69´«Ă˝

Student Well-Being

69´«Ă˝ Don’t Want to Talk About Politics, Either

By Brooke Schultz — October 28, 2024 | Corrected: October 30, 2024 6 min read
Viewers gather to watch a debate between Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Angry Elephant Bar and Grill, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in San Antonio.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Corrected: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Jimmy Gallivan’s age and grade. He is 16, and a junior.

For teenagers, talking about the election can feel a little taboo, said Jimmy Gallivan.

“I definitely see talk about it and stuff like that, but I think a lot of students feel afraid. Like, if I speak out about my opinions in such a divisive environment, what are the consequences going to be?” said the 16-year-old junior in Somers, N.Y. “One side is going to completely disagree with you most of the time. It’s a lot of—almost—fear, in a sense.”

Most students today likely can’t remember a presidential election that wasn’t steeped in divisiveness, personal attacks, and identity politics that can feel frightening for those from marginalized backgrounds. And this year, the election is occurring at a time when many schools are discouraged from having tough conversations in class, as 18 states have passed legislation or other policies prohibiting teachers from talking about “divisive concepts.” More than half of teachers said they don’t plan on talking about the election in their classes, partly because they worry students wouldn’t be respectful of each other, or that parents will complain.

It’s not that students aren’t politically engaged. Researchers have seen students continue to organize and advocate: They’ve staged and have organized protests around mental health, reproductive rights, and police brutality. The number of young people likely to vote is increasing, according to survey data. The student press also grapples with national dialogue, experts say.

But more young people are reluctant to discuss politics, researchers say, especially without a space to safely navigate those discussions in such a polarized environment. Compounding the fear of speaking out is a general sense of weariness for some students who feel like they can’t affect national politics—particularly in the White House.

Jimmy said he thinks his peers feel “tired.”

“I think as a student, sometimes it’s a little tiring because we can’t vote yet,” Jimmy said. “For me at least, I want to focus on my academics, I want to make sure I’m learning a lot, I’m doing well in my classes—friends, community, joining clubs and stuff. For such a large divisive issue to come along, it’s a little hard, because it’s something we have to balance on top of everything else that already is happening in our lives.”

Without the traditional avenue for civic participation like voting, the presidency can feel unmovable, said Heather Kennedy, a professor of community and behavioral health at the Colorado School of Public Health.

“The heartbeat of America right now is this political contest and it’s quite stressful, even as an adult with the ability to vote, the ability to have action,” Kennedy said. “I think apathy, to me, is a form of protection for young people, that they protect themselves by keeping this political race at a longer distance.”

Researchers say students are more reluctant to weigh in

Zoe Logan—a 17-year-old senior in Ada, Okla., whose home state passed one of the first “divisive concepts” bill limiting how educators can discuss race and sexuality in the classroom—said the election hasn’t come up much in school from her teachers.

“They kind of have to walk on eggshells about what they talk about. The election’s kind of a touchy subject,” she said. “I hear what kids say, and I’m assuming it’s mainly what they’re hearing at home.”

As the child of a teacher—and an aspiring teacher herself—she thinks these conversations are scary for teachers everywhere. Still, Zoe said, she thinks the election should be talked about in school.

“It feels like we’re almost kind of stuck,” she said.

In the blue state of Washington, high school senior Gavin Cruz said his Advanced Placement Government and Politics class in Olympia has delved into the election cycle, and he said the school allows for open dialogue. It’s up to students to be as outspoken as they want—and many aren’t because they don’t want to be judged, he said.

Gavin, who is 18 and plans to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris next week, said he thinks students should be politically active even if they can’t vote in this election.

“The community of tomorrow starts with the ideas of today,” he said. “Although I’m a registered voter, and I’m happy to be one, you don’t have to be 18 to speak out about your ideas.”

Survey data on college students have shown that they’re reluctant to express political opinions, said Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. There’s no reason to imagine it’d be different for younger students, he said.

He empathizes with young people’s hesitance to speak out: There was no social media when he was a teenager. He didn’t have to worry about anything he said or wrote suddenly being broadcast to an audience of thousands—or millions—who might disagree.

, published this spring by the Institute of Politics from the Harvard Kennedy School, found that one-third of college students are uncomfortable sharing their political opinions. Between the Barack Obama and Donald Trump presidencies, the number of students with that concern increased significantly, but the trend has stabilized in the last seven years, according to the study.

Another , conducted last fall by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonpartisan organization that defends free speech, found that more than a quarter of students (26 percent) censor themselves at least a few times a week in conversations with friends.

“There’s no doubt there’s some self-censorship at work,” Zimmerman said about high schoolers’ reluctance to discuss politics.

But it’s imperative for schools to tackle these conversations, he said. A recent report from the American Historical Association found that nearly half of high school U.S. history teachers never received objections to the way they teach, meaning there’s room to have such conversations, he added.

“69´«Ă˝ are supposed to teach us to talk across our differences,” Zimmerman said. “It’s precisely because the differences are so yawning, so gaping, so angry, that the schools are afraid to do what they should be doing.”

Creating a space where tough conversations can be had

That’s not to say no schools are grappling with the election. At Rogers Park Middle School in Danbury, Conn., students are gearing up for a mock presidential election after all three grades took a class in understanding the government, said Principal Kristy Zaleta. They’ve interviewed local candidates running for office for a school podcast. They’ve learned what democracy is, what qualifications you need to run for office, and what the electoral college is.

See also

69´«Ă˝ at Northside Intermediate prepare for a mock election on Nov. 8, 2016 in Opelika, Ala.
69´«Ă˝ at Northside Intermediate School in Opelika, Alaska, prepare for a mock election on Nov. 8, 2016.
Todd Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn News via AP
Social Studies Mock Elections in 69´«Ă˝ Evolve to Build Trust in Democracy
Evie Blad, October 9, 2024
9 min read

“I think our teachers do a nice job at letting kids speak; we can disagree about things but we disagree agreeably. You have to let people speak, but also question: Why do you think that?” Zaleta said. “We’re really just coming at it from an educational standpoint, where the more you know, the better decisions you can make and the more of a critical thinker you can be.”

Kennedy, the Colorado researcher, said it’s important to create a “container” where young people feel like their perspectives can be held and challenged, where they can be wrong, where they can learn.

“Without that container, political conversations in a very politically divisive society can cause harm,” she said. “I think it’s important that adults who seek to engage young people in political conversations first create the container, and the trust, that is needed to be able to navigate those conversations with care and intentionality.”

In her work, she’s coached adults on how to create group agreements for students before they head into tough conversations—having students imagine that there are two different perspectives that are going to be discussed, and determine how they can keep each other safe, how they can hear each other, and what to do if they disagree.

“If adults facilitate that conversation well, they have a playbook designed by young people on how to engage in conversations in ways that can honor everybody’s perspectives, with a â€seeking to understand’ lens,” Kennedy said.

Related Tags:

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69´«Ă˝
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Student Well-Being Download Traumatic Brain Injuries Are More Common Than You Think. Here's What to Know
Here's how educators can make sure injured students don't fall behind as they recover.
1 min read
Illustration of a female student sitting at her desk and holding hands against her temples while swirls of pencils, papers, question marks, stars, and exclamation marks swirl around her head.
iStock/Getty
Student Well-Being How Teachers Can Help LGBTQ+ 69´«Ă˝ With Post-Election Anxiety
LGBTQ+ crisis prevention hotlines have seen a spike in calls from youth and their families.
6 min read
Photo of distraught teen girl.
Preeti M / Getty
Student Well-Being 69´«Ă˝ Are Eerily Quiet About the Election Results, Educators Say
Teachers say students' reactions to Trump's win are much more muted than in 2016.
6 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump greets Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Evan Vucci/AP
Student Well-Being Student Journalists Want to Cover Politics. Not Everyone Agrees They Should
Student journalists are grappling with controversial topics—a lesson in democracy that's becoming increasingly at risk for pushback.
7 min read
Illustration of a paper airplane made from a newspaper.
DigitalVision Vectors