There is a time and a place for everything in today's society. Whatever your opinions might be, you are - of course - entitled to have them. Having our opinions keeps us unique. People have opinions on almost everything in this country. This keeps us diverse and actually makes our day-to-day lives more interesting.
The workplace, though, is one area where your opinions, at times, are probably best kept to yourself. What you believe might not exactly be appropriate in your place of work and this is where things can get rather sticky.
I'm passionate about politics, for instance. I have strong opinions on numerous topics and I'm quite willing to share my thoughts with others. But when I'm at work, I attempt to keep my political opinions to myself. My colleagues will tell you I do this with varying levels of success, but the effort is definitely there.
The classroom is one area where I see almost no room for debate on discussing politics. Professors should leave their political views at home. As I said earlier, there is a time and a place for everything, and class is not the time, nor is it the place for political musings.
Not all professors are guilty of this, mind you. There are many who choose to simply teach in the classroom and save the commentary for other times. There are even those who make the wise decision of refusing to discuss politics in class, even if prodded by their students.
But now, as I enter my third year at Ball State, I feel confident in saying that there are a lot of professors who want to give you their opinions whether they are solicited or not.
The obvious point to make is that it is appropriate in some classes to discuss politics. Most obvious of these are political science classes. The professors in here, for the most part, do a good job of giving you just the facts. I can imagine that it is quite difficult to speak about the history of the U.S. government and keep your opinions out of it.
The classes where I have had a lot of professors express their own political opinions are history classes. As a history major, I have taken my fair share of these classes. It is very easy to bring in your own opinions when you discuss issues such as Social Security and National Defense. But maintaining a professional approach to these topics is very appreciated by the vast majority of students.
However, you shouldn't think that enthusiasm and personal opinions always have to be the same thing. Professors can show great love for their areas of expertise and still maintain a professional atmosphere. It takes work of course but it makes the classroom considerably more comfortable for students.
There is certainly no lack of outlets for political opinions here on campus. If you have strong opinions yourself and you want to share your views with others who are as strongly opinionated as you, join an on-campus political group. The University Democrats and the College Republicans are always looking for people passionate about politics. You can go to a meeting and talk politics to your heart's delight.
Passion for one's subject is always appreciated but commentary in the classroom is not as well received. Everything has a time and place, including discussions of a political nature.
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