Teaching through a Presidential Election
The only thing we know about the outcome of election day is that we’re likely to see divided reactions: some excited, some disappointed, angry, or fearful. If a clear result is delayed, we may also see increased confusion and anxiety. We also know that we won’t be able to check the impact of these emotional experiences at the (literal or virtual) classroom door.
If you are teaching through the election, you may be experiencing additional stress as you anticipate managing election discussions, off-hand comments, and other moments where you may feel pressure to say the “right” thing. Many students also experience heightened emotions; Brown University’s Center for Teaching and Learning notes that a 2022 “study of college students during the 2020 election cycle found that 76% of students agreed or strongly agreed that the election was causing them anxiety, with students who identified as Hispanic/Latinx, women, and LGBTQ+ reporting higher levels of stress.”
Since recent elections have had such a significant impact on students, education researchers Sondel et. al (2017) advocate for a “pedagogy of political trauma,” suggesting that stressful political events have the ability to impact how students learn course content, manage deadlines and attendance, and interact with peers and instructors. In light of this common experience, trauma-informed pedagogy can offer a useful approach for creating a supportive classroom environment through stressful times. Social work scholar Janice Carello (2021) breaks down trauma-informed pedagogy into seven principles that can serve as a framework for preparing to teach through a presidential election:
Takeaways
- The stress of recent elections can lead to anxiety and trauma symptoms for many students, which can impact their performance and behavior in their classes.
- Instructors can take steps to create a safe and stable environment that will support students during stressful times.
- There are effective strategies for addressing “hot moments” that may arise in the classroom surrounding the election cycle.
1. Physical, Emotional, Social, And Academic Safety
To support a safe and stable atmosphere in your class post-election, be prepared to acknowledge the outcome of the election. According to Brown University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, the simplicity of brief acknowledgement belies its impact, citing a “study on instructional responses after large-scale emotional events found that the vast majority of students appreciate when an instructor briefly acknowledges a distressing event before moving forward with the lesson (Huston & DiPietro, 2007).”
Importantly, acknowledgment does not mean you have to spend a lot of time discussing the situation. In fact, unless your course topic clearly connects to politics, it may be best to keep it brief, as an Inside Higher Ed article reports that one-third of college students are not comfortable sharing their political affiliations and “52 percent said engaging in political dialogue on campus was affecting their mental health” (Mowreader, 2024). For many, a solid post-election plan is to offer acknowledgement and then share that you will be moving on to focus solely on the course curriculum. For example, you could open a post-results class saying, “I know that many of us have the election on our minds, including me. For our course, I think it’s best that we don’t pursue a discussion of the election. But I want you to know that I recognize that there are likely some strong emotions in class today.”
2. Trustworthiness And Transparency
For Carello (2021), trustworthiness and transparency are about “making expectations clear, ensuring consistency in practice, maintaining appropriate boundaries, and minimizing disappointment.” While our course design may already have these values in mind, instructors often worry about faltering during tough, and unanticipated, teaching moments. Unexpected political comments, debates, or even apparel1 have the potential to make students and instructors feel unsafe.
Increase your confidence by familiarizing yourself with strategies for teaching through “hot moments.”An acronym for “heated, offensive, or tense,” hot moments can be managed in a variety of ways, according to the Columbia University Center for Teaching and Learning; most include pausing, asking clarifying questions, setting boundaries, and acknowledging potential harm. The LARA method is a useful step-by-step procedure for responding to these challenging occasions. In some cases, you may choose to postpone discussion until a future class period, recording the topic so that students know that you recognize it as important. For more strategies, I recommend reviewing this excellent worksheet on election-related hot moments from the University of Michigan.
- Remember that UA employees are subject to regulations on partisan political activities while using university resources; consult the rules provided by UA General Counsel. For further clarification, contact your supervisor, HR and the General Counsel’s office.
3. Support And Connection
A great way to support students without extending yourself beyond your own capacity is to connect them to resources. As with any time of high-stress, reminding students of mental health resources available on campus, including traditional and on-demand counseling is a wonderful practice. Keep an eye out for election-related programming at the university or in the community and share those opportunities with your students. Consider also the academic connections that you can share with students–in the sense of scholarly perspectives and resources which may increase understanding of the election run-up and results. As educators with disciplinary expertise, we are in a position to shed light on the historical, political, and cultural contexts that inform our current climate. While perception of the stakes of the election may not change, placing the election in a broader perspective can help students make sense of their experience.
4. Collaboration And Mutuality
Drawing on or introducing community agreements in class discussions is an effective way to create a collaborative classroom climate. If you have not set up community agreements for your class yet, it’s not too late. Here at the Center for Teaching and Learning, we often use and highly recommend the First Alaskans Institute Dialogue Agreements as a way to set ground rules for discussion. You can also find other examples or start from scratch. The key is to present the agreements to the class and allow for students to share their thoughts and offer ideas for amendments and additions.
If you plan to engage with the election more extensively in your class, you may consider asking your students how they would like to discuss the election before results have rolled in. Create a document with the “election version” of your community agreements, and review it before jumping into election-related discussions.
5. Empowerment, Voice, And Choice
A tenet of trauma-informed pedagogy is a recognition that high stress and trauma limits our ability to learn. Fraser et. al (2023) remind us that “post-traumatic stress carries both short and long term challenges for individuals: in the short term, respondents may face severe anxiety, heart palpitations, memory gaps, frequent changes in mood, and find themselves unable to talk or think about things related to the source of their trauma” (p. 196). Recognizing the potential psychological toll of the election, consider ways that you may offer some flexibility during election week. For example, if you accidentally scheduled a high-stakes exam on post-election Wednesday, perhaps consider rescheduling or offering a later option for students who may need some space to process the results.
6. Cultural, Historical, And Gender Issues
A University of Oregon article “Teaching in Turbulent Contexts” argues that our ability to “teach and invite complexity” can help us through troubling topics and contexts. A wonderful tool we have in higher education is an ability to explore multiple perspectives, rather than falling into a binary. It’s rare that there are only two sides to an issue in the academy. Where possible, resist reducing multiple perspectives into “camps,” both in your discipline and in U.S. politics – and encourage your students to do the same. Instead, celebrate our capacity to embrace nuance and develop tools to avoid flattening “a particular identity or history or present them as two-sides of a binary.”
7. Resilience, Growth, And Change
Teaching through a high-stakes election requires resilience. Faculty and staff are just as likely to be part of the stress and trauma statistics as students. Some of us will have the added stress of walking into a classroom on November 6 feeling a responsibility to have a “perfect” response. Please afford yourself the same care that you are preparing for students, allowing yourself flexibility, quiet, and respect for your own boundaries.
Remember that you also have support available, both personally and for your teaching. If you would like more help developing strategies for teaching through the election, we are here to help you at the CTL with one-on-one consultations.
References
Brown University Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning. (2024). Teaching During the U.S. Election. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://sheridan.brown.edu/resources/classroom-practices/teaching-times-disruption/teaching-during-us-election
Carello, J. (2018, July 8). Principles for Trauma-Informed Teaching and Learning. Trauma-Informed Teaching & Learning. https://traumainformedteaching.blog/2018/07/08/principles-for-trauma-informed-teaching-and-learning/
Fam, M. (2024, October 9). 2024 election: Meditation, mindfulness and other tips to manage stress | AP News. Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/2024-election-stress-meditation-mindfulness-anxiety-91550c0aa2c80da60f9f7d8220bcd702
First Alaskans Institute. (n.d.). About FAI. First Alaskans Institute. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://www.firstalaskans.org/about-fai
Fraser, T., Panagopoulos, C., & Smith, K. (2023). Election-Related Post-Traumatic Stress: Evidence from the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. Politics and the Life Sciences, 42(2), 179–204. https://doi.org/10.1017/pls.2023.8
Mowreader, A. (2024). Student Wellness Tip: Supporting Students in Political Uncertainty. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/health-wellness/2024/09/30/seven-tips-managing-college-students-election
Sondel, B., Baggett, H. C., & Dunn, A. H. (2018). “For millions of people, this is real trauma”: A pedagogy of political trauma in the wake of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Teaching and Teacher Education, 70, 175–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.11.017
Trauma-Informed Pedagogy. (2020). UAF Center for Teaching and Learning. https://ctl.uaf.edu/trauma-informed-pedagogy/
University of Michigan. (2024). Facilitation Strategies for Hot Moments—Election Edition [Rev. 8/24]—Google Docs. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://docs.google.com/document/d/11aeBqhTOk4oTr7KB_q00qbB_TBvH6fU2FbMXM8h9opI/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.yb52srnhy5su
University of Oregon. (n.d.). Teaching in Turbulent Contexts Resource Guide. Office of the Provost Teaching Support and Innovation. Retrieved October 15, 2024, from https://teaching.uoregon.edu/teaching-turbulent-contexts-resource-guide
