To many parents’ disdain, classrooms are not immune to political debates shaping our country. As issues like climate change and environmental policy spark controversy nationwide, teachers and students find themselves forced to navigate sensitive topics in an educational environment.
The connection of politics and education becomes clear when government policies, like changes to emission standards or the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, have shown a shift in how emission standards have been affecting the industry. Some students invest themselves in learning about the political and environmental state of the world outside of school, such as Leo Neds-Fox ’27, who emphasizes the importance of basing opinions on facts and creating original opinions separate from those around us.
“They [parents] want their kids to hold the same opinion as them,” Neds-Fox said. “So if they’re sending their kid off to a public school and their kid is coming back with something that they disagree with, that’s going to upset them, even if it is something that is scientifically backed.”
AP environmental teacher Shawn McNamara has observed how these policy shifts create tension in the classroom.
“What I’m seeing right now is a lot of policy change, not based on science, it’s based on politics, and it’s based on economics, which is really tough,” McNamara said. “When people are experts in their fields, and they work together, they don’t necessarily cross into other lanes.”
The role of teachers is to present facts without opinion and see how students react and form their own ideas based on these facts. Social studies teacher Kendra Caralis emphasizes the importance of teaching from multiple perspectives.
“Some of the best conversations I’ve had are with students that think the opposite of me,” Caralis said. “There are many times in class where I play devil’s advocate, and I end up completely arguing the side that may not be what I agree with, because I want to make sure that that side’s out there too.”
The friction between science and policy is often personified at the federal level. The current administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is Lee Zeldin. He was appointed by President Donald Trump, and has a background in political science, law and fought in the military, but lacks a background in environmental science.
“It seems like we have individuals in politics who are moving into the lane of being scientists without having any scientific background,” McNamara said. “That’s kind of concerning, not just from a personal standpoint, but as people in science, it’s tough when you’re making a recommendation based on numbers and the actual policy is going flat against them.”
