Managing the challenges of the "Trump Effect"

DES MOINES, IA (10/03/2016)(readMedia)-- Every October, schools and organizations across the country join in observing National Bullying Prevention Month. The goal is to encourage communities to work together to stop bullying and cyberbullying by increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of bullying on children of all ages.

The Iowa State Education Association in cooperation with Iowa Olweus Bullying Prevention Programming State Leader and Iowa Safe Schools recently released a resource for school administrators, educators, students and communities entitled Managing the Challenges of the Political Season: Bullying Prevention & Response. The resource recognizes the impact heated political rhetoric in this year's election has already had on our PreK-12 schools, increasing the level of fear and anxiety among students of all ages, especially among ethnic, racial and linguistic minorities, children with disabilities, and LGBTQ youth.

Many have referred to the phenomenon as the "Trump Effect".

"Some examples we've had in our school so far this year involved Anglo students invoking Trump as a way to goad Hispanic students," said Dan Stevenson, a teacher at West Liberty Junior High. "At our middle school we had a student put pictures of Trump on another student's locker as a means of intimidation. I have heard the term 'illegal' used much more frequently than in past years," Stevenson added.

"I am a school counselor and we have definitely seen an uptick in aggressive behavior that I believe has been given root by a campaign season full of racially charged and mean spirited messages," said Amy DeGroot-Hammer, School Counselor at Sioux City West High School.

"Our students are watching and they do mirror behavior they believe is acceptable – and unfortunately this type of modeling is completely unacceptable and frightening," DeGroot added.

The ISEA worked with a consortium of individuals and organizations to develop Managing the Challenges of the Political Season: Bullying Prevention & Response and has made it available in Professional Development courses for district training and online.

"Heated political talk comes to school with students and can turn into bullying, harassment or discrimination pretty quickly," said Nate Monson, Executive Director of Iowa Safe Schools. "We hope this resource offers our schools and the community some good strategies, appropriate responses and curricular resources to help kids in this tougher environment."

"Educators know the impact words have on children – and we know they watch everything that is going on so we anticipated the effect a year of mean spirited attacks by political candidates on certain populations of people would have," added ISEA President Tammy Wawro. "We worry about the impact now in our schools, and honestly, we worry about the impact carried into the future. So, we worked together with other organizations to develop this resource as one way to help counter the bad effects."

Go to ISEA.org and click on Professional Development and Resources for Teachers for a copy of Managing the Challenges of the Political Season: Bullying Prevention & Response.

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The Iowa State Education Association is a professional association made up of more than 34,000 educators who are dedicated to promoting and preserving quality public education for all students. Great Education.

Please call Jean Hessburg for contact information for Dan Stevenson or Amy DeGroot- Hammer.