Worried About The Election? What to Do To Prepare Your School
A few years ago, when the current president was elected, I wrote a blog for the Huffington Post about how to talk to children about the election.
I was critically aware of my children’s perception of the world post election, and also processing my own feelings about my fellow American’s and the decisions many made when casting their vote. At the time, the stark comparison to my feelings when Barack Obama was elected had me quite raw. I gave my thoughts on how we should respond, but years later, and due to so many seemingly concurrent crises in our national landscape, I think it’s important that as counselors, mental health providers and school leaders, we are prepared for what may occur in our school communities, both in person and virtually over the next few weeks and beyond.
Let me start by fully disclosing that I have already voted and have very strong personal opinions about the state of our country and why I felt compelled to vote the way that I did. I do believe that although we are entitled, as humans, to our own personal values and beliefs, that as we function in our professional roles, it’s essential that we honor the humanity of all, even if there is disagreement in our personal beliefs. This sentence is much easier to type than it is to live. In reality, it’s almost impossible to turn off and on our beliefs when we punch in or out, so instead I recommend that we consistently use the approach of self-reflection and open dialogue to assure that we are on the right track.
This November 4, while still living through a pandemic, when we wake up to the news of the projected winner of the election, I do expect there to be as many raw emotions as there were 4 years ago, maybe even more so. Ignoring that will not change it, but addressing it can instead have the healing impact that many in our communities are desperately in need of. Here are a few things that I suggest you do in the coming days to prepare for election 2020.
Check yourself
This is a loaded point, so let’s just jump right in. Before you can prepare for how your students may react to the election, how will YOU react? Your personal feelings matter and you’ve got to protect your own mental wellness. Create your own self-care plan for the week, schedule some time to chat with a colleague who understands or even use a self-grounding practice like tapping or meditation. You CAN NOT support emotional regulation if you are not emotionally regulated.
While this week may not be the perfect time, it also wouldn’t hurt for you to do your own anti-bias self-reflection. Pay close attention to the actions that are within your control, within your influence and beyond your control, so that regardless of the outcome you remain hopeful for the future. This can also inspire action that will ultimately lead to change. Students may need help with this too, so do some of the work yourself to prepare.
Create a safe space
Having an inclusive classroom doesn’t happen on it’s own. Creating a safe space includes honoring individual feelings, setting ground rules and EXPLICITLY defining abstract concepts like respect. There are several resources from Teaching Tolerance which give everything from lesson plans to discussion guides to help you have courageous conversations. These topics naturally fit in to language arts and social studies classes, but don’t discount the value in these conversations even if they are technically off subject. Kids who are thinking about these things may not be absorbing the material you wanted to present and those who are unaware can benefit from becoming aware.
Get comfortable holding space for kids who need it. This is NEVER wasted time.
Prepare for reactions
The reactions that you may see could run the full spectrum of emotion. In 2016, I distinctly remember my children’s friends, who were of Hispanic heritage, telling them they were afraid of what was going to happen. These were children who were at school and fearing that their parents would be deported. These are intense feelings and not everyone will have the tools to express this appropriately. Be ready to process.
Leading into this election, having moved, I often say the title of our fictitious reality show is Brown Family White World, because we are the micro-minority in a predominately white community. My decision to move has been positive in so many ways, but for my children leaving a predominately African-American district to be one of maybe two brown faces in each of their classes, there have been adjustments. In our district, I’ve had conversations with leaders and know that they are actively working to assure the climate of the school is safe and inclusive. ASCA recommends these types of conversations between stakeholders around the election as well.
My children have already spoken about things they have heard and seen and processing those emotions is a consistent part of our afternoon routine. This includes how they feel so deeply hurt for students who are strong in their liberal convictions and feel shunned or misunderstood by their conservative parents. Especially at the middle and high school levels, becoming aware of how you differ from your parents can be incredibly isolating.
Please know that your students may not be having these conversations in their homes, so your office/classroom/hallway may be the only safe space they have to communicate with an adult about what they think/feel/see/hear. So how do you handle these complex feelings and conversations? A few quick tips.
Normalize emotions, name it, claim it, there is no emotion that we can’t handle and they do not have to be hidden. Many schools will try to hide or diffuse emotions in the coming weeks which is what leads to eruption. We feel emotions, but we can choose our actions.
Empathize with their feelings, you don’t have to agree with the what or why, but if you do, this might be a chance for some healthy self-disclosure. And finally
Teach them to express and act on emotion in an emotionally intelligent way. No, it may not be appropriate to call all the teachers racist and disrupt class, but what can they do to use their voice? This is where you come in. Giving direction to passion is what education is all about.
Below is a full webinar hosted by American University as a part of their Anti-Racist Counselor series. They discuss additional ideas for schools to prepare. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.