11 Teachers Share How Trump's Win Is Affecting Their Students and How They're Dealing

"I am a teacher in a school where a large percentage of our students are immigrants, and my students come from all over the globe, including India, Egypt, Morocco, and Mexico. I knew the night of the election that I would have to prepare myself for some hard conversations.

Unfortunately, the morning after the election I was met with a class of very scared and angry 7-year-olds. One of my students whose family is from Mexico came in first thing this morning and announced her family would have to go back to Mexico.

So here's what we did. . . . We started our day with the Pledge of Allegiance. We talked about how proud we were to live in a country where no one person has control over our lives. We talked about how being different is awesome and one reason America is so great is because it is filled people who are different.

I gave them a chance to talk about why the election made them mad. I reminded them that Trump was a human and that humans make mistakes. I told them that we can hope that because he has been given this great responsibility, that he will step up to the challenge. I gave them a chance to write their hopes for the country, and they turned in letters to Donald Trump.

In true 7-year-old form, they put their hatred aside and wrote of hope. They wrote to him with respect and genuine belief that he will change. They wrote words of encouragement and affirmation, about things that were important. 'I hope you will treat all people with respect even if their skin is not white or they were born in another country.' 'I hope you will know that being different is awesome.' Then we put them in the mailbox and mailed them off to Trump and they were able to go on with their day feeling like they had voiced their concerns.

It's hard for me as a teacher to explain to kids that the things that I drill into them every day — being respectful, responsible, caring, kind, compassionate, and different — are the same things that our new president does not practice himself. But this is just another lesson, a lesson on how things happen all the time that are out of our control. But we are always responsible for our actions and can't control those of others. That's why we instill morals. So they can be OK, even in the wake of something that initially felt like a tragedy."

"The day after the election was tough. I teach in a school whose population is a mix of immigrants and first-generation students. My students come from all over Latin America, Korea, Philippines, and Bangladesh.

We started class with a community circle, and each person had a chance to share or answer a question. One of my students who is in a wheelchair talked about how his mom told him she wants to move back to Mexico (his doctors for his muscular dystrophy are here), another talked about seeing his mom cry for the first time, a third from Bangladesh talked about not feeling safe even though she doesn't wear a hijab.

Each period was filled with these stories. One girl said that she had moved to the US because of the gang wars in her country and now she doesn't feel safe here either. Another student had stopped wearing his turban previously because of harassment on the way to school.

So hard to hold all of this.

My students are working on units that directly apply: writing about if the American Dream is achievable, synthesizing a bunch of texts including speeches by President Obama and John McCain, the Declaration of Independence, poems by Langston Hughes, and an essay from Studs Terkel. The day after the election, we didn't get much done, but soon, we'll finish gathering evidence and I am certain that the election will color how they feel and how they respond. It's almost painful to read Obama's 2004 speech at the Democratic Convention and to listen to him talk about uniting a divided America when so many people feel despondent and excluded from the US.

After the election, students at my school walked out to protest and we had assemblies about the importance of supporting each other and standing up to the harassment that our most at-risk populations may feel. Yet, the students are afraid and also lashing out. In fact, as I type this, people are walking out now. When my wife walked to our car, some of the students (from another of the schools on our campus) threw things at her and shouted that she was a racist and didn't belong here either.

It's all overwhelming and sad."

"Where I work, at an all-girls school, we don’t like to discuss politics, as is the policy in many schools. Still, with this election covered so widely in the media, it was inevitable that my students would pick up information that they were hearing from both the television and their families.

As a teacher, there is such a fine line that you must walk when it comes to your students and worldly topics such as politics. We want students to feel safe and free to express themselves. At the same time, they are young, and most of what they are saying is not coming from them. Because of that, tensions run high. Disagreements about what is true and what is false come up because of what they have heard their parents say.

For many reasons, including age, confusion, and fear, there was not much discussion in the classroom. I genuinely struggled yesterday with the results of the election, so how was I supposed to explain this to a group of 6- and 7-year-olds? I didn't know how. Today, teachers discussed what could be talked about in order to ease tensions around the election. It has become clear that there are students who are anxious and confused about what has happened. I can relate.

This topic needed to be addressed with our girls, especially due to the widespread conversation throughout this election process about women and girls. We decided that the conversation that should be had is not necessarily about Trump vs. Clinton, or about the fact that Trump has negatively spoken and acted against women, minorities, and other groups of people. The conversation should be about leadership. What does it mean to be a good leader? How can we be good leaders? What can we do to better our country? Our classroom? Our community? These are the important questions and conversations that will shape the dynamic in the classroom and the future of our country.

All we can do now is ensure that students feel safe, cared for, and valued. We can teach them how to be kind and compassionate. We can teach them to be good leaders and to be respectful of all people, no matter what similarities or differences they may have from you. We can teach them that even if you don't win at something, trying your hardest and being proud of what you have done is important. Lastly, we can teach them to never give up on what they believe in and think is right."

"I teach in an area of Baltimore where many of my students are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Most families are Latino, but our school is diverse and represents many countries and cultures. In the months leading up to this election, I have personally witnessed the trauma that Donald Trump's vitriol has had on the students at my school. I've comforted their concerns with statements of hope and redirection.

In the wake of what was previously unthinkable, my main job is to listen. I told them that I love them, and they have countless others who will stand by them. My other main job is to educate them. I want to encourage their curiosity, embolden them to use their voices and seek truth, and teach them to vet sources and fact check. This will arm them for their future, because as this election cycle has shown us, misinformation is pernicious.

I cannot overstate the shame and dismay I feel from this situation and the concern I have for the pains that America will experience in the times to come, but I teach hopeful, resilient, strong, kind, inquisitive young adults and I have faith that who 'makes America great' is sitting in my classroom."

"I am deeply scared for all of us about what the next four years will look like, but I am especially worried for the 30+ adolescent English language learners I work with daily. The day after the election, it was really rough listening to kids ask me if they'll have to go back to their countries now that we've elected Donald Trump as the next president.

While I can try to reassure them, it doesn't change the fact that half the country was willing to overlook the despicable things said by a presidential candidate about immigrants and other groups. My students deserve better than this. The reasons they are here and the journeys they have made to get here would break the heart of anyone who has a shred of humanity in them. Before today, I think many of them even loved the US more than I did, because they were grateful to live in a place that wasn't ruled by gangs, corruption, extreme gender inequality, the list goes on.

I am embarrassed to be an American [in the wake of the election] because we've made it clear to these students, and the world, that we support hate if we're willing to elect a person who spews hate to our highest office.

I accept that Trump won, but I refuse to accept the climate of hate he has created and drawn out of too many Americans. Moving forward, I plan to call out hate when I see it. . . . I owe these kids too much to stay silent."

"I posted on Facebook, 'I've never before wondered how I would teach while crying.' During my last class [the evening of the election], we were discussing William Golding's Lord of the Flies. We couldn't help pausing during our discussion to check the election results rolling in from the East Coast as the polls closed. Teachable moments are always welcome, and when a struggling student asked if we could discuss the text as a metaphor for the political landscape, the election, it was inspiring.

The day after the election, we read Maggie Smith's poem 'Good Bones.' It lent itself to a discussion of poetry's use of indirection, slant, to reveal universal truths, and a discussion of our responsibility to shepherd each other through these troubling times.

Not the days I had planned, although good, valuable teaching opportunities, as we reel and regroup."

"The town I teach in is rural and very white (almost 96 percent). The students were incredibly incensed by the election. Some were incredibly off-put by the idea that anyone could support someone who spouted racist, misogynist, homophobic, xenophobic rhetoric (their words, not mine). Others were in support of Trump and would respond with 'He doesn't mean it, he's just joking, he doesn't actually molest people.'

In my classroom, I simply won't allow students to insult or demean people. Trump made this rule more challenging. I found that more students were willing to call each other stupid, ignorant, weak, uninformed, or some other insult.

Many students who are in my class have approached the news with open sadness or fear. They don't know how to process the idea that people can separate someone's policies from who they are as a person. Many students expressed dismay with how their parents voted. Some of them even openly wondered 'If I'm gay and Trump and Pence don't think I'm acceptable, how can my parents vote for that person?'

Many of my female students feared for their safety entering into a world where the president can reportedly molest someone with impunity and expressed fear in the idea of going to college (many of them are aware of the rates of sexual assault on campuses already). My openly LGBTQ students were terrified. All I could tell them is that they weren't alone in their fears. That was really the only honest and somewhat idealistic thing I could share.

I've never been more impotent as a teacher and mentor for them. My kids are legitimately terrified, and there is no way for me to help. Usually I can give them advice or a strategy to work with, but I didn't have anything except 'You're not alone.' And it felt woefully inadequate."

"I didn't talk all that much about the election with my students. I guess I assumed they were young and from another country so it wasn't that big of a deal. But when I woke up after election day and the results were still not in, I put all the websites on the interactive board when I arrived to school.

As soon as the kids saw the pictures, they knew exactly who they were. 'Donald Trump!' 'Hillary Clinton!' The names rolled off their tongues as if they were saying their own names. They asked who won and I explained that we were still waiting for the votes to come in. So we started doing the math and they quickly realized it would be much easier for Trump to win than Hillary at that point. I asked them who they wanted to win and they started chanting, 'Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!'

Once the results came out, I was devastated. It was hard not to cry in front of my students. When I saw one of my students later in the day he asked me, 'Teacher, who won?' I just looked at him and before I could say anything, he mumbled 'Trump' and proceeded to slump into his chair.

They must have been talking about the election and candidates at home because one of them announced to the class, 'If Donald Trump wins, he's going to send the Army to all the citizens.' While this is far from the truth, this is where we as citizens of the United States come in. There is so much trash talk and and many rumors circulating all over the world. I quickly set them straight.

They were interested. They were animated. I was wrong to not discuss it earlier. Though they are young and not Americans, it still affects them, just in a different way it would affect a 7-year old American child. They don't even realize how it could affect them in the future.

We have to accept that Trump won. I just hope that we can stop the trash talk and the hate. We have to come together as a team to create a better future. And that starts with teaching our children to be kind, tolerant, and patient. One step at a time."

"Serving students and families in a predominantly Latino and largely Mexican community, this election is a subject that is very difficult to tackle. Several students and parents came in to school [the day after the election] expressing fear and feeling anxious about what the future holds for them. Under normal circumstances, it's my job to assure students that they/we are safe. However, this was a struggle for me as I have the same fear regarding the future immigration policies that will be introduced by the new administration. I did and will continue to listen and encourage open and realistic dialogue with all students in the hopes that eventually students will regain a sense of security about their futures."

"[The day after the election] was one of the most difficult days of my teaching career, partially due to the state of shock many of us found ourselves that morning. There was a fog that followed me around throughout the day, one that slowly and painfully dissipated as I came to terms with our new American reality.

That was the personal 'pain' that I experienced, a pain that doesn't even come close to the pain, trauma, fear and confusion felt by my students. In hindsight, it felt as if my fellow educators and I were the nurses and medics on the front lines, our students the casualties of a bitter, destructive and decisive war. They returned with confused minds, wounded souls, and frightened hearts.

All I could think to do was write, and so we wrote. We thought, we took deep breaths, and then we wrote some more. In total, students wrote for 15 minutes. And then, as all voters must do — we moved on.

This act of moving on felt the most awkward and counter-intuitive of all the actions we took today. As educators, we are trained to be figures of consistency for our students, figures of routine, figures of normalcy. Doing that — on a day that felt anything but normal — felt like both the right and hopelessly optimistic thing to do."

"My students are so young and there are only a few that are actually aware of what's going on. I want them to become informed citizens, but certain issues are not relevant or appropriate for such young children.

Since my emotions were pretty high the morning after the election, we took some time to focus on the good we can do, starting by listing ways to show kindness and respect to others (even when you disagree with someone). The students warmed my heart with their comments, which was much needed.

In social studies, we've been studying citizenship and government, particularly how to be a good citizen. For the rest of the unit, we'll be learning more about why we have a government, the branches of government, what they do, and our role as citizens. Students need to understand that the president is not the only decision-maker in our government.

My biggest struggle is trying to figure out how to simplify complex issues and concepts to an age-appropriate level without sugar-coating anything. I don't want to teach about the government by saying, 'We need a government to help keep us safe and decide what we need most in our lives. They make laws, which keep us safe and help us work together.' That just feels like conformist BS. How can I introduce a critical eye towards the government without confusing or scaring the kids?

Another big problem I'm having . . . how can I talk about the presidency without actually referring to our current president? Do I really want to bring a discussion about Donald Trump into my classroom? I want my students to believe in the dignity, liberty, and unity that our country is supposed to stand for, regardless of whether or not our current leader represents those ideals. For now, I plan to emphasize rules and rights in our country by studying community leaders that caused positive changes or overturned unfair law.

Lastly, in science, I'm revving up my focus on protecting the environment. I often throw in mindfulness about the environment, cutting down waste, and saving energy in my teaching, but now it seems even more critical that the children care deeply about environmental issues. I want to ensure that the ones who will actually be dealing with the consequences (the kids) will be informed. I worry about them so much, which just motivates me more to give them the tools to fight the problems they will face in the future."