Talking to your kids about Politics
Do your kids know who you plan to vote for? How much politics do you talk about with your kids? My oldest has been asking and I seriously don't know where my vote is going and I told her that, This opened the door to who she likes and why. She's in an effective citizenship class (9th grade social studies) and her teacher there has been pushing the Obama agenda which is no suprrise but I don't know that that's right either. She's an idealist and her points of views are interesting to listen to esp social issues. I never knew where my parents stood on politics, My dad used to call himself a conservative liberal or liberal conservative, Lol and mom was a staunch conservative but politics was hugely personal too. Nowadays it's all over facebook and party divides do seem to be something people talk about more. Thoughts?
Pages
My eldest (7) came home and announced that he was voting for Obama because "Robney" was going to get rid of PBSKids. I hadn't done much specific issue discussions with my kids, but when that came home we had a rather in depth conversation about values and the way government works. I teach a full unit of propoganda and media bias, so my kids will be getting an earful on just about every topic as they age - especially politics.
Yes, I like to hear what my kids think too, Even my 9 YO had opinions about this past election! The whole thing about politics IMO is that there's no one right answer but I do believe individuals should be prepared to defend why they support a particular candidate or issue even if it is personal! I respect my parents for shielding their political favortism, Some people still live by that rule.
Not sure how we moved to teachers talking about politics.
As far as my own conversations with my own children, they are plentiful. I often ask them what they think. I tell them why people on either side believe what they do. I tell them what I believe. My 16 year old daughter and I had a lengthy - and intelligent - conversation about whether or not marijuana should be legalized. She had very valid points, and I recognized that I was getting emotional, and when I was able to explain my fear of her and my other children using it and getting into trouble. I have also discussed everything from war to the economy to social issues with my other children, ages 3-15.
We are able to back up and discuss the philosophical, legal and moral issues around it. I would hate for my children to be sheltered from politics. My 15 year old son said he'd move to another country if the candidate he didn't support won the election. I made sure to tell him that we are all citizens and we all have a responsibility to our country and if you don't like what someone is doing, you need to stay and fight for change.
In a few short years our children will be responsible for voting, and they need to know what it's all about.
I don't know about firing teachers who bring up politics. There's a respectful way to discuss real world issues in the classroom, one that makes all sides feel comfortable expressing their opinions, but it's pretty rare to see a teacher who can do this. What I hate is so-called "political correctness" (a term coined by Stalin, ironically) that implies that liberalism is the only valid political POV. This is very common in academia, starting at the elementary school level! It's not only anti-conservative, but anti-intellectual.
Thank You deenasdad, And I agree that no teacher should be shoving their narrow views onto students but it goes on and they do. My kids do know where my values lie but my values aren't necessarily the indicator of where my vote goes either, You're right two liberals side by side (or conservatives) could have completely different values. I want my kids forming their own opinions and I want them to know how to defend them too. I try to stay away from the culture of poverty but there's a lot of it my kids see in the community, It would be so easy to call welfare the garbage of a system it is.
edited.
The poor in this country actually have quite a lot...but perhaps it would be better to try to address the issue through charity and government training programs rather than by legislating institutional "poverty."
I think you need to open a dialogue with your kids 9of the appropriate age) about politics...especially if you're a conservative or a person of faith. There is a LOT of teachers inappropriately pushing a liberal agenda down our kids throats and it's up to the parents to combat that indoctrination. Even if you're a liberal, it doesn't necessarily mean that the teacher doing the indoctrination shares your values. Frankly, if it were up to me I'd immediately fire every teacher who raised political issues in school outside of a poly-sci class. I sent my kids to school to learn the "three Rs"...not be brainwashed.
Pages