The Political Classroom or can we ever teach citizenship again?

2015-01-13

We live in an age in which everything has become politicized. The coffee we drink, the food we eat, the shows and movies we watch, and the cars we buy,all seem to convey some kind of political message.Where once these things represented class, or taste, or education, today it’s all about politics. Even in non-partisan races, political ideology becomes the central issue.So what impact does this have on our ability to teach politics, or citizenship or democracy or even science in the classroom? ...

We live in an age in which everything has become politicized. The coffee we drink, the food we eat, the shows and movies we watch, and the cars we buy,

all seem to convey some kind of political message.

Where once these things represented class, or taste, or education, today it’s all about politics. Even in non-partisan races, political ideology becomes the central issue.

So what impact does this have on our ability to teach politics, or citizenship or democracy or even science in the classroom? Paula McAvoy examines not only the impact, but a way into this discussion that can perhaps transcend or even co-opt our partisan divide. She details it in The Political Classroom: Evidence and Ethics in Democratic Education.

My conversation with Paula McAvoy:

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