Should I stop giving my opinions in class?

Question

I am in graduate school in the nyc area in political science, but i am the only conservative in pretty much all of my classes. 20% of my grade is participation, but I feel discouraged to participate. The prof and other students (it's a real small class) seem annoyed with me and even mock me at times. I am usually the only person that will challenge people's opinions on Chavez, the Canadian health care system, or pulling the troops out of iraq immediately. The students seem to have all grown up in a very similar environment, get their news from Jon Stewart, and all have the same opinions and talking points. I don't mind debating them because that is one great aspect about political science, but it seems to be getting borderline personal in some of their responses to me. Should I just keep my mouth shut and hope my grade turns out ok? Remember, in grad school I have to get at least a B, so 20% is a lot!

Answer 1

Don't be such a pussy (cat). If you're going into Poli. Sci., you better be able to debate. Stand up for your thoughts. I'm a liberal, and believe me, you better have a thick skin living here in Indiana for that position.

Seems to me, an instructor won't fault you for having a differing opinion. You might even bring up your reservations to the instructor to see if he can help you out. If you still feel out on your own, go to the dean.

Answer 2

Everybody has free speech......except conservatives in college. That's been my experience. I have gone through what you are going through and agree with you. They will make fun of me, criticize me, and make my opinion seem worthless, like I just wasted everybody's time for bringing it up. This behavior is coming from the students and professors alike.

I have just learned to keep my mouth shut while the "open minded" liberals talk about the same things over and over.....they all agree with each other so when there is nothing left to say, they spend yet another 5 or so minutes bashing Bush or other conservatives. It gets really boring after a while.

Answer 3

I had the same problem. I was a conservative surrounded by bleeding hearts. It was horrible because if you speak your mind, then you get bad marks and the teachers never give you any attention but if you keep quiet you feel so angry that you cannot say what you think because of others around you.

What I did was find a line where I could speak my mind on topics I felt extremely strong about and let some of the other things go that I disagreed with but not as much. Get what I mean?

Jon Steward is a jackass and anyone who gets their info from him might as well tattoo empty on their foreheads!

Good luck with your schooling in politics!

Answer 4

Definitely participate...You owe it to yourself and your beliefs. BUT be respectful at all times...even if being ridiculed. If you can think of a funny comeback to the ridicule, do so. Otherwise, just stay above that sort of thing. Or respond with something like, "I thought this was supposed to be an opportunity for an open debate and exchange of ideas." You might also want to record your classes. That way, IF there is a questionable grade given and you think it is because of your opinions, you have a record with which to challenge it.

Good luck to you and "stick to your guns."

Answer 5

Keep active -this is one thing about further education that I dont like-when people are discouraged from having thier own opinions and are discouraged from speaking out. I always thought college would be a place where debate was "in" and that everyone's opinion would be considered but I was wrong -its just as bad as our high schools for not teaching clear, individual opinions.

Answer 6

Continue to debate, but coming from a Moderate that leans Conservative that got his degree from a University in a very Liberal State...record or keep track of what you say and keep what ever papers that they give back to you...I had to challenge a Professor's grade that they gave me because I disagreed with her assessment of what started the American Civil War...she said it was all about slavery and as we all know, that is false...she gave me a B, but I made a A on my mid-term and on my term paper, so i took it to the Dean and he looked into it and made her give me the A that I deserved...keep up the fight

Answer 7

know what things you should debate and what you shouldn't. Don't just debate anything, debate what is most important to the class. You're right, you shouldn't have to be the same as everyone in the class, but if you feel like it will help your grade, you could consider yourself the devil's advocate.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

Stand your ground but do what you have to do in order to get what you paid for.Its a shame that colleges indoctrinate liberal agendas and most to the extreme where students feel their grades are threatened and are wrong for having a different point of view.Good luck.

Answer 10

Keep at it, in a polite professional way. You are challenging the others. When it starts getting personal, you can realize that you must be getting close to putting them on shaky ground. That's why they are responding in a less then appropriate way.