Should politics be discussed in school?

Berkley+and+Suhaan+engage+in+a+sophisticated+conversation+about+politics

Hector Baltazar

Berkley and Suhaan engage in a sophisticated conversation about politics

Politics play a major part in everyone’s lives whether they know it or not, and some people are more engaged in it than others are and this is no different in a school environment. 

But the question is whether such a big topic like politics should be discussed in schools. 

Although some people are fine with having friends of opposite views on politics, this isnt the case for everyone as some people have lost friends because of what party they are affiliated with. Not only that but also political discussions tend to get heated and can cause problems between people. All of this is not ideal in a school environment. 

 Junior, Joaquin Santos has never lost a friend because of politics and when asked if somebody’s political views changes what he thinks of that person and whether he would want to be friends with them he said “No, I still want to be friends with someone who has opposite views because not everyone has the same opinion.”. When asked the final question which was whether politics should be discussed in schools he responded “I think they should because it’s nice to be educated about it,”, he also did mention that it’s important to not get too involved. 

Similarly Sophomore, Ryland Buksar also hasn’t lost a friend due to politics but this is because he isn’t really immersed into the world of politics. When asked whether somebody’s political views changes what he thinks of them as a person and if he would want to be friends with them he said “Well no, I don’t generally care about others political views and I don’t let that get in the way of a friendship, however in a case of them sharing their aloud or however they express their views, that might change how I think of them”. 

What he is saying here is he doesn’t generally care about others’ political views but the way they express those views may change his perspective on them. Finally he was asked whether he thinks politics should be discussed in school in which he replied “I think there should be a class that discusses politics” He did mention that it should be optional however.

 Although students make up the majority of the school, teachers also have an opinion on this topic. Ms. Robinette has lost a friend because of politics but she doesn’t let other people’s views change what she thinks of them. Despite having lost a friend due to politics she still believes politics should be discussed in schools.

Obviously everyone has different experiences with how they have been treated because of their political experiences, what’s yours?