Latest / Jess Ask / Frustrations of an Educator | FT Dr. Deven Tellis | EP49

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Frustrations of an Educator | FT Dr. Deven Tellis | EP49 · Jess Ask

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Hey, it's your girl, jess You've just entered a safe space for Kingdom
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questions so we can keep the conversation going. Now, let's get into this
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week's episode. Are you do you have a mic? I'm staying, don't
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start, don't do that, des al right, desil right, desiraate,
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desierate, Adam, it didn't I didn't see her with her Mike. Y'all,
1:03
y'all already know welcome to don't do that. I'm trying to welcome the
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people right now on your triput Oh my gosh, y'all, I don't somebody
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gonna give, somebody gonna get well, just as the podcast where we create
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a safe space for influences to decompress, half fun and just ask. It's
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your girl, Jessica and Smith, the host and my producer, my best
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friend, my my boogoo boo, Desiree Danielle over there once, y'all.
1:36
That's that's okay, okay, she's a beautiful She's a beauty. I love
1:42
a Danielle, honey, because that's my dan Yelle, the desireate Danielle.
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I love her, y'all. Did y'all hear that elegent voice. She's like,
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that's my daddy's and that's my name. That's my name. Y'all.
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We have a wonderful, wonderful guest today, and I'm excited because it's my
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first time, yes, officially, meeting her. We have none other than
2:06
doctor. Put some respect on this doctor, Devin tell us. It's like,
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who is that? Y'all. Let me give you a list. First
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of all, the fact that I said a doctor, y'all. Y'all,
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y'all really need to pay attention because the people that get the p H and
2:23
the D God bless them. Okay, because so don't know if the Lord
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made me do it. I promise you, I'm crawling. I'm crawling to
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the cross. I'm just like, Lord, please don't let me do it.
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But we have a doctor. She's in the education field. So I
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can't just say, oh, she's a teacher. She's no, she's in
2:44
the education field. She is dominating in the education field. She is an
2:49
author specifically for our chocolate babies, Honey. She is elevating our chocolate babies
2:55
in their reading. Not only just in their reading, but their confidence.
3:00
I just, oh, I just love a black black people magic. Okay,
3:04
unapologetically black people magic, but just loving on our babies through learning educational
3:10
tools. And I heard somewhere that you you speak foreign languages a song.
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I do speak, okay, So can we go there first? Because I
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used to tell my daddy that I was gonna marry me a Misigan. So
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it's Spanish something that you teachcause I might need to know it. I mean,
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I could help you with Spanish, but I've never had a formal class.
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But French and Spanish are related. Okay, they are there. They
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they are laid out the same, the grammar, all of that. Now,
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I can't help you with an accent because I sound like a French person
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with a Spanish accent. I could give us a little a little song,
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doctor doctor tells, tell the folks that you else educated in all areas my
3:50
past. Doctor tells, on now, tell the people that what you hit
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it. I just said nice to meet you, okay, because I knew
4:00
a boy and jur part you know that means hello, and I heard your
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names obviously she said her name. You said, nice to meet you.
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Okay, We're gonna practice mine off camera because I don't want anything with myself.
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It's fine, We've got time. How are you doing today? How
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are you? I'm good? Thank you so much for reaching out like this
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is one of the first people that reached out to me. I just say,
4:24
hey, can I be a party podcast? And I tell people all
4:26
the time like hit me up like dm me and I think people really real
4:30
deal, think I'm lying, Like no, this is doctor Teller's in our
4:34
first time meeting and we're gonna have a conversation because she's doing some amazing things.
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Are you originally from Birmingham? I am, Oh my gosh, tell
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me what side you're from? And I hope you say the bit side.
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So we grew up in ensli Let's and then moved to Forest Hle when I
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was in seventh grade. All the way side. Yeah, you said the
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Bit side. You heard her? She said, I lived in you know
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great and I really want like to highlight that because great things come out of
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Birmingham, but great things come out of the West Side on twenty seventh Street
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up from the fair Ground. Okay, okay, you might know something.
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What school did you go to? I went to Advent, so I did
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not I didn't go to Birmingham. That it's it's okay. Now. Now
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I want to get into like your your your education, the teaching and all
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this stuff like that, because I think this is a great space, especially
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now to talk about education in the field of education, because I am not
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gonna lie does it way? You correct me if I'm wrong, because I
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don't know if you have you ever been a teacher before? Have been other
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than costman talent? So these kids different, They're different, they need they
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have different needs. Because when I was a child, you know, my
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dadd with borderline giving my teacher's permission. Who me? You know that the
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school systems are a little different. Now, how are you You're you're a
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you're an educator, Okay, and it's like you're passionate about it. From
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what I see. What motivates you to continue to do what you're doing?
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And how are you managing the time time differences or the need differences? That's
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a whole can of worms. Oh I'm here for it. So, yes,
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I'm an educator, Yes I'm passionate about it, but I'm also a
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frustrated educator. We didnet got to the meet already already. Can we talk
6:38
about that, because it's real. I think that my parents on here need
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to really hear the heart of an educator because it I'm I'm I pray for
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y'all every day. I don't see how you guys do it. But I'm
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also not grace in that area. So when you say frustrated educator, what
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frustrates you? So I'm not in anymore. I teach virtually, okay,
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through access, So I teach high school students basically that are spread throughout the
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greater Birmingham and Jefferson County area. So I've got rural kids, and I've
7:12
got Hoover kids. I've got all kinds of kids. But prior to that,
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when I was in the classroom, I remember being very passionate, just
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being excited to reach my kids. I was always that teacher that was just
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outside the box, like I would ask for permission later I would do what
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I want to do, and that I knew that the kids were going to
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like I want. I went and fried up some Beignet's one day, like
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smoked up the whole building. But it was great, and they remember that
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French culture lesson though, you know, I would just do stuff like that
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and ask for forgiveness later. Yeah, and administration. You know, if
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you have a great administration, it's great, but if you don't, it
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sucks. And so unfortunately I ended up with some sucky administration, which also
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made a lot of red tape. So I ended up just saying like why
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am I here? Because there were so many red pieces of red tape,
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so many loopholes that certain people got to work around, and I kept getting
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treated like the step child one because I was not a core subject. So
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that's a whole nother platform. Because teaching to the test core subjects, things
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like arts and music and foreign languages, we get pushed to and we get
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to be dumping grounds, you know, for kids. We'll just put them
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over here and then they want you to pass them. But then that messes
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up the quality of your class. So I felt like it was just sort
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of eroding my passion, like eroding what I was excited to come to work
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to do, because we just had so many other things that were not necessarily
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directed, you know, directly tied to my job as a classroom teacher,
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and so it just it was just warmed me over the years. And so
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you have that couple with this the type of students we have now because of
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the products of society, because of everything being a microwave society. You got
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kids that are losing They don't really have any soft skills like what is eye
9:07
contact? Yeah, what is a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence?
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What it's not typing in all caps when you're addressing an adult. All
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of those things are lost. What is curse of handwriting? Let's talk about
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that. So all of these things. So now it's a catch all.
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You're having to try to meet them or either bring them up to where you
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think they should be and be creative and put together something fun for them to
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do, and deal with administration and deal with parents, some who are on
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board and some who are not on the right right. So it's a lot,
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man. I was I was just about to go there, because it's
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like, Okay, admin is one thing, and it's like, I guess
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when you're you're in school and you're the student, you're not really thinking about
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the you can and you can't, like you think when I was just school,
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you went to school to learn that part, Like you went to school
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and learn My father like, that's it. My daddy was like, you
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you go up there and play if you want to. I got some funny.
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I love you that, but that Kenny and the Smith did not play
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with me, and so I love I love that you brought up the arts,
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the music, all of that is being pushed out. And I never
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really thought about foreign language. So let me ask you this, what do
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you think foreign language? How does that develop the student? Okay, this
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is also my soapbox. Okay, so foreign languages just the muscle memory that
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it creates, what activates in your brain helps across the entire board. Like
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for educational spectrum, how that's concerned math, English, All of that,
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the process that it takes for you to put together sentences in another language,
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learn how to pronounce sounds that you don't necessarily make on a daily basis.
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All of that is an exercise that strengthens certain muscles in your brain, and
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then that helps achievement, bump up achievement across the board if you do it
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the right way, bred a disadvantage here in the South. Number one,
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because everybody thinks that Spanish is the only language. Like the way I asked
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you about my miskan men. It's okay, but I've gotten to the point
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where I'm just excited that somebody even cares about another language. Because here in
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the Badma people are just like America, and that's it. Nothing my way
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or the highway. Everybody needs to speak English and that just makes me angry.
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And because Spanish is accessible, so you can go and maybe practice it
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somewhere. Maybe here's somebody. But I hear French people speaking when I go
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out different places at the mall, if I go to Disney World, you're
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gonna seek somebody from another country when you're using the world. But you have
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to look for those opportunities and you have to act on them. You go
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to a peda stop, somebody from Lebanon probably owns it and they speak French.
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So go practice seek out those different things. But I think back to
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your original question. It just helps across the board a. It opens up
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your mind because now you know we're not the only people on the planet.
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People speak other languages besides English too, and it's just something to broaden your
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horizons. You get to be immersed in another culture, learn to appreciate differences,
12:30
and then that just kind of helps across the board with dealing with different
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types of people above all. And so that's kind of what I always put
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on my syllabus when I have a new class. You know, yes,
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you're here to learn French, but you're here to learn people. That's so
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good people's skills. Just relating to another person, even if you come from
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totally different backgrounds. I think you brought up a great, great thing that
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we deal with. Whether it's a student or not a student, adult,
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whatever, we don't get to know the person. And so basically what I
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just heard you say is that learning a different language puts me in the seat
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of another person. Learning a different language allows me to understand not just the
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language and what I'm when I'm speaking out my mouth, but the embodiment of
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that person. If I'm learning the language, then I'm like, oh,
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maybe I want to learn the culture. Maybe I want to learn, you
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know, the the traditions. You know. Sometimes we can be in our
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own world and we think, oh I want to go here, Well,
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you can actually bring this to you and learn it to you. So I
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think that's I think that's powerful. So how did you even get into the
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learning the French education? Like why? Why? And why? Like why?
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Doctor tell us? Okay? So I went to Advance and that's downtown.
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Are you familiar with that? Not familiar with admin? It's downtown Birmingham.
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It's really catecorner to the library, within walking distance. It has a
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purple oning on it, it's connected to an Episcopal church and it takes up
13:56
a whole block. AnyWho, when when I was there, we had to
14:01
take French starting in kindergarten. I was there from kindergarten to eighth grade.
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Had an awesome teacher. Her name was Nina Seaman, and we didn't just
14:09
have French class, but French was in everything. So like if we had
14:13
a Christmas program, we'd have a whole section of the Christmas program with just
14:16
French songs. If we she would take us to French foreign language competitions.
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So in eighth grade, I was competing against high school kids doing monologues in
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French. You know, It's just very immersive. And I think because she
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was such a cool teacher and because she saw that I had a knack for
14:37
it and pushed me to do to go further. I just continued it.
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It was just a good foundation. So when I got to high school,
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I was way beyond the high school level of learning French. I tested out
14:50
of the first two levels of French, and then I ran out of French
14:54
by the time I got to be a senior. But I knew I wanted
14:56
to take French. So I had a friend whose mom was from le who
15:01
I met with once a week to practice my French because I was that serious
15:03
about it. We read books, we talked about the news, all sorts
15:07
of things. So I think it really just started at Advent and just having
15:11
a teacher to pour into me and realized that I had a knack for something
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and just encourage me. And then my parents kept it up after the fact.
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This is so good. Like I don't even know if you really hearing
15:24
yourself right now, but this is so good. This is what I just
15:26
heard. Teachers are seers, all right, and if they act on what
15:31
they see, they could push you into your purpose even quicker. Right,
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So your teacher taught you French, saw that you had a niche for French,
15:41
and now you are French education, like that's if you break the timeline
15:48
down like that, that's how you can relign it. And so to my
15:52
teachers, first of all, shout out to y'all. And I really pray
15:58
for teachers because as like you said, as discouraging maybe as the system is
16:03
right now or what they have to deal with with ad men and the teachers,
16:07
and I mean the appearance and the students could blind could blur your vision.
16:14
So now it's like I'm just doing a job so for a paycheck versus
16:17
I'm seeing the student. Oh, this is so good because I know you're
16:21
a woman to face. How dangerous is it for us to put in the
16:25
teachers in the position where they can't see? How dangerous is it for us
16:32
to put teachers in the responsibility to not live out their purpose, to push
16:37
the purpose in your child? How dangerous is that? It's very dangerous.
16:42
And so for you to tell me that you're drained, and I also hear
16:47
you felt unsupported. How dangerous is that? How are we not pouring back
16:52
into the people that are pouring into the future. Yeah, I was wanna
16:56
say as you were talking, just I was thinking about that could be twofold
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because I feel like I've heard stories of people who have made it to where
17:07
they are because they had a teacher at some point that spoke something to them
17:11
that they saw. But I also, on the flip side, have heard
17:15
where you know, a teacher has spoke something that was not speaking like they
17:21
spoke death, but also played a big part into what that person was in
17:26
their future. Like you know you I've heard stories like the teacher said,
17:30
oh you're you know, you're you never mount to nothing, or you're you're
17:33
just a joke, or you're just this is this. So now you're planning
17:37
seed planting as what it is. They're plentying these seeds, whether good or
17:41
bad, and any seed that we plant, it's some harvest is going to
17:45
have to come back up from me. So I'm like you, I be
17:48
praying for I pray for educators as well, because not everybody one has a
17:53
heart to teach, and I think that's definitely a passion and a grace that
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God has given necessary for those who are called to the educational space to step
18:03
into that role because as we see, it could be life or death.
18:07
Like if you think, like little Johnny, we're we're we're we're lying on
18:14
little Johnny right now to be big Johnny in the future. Come on,
18:17
we touch everybody profession A teacher is responsible for that person growing into that role.
18:23
And if you have someone who's leading leading your school and you can see
18:29
but they can't see, then what where does that leave you? Because you're
18:33
still there subordinates the way and so you can't overstep them. All you can
18:38
do is make a lot of noise where you are and that could either be
18:41
received well or not well. And my case was not received well. But
18:45
the fact is you're calling noise is a problem. Well that's what they call
18:49
like you know what I'm saying like that, that's that's so that's that's irritating
18:53
me right now. It's like you trust me enough to hire me, but
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you don't trust my voice. This is not even just about a teacher thing.
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It's to me, this is talking about a woman, a black woman
19:03
that think because I've been in corporate America and sometimes they don't listen to you.
19:07
But I guess what I kept talking. Yeah listen, oh baby,
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because that's why you got your hands okay, because like I need a space
19:17
to talk. But in all actuality, like the fact that it's resulted to
19:22
noise versus the seeds, like what what do you? What do you?
19:29
What are you having here for? And so even when you were talking desirat,
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what I was thinking is and you can correct me if I'm wrong,
19:34
doctor T, because is it okay you talk to I just feel like you
19:37
give me doctor T buys like I feel like you my friend, but y'all
19:41
still respect you all on your life doctor doctor T. Y'all can't call her
19:47
that. That's my name, thank you. So like while she was talking
19:52
like I really felt like I just I guess I'm more optimistic and thinking that,
20:00
Okay, if someone goes to school four or five years to be a
20:06
basic like teacher, not yet alone, go get their mass. I got
20:10
a friend got a master's even working on her doctor right now. Yes,
20:15
shout out to you two. And to be in a system that like you,
20:23
you really you really work really really really really hard to do something to
20:30
end up not liking it so much that you plant bad seeds. Right,
20:34
And so in the culture of teacher, let's say, let's say we wake
20:41
up in the morning and we say, okay, this system is perfect,
20:45
right, and I know it's not but let's just have to baguely say that
20:49
what would that look like? I would in a perfect teacher world, I
20:55
would have full autonomy in my classroom whatever I needed to do in order to
21:00
reach my student that was, you know, talk hit the points that I
21:07
needed them to make. As far as the standards and all, I should
21:11
have free reign. It shouldn't. I shouldn't be told what it has to
21:15
look like, what box it needs to check, what dog and pony show
21:19
I have to put on, when certain people are in the building coming by
21:23
for observations. None of that should matter because that's not what we're here for.
21:27
I'm not here to impress State board, whoever whatever, come into my
21:32
classroom for two seconds to pass the judgment on what my classroom looks like and
21:37
what I should be doing. So for me, full autonomy number one.
21:41
Number two support from administration. I don't ever think I've had an administrator that
21:48
was not biased to sports or biased to core. You going somewhere and then
21:56
not care that the bias is evident. I mean usually people try to hide
22:03
their cards, right, No, my thieves. So for me to have
22:07
to work somewhere and to know that you could care give to flips about foreign
22:14
language or me trying to grow my program or anything like that is also frustrating.
22:19
So those would be my two main perfect world that would just be great.
22:26
That'll be everything. So the people outside of the system, meaning the
22:29
people like even the parents. That's like. So when I say system,
22:33
you got the student, the teacher in the abb, me and right.
22:36
So that's what I'm considering is the system. The people outside of the system.
22:41
How could they be of a better support? What does that look like
22:45
in the perfect teacher world? So those other stakeholders, I would say,
22:52
would need to just show up, you know when you have those meetings,
22:56
town meetings, school board meetings, show their faith, express their concern.
23:00
If there's a program that you really feel is beneficial to the student and their
23:07
educational journeys, beak on it, talk about how it's impacted, you talk
23:12
about how it's a you know, positive thing, and how it needs to
23:17
stay. It needs to be funded, it needs to be supported, because,
23:19
believe it or not, they do kind of listen to the stakeholders kind
23:23
of not all the time. Sometimes there's an agenda, but they their voices
23:29
matter more so than mine. And so if you show up, even if
23:33
you don't have a child, maybe you had a child in the system a
23:36
long time ago. Maybe you have a neighbor whose child is in there.
23:38
But the more voices and more people that show up, the more accountable I
23:44
feel like they'll the administrators will be held or the people who give extreme money
23:48
to the schools will be held to the fire a little bit more because they
23:51
see people are watching, They're taking an interest outside. That's so good.
23:56
So I'm going to be the person because I can already hear come to here.
24:00
I can't show up. I got I'm a single parent, I have
24:03
two to three kids. I have one child, and I'm the sole provider.
24:08
I can't even make ends meet right now. I'm on Section A or
24:12
like all the And I'm not saying that excuses because it's real. It's like
24:18
it's a reality for people. So how how is that? How can they
24:23
support or be of support to the system if they can't come. I would
24:30
always say, and I know this might be old fashioned, but writing letters,
24:33
write and sending emails. Even if you have someone you know who is
24:37
going to attend a council meeting, send your piece of send your piece with
24:41
them. You know, you guys might draft a letter together, and you
24:45
might get some signatures together. You know, there are ways that allow allows
24:49
it to not just fall on you because I know we're busy, we're spreading,
24:53
but I say, we're smarter, not harder, and just kind of
24:56
tap into what you can do that within your reach. And I say,
25:00
everybody can email, you can do that from your phone. You can,
25:03
you can't. I love I love that you basically didn't give us no excuse.
25:07
I didn't even think of it. I would sit here like, okay,
25:10
what about the letter in a minute, Yes, maybe you need to
25:14
do a class or write letter to the people to the people so we can
25:18
get these these schools and check. You know what I was what I was
25:22
hearing when she was talking, was that kind of like you talked about the
25:26
voice, like every voice, like the voices matter. And because voices aren't
25:29
showing up, the people who make the decisions, they're not being held accountable
25:33
for the decisions because there's nobody there to challenge them or to or to or
25:37
to speak on the things that are going on. So they can just do
25:40
what they want to do. They're doing what they're wanting to do. They're
25:44
pushing. And you know, when you were talking about and I'm sorry,
25:48
I didn't even think that we're gonna get this deep into like education, but
25:49
it's so important. So when you were talking about the autonomy, right,
25:56
it's almost like we like, I hear you saying that we structure school so
26:03
robotically that we make the child cater to the system versus the system cater to
26:10
the child. And what I mean by that is like, you don't even
26:14
get to this is so good because even God doesn't do us like that.
26:18
You don't. God don't even come to us and be like, Okay,
26:21
you gotta you gotta do this in structure this way. That's why our lives
26:23
and our d even our DNA is different. God allows us to be us
26:27
so much that he did not allow anybody to have the same blood calculations because
26:33
as we do. And so it's kind of like so we're like, grew
26:37
up to be what you want to be, but I'm gonna limit you,
26:41
but you gotta do it this way so bad. Oh, please don't get
26:47
me on the score, please, doctor T. Please don't give me on
26:51
the score, because your girl, your girl is not the strongest test taker
26:56
and fun fact, I finna get this because we're on education topic. When
27:02
the universe of Alabama road tide. And so I went in on probation.
27:07
I literally just told somebody this, I went in on academic probation. How
27:11
are you a freshman and you go into on academic probation. Now I had
27:15
a three to zero and I can't remember my ACC score, but it was
27:18
not it was not high enough. You know, they put me on propation.
27:22
Your girl got off academic probation the first semester and made a three five,
27:26
was on the dean's list. So don't tell me about no test score
27:30
like. It's discipline and diligence and working hard. Like I know some very
27:37
intelligent people not saying that going to college or whatever. If that's not what
27:41
you want to do. If that's not what you did, that's not it's
27:42
not for everybody. But that's what I did. But and I was put
27:45
on academic probation going in because of a score. And that's what irritates me
27:51
about what you just said. But let me let me get off my soapbox,
27:53
because I almost went out a team. It's a thing. It was
27:56
you about to take me into a therapy position because what you're doing and I
28:02
want to I want to go ahead and lead into this way what you're doing
28:04
with your books. I think that you're you're taking away frustrates you and you're
28:10
turning into a positive. So let's let's go to this this book line that
28:12
you have. First of all, I've forgotten and I was so disc Why
28:15
are you let me disrespect you? She got her own publishing company? Come
28:19
on, come on? If you don't, nobody else clap, I'm the
28:26
teacher, Like, can we start? I really need to start there because
28:32
how how does that? How do you even do that? Cause I know,
28:34
like there's an Amazon publishing thing or whatever like, but no, you
28:38
literally have your own publishing company. How did that come about? How did
28:45
you even start like writing? Like I want the ta Okay, So the
28:49
t is I've always been a writer, and well this will be off the
28:56
record, but on the record. So I think had writing had the title
29:02
of this is what success looks like, you should be a writer, then
29:07
I would have ended up in that space sooner. But I've always been a
29:15
writer, and I've just done other things that aligned with you know, academic
29:18
performance. And I thought I was going to mid school for a little while.
29:25
That was a great thought, but it was not for me small you
29:32
know, small academic settings. Going to somewhere like UAB where you're a number
29:37
in those really big classes. I think that that just that just took me
29:44
out of the game because I wasn't. I've always competed with myself, but
29:48
then to have to compete with some of these people who have been groomed from
29:51
the womb. Yeah, to go to med school, it just didn't work.
29:56
I got stressed out. I lost fifteen pounds instead of gaining fifteen pound
30:00
freshman year. All the things. AnyWho, writing was always in the background.
30:04
I was loving my creative writing classes. I wrote from my school paper,
30:11
magazines, I wrote poetry, all the things. And it just was
30:15
never. And I'm not blaming my parents or anything like that, but it's
30:18
just it was never if I had said I'm going to be a writer when
30:22
I grow up. You know, I think our parents are conditioned to have
30:27
a what you know, have an idea of what success for their kids looks
30:30
like. Yeah, you know, my parents were for first generation college students,
30:36
and they did well for themselves, and I think they wanted my sister
30:38
and I to go above and beyond that. So we all are educated,
30:41
we all have our degrees, but I feel like I was a little bit
30:45
more on the creative side. My mom is music, her music in her
30:51
background, so but it was just never and she made a career in education,
30:55
in music education, so so she mixed her she did, but the
31:00
whole time she was like, don't be a teacher, don't be a teacher,
31:03
don't be a teacher. And so I never thought about being a teacher
31:07
because of course she said, don't be a teacher, right, And I
31:11
just sort of fell into it once I got to U a B and my
31:15
plans for for being in med school didn't work out. I still had my
31:22
writing and I still had French. I knew I didn't want to let go
31:25
of either of those, but I just had to figure out what I could
31:29
do with those and make a living. So yeah, that's how I ended
31:34
up in the education. You said something so interesting. I think that doesn't
31:40
right. I think we've shared this with each other, maybe probably publicly,
31:42
one or the two. How there's nothing to cultivate the creative mind in the
31:53
schools. It's kind of going back to the school system. And it's hard
31:57
not to go back to the education cause I remember, you know, having
32:01
arts and crafts and all this good stuff. Podcasts weren't a thing for real
32:07
when I was. You know, I'm a ninety two baby, you know
32:08
what I'm saying. So, but now that they are, And if anybody
32:12
would have ever told me I would be in this lane and could write,
32:15
like really thriving this lane, I wouldn't. I would tell them you're crazy
32:23
because of what you just said, Like what your what your creative niche was
32:29
was was to write, and that wasn't encouraged, not as a profession,
32:35
absolutely not. Now I was in all the creative writing classes. My teachers
32:39
all said, oh my gosh, you have such a writing gift. This
32:42
is wonderful. You should be you know, you should be senior class poet.
32:45
You should do this, you should do that. Great. They're just
32:47
things to add to my resume and then just stop there. Nobody ever said,
32:52
and this is what you can do with your writing talents, and you
32:55
know, and this is how you could make a living from that. No,
33:00
I wish I feel that, And that's what I was thinking, Like
33:02
I've always I'm creative as well, like my mom kind of like both of
33:06
my parents were creative in their own rights. So my dad, even though
33:08
he was in the army for twenty five years and retired from the VA,
33:13
so forty five years in the army, his passion is music, So my
33:16
dad plays the bass guitar. My mom is creative. She actually did go
33:22
to cosmetogics school at one point, but she's always been really good with her
33:24
hands. So she souls so everything like crafts and things of that nature,
33:29
and she still does that today. And so my lane was painting, painting,
33:35
drawing. Then I started doing hair at twelve. But even though I
33:38
came from a family of creative people, like all my uncles, their workmanship
33:44
was in their hands. Kind of the same thing. Like when I was
33:45
in school, it was like, Okay, this is great, like you're
33:49
good at this. But I didn't have anybody in the system, yeah and
33:52
my personal family system to be like, oh this is great, let's look
33:55
at what this could look like like this. It was like education, Hey,
34:00
go to go to That's why I went to college, call myself going
34:02
as a pre nursing major. Baby all right, because like I should I
34:08
should I should do which was go to college versus like I've always been this
34:14
creative being and so I feel like it was kind of stiphened a little bit.
34:17
So now as I'm now, as I'm older, now, I'm still
34:22
trying to figure out that these creative outlets because I feel like it wasn't nurtured
34:27
in the system, Like nobody really showed me or told me it was even
34:30
possible, you know, outside of go to college. And is it that
34:36
that they don't know or is it that that they don't think themselves that it's
34:39
even possible. That part because I just had a conversation with my little sister,
34:45
right, and I had to talk to her mama because harmma flipped on
34:49
a conversation that we had and it was revolving her going to school, right,
34:53
and it was so she was scared to talk to me about it because
35:00
I had success in education, right, being that I successfully obtained my math
35:07
not oh come on, I received that, but I was almost say something,
35:13
but I successfully obtained my bachelor's degree, got a you know, eventually
35:20
got a good job. You know what I'm saying. But even now,
35:22
this is the power thing about God, Like education really couldn't prepare me for
35:27
what I'm doing now and where he's pushing me into now, like my purpose
35:30
that the education allows me a level of experience and the experience that I had
35:36
with education, did I have some tools in my tool box, But I
35:42
would have never thought I would be here. I would have never thought about
35:45
being on stages with David Shan's and you know, Tabitha Brown, I would
35:50
have never thought about that. But education really could have the potential of making
35:55
sure I have the confidence to do whatever I think I can do, if
35:59
I and pour into if you're able to have that autonomy with the kids.
36:04
You got thirty kids in the room. There's thirty different personalities. You know
36:07
what I'm saying. And so what I love about your your book series is
36:10
that it brings that confidence out. Like okay, so you already know.
36:15
I didn't talked about two books. One of the two of the books that
36:20
stood out to me, we have the same the same title, but the
36:22
different title because of the name it's authentically Ava Ava and a Ron. So
36:28
it's two it's two separate books for a boy and a girl. First of
36:31
all, I love how you did that because boys growing up and girls growing
36:36
up two different needs. I think that's so brilliant. Can you give us
36:39
like your heart behind first of all, behind your line and then behind those
36:44
two books specifically. Okay, so my books came about during the pandemic.
36:49
You know, everybody was at home. Who helps help us? Lord?
36:53
Yeah, And so I decided during that time, you know, it was
36:57
kind of a dark time for some people. It was really stressful for me
37:00
because my kids were home going to virtual school, a boy and a girl.
37:06
So I'm having I got one over here and one over here, and
37:08
I'm trying to you know, referee that. But then I also was teaching
37:13
virtually my traditional classroom setting school, so they expected us to be on camera
37:17
for that. So I'm you know, hopping around, hopping around, and
37:22
so I just and I've always been a journaler. I just went back to
37:24
that. I just kind of had an intentional moment and said, you know
37:30
what, and I just started writing, and I was thinking about like they
37:34
were having us. The school that I was working at the time, said
37:37
we want you guys to come up with some ways to reach out to the
37:40
students, even though we can't see them face to face, we need to,
37:44
you know, extend some sort of sentiment to make to help them to
37:47
feel like we're still in our classroom and that they're still loved and can still
37:52
touch on them and all that kind of stuff from Afar. And so what
37:54
I did was I started writing postcards to my students because I love snailming,
38:00
I love to get a letter. I love to write a letter. So
38:01
I was sending them postcards. And then from that, I started joing down
38:06
in my journal, like what are some things that I would want someone to
38:10
pour into my kids? Like it in my absence? What are some things
38:14
as a teacher that what I want to pour into my students, or that
38:16
I've been pouring into my students who I see that immediate need? Can you
38:21
can tell when some students come to school and they're deflated or they're missing something?
38:25
And I just started making a list, and that's what turned into my
38:29
first book, which is Who's to Say? And I also was talking to
38:31
myself because okay, doctor T, I was wondering when you were gonna go
38:37
there? Because I really what I really saw was that you can't make that
38:43
many children's books and not reach somewhere. What was that place that you reached
38:49
into little old me? The kid, the kid and me, I always
38:54
talk to myself first, and in my big age as I've got older and
39:00
you get knocked you get knocked down and get you know, in the job
39:04
world, just in life in general, friendships, all the things. You
39:07
get a little jaded, you get a little stale, you get a little
39:13
just not happy. And so I use that as kind of a therapy for
39:19
myself, which you know, I'll take Who's to say? For example.
39:23
So that was my very first book, and that one was about speaking against
39:28
the negativity in your life and that sometimes the negativity comes from us. Sometimes
39:31
it's negative self talk. And so what can I say every time this phrase
39:37
comes up? Well, who's to say? Come on? You know?
39:40
And so well, this is great, So teach the kids early. It's
39:44
a book where you can read and they can participate. But I'm also saying
39:46
it to myself as I'm sharing it with the kids. And so what I
39:51
found is it's touching adults as well, because we need the reminder we need.
39:55
I'm gonna tell you, you just gave me chill like, okay,
39:59
because I know the hall sending here some d Let me tell you what you
40:05
just said. Okay, you know I'm hearing stuff. Okay, dot D
40:09
who hold up? I live? I feel fire shut up in my balls
40:15
right now. So you really literally expose when people find their purpose normally it's
40:22
in their pain point. The reason why it took it takes so much for
40:30
me to do what I'm doing right now with this podcast is because people try
40:34
to mute me. For a long time. People told me I talk too
40:37
much. People told me I thought I was they mama. People told like
40:40
all that all that extra people told me, or what people didn't nurture or
40:45
what people didn't value at the time. Now, every time I record,
40:49
I heal myself. And literally you just said every time I write, I
40:54
heal myself because when they don't realize and what we don't what we take,
40:59
we don't take advantage of. As as these children are developing, we just
41:02
like, oh, I want them to go through what I didn't been through.
41:06
We always look at the point where we're not they're not going to experience
41:09
what what I didn't experience. But what about what are you pouring into them?
41:14
What are they experiencing? What words are you pouring into them? And
41:16
you literally just said, as I heal, I'm healing them. I'm making
41:21
sure that they don't have to go back to that place or even experience the
41:23
place. You have to be there, girl, I'm sorry, doctor T
41:28
I'm so sorry. I want to try to be disrespected. It was good.
41:32
Oh I felt my shun though. Come on, mama, not the
41:36
good wing tongue. Not the good that's the foreign language I speak. You
41:40
got it over there, listen. The heavenly language is my sacred language.
41:46
Make that a T shirt? Okay, yo. So I know you got
41:51
some books to show me. And I'm excited to see these projects because y'all,
41:55
like I said, she's a self published author. It's the black excellence
42:00
for me. Okay, all right, so we're gonna go through these birds.
42:04
Oh she brought me what Okay, it's a it's a in a journal.
42:17
Oh my gosh. Okay, So I'm about to list this out for
42:21
y'all. So y'all can hear. Okay, go get us now. I
42:24
don't know what this is. Okay, No, that's not that's Spanish.
42:30
I brought the Spanish ones today. I do have some French ones that I
42:32
translated myself. I'm sorry I forgot you. Come on, I'm gonna say
42:37
what this is in my French Spanish accent simprel louise, which is always be
42:44
the light. Okay, this this the English can show the people. Okay,
42:52
Okay. So fun fact, this particular book I have also translated into
42:55
ten other languages, just so Italian bilingual books. You've got the English in
43:02
the in the other language. These are just solely Spanish. But I did
43:07
that say that in Spanish gear you gotta for the people in the back,
43:16
say let loose or like being two. Okay, that's aboudy Okay, okay,
43:27
next book, so she's just these are the Spanish, so this is
43:30
who's to say, but it's in Spanish. Okay. These are the ones
43:35
we just yeah, these are this ovul baby. Okay if I say al,
43:43
it's fine. It's somebody named the baby. If your name all?
43:46
Were you all right? And this is authentically a run So let me tell
43:51
you about those? Okay, So this is going to be These are my
43:54
first two books and a personality Power for Kids series that I started. So
44:00
I decided to take just the vowels of the alphabet and make books on positive
44:07
character traits beginning with each vowel. So this kind of goes into character education
44:12
if you're on the education wave. But A is authentic. That's the word
44:17
that's focused on in this book. And that was important for me to do
44:21
first because there's so many of us out here who are not living being our
44:25
true selves, not showing up for ourselves first, trying to show up for
44:30
everybody else first. And I just thought it would be fun to see what
44:34
it to have kids celebrate who they are and show what that looks like on
44:37
an every day basis. From Little Eyes, I love it? Can J
44:43
be Jessica? Sure? Okay, I'm buying that one. Just come up
44:50
with a trait for joyful Jessica. There you go, Okay, I mean
44:55
I can, I can a co offer love. Look, I'm putting it
45:00
in. I'm putting my seat in the ground. Okay, go ahead,
45:04
go ahead, go ahead, as okay, I'm waiting for baby C D
45:07
E G. I mean, I don't have to go in order. I
45:10
just kind of go, okay, So you are book, I'm doing it.
45:15
I have an e book right now that I just not like E book.
45:17
But the Letter E is the next, the next to Boy and Girls
45:25
one, so my new one and this is exclusive to you so it'll be
45:31
essentially Elliott and essentially Eliza to two books they're coming out. Let me ask
45:37
you a question, do you look up those names? No? Sometimes they
45:42
just come to me. So usually my title will come to me and the
45:46
recurring phrase will come to me, and then I feel in the blanks.
45:51
Wait, you gotta repeat that. That was so good because for people that
45:53
are trying to be authors, everybody I know, but sometimes okay, let
45:59
meeth, you just free me by saying that, because I get titles and
46:04
I get like a theme, but the end between is the hardest part because
46:07
it's like, oh, that doesn't match the title. That doesn't make it.
46:09
But sometimes it can beer in different ways. You like, hold up
46:14
part of your writing process, freeing me she brought up? Who's to say
46:20
we did that? Good news? I like my brand new attitude. Okay,
46:24
this is a good Christmas book. What if Santa weren't Santa? Oh?
46:29
Okay, I don't know. Do we need to tell the kids that,
46:32
yeah, it's it's it's a good book. Okay, Just oh,
46:38
I see, I see. It's kind of see what we wear inspiration book?
46:42
So you know, we all have our what is my life? What
46:44
would my life be like if I were not doing what I was doing.
46:47
So Santa has that going on. Yeah, I was a little scared,
46:53
Okay, all right. And then this is a great coloring book, the
46:58
best in me and Inspission of color and activity books. But I wanted to
47:00
get to these two because I did my research on this one. Good vibes,
47:07
good vibes. It says on the back, did you know that good
47:09
vibes are contagious? I think this is a powerful book, and I did
47:14
my research. I haven't read the book. I will say that, however,
47:15
I did do my research ound there so much. So there's a young
47:19
lady that did a cool activity. She's done activities with several of your books,
47:23
but this one. I love what she did and she did. I
47:27
don't know her. Do you know her name? The activity author? Thank
47:30
you? Shout out to the activity author. She's on YouTube. She has
47:34
thousands of followers. If you're looking to do activities with your kids, you
47:38
might want to look her up. And she's doing it with books, so
47:42
you're teaching your child while she's doing activity. So she's taking somebody else's books
47:47
and then putting the activity with her own child and letting you join it.
47:51
I think it's so dope. Black women are so smart, like I mean,
47:55
and it was like so simple, and her daughter loves it like she
48:00
enjoyed. She enjoyed it so much. I enjoyed just what I heard about
48:06
it, because first of all, it's in Layman's turn. What I mean
48:08
by that, it's in the terms of our our existing community, the kids
48:15
saying cool things right now. Good vibes is something with things like I'm checking
48:20
out the vibes or your vibe is bad, or you off or something like
48:22
that. And so you met them where they are with their language, right.
48:27
I think educators do have an opportunity with that sometimes because sometimes we can
48:30
get a little old school and trifling anyway, we don't want to and we
48:36
don't want to do that. But I love how you they First of all,
48:39
I love the activity, but how you met. The visuals of whoever's
48:43
doing your illustrations are doing a magnificent job. But the illustration basically shows how
48:50
important is the transfer is and it's oily, let's just let's just let's just
48:54
go, let's just go there, it's anointed. How did you come up
48:58
with this? What place were you in you came up with this one.
49:00
So I wrote good Vibes after I wrote good News. I like my brand
49:07
new attitude, and so first this title came to me, and then the
49:15
transfer idea came to me. I said, good vibes are contagious. And
49:19
you know, I don't remember what was going on the news, but it
49:22
was like a really dark week in the news, and I said, you
49:25
know what in the world, and I just started thinking, like if we
49:30
if we kind of start reminding each other that small acts of kindness go a
49:36
long way. You know, people now just kind of have closed off to
49:38
themselves. They're not really taking, you know, an extra effort to just
49:43
smile at somebody, be kind. All of that seems like it's just going
49:46
out of the window. Last thing on our minds, and so, like
49:51
you talked about earlier, sou yeah, I mean that goes a long way.
49:54
And I think this particular day, I was in the drive through and
49:59
I know we've all had it had and somebody pays for your meal or something,
50:02
and it just kind of sent my mind on a I just started having
50:07
all of these okay, and I think I want this to happen, and
50:08
this happened. So I got home and I started writing down my ideas and
50:15
I said, well, I want it to be kids, because it needs
50:17
to start early, and kids need to feel like they have a place and
50:22
that they can be the change makers because once we're old and they're going to
50:25
be the people to step up. And so I just kind of kept marinating
50:30
on that thought and how I wanted to put it together. And then I,
50:34
you know, sought out an illustrator and I told her, I said
50:37
that we have to Oh, in this phrase that's in the book came to
50:43
me. It says, good vibes are contagious, and so don't run away.
50:51
If you do what I'm doing, you'll have a great day. So
50:53
that came to me. So that came to me after the title came to
50:58
me, and so I had to feel in blanks. I said, okay,
51:00
so I know I want this to link together what's gonna happen in the
51:05
book. And then I told the illustrator, I said, we need to
51:07
figure out a way to show the transfer. I didn't call it a transfer.
51:12
I called it. We need to show that it's contagious. And I
51:16
told her, I said, I see rainbow like I see a rainbow,
51:19
and I see two kids giving a high five. Hashtag teachers, I see
51:22
yours. Now, that's what she's saying, and so and so she brought
51:25
it to brought it to life. Literally put the little babies with their hands.
51:30
And so each each time we get a new example of spreading good vibes
51:34
to people, they put their hands together and then you see the rainbow.
51:37
So that's the transfer, all of it being a contagious act. That's beautiful
51:43
that it's even the hand because hands show agreement. I'm not gonna get deep
51:49
on y'all because I can't and I'm nothing to do all that because we got
51:52
another project. I think this is your newest project. Right, that's the
51:54
latest journal that I did. Let's talk about it. Let's cause you said
51:59
you a drunk and I think teaching kids to write out their thoughts. Oh
52:06
hold up, you got setting goals in here. I need. It's a
52:08
goal sejourn. Okay. So that's my Okay, this was my first journal,
52:14
okay, and that was just for for kids. It's an affirmation's journal.
52:19
So I like to color. I know there's some adults out there like
52:22
color. I like the color. Okay, it's great. So I decided
52:25
to put like a coloring book in a journal together. So hold up,
52:30
I'm sorry, I gotta a pause. You. Yes, I just saw
52:35
this, just missed me. Oh you're about to You're about to miss me?
52:37
Up dot the t You sure you don't you to go to therapy school?
52:43
Oh my god, I'm about to cry. So I opened this book
52:49
that she just gave me. Y'all. It says the Weekly Affirmations Journal.
52:52
It's a fifty two week journal to self, love and confidence for kids.
52:57
And the first one I see is week twenty five and it says, I
53:00
forgive myself for it's a love you. So you bringing therapy to the house,
53:13
and not on purpose, it just it's in you. I wrote these
53:17
prompts for me, so and I didn't research them. I picked, I
53:22
picked my affirmations. I said, I want to make these in the coloring
53:25
pages because I like the color. And then I said and thought, okay,
53:30
I need some journal prompts to kind of go with these, And so
53:34
I wrote them for me or you know, I just and so many people
53:39
have. I'm really surprised at how many people and kids. Although I made
53:47
it for kids, I have more adults on vending venting events that by buy
53:52
it for themselves. You you don't know, I just created it for me
54:01
and share it. This is amazing. I'm going to buy this book from
54:07
you today. Huh, y'all just ask the podcast this this right, this
54:15
got all on it. I'm going back to my inn a child, and
54:17
I'm you didn't just write this for you. You did yourself a favorite and
54:22
you profited off your your pain points like this is this is amazing. So
54:28
you would tell you before before I hyperle interrupted you. I'm sorry you said
54:36
this was first, and now your new project was this is a goal getters
54:40
journal and this came after this book. So also in my teacher life and
54:47
in my mom life too, goal setting is important, like having kids be
54:54
able to visualize where they want to go. Hey, as an adult,
54:58
being able to visualize where you want to go or how you want to get
55:01
to a certain point from A to B is important, just that those steps
55:06
in your mind. And so that's how this story was born. And it's
55:09
just kids hanging out in the neighborhood. They have a club where they set
55:14
goals and they meet every you know, every Saturday morning, and they set
55:20
their goals, and then they talk about how they're going to how they're going
55:22
to set their goals. There's a goal goal getter squad, you know,
55:28
And so I just made it really simple because I feel like, again,
55:31
this is something I'm thinking about me as an adult. What am I struggling
55:36
with right now? That if I was a little kid and I could get
55:39
a hold of this information earlier, what would it be, yeah, to
55:44
help me be to deal with it better in this age. And so that's
55:49
you know, my thought process when I come up with some of these stories,
55:52
like it would be really great if I had, you know, we
55:54
had somebody talk about goal setting and really lay into it and you know what
56:00
it looks like. And a lot of kids don't have that access. Now,
56:02
we had my sister and I we had pretty good access to different things,
56:07
but a lot of kids don't. And even though I did, I
56:09
still need some reminders. I still need some refreshers. And so books like
56:15
this are good conversation starters with your kids. And so that's where this story
56:20
was born. And what was really cool about this is that not everybody meets
56:24
their goal in this book, So you Okay, that's worry I can't talk
56:30
about no more boots, not with her, not today you Okay, I'm
56:36
gonna talk to you offline about that. That is so real. So you're
56:39
not selling a fantasy. You're really getting these kids. We're the real deal
56:45
because it's real out here. So yeah, they don't all get their they
56:49
don't all meet their goals, and that's okay. And you find that out
56:52
in the story. She doesn't make the team, but she's okay with that.
56:54
Guess what she's gonna do X, Y and Z and try again time
57:00
and it's fine and life goes on. Man, I'm so glad you're here.
57:05
But I had to put that in there because while I no, that's
57:12
that's so real because sometimes I remember being a child and it was so backwards
57:19
like they would they would fluff up everything, and then when you got to
57:22
the real world, that is take take it how it is, you know
57:25
what I'm saying. But you're really making it plain and it's so beautiful that
57:30
you're directing this. And I'm gonna say this again to our our colored children,
57:35
Okay, the the melaning kids, the kids that are sometimes sometimes too
57:40
often forgot about, and just making it really, really plain for them.
57:45
This this right here, this is a game changing if I had a boat
57:47
out of all of them, and I just it's this. It's this for
57:52
me because I'm buying it today. I literally mean that. And so I
57:54
know I want to keep you here. I want to stay, I really
58:00
do, and I'm gonna have to invite you back. I really enjoyed this
58:04
because I was like, you know, you said you met me off Tell
58:07
with the Brown, and I'm so glad you reached out to me. But
58:10
that was my first book. I'm not a reader hashtag I don't read.
58:15
You know that you would be surprised about that. I'm trying to change the
58:17
reader. That is some inner healing I gotta do. We'll talk off a
58:21
line of it, but I'm not and so I'm trying to become a reader.
58:25
And I think I need to heal my inner child. And this is
58:29
gonna help me on my inner child with reading and being active or whatever,
58:34
because basically, my comprehension wasn't all that they told me. My comprehension went
58:38
good when I was a child, So I got to heal that part of
58:42
me. Hashtag I told you that's one of the things on my author soapbox,
58:47
and it's one of the I don't want to call it a negative thought,
58:50
but it can get in my head about well, why are you doing
58:52
this? Because we're in an age that's digital. We're in an age where
58:58
you know, they've got all these rules or the third graders and so many
59:00
people can't read it at a certain level. So why are you even why
59:04
why are you even bothering when this is not even like a lane anymore.
59:07
People don't really go to the library anymore. So it's up. I can't
59:12
not do it. Hey, you you be obedient that you keep being obediate
59:16
because adults gonna adults are gonna read this book too. Okay, book,
59:22
I can't. It's it's an unrest like it just it's award push that I
59:25
always have at my back about this, and so it's just gonna have to
59:30
continue to be the work that I do, even if it falls on not
59:37
as many years as I like for it too. But hey, listen,
59:42
I'm I'm I'm for doctor t Okay, you just you just made me a
59:45
fan all in all in the last hour have alone we've been here, Listen.
59:51
I know we could go on and on and on about this wonderful project
59:57
that you have or projects that you have, this opportunity that you have.
1:00:00
But we're gonna put your information, attach your information as we always do with
1:00:05
our guests. So if you want to find doctor T, it's doctor Devin.
1:00:09
Tell us to y'all, doctor T to me. Just go down look
1:00:15
at the bios and all that stuff like that. But I'm gonna give you
1:00:16
opportunity to do this with every guests, I'm gonna give you opportunity to have
1:00:22
a final thought. We've talked about a lot of things. We talked about
1:00:23
education, we talked about boots, we talked about your frustrations, we talked
1:00:27
about the Lord. We talked about a few things. Right, But if
1:00:30
there was one thing that you wanted to lead the people with, if there
1:00:32
was one thing that was on your heart today, what would it be?
1:00:39
I would say, move with a purpose, walk and a purpose and the
1:00:45
purpose If you don't know what that is, because I just am coming into
1:00:49
realizing what mine is. It's whatever gives you excitement, but it's whatever gives
1:00:54
you unrest. Move towards that and and just lean into it. Don't worry
1:01:02
about dollar signs, you know, don't think about it in a logical sense.
1:01:07
Just go towards it and it will make a way for you. That's
1:01:13
my final quers. That's a great word and it's real. So doctor T,
1:01:17
thank you so much for coming to just as the podcast. I really
1:01:22
appreciate it. I cannot wait to see the evolution of these things because it's
1:01:28
continuously evolving. I can already see it, and we're definitely gonna have another
1:01:31
conversation. I really enjoyed you, desiray as always, baby, So he's
1:01:38
really like, I feel something stirred up. I'm you hear me. I
1:01:43
shouldn't have opened it book. I saw one another prom I'm about to go
1:01:46
put I'm gonna cash up you real quick. Okay, listen, y'all,
1:01:52
please go look at this opportunity. Doctor T has I love y'all until next
1:01:58
week. Life could be much more simple if you just ask. See y'all
1:02:01
later. Hey, y'all, thank you for listening to just ask. If
1:02:09
you enjoyed this experience, be sure to like coming and rate so others can
1:02:15
find the show. If you'd like to stay connected with me, feel free
1:02:19
to follow me at the Jessica S. Smith on all platforms. Again,
1:02:23
I'm your girl Jess until next time,