Political Correctness In The Classroom

Essay by Anonymous UserCollege, UndergraduateA+, February 1997

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Schools in Canada have recently become the battleground for the fight over how much political correctness should be allowed to infiltrate grade school classrooms. One can take two sides when dealing with such issues as violent toys, "good clean fun", the benefits and disadvantages of political correctness.

There is much controversy about violent toys which are far from being considered politically correct. The toys that enter many grade school classrooms throughout the country may also seem offensive to people who try to be as politically correct as possible. I can remember an incident involving myself, a water gun and a teacher back in grade four. What had happened was that I pondered onto school grounds with a tiny plastic watergun. As I proceeded down the hallway a teacher took notice of my "water-squirting" device. She approached me and ceased the toy from my hands . Many elementary school educators believe that violent toys can lead, and often do lead to violence if the children are allowed to play with the toys in an unsupervised environment.

Something that used to be considered good clean fun has become a constant frustration to teachers and parents everywhere. Many educators on recess duty who have observed children at play have come to believe that rough play which might look innocent can and often does lead to real violence. The goodness of teaching political correctness in the classroom is its ability to protect our children from violence, discrimination, and the unfairness that exist in this world.

Political correctness is a good thing for kids to learn. I think that being politically correct is just being polite and considerate for the feelings of others. I encourage parents and teachers to teach children about the fairness and equality that political correctness implies. However If teachers and...