Last week in Texas, a 10-year-old autistic boy was set on fire by a group of ‘friends’ - three kids merely under the age of 12. As this young boy fights for his life, teachers around the country are reporting a huge increase in bullying in their classrooms this election year, especially towards Muslim and immigrant students.

In a study performed by the National Bullying Prevention Center, one out of four students reported having been bullied at some point during the current school year. Children with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied while about a third of bullying victims are children of color. These are the same groups that have been marginalized by Donald Trump’s propagandist rhetoric.

Bullying has always been an issue, but many teachers are reporting that it has increased specifically during the 2016 election. In a study done by the Southern Poverty Law Center, over 50% of teachers nationwide reported an increase in “uncivil political discourse” in their classrooms within the last year. More than a third reported an increase in anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment. As a result of these changes, about 40% of our teachers nationwide have decided to not address the 2016 election even though past elections have always been discussed in American classrooms.

What causes bullying? And why is it so common amongst children and teenagers? Why has it increased significantly during the 2016 election? We’ve all seen the videos of Donald Trump mocking a disabled reporter, insulting women on their weight, calling immigrants “rapists” and “drug dealers”. How come we consider bullying a problem in the classroom, but tolerate it in a presidential candidate? These are all questions we should be asking ourselves as November 8th approaches. Who do we want to be the next role model for our children?