Days After Elections
Days After Elections explores how teachers have responded to moments of political upheaval: from crafting "shields of courage" with 4th graders to switching morning meetings to Spanish so students could name their fear in their own language.
Overview
Elections are among the most charged “days after” a teacher can face. Whether students voted (or wish they could), live in households divided by political loyalties, or carry the weight of policies that directly affect their families, they arrive in the classroom having already processed the results through social media, dinner table arguments, and their own fears. Days After Elections asks teachers to meet them there — not by taking political sides, but by refusing to pretend that nothing happened.
The teachers featured in Teaching on Days After drew on DAP’s core commitments — rejecting neutrality, honoring student assets, and fostering criticality — to create spaces where students could name what they were feeling, examine what had happened, and consider what it meant for their lives and communities.
Key themes
- Centering student voice and lived experience over scripted curriculum
- Using language as an asset (e.g., allowing students to speak in their home language)
- Creating symbolic acts of affirmation and community care
- Naming fear without amplifying it
Activities & Resources
Classroom-ready protocols and tools for teaching on days after elections.