Politics, Polarisation, and the Classroom - Practical Strategies for Reclaiming Balance

"Sir, what do you think about what's happening in Gaza?"

"Miss, what's your opinion about immigration?"

"Why don't some people like Andrew Tate?"

 "What do you think about Charlie Kirk?"

Ever been in this situation? Kids want to know your opinions, your feelings, and your position. Its part of being in a modern classroom. Teachers face a dilemma: do they stick to neutrality, and policies, or do they show their feelings and model civic discussion? Or should they just stick to the lesson at hand? How do they achieve balance?

Globally voices are being silenced, by violence. The killing of Kirk on a college campus shows that in 2025, having an iPhone and an opinion can make someone a target. At the same time, satirists like Bassem Youssef, and more recently Jimmy Kimmel, have been taken of the air. Which reminds us that speech can be suppressed not only through violence, but also through institutional cowardice and political pressure. In schools, for instance, we have seen many progressive projects, scaled back, challenged and questioned. When teachers discusses a sociological or politically-charged topic, there is a danger always looming behind. The danger of violence against them.

The Rise of the Digital Influencer

Clearly Kirk's political views were deemed deplorable by many, but he did not deserve to die due to them. Kirk's story, like the deaths of María, Umm and other internet stars is a stark reminder that today: 

Influence is not tied to office but to reach. 

Students have the capacity to start a riot from an online rant or a protest from a post, or from even telling a parent about a lesson, like in Samuel Paty's case. For educators, these events, like Kirk's are not distant headlines. They raise urgent questions:

• What do we teach young people about freedom of expression when civic kindness itself is politicised? 

• How do we protect the next generation from believing that violence or silencing are acceptable forms of dialogue? 

• How can progressive initiatives like DEIJ be reclaimed or reformatted, and seen as shared civic practice, not an ideological battlefield?

• How can we protect the young people we teach, and ourselves from extremism?

Political Violence: A Global Issue 

Unfortunately, we have been here before. In 2016, British MP Jo Cox was murdered for her pro-EU stance. In 2007, Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated at a campaign rally. Ecuador lost presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio to gunfire in 2023. Students are witnessing violent protests - from the streets of London to US campuses to Hong Kong. Incidents of political violence globally increased by 28% between 2020 and 2023, with sharp rises in Latin America and parts of Europe. A 2023 YouGov poll found 7% of citizens believed political violence can sometimes be justified. In the U.S., around a quarter of respondents hold the same view. While still small, these figures highlight a dangerous acceptance that violent means can be a politically legitimate means of expression. 

The Generational Divide: Who Do Students Listen To?

Traditional leaders are no longer the only voices shaping civic life. For younger people, content creators are role models, sources of truth, and sometimes substitutes for traditional civic education.

Half of adults under 30 get news primarily from TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram (Pew Research, 2023), while fewer than 10% of over-50s do the same. Figures like Kirk or progressive influencers such as Hasan Piker command audiences that dwarf those of many elected officials.

This generational divide matters. Follower count can be linked to credibility. For older generations, who rely more on newspapers or television, the dynamic feels alien and sometimes threatening. The result is a widening cultural and informational gulf.

From Labels to Practice: Critical Thinking at the Core

Labels are easy. As pattern seeking beings, humans feel comfortable (but not always safe) with labels. Frameworks with labels, like DEIJ, were created to safeguard, fairness, respect, and belonging. Yet, overtime, the language has been politicised and the acronyms can carry more heat than light. When kindness, listening or intercultural understanding are seen as ideological positions the essence of civility gets lost. How do schools get back on track?

Educators must step wisely. 

Reform is needed, but also restraint. Teaching should be anchored around the subjects and supported by well-informed curriculum design. We know that kids love it when teachers go on tangents (I did!) but facts, scholarship, and inquiry must come before opinion. At the same time, education must prepare young people for complexity: navigating religion, culture, migration, and global conflict requires the skills of critical thinking, not the slogans of one camp or another. 

The challenge is balance, which more complicated in an international school setting. Classrooms should not be pulpits for ideology, nor sterile zones of silence. Instead, every learning institution should provide structured, intergenerational forms for debate. When I worked with Institut Le Rosey this is what was intended through creating inter-religious dialogue with the "Co-exist" series, and through Culture Week. However, these spaces don't need to be super-curricular. There are plenty of ways to help in the classroom. These opportunities should be where all stakeholders can ask difficult questions and challenge perspectives, safely; a place for reasoning rather than ranting.

In this light, labels such as DEIJ should be seen as one example of how a label can obscure a deeper understanding: that human flourishing depends on our ability to live well with difference. Those who benefit from labels are rarely those who are marginalised. Therefore what matters is the practice: fairness, dignity, and courage in dialogue.

As Kwame Anthony Appiah reminds us, “Cosmopolitanism is about conversations across difference.” Education’s role is not to erase disagreement, but to teach students how to think with balance - and to disagree without the fear of physical or psychological harm. 

Practical Strategies for Educators

1. Structured reflection exercises Begin difficult discussions with short, private writing tasks where students process their thoughts. This lowers emotional tension and prepares them for dialogue.

2. Dialogue over debate Use protocols such as “circle dialogue” where each student must summarize the previous speaker before contributing. This reinforces listening as much as speaking.

3. Global case comparisons Present three cases (e.g., Jo Cox, Bhutto, Villavicencio) alongside Kirk. Ask: what conditions allowed violence to occur? What lessons emerge across contexts?

4. Media mapping Assign students to trace how a single story spreads on TikTok, YouTube, TV, and newspapers. Compare narratives. Discuss the impact of algorithms on what people see.

5. Reframe EDI/DEIJ as civic practice Embed small rituals of kindness: rotating peer shout-outs, collaborative projects across groups, and class charters co-written by students. Keep the language human, not bureaucratic.

6. Safety protocols for speech If your school hosts public speakers or student debates, establish safeguarding: security, codes of conduct, and debriefs. Protect the right to speak without fear.

Keeping the Conversation Alive

"...violence is an instrumental tool that can only destroy [power] and does not contribute to its legitimate creation" - H. Arendt

Political violence is neither new, nor confined to one country. Yet, its extension to digital figures signals a worrying turn. For educators, the task is to ensure students understand both the fragility of dialogue and its necessity. Citizenship today is digital as much as physical. Students step into the public sphere through TikTok uploads as much as through voting booths. Maybe Schools need to catch up?

In a world where young people increasingly look to content creators over traditional leaders, classrooms must model alternative ways of engaging: with empathy, with courage, and with a commitment to civic kindness. If we really want successful people to be come out of our educational institutions we need to care more about forming citizens who can think for themselves, than to fall in line.

Our schools must remain to be where dialogue and democratic discourse can survive.

Bibliography

• ACLED (2023). Global Political Violence Data.

• Appiah, K. A. (2006). Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers.

• Ahsan, S. (2022) Endless Distraction and Inaction, The British Psychological Society

• Arendt, H. (1970). On Violence.

• Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (2023). Polarization, Democracy, and Political Violence in the U.S.

• Nussbaum, M. (1997). Cultivating Humanity. Harvard University Press.

• Pew Research Center (2023). News Consumption Across Generations.

• YouGov Germany (2023). Attitudes Toward Political Violence.