ELT News Think Tank

This Month's Think Tank Panel

Marc Helgesen

Peter Viney

Curtis Kelly

Chuck Sandy

Chris Hunt

Panelists: Chuck | Peter | Marc | Curtis | Chris
Date: April 2005

Topic: "Should a teacher bring his or her politics and religion into the classroom?"

Walk into my office. Have a look around. Within a few moments you'll see where I stand. The images, artwork, and symbols that you'll see displayed there will tell you something about my interests, my politics, and my religious beliefs. If you want to know more about these things, I'll be happy to tell you because I firmly believe that it is the whole person who teaches, and I want you to know who I am. If you ask about why I have a cross on my door, I'll tell you that I'm a Christian and that this particular cross is one my grandmother made for me long ago. If you ask more, I'll tell you more. I'll even tell you why I'm a Christian and what it means to me.

“Ask me anything, and I'll tell you what I believe and where I stand. I won't hesitate for a moment...”

Likewise, ask about the peace symbol on my wall, and I'll not only tell you that this print was made for the Unicorn Press in 1958 by the pacifist poet Kenneth Patchen, but I'll also tell you that I am a pacifist, too, and why. Ask me anything, and I'll tell you what I believe and where I stand. I won't hesitate for a moment, and if you ask, we'll likely connect in a way that will deepen our relationship and our understanding of each other. It will be good for both of us. You will have to ask, though. I'm not going to tell you otherwise.

Although I firmly believe that it is the whole person who teaches, I also firmly believe that it is not in anyone's best interests for language teachers ­ or any kind of teacher for that matter ­ to bring their politics or religion into the classroom in an overt manner. I don't do it, and I feel very uncomfortable with teachers who do. No one has signed up for my courses in order to learn more about Jesus or to be swayed by my version of politics. They're in my courses to develop their language skills or to learn more about linguistics or literature. This is what they expect, and this is what I am, in fact, morally obliged to provide them.

At the same time, however, I'm also morally obliged by my belief system to be nothing but who I fully am in the classroom. How can I, then, as a Christian and a person of conscious, hold this deep part of me back from my students? Clearly, I can't and I don't. While I don't overtly talk about my religion or my politics in the classroom, I do consciously choose materials and activities that reflect my values. This doesn't mean that I use or design Christian or pacifist materials and activities. It does mean, however, that I avoid anything that would promote conflict or glorify violence in any way. It also means that I strive to deflect whatever conflicts or signs of intolerance that might rise up among my students. It further means that I try hard to treat anyone in my classroom or workplace kindly and with fairness. Of course, I am not always successful at this, and when I realize I am not, I ask for forgiveness and another chance to make things right. Rather than talk without prompting about my beliefs I try to live them, and by doing so I feel I am able to give my students more than mere talk about my beliefs could provide.

"Don't draw a line. Be the line," the poet Cid Corman once wrote to me in a letter about teaching. What he meant was that it is not enough for teachers to draw a line by talking about where they stand or what they believe, for such a line of talk means nothing in any case unless it is lived. It's not easy advice to follow, but it's the right stance to take.

Panelists: Chuck | Peter | Marc | Curtis | Chris

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Chuck Sandy, Chubu University

Co-author of two series from CUP, Passages and Connect

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