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Some Advice for Navigating the Post-Election Classroom

With the election today, we know many faculty may be thinking about how it will impact their classrooms over the coming days. As with the election in 2020, there is a good chance that the final results will not be known for several days, leaving us all in a state of limbo. We at the CoLab wanted to offer you a few ideas/advice to navigate this territory as well as share some other resources you may find useful.

“Put Your Oxygen Mask on First”

Remember that your own well-being and state of mind will color anything you attempt to do in your classroom. Consider what you have capacity for and let that lead your approach. While you may want to at least acknowledge the election and the anxiety your students (and you) are feeling, you do not have to plan a formal conversation about the events if you don’t feel you are up to it. Remember that your students take more classes than just your own; if they need to process the events and their reactions, there’s a chance there will be opportunities to do this in other classes.

Acknowledge Burnout

Relatedly, consider that your students may be feeling overwhelmed to the point of burnout on the topic, particularly if other classes are debriefing about the election. This may be an opportunity to talk about “burnout” more generally and how to practice self-care, without delving into the fraught specifics of the election.

Foster Belonging and Connection

For many, being connected and in conversation with others may be helpful for getting through post-election anxiety or frustration. You can include conversations and activities in your class focused on building community and connection without explicitly talking about the election if you don’t feel like you have the bandwidth.

Connect to Learning

Depending on your class topic, it may be almost impossible to avoid discussing the election. More than likely, if this is the case, your class has been talking about it in various ways since the start of the semester. Continue to do this important work, but be mindful that engaging with students on this topic at this time might be particularly fraught.

Recognize the Range of Opinions and Emotions

Whatever the outcome of the election (and aside from your own opinions and feelings), recognize that you will have students on all sides of the issues. If you choose to have a more extended conversation or share any of your own opinions, do so in a way that makes space for everyone. Talk with your students about how to make this space.

Set Ground Rules

If you do delve into a more extended conversation, make sure you are clear about the goals, the ground rules for the conversation, and what role you will play. Be as transparent as possible and try to include your students in this pre-work.

Rely on Your Resources

When it comes to supporting students, remember that no one needs to do it alone. Make sure you’re aware of resources that are available for students who are struggling. The Counseling Center is available for mental health support. Students may find programs and events through the IDEA Center are useful — even if programming isn’t directly related to the election, any opportunity to be in community and connect with others can be helpful. The Frost House is available if you have a student who you think would benefit from being connected to other resources.

For yourself, remember that you have access through the Employee Assistance Program.

Possible Strategies

Here are a few strategies you can adopt (or adapt). Pick those that make sense for you, your class, and your students!

Acknowledge the events/election and be transparent with your students (if you’re comfortable doing so) about your own feelings of anxiety/frustration but leave it at that.
Delay a more extensive conversation about the events until you–and/or your students– feel mentally prepared.
Point your students to other resources they can lean on if they need help.
Discuss with your students if and how the class should address or talk about the election.
Make any discussion about the election optional and give students advance warning about it.
Set ground rules for conversations; you can set the rules yourself but it is probably even better to do this as a class community.

Example Ground Rules (From Navigating Difficult Conversations, James Madison Center for Civic Engagement)
- Everyone’s viewpoint counts equally.
- One person shares at a time. Leave space and time for everyone to talk.
- If you are hurt or harmed, say so and say why.
- Individuals can disagree, but don’t personalize it; critique the ideas, reasoning, and evidence, not the person.
- There may be different perspectives in this conversation and we can talk respectfully even if we don’t all agree.
- This is not about changing minds. It’s about listening and developing empathy and understanding.
- Avoid judgment and focus on listening with curiosity and for understanding.
- Confidentiality: what happens in the discussion, stays in the discussion.
- Consider adopting a “brave space” that allows people to take risks and speak candidly, but allows people to respond when it hurts their feelings and share why.
Read the room: Base your decision about how to tackle this topic on the classroom community that you already have. In some situations, a class may not have clicked in a way that makes it possible to facilitate a safe and productive conversation.