Discuss the Impact of politics on educational curriculum?

Answer 1

There are two ways to look at this question. One refers to the addition of politics to the curriculum. Years ago, before the internet, 24/7 cable news, and smart-phones, politics was rarely discussed, except in a civics and government class in high school, or in Political Science courses in college. Talking politics was perceived as potentially inflammatory in elementary, middle and high schools, all of which have generally tried to avoid controversy. The reason is that even the most bland discussion of current events can lead to complaints from parents, when a perspective that someone disagrees with gets introduced-- during the Iraq War, there were newspaper reports of teachers being fired for expressing their opposition to the war. And when President Obama gave a 2009 back-to-school speech (about staying in school and studying), some anti-Obama partisans demanded that the speech not be shown in those schools, and it was not broadcast to those students. However, there has been some expansion at the college level: with politics and politicians so ubiquitous in the culture, colleges have found that teaching about political campaigns and political rhetoric can fit into journalism courses, media analysis courses, public speaking courses, social problems and sociology courses, and American history and government courses.

The other way to consider this question is the role of political viewpoints on textbooks. Historically, many textbook companies have presented a pro-America (and some would say Eurocentric) point of view about subjects like History; students are taught that America was usually right and other countries were wrong in most wars, and some of the shameful moments in American history (such as how we treated slaves, or how we took Indian lands) were glossed over. But these days, in many conservative states, entire curriculum has been rewritten to reflect a political rather than a historical point of view. Texas is a good example: Christian conservatives demanded (and got) a number of deletions to the science and history curriculum, reflecting their particular beliefs about evolution, and about America as a supposed "Christian nation." In Arizona, courses and texts that were said to promote anti-American views were eliminated, as were text-books that promoted pride in being Hispanic rather than American. And there is an on-going battle with school boards in a number of cities, as they try to ban the teaching of evolution or insist upon having Bible and theology taught in science class.

Answer 2

politics is absurd regarding education.