When you imagine the best learning space for young people, what comes to mind? I think most would agree that an open-minded, inclusive space comes to mind.
While Clayton High School prides itself on these characteristics, it is not always true. In many cases, Clayton is an open-minded, inclusive space. However, this is not the case for some particular groups at Clayton High School.
Clayton is often criticized as being a bubble. The bubble of Clayton is criticized for being affluent and out of touch with the surrounding areas. While this may be true, another bubble also exists in Clayton. The City of Clayton is very liberal in comparison to surrounding areas.
Due to this disproportion, a lot of Clayton is shielded to the opposing viewpoint, that of a conservative.
At Clayton High School, the majority of students side more with the left end of the political spectrum.
Additionally, many of the teachers at Clayton High School seem to lean towards the left of the political spectrum as well. While there is no problem with the side of the political spectrum that one chooses to affiliate with, it is dangerous when a group finds no push back from the opposing side.
In this high school, it is looked down upon to be conservative, and even more frowned upon to speak up for your conservative beliefs. For example, the Young Republicans Club tries to stay as quiet as possible because they are looked down upon by many other students.
This is unacceptable.
Liberals pride themselves on being the accepting and open-minded group. If they want to call themselves accepting, they must accept everyone including those with different political beliefs.
While students are entitled to speak their mind about their political beliefs, teachers do not have the same ability. Teachers can drastically influence the growth of students.
Teachers are entrusted with a very large amount of responsibility to prepare students for the real world. A teacher has the responsibility to teach the material involved with their class.
In many cases, modern day political events have little to do with the material teachers are tasked with teaching.
In the cases that politics are involved, the teacher has the responsibility of presenting the facts and keeping their personal bias out of the presentation.
One’s political beliefs should be their personal beliefs. When a teacher presents their own opinions as it pertains to politics, this can greatly influence the personal decision that young people should be making on their own, solely based on the facts presented to them.
The trouble with Clayton High School’s liberal climate is that it is not representative of the world in which most students will one day live and work.
In the climate of Clayton High School, students with liberal beliefs routinely do not face any skepticism or criticism of their beliefs. On the other hand, a conservative comment in most cases cannot go undisputed. But, at the end of the day, this benefits the conservatives at Clayton who must constantly learn to defend their beliefs and argue for what they deem to be right.
One of the goals of Clayton High School is to prepare students for the real world. However, the real world is not a liberal community with no opposition to their beliefs.
The true bubble in Clayton is not one of affluence. The real bubble that exists in Clayton is the bubble of liberals with very little opposition from conservatives.
Opposition must exist. People must have the ability to compromise.
As observed in Hitler’s Nazi Germany where he imprisoned those with political views contrary to his own, a lack of opposition causes radical beliefs to manifest.
If Clayton High School students are not exposed to differing political viewpoints, they will be in for a rude awakening.
Micaela • Mar 20, 2018 at 12:57 pm
This article is very well written, and sadly very true. I hope clayton can become a more accepting school on the basis of thought diversity. I definitely struggled with the Clayton High School environment when I was a student.