With recent elections and current events sparking great political debate, the nation’s divide has worked its way into schools. 

Constant battles between right and left have always occurred, yet as the younger citizens become more involved, many questions begin to form as to where political opinions belong and the balance needed to maintain a political equilibrium across classrooms.

While 27% of Americans associate with the far left, or democratic party, 34% belong to the far right, or conservative party, according to today.yougov.com. Using these statistics, it is known that families across the nation are being raised with different ideologies from one another, sometimes contradicting one another’s ideals directly. Since polar politics have always existed within the United States across families and towns, the increasing chime up from youngsters today serves as an interesting uptick from previous years. 

Students have begun to notice this effect, with sophomore Caroline Allen sharing she has seen some people speaking up and thinks “there are pros and cons to speaking about politics in school.”

Caroline’s input brings a valuable question to the table: What kind of effect can increasing volumes of these conversations have on teachers and their ability to remain neutral?

With this in mind, ninth and tenth grade history teacher Mr.George, was asked about his opinion on these conversations happening in school and how to handle them from a teacher’s perspective. He shared that he views political discussions in school by students as positive. As for his role in the matter, he shared, “As a teacher, my role is to help kids critically think and not express how I personally think about things.”

Maintaining even discussions in situations like these may be hard on students and teachers, however, many seem to think both groups can and will overcome ideological differences in the name of community. Jenna Varholak in 10th grade shared, “I believe people in hingham can maintain friendships even with different political views, because it is a close knit community where everyone supports one another.”

Despite left or right opinions, varying views, and contradicting conspiracies, there is no doubt Hingham will continue to remain connected through every hardship and time of division. For nothing can break the bond that is Hingham Strong.