Online Tool to Stimulate Conversations About Politics With Kids

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You may feel pretty confident in whether you fall on the left or the right side of the political spectrum, but do you know just how far to either side? What about when it comes to economic or social issues? And, more importantly, how can you talk to your kids about the different sides of these issues in a way that is clear and easy to understand?

Enter The Political Compass (politicalcompass.org/test). Around on the Internet since 2001, The Political Compass uses your responses to a set of 62 propositions or statements to place your political ideology on a chart with two axes: economic (from left to right) and social (from authoritarian to libertarian). For each statement, you select from a four-point scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”

The chart used by The Political Compass to plot your political ideology

Not everyone feels engaged in politics, either adults or kids, but we found that as soon as we came across this tool, everyone in the beijingkids office jumped on their phones and started taking the test. We liked the easy to view outcome but more than that, we found that the questions prompted us to reflect on our views and could definitely lead to bigger conversations. As the website says, the purpose of all their statements is “to trigger reactions in the mind, measuring feelings and prejudices rather than detailed opinions on policy.”

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As such, we think this is a great way to get kids talking about social and economic issues such as environmental protection, wealth distribution, or the penal system, especially high school-aged kids who may be starting to touch on those issues in their classes at school. For example, some of the statements include “Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation” and even “Abstract art that doesn’t represent anything shouldn’t be considered art at all.” If you yourself have particular political beliefs, this can be a good way to explain them to your kids with concrete examples and in comparison to other people’s beliefs.

Note that some of the statements do touch on things like sexual and reproductive health and the legalization of controlled substances, so be sure to review them yourself first before you try them with kids.

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Images: The Blue Diamond Gallery, The Political Compass

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