With the election right around the corner, more and more students are speaking out about their political views and opinions. While students in government, economics and history classes are encouraged to share their views, teachers have it the other way around.

In order to not influence students’ opinions or potentially offend a student, teachers are urged to remain unbiased when discussing politics in class.

“I think teachers and faculty need to be unbiased when talking about politics. First of all, it is a legally gray area to use school resources and money to campaign, and what exactly constitutes ‘campaigning’ is not always as clear as one might think. I also think that in many cases, students trust their teachers, and take what they say to heart and as factual,” Mr. Josh Clark, Social Studies, said.

Teachers found that trying to remain indifferent about candidates and policies is the best option because a lot of their students are undecided and need to hear both side of the story.

“I try to not share [my views] on anything. Sometimes I will catch myself quoting from one candidate more than another because that’s the one I follow more. I try to not do that or try to research both of them, so I can present both viewpoints when we’re talking about a trade issue or talking about taxes or something,” Ms. Rachel Underwood, Social Studies, said.

Another way teachers keep their own opinions out of class is to instead turn the discussion to the students and let them debate together.

“I let [the students] talk in a debate because that’s fine, and I encourage that. When we watch the CNN Student News, it talks a lot about the election, so it does feed into a lot of conversations about [politics]. We have to be careful, I think, when we say things [like], ‘this is the fact, this is the fact’ and let them decide for themselves,” Mr. Joe Bafia, Social Studies, said.