Wondering what to say to students post election?
Here are two powerful pieces of information to keep in mind.
1) User generated content is more influential and trusted than other media.
2) What we read on social media and conversations we have with those we consider friends are those that are most trusted.
The youth in your life, care most about what their friends, teachers, and family post online and say in person. As an educator, be a role model. Post inspiring and/or thoughtful updates. Inspire your students to do the same. Let young people know what they say matters. Encourage them to share words that are thoughtful and inspiring. Share acts of kindness. Find and share posts in social media of those you and your students respect. Acknowledge those as models of who we want to be.
Have conversations in your classroom that are respectful and inquiry based.
Not sure how? The teachers at Science Leadership Academy had this message for their students:
I also found the advice in this article useful: How to talk to your kids about the election results and the second suggestion in this article from Common Sense Ed provides helpful advice about channeling emotion into action. This article talks about how to talk to students at a higher ed level, but much is relevant for any level.Started a few lines of this in my head last night. A bunch of us wrote it, shared first thing today. Thanks, SLA. pic.twitter.com/dD5SYM8wzl— Larissa Pahomov (@Lpahomov) November 9, 2016
This call to action from NYC principal Jamaal Bowman is also something in which you and your students may want to become involved: We need local committees for every component of Trump's 100 day plan. This is about building an informed and active citizenry.
Check out the hashtag #MyWishForTheFuture. See what the tone is. Have students share their wishes. Discuss how to make them come true.
What do you think? What successes have you had in your classroom around conversations post-election?
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