Speaker #1Hello, hello, hello, my friends. Marlena here back with another episode of Real Talk Education. This is the podcast that does not shy away from the issues that are impacting our schools, our educators, our families, our students. We talk about it all and we always leave you with actionable steps you can take so you can move forward, whether you're a parent, an educator, a student, but you move forward and you can really thrive in whatever education environment that you're in. So let's jump right into it. Election Day. If you're listening to this podcast on Monday, November 4th, Election Day is tomorrow. If you're listening to this podcast on Tuesday, November 5th, then it is already Election Day. But elections can be polarizing at best, and this showdown for presidential election is no different. Elections are. are moments that can really bring out a wide range of emotions of hope, anxiety, excitement, and even fear, not just from the adults, but also from the students that we gladiate for. These emotions simply don't affect just adults, but they affect our students as well, no matter their age. In fact, since the 2016 presidential election, we've seen how much political events can impact our youngest learners, as well as our older learners, even radicalizing some of them in one way or the other. So our challenge as EduGladiators is to continue to foster a supportive and inclusive space where all students feel safe. They feel safe to be themselves. They feel safe to express themselves. No matter what. the election outcome might be after Tuesday. So today I'm going to share with you practical strategies to help you prepare for the post-election situation. We'll also talk about the role of adults in the school building and how it is imperative that adults model appropriate behavior and how to maintain a positive learning environment. even on Tuesday if you have school on tomorrow, but also on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and the rest of the week moving forward. So first, let's talk about the impact of Election Day on students. Elections are significant events that shape the world around us. And students often pick up on our anxiety as adults and uncertainty that can come with them. So whether you're a teacher or a parent. a grandparent, an aunt. It doesn't matter. Kids can pick up on what we as adults are feeling. We've seen it before. We've seen it in the conversations at home that make their way into the school community. We've seen how politics can spill over into the classroom. And I know that's an understatement given this time in our school environment right now. But sometimes this can lead to fear and tension between classmates. or even incidents of bullying based on political beliefs or identities. And as educators, we need to be prepared for this. As edugladiators, we must be prepared for this. Our classrooms must remain safe spaces where each student feels respected and they feel valued. So how do we create that environment? Well, the first thing that we need to do is step one, make sure that we set clear expectations for behavior. So let's talk about step one. Let's talk about those clear steps for behavior. Before the election results come in, it is important that you set ground rules for how discussions will take place. So if you're listening to this podcast on Monday and the school day is already over and maybe you don't have school on election day because it is a polling venue, be prepared to set the ground rules on how discussions will take place first thing Wednesday when your students come into the classroom. If you are an education leader, a principal, a superintendent, assistant superintendent, whatever the case might be, it is imperative that you also set the expectation and give the guidance to your teachers on how best they should handle Wednesday. Or if you have school on tomorrow, then make sure that you set those expectations for discussions on... Tuesday morning. And again, if you're a leader, make sure you set those expectations. It might behoove you to have a standing faculty meeting so teachers can come in. They can also kind of decompress, share their fears and anxiety, and hopefully even share their excitement about being able to witness once again, the very, the very concept that separates us from other first world countries, which is that every American citizen can vote in our country for their own country. the top office of president, but also maybe your teachers can have some solutions that maybe they used and found successful in past election cycles for president, especially during 2016, when, in my opinion, we really saw that divisiveness really divide our communities and our schools, including not just the kids, but also the adults in the building. Another key concept of creating that inclusive environment is creating a list of classroom norms or maybe reviewing them or revising them. And maybe those classroom norms can include things like not interrupting when someone else is talking, always assuming positive intent. And this is, that's one of my favorite ones and focus on ideas and not individuals. Another key part of creating an inclusive environment is acknowledging that your students will have different feelings. Some students may feel anxious or even scared depending on the election outcome, and that's okay. It's our job to make sure that they feel safe and valued in our classrooms and in our schools. Let's face it, someone will lose tomorrow. What we don't want to have happen is that our students feel like they've lost everything based on politics or rhetoric or feeling that, depending on how they might identify, are what... race, ethnicity they might be, that their world is ending. So you could even facilitate structured conversations after the election rather than opening the floor for debate. And that's what I would definitely, if you're going to talk about it, I would definitely encourage you to have those structured conversations where you have guidelines for the discussion towards understanding what the electoral process is, how it actually works, because there is so much misinformation and disinformation about our electoral process and focus on the shared values that we have as a community. Step two to help you prepare for post-election in your school is be prepared and be proactive about the post-election classroom dynamics. It's all about being prepared. I've probably said that word 10 times already if I've said it once. The day after an election can be unpredictable, so having resources available can make a huge difference. For example, maybe the first thing you do when students come into your classroom is have them journal privately about their thoughts and feelings, or maybe have small discussion circles, and it might be a good idea to invite counselors depending on the mix of the students in your classroom or in your school. Or... If you're not doing this already, you should definitely consider starting the day with a mindfulness activity or activities if it takes more than one to help ease that anxiety. Another tip is to remind students of your classroom community values. Hopefully you have those values in your classroom. Or again, if you're a school leader listening in, what are your school and or district values? Use a morning meeting or the first class of the day to affirm those values like respect, like empathy, and community support. Also, it's always a great idea to make sure that all of your students are aware and have free access, especially after this election, to your counseling staff so they know where to go and how to get to their counselors to get any help that they might feel they need. Regardless of opinions, your classroom, your school is a place of inclusion and everyone should feel safe to be themselves. there. The third thing you can do, third tip, is to be a role model for civil discourse. And now this is not just for students. It's actually for the adults in the school building too. Again, we do not shy away from the hot topics here of what's happening in our schools, in our school community. We know that there are adults in school buildings, in school districts that are split, that they have the right to vote. of course, but they are split in how they feel about each of our presidential candidates for this election cycle. So how we interact with each other as educators when students are present can have a massive impact on what students see as acceptable behavior, whether that's during staff meetings, emphasizing respectful communication, especially when it comes to discussing diversity, equity, and inclusion is important. If you are a school leader or a team leader in your building, it would help to remind staff members that empathy and active listening go a long way, especially when tensions are running high. So set the tone by encouraging positive reinforcement among staff members. If educators support and uplift each other, students will take notice. Simple actions like checking in on a co-teacher who might be feeling anxious or offering a word of encouragement can make a big difference. But consistency is the key. So hopefully these things have been happening all year long. But if they're not, start now and continue it throughout the school year. When all of the adults are on the same page regarding expectations for students'behavior, your students are much more likely to follow suit. Now, this is my favorite one, actually. I love actually dealing with parents. I think that parents get a bad rap in general for maybe being a nuisance to teachers or not being supportive of the school principal or of the school district. But I actually feel differently about that. I think at the end of the day, parents... are literally sending you their most prized possession for seven and a half hours, not including any sports or activities, a day. And they just want their kid to be a good human. Now, I know there are parents that have ulterior motives, and I get that. But even the parents that you may not agree with, at the end of the day, I'd like to assume positive intent that they are trying their best to do what they feel. feel is best for their child. So communication with parents is always more effective if it can be proactive because parents are an important part of the equation. They're one of the most important parts of a child's education. So keeping them informed helps ensure that what students experience at school is also encouraged at home. And if you would like to see some examples of this. You certainly can click on the show notes here in the podcast app that you're listening to, but you will see two examples, email examples that you can use and tweak. If you are a chat GPT person, feel free to drop this into a chat GPT or come up with your own prompt. But I would encourage you to send out an email, whether from the whole school. I like to for things this important as a former school principal, even as a former district leader, I feel like that should be sent out by a leader. But if you feel comfortable as a teacher doing it, feel free to do that as well. But I have two email examples of messages, sample messages that you can use to reach out to parents that really just help you create consistency in messaging. and encourage the same values both at home and at school. So there are two, all you have to do are two examples. All you have to do is click the link for the show notes and you can find those there. Now, there are areas that you might be missing. So the final tip for how to handle post-election in your classroom or school is really thinking about the areas that you're not thinking about. And that's why you're listening to this podcast, right? Let's talk about a few of those areas that we sometimes overlook. And one of the big ones is addressing bullying and microaggressions. particularly after an election that has been as polarizing as this. And in light of so many of our states, particularly our southern states, have all but banned any diversity of thought, any teaching of Black history, any teaching of anything that is actually the truth of our nation and actually should be viewed as a strength. Like our story is our strength. And I'm a... I'm gonna do a little sidebar here for a second. Our story is our strength. No, America has not been the perfect country. It will never, it never will be. But what we can do is learn from our mistakes. And as a former history teacher, if you don't teach history, it will continue to repeat itself. And that's what we've been doing. So not teaching the full history is not gonna make it better. Not seeing color, not seeing people's differences is not gonna make it better. We need and should be teaching those things as we were prior to maybe two presidents ago. We need to be doing that because it's in those stories where we were not at our best that we have people that were the beacons of light that showed us how to get past it, right? Like how to make it through it. I often say that when I was teaching Black history, and even now when I talk about Black history. We always start with slavery and that is a part of the history, but that is not all of the history. The determination, the success in spite of slavery, right? All of the accomplishments, which is one of the reasons why Black History Month was created. And that's a whole nother episode, but it is about focusing on all the good that was able to, and all the successes that was able to be accomplished, even in spite of. really horrible circumstances. So we don't want to ever dismiss or mute someone's story because it's our stories that give us our backbone. It's our stories that give us our strength to move forward. So I'm going to jump back to the podcast now. Thank you for letting me have that little segue there. But when we think about areas that you might be missing as an educator, the bullying and the microaggression is definitely one of them, especially if you do not belong to a marginalized group. group, right? You won't know what to look for unless you've done the work, and I hope you have, to be able to start seeing what microaggressions that your students who belong to marginalized groups are experiencing, what bullying looks like, you know, that they might be experiencing. Because the day after this election, emotions will be heightened. That can be, it will be heightened. And we don't want it to lead to conflicts. We want to be proactive. We want to monitor students'interactions with each other very closely and make sure that all students know the process for reporting bullying. And as teachers and as leaders, you need to know that process, too, and make sure you're doing something about it. We want to reinforce that the classroom is a safe space and harmful behavior just tolerated, period. End of story. Like, it will not be tolerated at all. OK, another area that you might not be thinking of, again, especially if you do not identify with a marginalized group as being part of that group. Or I'm just going to be very, very transparent. If you don't have friends of that marginalized group, I'm talking about true friends, not co-workers or somebody you say hey and bye to in passing, but like true friends that you spend time with. Is that those those members. of those marginalized groups, the students and the teachers, and if your principal or your district leaders are also part of marginalized groups, they might need additional support. I know for me as a Black woman in the U.S. and from the South, I can tell you that the rhetoric and the vitriol online and even offline has been just off the charts with people that do not look like me making snap decisions and saying just really insane things, not even knowing me just because I look how I look. So it has been extremely. stressful and extremely taxing, right, on during this election cycle, just being supportive and just being me, just being Black in America, right? And so if I feel it as, you know, someone of my age and experience and where I've come from, imagine what our students are feeling. So they might need additional support and you're... adults in the building might also need additional support as well. They may feel completely affected by the election results. You know, I don't have to go into great detail, but if you've been keeping up with the news in Ohio when those untrue misinformation and disinformation remarks were made about the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, I mean, they had to not have school for several days because of that, right? Like you may think, well, my community is not like that. But if you have just one or two students that are not part of the majority culture, it can feel even more isolating for them. So make sure you have that additional support. Make sure they're aware of counseling services and they know how to reach out for that support. And it might be helpful to have one-on-one check-ins. with those students from an adult that they feel connected to. Now, for my middle school days, I believe that every student should have one trusted adult in the building, right? And so this would be a great time for those adults to make sure to check in with those students, especially if they belong to a marginalized group. Lastly, I just want to say that, you know, use this time as a teachable moment. There are so many resources that I know that you have as educators on the electoral process and even the feelings, the scandals, the, you know, just the vibe of elections in the past that you can use to point out the role of government and the checks and balances that are in place in our government, which would help actually. address the myths and disinformation. You have those resources. Consider teaching some of those pieces or reinforcing or reviewing those pieces with your students so they know, again, what to expect. And they are reminded for hopefully most of them, especially if they're older students, they're reminded of our election process. And they can also better understand. and process and handle what may happen during the election and post-election. Lastly, I would just say that it's important to shift from polarization to positivity. Encourage students to engage in actions that promote unity. So if you feel like, you know what, I don't feel comfortable really talking about, you know, the election or, you know, some of these things in class. Which, that's a different conversation, but if that's how you feel, that's how you feel, right? Consider having a class or school-wide service project. A not-so-random act of kindness, if you will. Have those types of service projects where everybody's working together for a shared goal to help remind them that, hey, you know, we as a community, as a classroom community, as a school community, not only value each other, but we do. value our community and helping someone that might need it. These simple actions can go a super long way in reminding students that they have the power to make a positive difference in our communities. So to wrap up, elections are a powerful reminder of our diversity, our diversity in our thoughts, in our background, in our experiences. Our responsibility as educators, as edugladiators, as I like to say, is to ensure that our classrooms, our schools remain places where diversity is celebrated, where all students feel valued and they feel respected. And not just the students, but also the adults that serve those students as well. Being prepared in advance. fostering open communication, providing students with tools that they need to navigate their emotions, not just their emotions at school even, but also their emotions when they go home. to probably a very polarized family one way or the other across the aisle, right? We can create an environment that really exemplifies positivity and inclusiveness, no matter the political climate. And we can help our students and also help each other, help our colleagues really thrive during this election season. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of The Real Talk Education. And if you found today's episode helpful, please share it with a colleague. Remember, the values of respect, empathy, and understanding should always be at the forefront of our classrooms and of our schools, because together we can build a community where every student feels safe, heard, and empowered to learn. Until next time, stay strong, stay compassionate, and keep doing the improvement. important work that you do every day as EduGladiators.
