Politics plays an important role in society because it affects our daily lives. Almost everything is politics-related: daily conversations with peers about personal choices, viewpoints of policies, people, and culture. It’s nearly impossible to escape it even if people want nothing to do with it. As younger generations are growing and evolving, so are people’s political opinions. Because of first amendment rights, people express different political opinions very often. This is why it’s essential to learn how to have civil political discourse in classrooms.

School is one place that is a part of our daily lives and it is the one place where we communicate with people the most. School and politics are a part of our daily lives which would ultimately make political discussions useful to have in most classrooms like history and english because it helps students feel more connected and engaged to the real world.

We often see things happening in the real world through social media such as elections or news about a country. It’s easy to get invested in it and to talk about it with friends and family members. But it’s difficult to feel connected and to process what’s going on in the real world because people are more caught up in their daily routine.

Politics professor Steven A. Peterson used the “spillover effect” theory that confirms the statement that the workplace is related to politics. According to this theory, participation in the workplace makes people more comfortable, more interested in larger ideas, and more skilled in political conversations. Therefore, political discussions allow people to express themselves freely while combating socio-political issues.

However, some people may believe that having political discourse in an educational setting may not be useful and may cause harm in the class environment because it can cause conflict between students and people may feel offended. It’s easy for people to feel attacked while sharing their opinions because a lot of people may disagree with it and it can result in a divide between political beliefs.

Conflicts are very common and it is hard to avoid but a way to avoid less harm and offending people would be to avoid using offensive language and verbally attacking an individual or group. Having the intent of resolving a disagreement by listening, criticizing, and learning from each other can make political discussions more helpful and effective. To have a more effective discussion in class is to not shy away from talking about serious topics that are currently affecting the world and making sure everyone has a voice.

Having political discussions in classrooms such as english and history can be useful if it is utilized in the right ways. Students should feel encouraged to express their insight and ideas.