Politics

/

ArcaMax

Commentary: College classrooms play a vital role in the health of democracy

Ashley Holmes, The Fulcrum on

Published in Op Eds

According to a recent BBC article, first-time U.S. voters reported “feeling uneasy” prior to the presidential election, with one interviewee describing the election as “very overwhelming” and another saying “it feels like we can’t have as many civil conversations.” Colleges and university classrooms are a valuable place for practicing those civil conversations and learning about the issues impacting their community.

However, college and university enrollments have been steadily dropping due to a mix of ongoing impacts from COVID-19, difficulties with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, fewer numbers of college-aged students (e.g., the projected “enrollment cliff”) and uncertainty about the return on investment of a college degree.

I’m concerned that fewer people are pursuing post-secondary degrees today than they did 10 years ago. This means fewer people are finding themselves in classrooms where they are prompted to talk across differences, exchange ideas and develop empathy in working toward shared goals of learning, growth and higher education.

Political polarization in the United States is deepening and that trend, unfortunately, seems on track to continue. In an AAUP survey, 80% of respondents ranked the political atmosphere surrounding colleges and universities as poor or very poor. The combination of lower enrollments and an increasingly poor political atmosphere in higher education has major implications for the health of our democracy.

I have been teaching public writing and researching civic engagement in higher education for the last 20 years. I assign students to research public issues, to write public letters, emails and op-eds, and to talk with classmates about their evidence-based stances on issues, even if their peers and instructor disagree. I ask students to respectfully engage with others on civic and political issues. I model and facilitate how to listen, learn and share — how to take space and make space. In my courses and others, I see college classrooms playing a vital role in promoting civil discourse, but only if there are students in the seats.

When universities and colleges are fulfilling the role of promoting a healthy democracy, instructors help young people and first-time voters of all ages analyze and discuss issues from different disciplinary perspectives. For my book “Learning on Location: Place-Based Approaches for Diverse Learners in Higher Education,” I interviewed college and university instructors in the United States and Canada about how they leverage engagement with local places such as legislative buildings, city halls and community parks to help students deepen their learning and to civically engage with their communities.

One sociology professor I interviewed told me how he assigns his students to observe eviction court hearings. We talked about the powerful impacts on student learning when they actually experience civic and political spaces. Students come to a different understanding of eviction statistics in Atlanta, for example, when they observe the prevalence of African American women in eviction courts. University courses are places to reflect and try to grapple with inequities in our society, not to advance specific political agendas but to invite engagement in civic and democratic processes.

 

Of course, there are some professors who try to avoid politics in the classroom altogether and there are others who may overshare their personal political thinking about an issue. However, as a teaching and learning center director at large, high-level research universities — previously in an urban center in the southeast and currently in a smaller city in the Pacific northwest — I find that teachers falling into the extremes of avoiding or pushing politics in the classroom are the exception, not the norm. I talk to college teachers and administrators daily about what’s happening in their classrooms, and they are aware of the hyper-polarization around politics and many are up for the challenge of facilitating those conversations among students.

As young people experience disillusionment with politics and the polarization of society, I hope trusted family members, friends and mentors will encourage them to enroll in college classes — not only to better themselves in their lives and careers but also to disrupt patterns of civic disengagement and to improve our democratic society. I hope students of all ages will see higher education as a valuable space for engaging with people who may have different views or values than your own.

And, if you find yourself in one of my classes, you’ll get to hear my spiel, which I whole-heartedly believe in: that education is a public good, that you are now an academic citizen, and that when the day comes to move the tassel on your graduation cap from right to left, I’ll ask you to remember all the rights, privileges and responsibilities that come with your degree, including being a good steward of our democracy.

____

Holmes is associate vice provost for teaching and learning at Oregon State University and a public voices fellow with The OpEd Project.

_____


©2024 The Fulcrum. Visit at thefulcrum.us. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Lee Judge Lisa Benson Joey Weatherford John Cole Steve Benson John Darkow