Before last Thursday, David Coss warned his AP government students that he wasn't going to be in class the day right after the election.
"The sub wrote me a very nice note about you which I appreciate," Coss said to his students. "She wrote, Students were very upset that you were not here. And she underlined very a couple of times. And I'm like: I think I told you I was going to a workshop, didn't I?"
His students cried out, "But we're still upset!"
The 15- to 17-year olds were upset because they hadn't had a chance to vent about the heated election. As many Americans struggled to make sense of a Donald Trump presidency, these Hamden High School students seemed to have already figured it out.
It was pretty clear that Coss's students connect with him. His style is one part Socratic -- lots of questions -- and one part summary and synthesis of the students' responses. It engages them quickly, and they miss it when he's gone.
Coss started the class by asking for their reactions to the election. Are they afraid? Hopeful? A little bit of both?
Everyone seemed surprised at Trump's win. Some who didn't support him said they hoped he would bring some much-needed change. But Tiana McGee, 15, said it's hard to accept, especially as a young African American.
"I just don't know how to accept this and I don't think I ever will accept this, because so many people I know, including myself, are afraid for what's going to come next," she said.
Coss asked her if she thought the process was flawed, or was it Trump who is flawed?
"I think the person we elected is flawed," she said.
Student Zach Lane said he thinks that Trump is quite flawed as a person, but people simply wanted change.
"Even if it's a huge risk to vote in Trump, they want someone different than the traditional politician because it doesn't seem to be working," he said.
Some students talked about how many supporters on both sides failed to understand their opponents' viewpoints. That's something that several students, including Alana Cooper, said they want to see changed.
"Just being more open minded and accepting," she said.
And that's something you see in Coss's class. It's clear that the students all have very different beliefs -- but how they listen to each other, and validate each other's opinions before disagreeing, it's, well, refreshing.
As class wrapped up and most of the kids left, I found myself standing in a circle with several students, including Tiana, who's black, and Rody Conway, who's white.
Tiana and Rody appear as different as their opinions -- he's tall, with a baritone voice, and he's a staunch Trump supporter. She's small, with a delicate voice, and she's highly critical of Trump. But there's a bridge between them -- this class.
They talk about an argument they had recently about Trump. Tiana said she thought about hitting Rody, but she didn't because of this class.
"I don't hit him in the face, because of this class," she said. "Like, I know what he has to say is legitimate and I take everything that he says to heart."
"Everything you gotta say is legitimate, too," Rody replied.
"I vibe with it, like yesterday, I was feeling everything you're saying," she said.
"Likewise. As long as you can listen to people and not think that you have a monopoly on truth -- you being a generic person -- is really all you need," said Rody.
Coss's face lit up.
"You know you're not always gonna find people like yourselves that can have this kind of conversation and agree to disagree," Coss said, "so remember this. Remember how important having this ability to disagree but still have respect for each other is, that's important."
The students were by now about a half-hour late for their next class. They wanted to talk about this election so they stayed behind. After they're gone, I told Coss that I was impressed with their insight, and I asked him if that's something a person can teach, or if it's innate.
"I don't know if you teach it necessarily, but you lead them to it by not accepting their first answer," he said. "Or encouraging them to move beyond the emotional response -- I like it, I dislike it. Yes, no. You ask the 'why' questions, and you create an environment where they can give you the why, and even if it's wrong, it's OK."
He said this election, if anything, has gotten more people interested in the political process. And that can only be a good thing.
