Is this fair?

[MidnightFlyer]

Hi,

I will not reveal further details of my inspiration for this, unless asked (in which case I'll PM you; it is quite interesting (for want of a better word)).

Anyhow, Politics is a subject taught as a dedicated lesson / course in colleges and universities.

During this process, is it correct for teachers to display open hatred towards certain parties / wings and still teach?

Many teachers tend to be left-leaning in the public sector (sorry for the generalisation), but is it fair for them to show bias towards one party / wing and still teach the subject? I would feel rather annoyed if I was being taught politics from scratch by someone who was so open about what they believed.

Would anyone else feel the same?

 

[Greenback]

My Politics lecturer at Uni was very right wing. I think that colleges and Unversities are different from schools. Students need to be challenged in the more adult environment, and they need to challenge lecturers as well.

Subjects such as Politics have no real right or wrong. You can examine how political systems work objectively, but as there is no perfect system, there can be a lot of debate about the positives and negatives of each one. I remember that our discussions regarding the US v UK party political systems were intense, humourous and educational, helped in no small way by the right wing contributions of the man in charge!

It's not as if they are trying to convert people. The idea is that people in colleges and universities are mature enough to come to their own conclusions, and have sufficient intelligence not to be brain washed, as could happen with a school teacher and a nine year old.

 

[newbie babs]

Teachers should be impartial and allow students to debate the subject without putting their own views forward.
This allows students to listen, discuss and gain a knowledge in the subject therefore allowing them to make a personal unbiased decision.

 

[YorkshireRider]

Fair point but i always felt the best teachers at school were the ones with the most enthusiasm for the subject they were teaching. For a teacher to have this enthusiasm then surely they are going to have a strong political view one way or the other which will be difficult for them not to show. I think id rather have a bias teacher who had passion for the subject than maybe one who went through the motions.

 

[SS4]

Impartiality is the name of the game. Yet it's fast becoming a swear word in many circles

 

[ralphchadkirk]

In things like politics where there often is no right or wrong answer, I think it is fair that teachers should be allowed to put forward their own points of view. Of course, this is assuming that they also respect your political views, and do not deride others for having opposing views.

In college, we have lengthy debates about the pros and cons of things like the death penalty, corporeal punishment etc and it really helps not only to have your views challenged, but to also be able to challenge others - including your teachers.

You might as well ask should RE teachers be allowed to express their religion? Yes, I think they should as it aids a better understanding of opposing views.

 

[trentside]

My politics teacher was extremely left leaning, but was willing to listen to other peoples viewpoints and present her own case. This meant there was a great deal of healthy debate, and I felt like this aided my learning.

Is there a non-partisan way of teaching politics? I'm not quite sure.

 

[Schnellzug]

Hi,

I will not reveal further details of my inspiration for this, unless asked (in which case I'll PM you; it is quite interesting (for want of a better word)).

Anyhow, Politics is a subject taught as a dedicated lesson / course in colleges and universities.

During this process, is it correct for teachers to display open hatred towards certain parties / wings and still teach?

Many teachers tend to be left-leaning in the public sector (sorry for the generalisation), but is it fair for them to show bias towards one party / wing and still teach the subject? I would feel rather annoyed if I was being taught politics from scratch by someone who was so open about what they believed.

Would anyone else feel the same?

Yes, I know what you're saying, my Sociology teacher at sixth form college never missed an opportunity to get in a pop at the Tories. I do wonder how they let him go on with it like he did (he was the union rep as well, maybe that's why).

 

[Butts]

A lot of people start off Left Wing when they are young with no responsibilities - witness the number of hooray henry's on the student protests etc.

After Oxbridge moving into a good profession / career and the onset of marriage etc tends to shift them to the right as they are earning good money and start to question what the (sometimes huge) tax they pay is used for.

I would say Public Sector workers on the whole tend to remain more left wing for the duration.

 

[185]

I am politically unbiased. All MPs are fair game.

 

[schwa]

I had a politics lecturer who was obviously not pro-Conservative. Apart from the odd sarcastic comment (and the awful pass rates), it didn't detract too much from the interesting nature of the classes.

 

[jon0844]

Yes, I know what you're saying, my Sociology teacher at sixth form college never missed an opportunity to get in a pop at the Tories. I do wonder how they let him go on with it like he did (he was the union rep as well, maybe that's why).

I had the same when I was at school. Incredibly open teachers moaning about the evils of the Conservatives and how harshly treated they were. I was obviously very young (13/14) at the time, but the school was in a rather affluent Tory-for-life area so perhaps he was trying to convert us (on the assumption that most children there would probably vote as their parents obviously did).

We had at least two strikes that I can remember being off for, but I don't know how many strikes were called off, as I was obviously not quite so interested in daily politics as I am now!

 

[thefab444]

I think trying to teach politics in a completely non-partisan manner would just make it an extremely boring subject, certainly when trying to discuss contemporary political issues rather than political theory. Even when discussing things like Friedman/Hayek vs Keynes etc. it can be difficult to find a completely non-partisan line without resorting to just listing bare facts.

My politics lecturer at college was left-wing, but was always willing to listen to other's arguments, and believe me we had our fair share of communists/uber-right wingers!

 

[Oswyntail]

The trouble is it is not simply a question of listening to other arguments. The teacher should be able to convey those arguments, and analyse them as fairly as the ones they believe in, as well as being able to analyse their own beliefs and put forward the flaws in them. I have known teachers over the years who can do that, but I have known teachers who cannot, who may hold their beliefs passionately, but have been prevented by that passion from doing their job.

 

[313103]

Perhaps i have had the complete political spectrum of teachers, being educated at a inner London comp in the 70s. At the time the school had the most ethnically diverse pupils in London so much so it was headlines of the day (never affected my education and probably made me the way i am now). However that didnt stop at least one teacher who had open rascist attitudes and of extreme right wing bias. Anyway after telling a black female pupil that she should go back home to the jungle and that her kind was disruptive for the education of others, this teacher did not teach again at the school.As me and a few others reported his comment word for word to the Headmaster. It was the very first time i saw open racism.
We also had a teacher who was not affraid to admit he dabbled in being with the same sex, and one teacher who lead a few walkouts of the school, especially when the education authorities refused to do anything about the National Front being outside the school gates giving their muck to the pupils and abusing anyone who wasnt white, people like me were singled out because i made many friends who were black or indian and we use to walk out together.

 

[WestCoast]

My politics teacher is very balanced and will consider each of the viewpoints equally. He's probably slightly pro-conservative but he does not make this explicit in the lessons unless he is giving his personal view. The second year of the course is more about the philosophical concepts surrounding politics and lends itself less to UK party politics of the main parties in Britain.

 

[Schnellzug]

The second year of the course is more about the philosophical concepts surrounding politics and lends itself less to UK party politics of the main parties in Britain.

That's very true; you won't find many philosophical concepts there.

 

[talltim]

Talltim likes this

 

[Butts]

My politics teacher is very balanced and will consider each of the viewpoints equally. He's probably slightly pro-conservative but he does not make this explicit in the lessons unless he is giving his personal view. The second year of the course is more about the philosophical concepts surrounding politics and lends itself less to UK party politics of the main parties in Britain.

Do you also study the politics of the devolved administrations ? ie Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland.

 

[valenta]

In my view teachers should remain impartial throughout, particularly in schools and, yes, still in university as students may not have mature enough to not let other people's political opinions influence them on the ballot paper!

 

[Butts]

In my view teachers should remain impartial throughout, particularly in schools and, yes, still in university as students may not have mature enough to not let other people's political opinions influence them on the ballot paper!

Considering most people who vote in General Elections have only a simplistic grasp of the issues largely sourced from the tabloid press, it wouldn't make a great deal of difference.

 

[Greenback]

As University students are adults they should be perfectly able to make up their own minds when confronted with a wide range of political opinions.

I would hope that the majority of those influenced by the tabloids are not graduates. For me anyway, the most valuable thing I got out of my degree course was the ability to think for myself, and challenge what is presented as truth, especially whent he evidence that is produced is non existence or sparse.

 

[Butts]

As University students are adults they should be perfectly able to make up their own minds when confronted with a wide range of political opinions.

I would hope that the majority of those influenced by the tabloids are not graduates. For me anyway, the most valuable thing I got out of my degree course was the ability to think for myself, and challenge what is presented as truth, especially whent he evidence that is produced is non existence or sparse.

Youv'e hit the nail on the head ... the majority of the electorate are apathetic towards politics or prefer for someone else "to think for them"

 

[valenta]

Considering most people who vote in General Elections have only a simplistic grasp of the issues largely sourced from the tabloid press, it wouldn't make a great deal of difference.

Guess not! But the less people there is to show their views that they have read in newspapers like the Daily Telegraph the better!

 

[Butts]

Guess not! But the less people there is to show their views that they have read in newspapers like the Daily Telegraph the better!

Aside from The Daily Telegraphs political affiliations it's coverage of news and current affairs is far superior to any of the tabloid press.

Outside of The Guardian, The Independent, The Times , The Herald and The Scotsman plus the aforementioned DT there are just "comics" masquerading as newspapers.

 

[WestCoast]

Do you also study the politics of the devolved administrations ? ie Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland.

Yes, one module in the first year of A-Level has a focus on devolution - it's not too specific but you do gain an understanding in this area, particularly the relationship between Westminster and Holyrood. You also learn about the voting systems in each of the devolved administrations.

 

[Butts]

Yes, one module in the first year of A-Level has a focus on devolution - it's not too specific but you do gain an understanding in this area, particularly the relationship between Westminster and Holyrood. You also learn about the voting systems in each of the devolved administrations.

You'll be aware then that all the fuss about people not being able to understand alternative methods to "First Past the Post" is arrant nonsense.

We up here have a different system for just about every poll yet seem to cope ok.

 

[district]

I'm an AS politics student and my teacher is brilliant in that he has his views, we all have ours and we all can talk sensibly about them. Although he doesn't call the Deputy PM Clegg, he refers to him as the liar!

 

[valenta]

Although he doesn't call the Deputy PM Clegg, he refers to him as the liar!

Could think of worse words than that... :roll:

 

[SS4]

I'm an AS politics student and my teacher is brilliant in that he has his views, we all have ours and we all can talk sensibly about them. Although he doesn't call the Deputy PM Clegg, he refers to him as the liar!

Well teachers are supposed to teach fact