By Talia Isaacs
In high school, I often found myself the political “odd one out” in class. Surrounded by political conservatives, I never felt like my progressive views were represented in any of the educational institutions I attended. This was isolating, and I often felt attacked and singled out by my teachers. I was different, and everybody knew it, especially me.
Much to my surprise, when I got to Yeshiva University, I actually found my beliefs and values represented in the classroom for the first time. Professors were teaching my opinions as part of their course curriculums. At first, I was ecstatic; I had finally found a space of like-minded peers and professors, something I had all but given up on. It was the first time in my life that I didn’t feel alienated in the classroom.
However, after the initial excitement wore off, I realized that this new development was less positive than I had originally thought. The same way I’d felt ostracized in high school for having different opinions from my teachers, my peers were now being ostracized for the same reason. For the first time in my life, I felt safe and seen in class, and for the first time in theirs, they felt attacked and dismissed. In fact, at times the polarization is so bad that my friends and I will not sign up for certain classes, just because the professor is so politically charged and unaccepting of different views. All of this begs the question: Is it appropriate for professors to share their political opinions in class?
I recall a particular class where the professor argued that pseudoscientific conservative rhetoric and misinformation about vaccines caused a disproportionate amount of unnecessary deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic among Republicans specifically. He claimed that hundreds of thousands more Republicans died than Democrats throughout the pandemic. Even though that statistic may have been true, the reason he ascribed to the discrepancy may not have been. Regardless, the statement undoubtedly alienated any Republican or conservative-identifying students in the class, claiming that their political ideology was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
What was the purpose of bringing these statistics to class? To demonize the Right? To place blame? Studies were inconclusive as to whether or not anti-vaccination rhetoric was a large contributing factor to the difference in death toll. Even if it was, was this a productive and respectful way to introduce the idea of medical misinformation in politics?
I wonder if there is a way that professors can share their opinions respectfully without ostracizing students, or if it is even possible for professors to remain completely neutral on a given topic, especially one they are passionate about.
It is our professors’ job to teach us information and help us think critically – they should be teaching us how to think, not what to think. However, being completely objective and neutral may not be possible. Does adding in one’s own opinion enhance the lesson, or just divide the classroom? Is it really possible to make the classroom a safe space for everyone?
After talking to many of my peers, we all seem to agree that professors’ opinions do not belong in course curriculum, but avoiding it at all times may not be feasible. The best professors allow us to draw whatever conclusions we see fit based on the information we’re given, constantly challenging us along the way to refine our own positions with sound logic and empirical data.
One professor I feel really achieved this end was Rabbi J.J Schacter, who would present all of the halachic opinions across the Orthodox spectrum and allow us to choose whichever one resonated with us most. He would neither agree nor disagree with the opinion of any individual student, but rather teach us to stand up to scrutiny of our beliefs by constantly challenging our positions. By never revealing his own opinions, he ensured we would not be influenced in the formation of our own. Of course, at times, it was impossible to be one hundred percent neutral and objective, but he worked hard to make the classroom a safe and welcoming place for students of all backgrounds and all levels of religious observance.
Ultimately, it is probably unrealistic to expect professors to be entirely unbiased, and despite their best efforts to be objective, I imagine something they say will always alienate someone. Still, professors should make an effort to avoid teaching their own personal opinions as part of the course material. Instead, they should give respectful, comprehensive explanations for both sides of an argument, and do their best to welcome differences in beliefs among their students.
When the classroom is a comfortable environment for everyone, students will learn and thrive. A professor’s goal should be to teach their students, and students cannot learn if they are afraid to even enter the classroom.