Politics In The Classroom

“It was all pretty exciting.  Somehow, in the middle of all the campaigning, I landed a job teaching second grade. I knew I had to make some decisions that my teaching career came first and political activity would definitely be second.”

Sue met her mentor about a month before school started. It was just before the 2008 Democratic and Republican Party conventions. Her mentor, Jill, equally shared her enthusiasm for “all things political” but also agreed that Sue needed to set her priorities straight as the fall political scene was going to be nothing less than intense; Jill suggested that Sue’s second grade class should be front and center.

“Jill was going to be a great mentor for me.  We had a lot in common, not only with our teaching philosophies, but a shared vision of the direction where our country was headed. She gave me lots of cool ideas to help set up my room.  We immediately established a text-messaging friendship and corresponded often via emails.  I was really comfortable talking to Jill with quick messages; we were in constant communication. I was amazed on how fast she would respond to my questions with all the concerns I had about my students. I felt I could really let my guard down and inform her about all my ups and downs in the classroom.”

But Sue quickly felt that Jill was less than forthcoming about her openness and honesty. Even though she felt she was doing a terrific job as a first year teacher, she was getting comments from other teachers, as well as the curriculum director, that perhaps some of her teaching methods and activities were not in line with the school’s philosophy on teaching.  Although she got along with her
fellow staff members, Sue began to wonder how they knew what her teaching practices and methods were without them ever being in her classroom. Some of the comments were positive, though many were more like, “Well, Sue, we just don’t do things that way here.”

“I began to think that private emails to my mentor were were being copied and forwarded to other staff members.  I’m not sure why or if Jill would do that, but I wasn’t sure how to approach her.  With the fall campaign season coming to a fever pitch, I wanted to involve my students in the election process.  I thought second graders would be able to handle the basic concepts.  Besides which, I had stacks of election materials that I could pass out.”

Before long, Sue was getting comments from the principal about her political activities in the classroom.  The principal questioned where the election lessons stood with the curriculum goals and objectives, though he had not been in her classroom much that fall.  In fact, she thought he was forming many ideas about her classroom techniques but had only made one formal visit in September.

“Could my mentor be ‘spying’ on me? Was she jealous of my lessons and trying to sabotage my position in the school? I’m not the paranoid type, but somehow I wasn’t sure what to do next. Do I confront her or just go easy on the text messaging and e-mails?”

Questions

1) Was Sue correct to think that her mentor was, in fact, a spy and not keeping her emails private?

2)  Generally speaking, what are the privacy policy issues with sharing staff emails?  Are they to really be treated like public “post cards” as many contend?

3) How should Sue continue her relationship with her mentor if she feels that her confidence and trust level has been tarnished?

Another Look

Sue’s political involvement outside of school is admirable and well within her rights, but there is a fine line between teaching students about the election process and campaigning in her classroom that she does not want to cross.  Teaching students about their civic duties as citizens is an appropriate, important activity, but if Sue were to campaign for a candidate or influence the political beliefs of her students, she may be crossing ethical and legal lines that could cost her the teaching job that she loves.

A Time magazine article conveys how fine the line can be between teaching students about democracy and campaigning for (or against) a candidate.  Many school districts have policies against displaying campaign signs or wearing campaign buttons.  During the 2008 Presidential campaign, the New York City teachers union filed “a temporary restraining order against a district policy that bars teachers from wearing campaign buttons in the city's public schools. The prohibition, union officials argue, is a violation of teachers' First Amendment rights to free speech and political expression.”   Many school districts have similar laws to New York City’s public schools.  In the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system “employees are allowed to endorse candidates as long as it is outside the classroom, on their off-duty time. Teachers can't do this at school.  Teachers may (and should) encourage students to be informed about politics. But teachers aren't allowed to endorse a candidate or a political party during class, for instance, or to send notes home to parents in support of a candidate.”

In some cases, the line is easy to draw because the actions of the teacher are completely inappropriate.  Time magazine cites an example of a teacher writing a racial slur on the blackboard about Barack Obama.  But what about more hazy issues like a teacher that invites her students to her wedding?  In a San Francisco case, the teacher in question is a lesbian.  Does this action promote same-sex marriage, or is it a lesson in acceptance and diversity, or simply a caring teacher wanting her students to celebrate a milestone in her life.  The principal at this school, Liz Jaroflow explains “that the nuptials were a ‘teachable moment’ and pointed out that students who did not have parental permission to attend the event had the option of joining another classroom instead. ‘It's certainly an issue I would be willing to put my job on the line for,’ she said.”  i
Clearly this is a polarizing event, but did it cross ethical or legal boundaries?

Some teachers will opt to never discuss political points of view with students, but what about with other teachers?  The Higley Unified School District in Arizona punished teachers for using school e-mail to discuss politics.  The teachers wanted “to promote the extension of a seven-year budget override to support their schools - a violation of state education laws and the district's ethics policy.”  The teachers were sending e-mails to the local newspaper supporting the increase of the budget.  The district chose to take disciplinary action even though “teacher activism like this happens in nearly every district, and it is legal.  It is illegal, though, when a teacher utilizes work time, the work place or other district resources to promote a political effort.”  There was a public outcry as well because of the fact that the budget increase would also increase teacher salaries.  This conflict of interest made many taxpayers within the district upset.

New teachers may not know the ethics policies put into place by school districts to deter teachers from political activity during the school day.  It is up to mentors to redirect inappropriate political activity and to make new teachers aware of political stances that may make waves in the district.  While discussing our nation’s political system is an essential part of our school systems, all teachers must consider the ramifications of politicking their personal viewpoints, not only for their own personal job security but because of the impact teachers have on students.  All teachers have a strong influence on their students.  We must be careful about how we express and emphasize our personal beliefs as ours is a place of power in the lives of children.