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鈥淒oomed.鈥� 鈥淏affled.鈥� 鈥淪cared.鈥� 鈥淗appy.鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 care.鈥� 鈥淲e are so cooked.鈥�

Those were the reactions to the presidential election result that students scrawled on a white board Wednesday morning inside Joshua Ferguson鈥檚 11th grade government class at Ypsilanti Community High School in Michigan.

Before he knew that former President Donald Trump had won a second term, Ferguson thought he would do a lesson on disinformation in politics. Instead, he gave students room to talk. The most important piece of this lesson, he said, was for his students to feel safe and heard.

鈥淚 think that鈥檚 my job as a teacher,鈥� he said.

Educators across the country awakened Wednesday to the , then headed into school buildings where students were feeling everything from elation to shock to despair. Some had carefully scripted lesson plans at the ready. Others, like Ferguson, scrapped what they prepared and simply listened.

For civics and social studies teachers who had been monitoring the 2024 presidential election, Wednesday presented both a pedagogical challenge 鈥� and opportunity. Chalkbeat reporters fanned out to schools across the country to see how teachers approached this monumental day.

This story was reported by Caroline Bauman, Gabrielle Birkner, Hannah Dellinger, Jessie Gomez, Dale Mezzacappa, Amelia Pak-Harvey, Carly Sitrin, and Alex Zimmerman.

鈥榃hy do people keep voting for Trump?鈥�

Ahead of his 7:30 a.m. social studies class Wednesday, teacher John Winters had prepared a worksheet to spur conversation.

鈥淎s you know, [fill in the blank] has been elected as the next U.S. President,鈥� the sheet read. 鈥淧lease share your thoughts, feelings, concerns, questions, etc.鈥�

His students at Philadelphia鈥檚 Murrell Dobbins Career & Technical Education High School didn鈥檛 need much prompting.

鈥淗e IS a convicted felon and should鈥檝e never been allowed to run ever again,鈥� wrote one student.

People 鈥渄on鈥檛 want to see a girl/woman be the president,鈥� wrote another.

鈥淲hy do people keep voting for Trump? Especially people that he doesn鈥檛 even like and is racist towards?鈥� still another wrote.

The responses conveyed dismay and fear among some at the 800-student technical school, which is 89% Black and located in the city鈥檚 lowest income ZIP code.

At the end of the class, one junior held back to talk to Winters. Anxiety, even fear, was written all over his face as he struggled for words.

He asked a series of questions, like how many bills a president could pass and how an impeached president could be elected again. Winters answered but sensed there was something larger the boy wanted to know.

鈥淚 was born here, but I鈥檓 scared for my parents,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e from Haiti. It鈥檚 bad there right now.鈥�

Winters reminded him that strongly Democratic Philadelphia has been a sanctuary city, meaning it doesn鈥檛 always cooperate with the federal government in enforcing immigration law. He told the young man to clarify with his parents their status. But then, reluctantly, he added: 鈥淚 can鈥檛 lie, it鈥檚 a concerning situation.鈥�

The boy put his head down, and slowly walked to his next class.

A rightward shift, especially among boys

At The Global Learning Collaborative, a high school situated in the deep-blue Upper West Side of Manhattan, students reacted to Trump鈥檚 victory with a mix of fear, ambivalence 鈥� and support.

More than 70% of the school鈥檚 students are Latino, and many expressed alarm over Trump鈥檚 anti-immigrant rhetoric. But there was still a sizable number of students who supported the Republican candidate during a mock election held during a Wednesday morning assembly: 136 students voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, while 70 supported Trump.

Junior Alix Torres said she has undocumented relatives and worries about his promise to .

鈥淚 woke up kind of angry this morning,鈥� Torres said, noting that she helped persuade some family members to vote for Harris. 鈥淚 hope he hears the public and chooses to not go through with that. We built this country.鈥�

Others at The Global Learning Collaborative said they supported Trump or didn鈥檛 have a firm opinion of him; nearly all were under 10 years old during his first presidency.

Senior Sara Otero, who is 18, voted for the first time on Tuesday, casting a ballot for the former president. A devout Christian, Otero said she believed Trump would preserve religious liberty, though she hadn鈥檛 followed the election closely.

鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 as educated as I wish I was on the whole thing,鈥� she said.

Harris decisively won New York City, but . Civics teacher Martin Gloster said he has seen a rightward shift in political attitudes in his classroom.

鈥淚 think teenage boys are really attracted to that strongman presence,鈥� he said.

Gloster said he has struggled with teaching contemporary politics, including the presidential debate in which Trump Haitian immigrants were eating cats and dogs. In a class that discussed the debate, one student had faced an arduous journey emigrating from Guatemala, while others were more sympathetic to Trump.

鈥淚t鈥檚 difficult because obviously I play it down the middle 鈥� Trump is just a different thing,鈥� Gloster said. 鈥淚鈥檓 learning on the fly. I don鈥檛 have all the answers.鈥�

Taking lessons from Gore鈥檚 2000 concession speech

When Reid Stuart arrived for his first class on Wednesday, he had three goals for students: Give space to process this huge political moment, impart tools to 鈥� and watch Al Gore鈥檚 concession speech from 2000.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredible speech, by a Tennessean, after a tense moment that calls for unity,鈥� said Stuart, who teaches at Crosstown High School, a diverse public charter school in Memphis, Tennessee. 鈥淚t feels relevant.鈥�

His students in AP Human Geography settled into class, some joking with each other about the election and others speaking somberly.

Before watching , Stuart asked: What did his students expect from a conceding presidential candidate?

鈥淭o show respect to the other candidate.鈥� 鈥淭o show respect for the system.鈥� 鈥淭o actually concede,鈥� students chimed in.

Stuart then asked, 鈥淚f you are Al Gore, how are you feeling?鈥�

鈥淐heated.鈥� 鈥淢ad.鈥� 鈥淯naccepting of loss.鈥� 鈥淏itter.鈥�

Gore, a Democrat, gave his speech more than a month after the 2000 Election Day and after .

Stuart asked his students what they thought of Gore鈥檚 delivery and message.

鈥淚 think he was being sarcastic,鈥� said one student. 鈥淟ike you could tell he didn鈥檛 really believe what he was saying, and felt like he should have won, but he still called for unity and respect.鈥�

As other students in the room nodded in agreement, Stuart said: 鈥淭his is a hallmark of a free and fair election, that the person who lost, can get up there and offer a unifying message, even if he is bitter. Right?鈥�

He noted that later Wednesday. 鈥淚 encourage you to watch it,鈥� he told students. 鈥淪ee if she has the same message of unification and moving forward, even though you can guarantee she is feeling deeply about the loss.鈥�

An election that turned on grocery prices and utility bills

Philadelphia social studies teacher Charlie McGeehan prepared for every election outcome 鈥� but, he admitted to his students Wednesday morning, 鈥渢his is not what I expected.鈥�

When he went to bed Tuesday night before midnight, McGeehan had anticipated explaining to the juniors and seniors in his classes about how long vote counting can take. About how we might not know the outcome of the election for several days. About the role deep-blue Philadelphia would play in deciding the election.

By the time he woke on Wednesday, that plan was moot. So, he figured, let鈥檚 just give the students 鈥� many of whom had spent long hours working the polls the day prior 鈥� space to decompress.

Together, they combed through the election results guided by students鈥� questions like 鈥淗ow was the polling yesterday so surprising?鈥� 鈥淲hich state did the race ultimately come down to?鈥� and 鈥淒oes Kamala Harris have any path to winning at all?鈥�

To that last question, McGeehan was straightforward: 鈥淣o, she doesn鈥檛.鈥�

Many of McGeehan鈥檚 students at the Academy at Palumbo are first- or second-generation Americans or immigrants. On notecards, students laid out their more personal fears, ones they didn鈥檛 necessarily want to share with the class.

鈥淎s a woman and a child of an immigrant, I鈥檓 honestly scared鈥� read one. 鈥淚 saw a post saying how Trump pledged to launch mass deportation鈥� which makes me feel like not researching more because of how much more sick stuff I might read,鈥� said another.

One said 鈥淚 feel great because Trump鈥檚 [positions] align with what I want. Especially with the issues of censorship, grocery prices, and utility bills.鈥�

鈥楰ind of a very depressing day鈥�

Nehemiah Legrand tried to eat dinner Tuesday but couldn鈥檛 finish. She was glued to her phone. She was up until 3 a.m.

The 13-year-old student at Enlace Academy, a pre-K-8 school in the International Marketplace area of Indianapolis, is an American citizen by birth whose parents are legally living in the country. The family fled Haiti after her older brother was kidnapped in 2020 amid the country鈥檚 political turmoil.

Still, Trump鈥檚 campaign rhetoric around immigration scared Nehemiah 鈥� and made her fear that her family would be deported.

鈥淚 just feel like today 鈥� it doesn鈥檛 feel normal,鈥� she said, sitting in the school鈥檚 hallway on Wednesday, looking out the window at the rain. 鈥淧eople are not talkative or none of that. It鈥檚 very, very strange. It鈥檚 kind of a very depressing day. Because everyone just doesn鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen next, and you can tell everyone is stressed.鈥�

The presidential election has over her and her classmates at the school, where many students come from Latin America and Haiti. At this school, students have to grow up fast. Many carry trauma from their immigration to the United States, said lead social worker Hailey Butchart.

Now, students like Nehemiah are preparing for what the next four years with Trump 鈥� whose platform includes deploying 鈥渢he largest deportation operation in American history鈥� 鈥� will mean for them.

鈥淎 lot of the students I speak with have had a family member that has been deported, and they live with that fear as well,鈥� Butchart said.

The power of social media in elections

On the morning after Election Day, Zy鈥橝sia Weathers rolled over in bed to grab her phone on a nearby nightstand and scrolled through TikTok.

But instead of seeing videos of makeup reviews or the latest trends, Zy鈥橝sia鈥檚 feed was filled with women and girls crying about the outcome of Tuesday鈥檚 election and the potential impact on female reproductive rights.

鈥淧eople were even saying, like, very vague things, like, just thinking the worst of the worst,鈥� added Zy鈥橝sia, 17, a senior at KIPP Newark Collegiate Academy.

Throughout the school day Wednesday, Zy鈥橝sia and her peers talked about other videos they saw, like people celebrating former president Donald Trump鈥檚 reelection and others questioning what his victory would mean for the nation.

Zy鈥橝sia is also the president of her school鈥檚 Student Government Association, and on Wednesday, the group met to discuss the presidential outcomes. Yanibel Feliz, the advisor of the group, walked students through an exercise to discuss the election process, the outcome, and the effect of social media.

Some students said they were shocked about Trump鈥檚 victory because they had seen much support for Harris on social media.

鈥淪ometimes, social media might paint a picture of how elections will go,鈥� said Trinity Douglas, a junior at the school, during class. 鈥淏ut it has a big effect on our generation.鈥�

鈥業鈥檓 afraid what will happen to my family鈥�

The icebreaker in Joel Snyder鈥檚 government classes on Wednesday was to respond to the prompt: 鈥淚 am feeling 鈥� because 鈥︹��

The responses were wide-ranging and included students who were enthusiastic about the election outcome and those who were disappointed the U.S. would not, after all, elect a woman as president.

In the few minutes they were given, students took pencil to paper and wrote that they were 鈥渟hocked鈥� to hear how well Trump did with Latinos, 鈥渇urious鈥� at what they saw as sexism in the results, and 鈥渃oncerned鈥� that America had once again elected a man whose flaws and felony convictions are, by now, well known.

Some answers hit closer to home. 鈥淚 am feeling uneasy,鈥� one student wrote, 鈥渂ecause I鈥檓 afraid what will happen to my family who are undocumented.鈥�

Standing at the front of his class at 脕nimo Pat Brown Charter High School in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood of South Los Angeles, the teacher reminded his students that whether or not they are U.S. citizens, they have 鈥渢he duty to be the protectors of democracy and of each other.鈥� Snyder teaches about 140 students across five government classes, including one AP course. Of the roughly 600 students enrolled at 脕nimo Pat Brown, almost all of them are Hispanic 鈥� their families hailing from Mexico, Guatemala, and elsewhere in Latin America.

Snyder also asked his students to write down one issue that they care about and how they think Trump鈥檚 election might impact it. The students chose abortion rights, the economy, constitutional norms, and, again and again, immigration. They shared their fears of mass deportations and stories of family members who had waited years for green cards they may never get.

鈥淢y main concern is how, even despite being a citizen, I still won鈥檛 be protected because my parents are immigrants,鈥� Natalie, 17, a student in Snyder鈥檚 AP U.S. Government and Politics class, told Chalkbeat.

This was originally published by Chalkbeat. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. Sign up for their newsletters at .

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