AS THE DUST SETTLES from the recent election, high school classrooms reveal an emotional landscape ranging from resignation to hope. For many of today’s students, political outcomes are no longer just lessons in textbooks — they’re personal, tangible, and often unsettling.
In the wake of the election, students across grade levels and young people across the nation are grappling with what the results mean for their futures and their values. Teachers are tasked with creating space for thoughtful discussions while carefully navigating the fine line between neutrality and education, with many young people engaging in nuanced conversations. Together, these conversations offer a glimpse into how young people feel about politics, the country, and their own roles in shaping its future.
“We have an obligation as public figures in a public institution and a place of education, of being personally neutral,” said Jade Paniagua, Acalanes Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science teacher. “Because I hold a place of power in the classroom, and because we can be influential, our own personal opinions really don’t have space in the classroom.”
Many students expressed mixed emotions after the election, either feeling hopeful in some cases and disappointed in others, creating a changed atmosphere at schools.
“I think the mood was down. A lot of people missed class, and I felt that a lot of people weren’t really excited to be at school that day,” Acalanes Senior Nick Owens said.
Many teachers felt the need to discuss the election, likely due to the significance it posed, including its potential impact on the content that they teach.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years, so who knows how many presidents I’ve been through at this point teaching — you know, each administration has its own priorities, and that’s going to cause shifts in things that impact what I teach,” Paniagua said. “I have to find a balance between making sure to respect political ideologies and moral compasses, while also educating factually and accurately about how different government policies, whether it be under different administrations or not, are going to impact the things we study.”
Separating policies from politics
The age and maturity of students in specific classes influenced many teachers in their decision to discuss the election and to what extent there were open conversations about different policies and politics.
“I approached it slightly differently in my freshman classes and my senior classes, because in the senior classes, we did talk quite a bit about the election. They had an election project, one that had taken up about six weeks, so they were familiar with campaigns,” AP Comparative Government and Freshman World History teacher Joseph Schottland said. “We talked about the aftermath and basically what happened in terms of complete control of both houses of Congress and now also, obviously, with the control of the Supreme Court. I tried to make sure that we did not go into viewpoints on policy issues — that I tried to steer away from.”
Some teachers felt a duty to discuss the election, as it pertained directly to the content they teach, something common in government, economics, history, and science classes.
“Different administrations have different ideas about how federal lands should be managed. A lot of that has to do with things like fossil fuel extraction and mining, and how we manage our national forests and things like that. I think it’s important for students to know that there will be changes,” Paniagua said.
Other teachers simply held space to allow young people to diffuse confusion or difficult emotions they might be feeling. Some held discussions during class, while others had optional dialogues during study hall periods.
“Part of what I wanted in the week of the election was, that as people were processing and responding and thinking, either positively or negatively, people to have a place where they could ask questions about any kind of shifts that we might expect,” Paniagua said.
Even some young people who were not old enough to cast a ballot or did not participate still felt the effects of the election, either personally or in their larger communities.
“I personally felt a little distraught and was worried about the future,” said Acalanes Junior Aamena Shipchandler. “I didn’t vote in this election, but I will be able to vote in the next midterms, so I have been taking an active role in researching options and being informed with my own beliefs. I felt personally affected, even if I personally didn’t cast a ballot. I remember where I was and when I found out. It felt like a flashback from when I was eight years old in 2016.”
The impact of social media
Political opinions range drastically among young people, with some more outspoken than others about their beliefs.
“There was some divide among students because some people stood out with their views. Other people took it really seriously, and that was valid because it was an emotional topic. I had emotional conversations with people the day after the election,” Acalanes Junior Piper Coy said.
Social media proved relevant throughout the election, as candidates for various offices fought to have their voice heard by young people, many of whom consume much of their media that way. And social media remained important after the election, with many young people sharing their reactions, positive or negative, to election outcomes.
“For me, and a lot of other young people that are active on social media, it played a huge role in the aftermath of the election. Almost every celebrity I followed released something about a particular candidate, and people my age posted how they were feeling and re-posting different messages. I think I saw at least 50 Instagram stories about it from my peers,” Coy said.
“I try not to judge someone based on their political affiliation, but I think this election was so polarizing that when I saw people voting for a side I didn’t support, I chose to unfollow them, especially if I found that content harmful or hateful.” Aamena Shipchandler, Acalanes High School junior
Between politics on social media and emotional students in class, some were concerned young people would suffer serious division between one another due to differing viewpoints. Some chose to adjust whom they spent time with as a product of political views, while others felt comfortable conversing with others regardless of beliefs.
“I try not to judge someone based on their political affiliation, but I think this election was so polarizing that when I saw people voting for a side I didn’t support, I chose to unfollow them, especially if I found that content harmful or hateful,” Shipchandler said.
Schottland noticed divides by gender, observing that female students often felt more passionate about the election results, in particular the presidency and what that means for them.
“From my perspective, in the AP class, the guys are fairly respectful of the diverse viewpoints, particularly those of women. And I think that they were conscious of the fact that a number of the women, particularly the more outspoken women, were hurt — visibly hurt,” Schottland said.
Passion gives way to resignation
While comparisons to the 2016 election are common, given the same presidential result, both Schottland and Paniagua noticed that the mood among their young students felt drastically different. They felt that students were more passionate in 2016, while a mood of resignation overtook in 2024.
“Discussions about the election would have just had to come up organically on their own, and that hasn’t happened. It did happen in 2016, and there were a couple of days that there really was a lot of conflict and tension between students, but not this year” Paniagua said.
“It’s much more of a resignation, meaning being resigned to the fact that (Donald Trump) was going to be president, whereas in 2016 people were genuinely, emotionally upset — frustrated that they didn’t have an outlet for that,” Schottland said.
With that in mind, many wonder if young people may be disheartened about politics as a whole if the election went in a different direction than they hoped — or if they will be more inspired than ever to engage with politics.
“I think it made me want to be more politically active. I believe that the candidates we have aren’t always as good as they should be, and it inspired me to want to change that in the future” Owens said.
With some looking to engage, perhaps for the first time in their young lives, the issue immediately confronting them may be how to start, including how to inform themselves about political issues and nuanced subjects.
“I think how we inform ourselves is one of the biggest challenges for us in the United States and globally, but here especially. We get our information from different places, and so different people have very different views of what our country is because they have different ideas in their minds” Paniagua said.
After the election, many students are left grappling with feelings of uncertainty and frustration about the future. In the midst of these emotions, new passion sometimes ensues, pushing many to take an active role in politics as they step into their adult life, being guided by older people in their lives.
“I think you just keep on doing what you think is right. I think you keep on trying to learn and have empathy and understanding and kindness. I think for people who feel helpless, focusing on local is really important. We can do things in our local communities, and we can be impactful,” Paniagua said.