I notice during an internship that I have for another class that some students that attend the school I am at talk alot about the war that is beginning. This is a hard subject to talk about, because you don't want to express any political views to your students and you don't want to bring up religion either. Is the best thing to do just to be quiet, or should you say it isn't appropriate to talk about at school? Let me know what you guys think?

i don't think teachers should let that take precedence over the class objectives, but the war is definitely an issue that cannot and must not be ignored. as teachers we should be interested in the wellness of our students, this includes keeping them from too much fear and confusion because of the war.

the only thing i can think to do is just make sure many view points are expressed, even if that means expressing opinions based on views that you do not believe. also make sure no student disrespects another.

it is definitely an intimidating situation; if handled incorrectly it could damage students' perceptions of free speech and free thought.

I wish that more people would have responded to this inquiry bcause I too am at a loss. I have thought many times about what I would do in my elementary classroom in response to the war in Iraq and I still do not know. There is a lot of anxiety in the world right now and I'd want to provide an arena for the students to discuss their feelings. I'd want to teach them that war is not a game and not something to be taken lightly, but I fear it would increase their anxiety. It is just very disturbing to me when I hear little boys talk about "bomb Saddam" as if it is just that easy. Writing to soldiers may give children an opportunity to feel involved, and maybe more importantly writing to other children in the Middle East to promote understanding and friendship. I suppose I do have a political agenda to push and that is one of PEACE. Is that so wrong? What is wrong with peace? Is it really anti-american? I just want students to grow up to be adults who think twice before going to war. Right or wrong war is hell, and this is one thing that is usually left out of the curriculum.

This is a really touchy topic. I think that Lauren brought up some very good points that I agree with in her post. It's hard to get into an issue like the war in Iraq without turning it into a debate or something that could create tension in the classroom. As a high school English teachers, I think that my classroom should be a place where everyone can share their feelings openly and their opinions. But, I think that it will be hard to get into a topic as controversial as this one without some bad things happening- people being offended, etc. So, I guess keeping your classroom open for students to vent their frustrations, feelings, and opinions is important, but you should know your limits and always keep control over the class. Also, remain neutral as a teacher. You can guide a discussion without involving your opinion too much and just let the class work through what they feel about it by listening respectively to their classmates.

I think this is a good topic to remain nuetral on, especially while teaching a diverse group of students. I feel that it is the parent(s) job to answer their children's questions and concerns. If these issues are addressed within the classroom I would just state factual information-otherwise, i really do not know.

If I was teaching elementary school i would suggest making care packages and writing letters to our troops!

Think of all the academic reasons you can give a parent for writing letters to troops in your classroom. I think that my problem is that a lot of parents do not wish for their kids to know anything about the war, and although I think that they should know what's going on in the world to an extent, I want to obey the parents' wishes. Therefore, I would have lots of parental communication before I started into this subject, and once I got permission, I would try to integrate the war into other activities. I feel that if a parent knows how I would teach the war, that I'm not going to be biased, and that the war would be integrated into academic activities such as letter writing, maybe the parents would be supportive of their children learning what's going on. However, whether or not the parents talk to their kids about the war, the kids are going to know something is up from the media. While I do want to have kids able to discuss their feelings, I do not want to put my job on the line because a parent is angry, so the more communication with them, the better. Definitely not an easy topic or an easy answer, and I can say whatever I want to now, but it'll be different when we're actually faced with the situation.