida. And Nancy, the same happens here with some issues, for example the dictatorship we had that ended 25 years ago. Some sts have relatives on both "sides" so it �s hard to say no when they want to talk about it, but I guess sometimes we should, not give opinions that may lead to arguments but try to put sts � critical thinking to work ... Thank you for your opinions  |
25 Nov 2010
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Chilvis
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I work at a private Language school and I have a small group of only 3 teenage boys who started talking about politics after our ex-president died some weeks ago.
I didn �t like this man very much as I don �t usually trust any politicians but my students started to mention great things they were told this man did. I realised they were just repeating what they had heard either from their parents or on TV, that they had been brainwashed so I talked a bit with them. I told them my position but I also told them I don �t know much about politics and that it was just my personal feeling, that I respected theirs and that it �s very important to listen to all sides and not to believe anything they hear; that even the media responds (in same cases) to economic matters and tells us what they want us to know.
As you said, there are always different sides and what is good for some people may be terrible for others as in the case of a dictatorship or when passing some laws.
I think we can �t avoid our reality inside the classroom, even though we have to limit it to just a few minutes and then go on with the syllabus but I was very happy to hear them discussing these issues because they are very young and I think it �s great they are interested in what �s going on around us and not only music or video games.
I even use these topics to have some discussions in English with young adults. We discussed the passing of the gay marriage law and the news about the miners in Chile. I never had any problems but it was always with small groups and I think they understand (If not I tell them) they are free to give their opinion but, at the same time, they have to respect the others...
sometimes we end up talking about things we had never imagined but isn �t it great to be able to use the real context to put the language into practise?
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26 Nov 2010
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