Coel - Why do you feel it is your need to validate and endorse the opinions of your students? You have a very Socratic method on this board, so I'm wondering if your teaching style is different?
I don't think you have to say pot is good, bad, both, or neither. That's up to you. Just as the opinions of your students should be up to them. I would say you should simply encourage them to learn about a subject before forming an opinion. Your job is the learning part, not the opinion part, right?
I never said that independent ideas should be validated and endorsed merely because they are independent, as you suggest. I said that you should encourage your student to learn and study.
As for my personal beliefs on pot and alcohol (and tobacco), I think they should all be legal. In terms of health consequences, the most benign of the three is the only one that is illegal. Doesn't that strike you as odd? It does me. Age limits....sure, why not. Honestly, I haven't really done very much research/reading on how effective age limits for things like cigs, booze, and driving, as far as responsible use goes. In general I believe the substance ages should be lower and the driving ages higher. 16 year olds behind the wheel put far more people at risk than 16 year olds smoking pot, knocking back a few beers, or smoking cigs.
I don't think you have to say pot is good, bad, both, or neither. That's up to you. Just as the opinions of your students should be up to them. I would say you should simply encourage them to learn about a subject before forming an opinion. Your job is the learning part, not the opinion part, right?
I never said that independent ideas should be validated and endorsed merely because they are independent, as you suggest. I said that you should encourage your student to learn and study.
As for my personal beliefs on pot and alcohol (and tobacco), I think they should all be legal. In terms of health consequences, the most benign of the three is the only one that is illegal. Doesn't that strike you as odd? It does me. Age limits....sure, why not. Honestly, I haven't really done very much research/reading on how effective age limits for things like cigs, booze, and driving, as far as responsible use goes. In general I believe the substance ages should be lower and the driving ages higher. 16 year olds behind the wheel put far more people at risk than 16 year olds smoking pot, knocking back a few beers, or smoking cigs.
