Latest / THE RCA MIX / Are Your Students Ready? Teaching the Skills That Open Doors: Workforce Readiness | Kirk Brown

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Are Your Students Ready? Teaching the Skills That Open Doors: Workforce Readiness | Kirk Brown · THE RCA MIX

• Mix Kirk 01 03 2nd pass finalize: They surveyed a thousand US companies. 60% reported firing a new graduate within the last year. And they said that it was because they saw a lack of motivation or initiative, lack of professionalism, difficulty receiving feedback, and poor communication skills. We have created the Amazing Shape program, which is basically a gamified way of teaching those workforce readiness skills. This workforce readiness is more than just the ability to get a job. But it all comes down to who are you as a person and do you have the confidence, I would say, to show up as who you are. So we're talking about handshake and eye contact, skills like being able to speak up. If you had a teacher that said, but my students are shy, or I have this really shy child, so what do I do about a shy child? Being shy or introspective is your superpower. Talk about some of the specific things we do here at the Ron Cark Academy. We want to make it fun for kids to really practice those skills that they will use for life, which is so so fun. Hello, I'm Kim Beardon and welcome to the RCA mix. Every episode I sit down with a special guest to talk about things that matter to us in schools, what we get right, what we sometimes get wrong, and ways that we can work on growing and improving. And this week we're gonna talk about something that affects every student in this country, every student in the world, those skills beyond the classroom. How do we make sure that students have Those skills that are needed for the workforce, but also to be leaders in their day-to-day lives. And I have just the man for the job today. I am so excited to have our special guest, Kirk Brown. Now he is very accomplished, and so I know him as a wonderful personal friend and colleague, but I gotta tell you some of his credentials so that you will understand just how perfect he is to be talking to us today. Kirk Brown is our Chief Development and Communications Officer here at the Ronkark Academy, where he leads our fundraising, strategic partnerships, and communication efforts. Over the course of his fundraising career, he's raised over $90 million. $90 million for the organizations that he's represented. Matter of fact, he was really instrumental in securing a five million dollar gift several years ago from Oprah Winfrey for the Ron Kirk Academy, which we were really, really grateful for. So he works very, very hard in those roles here at the Academy, and he is a tremendous mentor to our students. But he also has significant roles throughout the Atlanta community. Matter of fact, we all call him Mr. Atlanta here at the school. there have been billboards of him in Atlanta. He's been on the back of buses because he is so known in the community. he is in 2010 he co-founded the Emerging 100 of Atlanta, an organization that has expanded to several cities. And he was one of the people who actually started the whole thing. He has awarded more than six hundred thirty thousand dollars in scholarships to students through the emerging one hundred. Also, he's a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, 100 Black Men of Atlanta, and a life member of Alpha Phi, Alpha Fraternity Incorporated. And he also has been on the host advisory board for Airbnb. So he's got some scoops on that as well. And he also is a graduate of Georgia State University, and he's been recognized and received so many different awards throughout his career. He was at one of Atlanta Business Chronicles, 40 under 40, and also he's a who's who in Black Atlanta. he was also received the Hyatt Agent Regency Atlanta Herald Award for Community Service, and he was named Meals on Wheels Atlanta Tastemaker Honoree. He also was recognized as a leader in academia by Who's Who, and he was also in Leadership Atlanta, which is a huge organization here that's really, really distinguished. And so he is known throughout the Atlanta community, and he has his hands in everything from philanthropy to community partnerships. And also to the business world. So he is the perfect man to be talking to today. And welcome to the RCA mix, Kirk. Thank you, Kim. Glad to be here. So Kirk and I, this is not our first rodeo, because we do co-host often the Global Amazing Shake, which we've done several times, which we will get to shortly. But today we're gonna talk about those career competencies, those workforce readiness skills. And I think we have to start by explaining this. there are several terms out there now for the exact same thing. So to be clear, because depending on the state in which you reside, the school where you are, or perhaps the the workforce a role that you have, you may have heard these as different things. they used to be called soft skills. Right. That firm handshake, looks in the eye, speak with confidence. That really never struck me as a very good name because I feel like they make you stronger. They empower you, but soft skills has been the term that's been around for a while. A time. the US Department of Education, the official term now is employability skills. Yes. I find that difficult to say three times a year. There's a lot. Employability skills, career readiness competencies, human skills. So I guess we've had to come up with that because versus AI skills. I don't know that Transferable skills. Transferable skills. And then the one I had not heard, but apparently it's making its way around is durable skills. Durable skills, yes. They all mean the same thing. They all mean the same thing. Durable reminds me of a good pair of Levi's. I don't know. It just sounds like sounds like genes to me. But but I guess that means that you are durable, you are able to persevere in several different areas. Yeah. So that is what we are actually talking about. Just to make sure everybody is clear on that. But before we really get into how this affects students in the workforce. Because I want to talk about how it affects them in their day-to-day lives now. Because students who are even as young as kindergarten, first grade, some of these skills that we teach really are applicable. So this workforce readiness is more than just the ability to get a job. Exactly. So let's talk first about in that workforce readiness, what type of skills are we talking about? Kirk, give us a rundown of some of those key things I think are important. Yeah, well, first of all, yes, there are tons of terms out there around workforce readiness, durable skills, employability skills. but it all comes down to who are you as a person and do you have the confidence, I would say, to show up as who you are. So we're talking about handshake and eye contact, skills like being able to speak up and use your voice. a lot of times kids are shy, and there's nothing wrong with being shy. but I think a lot of times we think that being introverted means that you don't use your voice, but you can definitely use your voice. And so Teaching kids to have the skills to be able to speak up when they notice that something is wrong or if they have the solution to a problem to be able to use their voice and to work with people, interpersonal skills, resolving conflict, right? being adaptable. All those are skills that we try to work with kids on all the time. So that when they get in those real world scenarios, they're not foreign to them and they're not scared or they don't shy away from them. They're like, no, I've already experienced this. This is how you handle it. Let's let's do it, you know? And so those are the important skills that we need to teach kids that we Always are working on them. I love that you said you you're really helping students show up as who they really are authentically. And I think that's a key. I think some people think that, you know, everybody has to be so stern and in and act almost fake and not, you know, so polished that they're they're not authentic. But that's nothing could be further from the truth. And I also love the fact that you're saying that as they navigate through just challenges in life, just being able to show up, be able to to be able to talk through problems to be able to advocate for themselves to understand how to walk into spaces and feel comfortable. I think that's a big part of it as well. Yeah. I mean 'cause who are at the end of the day, you wanna be the best person that you know that you can be. And if you feel like, man, I I'm just not confident, then you're gonna shy away from instances. You're going to walk into Or you're going to be in rooms where people are talking over you or saying the wrong thing and you know that you have the answer. And so I think we do a disservice to kids if we don't empower them to know that, hey, you are who you are. You're one of one. and have the confidence to speak up and be who you are, no matter the room or or who you interact with. So, Kirk, you do have a unique perspective too, in that you not only are really, really ingrained in the culture here at Ron Car Academy, you do see so many students out in the in the community and you work with young men and other capacities as well. So what do you see being some of the biggest challenges you think for students in being able to do some of those things? Yeah, I think a lot of times it could be a misinterpretation or a misconception, rather. I think a lot of times it could be a misconception that students don't I'll say this, sorry. I think a lot of times it could be a misconception that students from underserved communities don't have the talent. And that could be further from the truth. So being in the community, working with students from all backgrounds, mentoring them, and a lot of times it really just comes down to do they have the access to be able to practice those skills? Because they're talented, but a lot of times what I'm seeing is that they don't have the the reps to put in. they don't have those doors to go in and interact with people and to to work on those skills like some of their counterparts may. may have. And so what I've been in what I love about the Amazing Shake or just mentoring in general is like opening the doors up so that students can get those reps in. Because at the end of the day, yeah, we can say, hey, give a firm handshake or be confident or speak up. But if we're not putting kids in those those scenarios to be able to practice those and get the reps in, then they're never ever gonna feel confident or comfortable when they actually get in those those scenarios. And so what I'm seeing is hey, let's open up the doors, let's Take them to networking events or take them to, you know, a sporting event and introduce them to folks and let them practice and get those reps and those conversation skills. Because yeah, an an an elevator pitch is important, but if you don't get those reps to practice those, then how good are you gonna be? Right. So you already made two incredibly important key points. First thing is that this workforce readiness, it's it's life readiness, really. No matter if we're calling it career competencies, it is being prepared. to be able to navigate the world with confidence and show up as your authentic self. Second key point here, I think it's very important, is that by empowering students with, as you say, the reps, have these experiences to be able to practice these things, we are creating access for all students. Yes. We want students to be able to, no matter what room they walk into, to feel like they belong in that space. That is so important for a kid's confidence and for how they see themselves in the future as well because The more that we pour into kids, the more that they say, yes, you you see this in me, of course I can do this. I can I belong here in this space. And so yes, it's super important. So let's talk about how we do create these types of skills and the kinds of practice that we do here at the Ronkark Academy, and then also how we share those methods with the world, because we do want to create students here where no matter where they go, when they walk in the space, they feel confident. And I know there's probably many adults out there who might say, Well, if you put me in that situation, I'm not real confident either. I I'm certain there are many adults who are listening who we've all felt that we have to go to a networking event. You walk in the space, you don't know a soul there. What do you do? Do you stand there with a plate? Do you look at your phone? Do you pretend you're taking pictures? What do you do if you if you're not sure how it happens too? How do I even begin the conversation? So these skills that we practice actually they translate even to adults. Who may have a a great deal of talent, but they've never gotten the reps, the reps, and the opportunity to practice. So let's kind of break down some of the talk about some of the specific things we do here at the Ron Cark Academy to help our students practice these skills. And then we can kind of talk about how those translate to other places. Yeah, well, I think we start with the basics, which I love. The very first time a fourth grader comes in, we start to show them what are the maca the mechanics of a firm handshake. Because we've all had some horrible handshakes. Nothing worse than a limp fish handshake. The limp the limp one is the worst. That is the worst. The dead fish, as I call it. Yes. Or a handshake that is just too strong that they're trying to break your wrist off, right? And so teaching them the mechanics of a firm handshake, the very first time their orientation, but then continuing that throughout their experience at school. So whether that's before they walk into a classroom or in the hallway. Good morning, Mr. Brown. Okay, cool. Let's get the handshake. They're coming through the door, giving the handshake. that was a four. We need to get it to a 10. So just always reinforcing what a good handshake is. And we really do break that down for them because we tell them you want to adjust. If you're shaking the hand of an 80-year-old woman, you're not going to use the same firmness as if a pro football player comes to the Robin Park Academy, right? And so that's important too to kind of read the space. We also even talk to them about that idea that you don't want to do the pump. You know the pump? The pump is when you're talking and your hand is going up and down, up and down, and you know, you don't let go. Normal. And and the trick even for how not to look down. Yes. Yep. Because we tell them if you put your hand out first, then you don't have to worry about trying to look for the hand. The person has to find your hand. I love that. And so that's a nice little tip and trick that we and I use that to this day as well. You know, if I'm first to put my hand out to give a handshake, then it the onus on the other is on the other person to So shake my hand. So that's one of the things that we do. We teach them the handshake. then we also teach them how to be a good conversationalist because a lot of times kids may think being a a good conversationalist is speaking the entire time and talking about me, me, me. When in fact it isn't. A good conversationalist is prompting the other person to speak about themselves and you're being an active listener. And so you have those types of skills that you teach students as well. And how do you How do you actively listen and then continue to go deeper in something that they say? So let's reiterate the importance of this. Because I recently saw something and it did say that it found that the people with the most charisma, the people who are seen to be the most fascinating. Are not the people that talk about themselves. Right. They're people who ask others about them and then listen. And then listen. Yes. You know, because if I start grilling you with questions, so what do you like to do on your weekend? Soccer. really? So where are you from? Instead of i i instead of continuing soccer, or do you play on a team? You know, are you in a league? Did you play soccer as a kid? Really teaching kids how to go deeper without it sounding though like we're peppering you with questions. It's not a job interview, right? It's a conversation. It is a conversation like we're having right now. And so that are that is a key component too of just being able to to walk into a room because if they learn those skills right now, Kim, they're gonna know how to walk into an interview for a scholarship or an internship and then into their roles in life. So those are like basic foundational skills that students need to learn now. And so we practice with those with our students. And then obviously we have tours and things at the schools so they get a chance to really interact with guests. And those are some things that schools can do as well. to give their students those reps so that they can continue to work on those those conversations, those conversation skills. and then also I think we do a really good job of just, you know, doing our school-wide meetings, giving our kids opportunities to to really tap into what's happening in the world. because also being a good conversationalist is knowing what's happening in the world around you. And so if you can't contribute to a conversation about you know, the Saints and the Falcons played last night and just knowing that basic or knowing that it's election season coming up in November. So just knowing those dynamics of what's happening in the world just makes you a much more person a a much better person to to to be able to have a conversation with. So giving our kids reps in that as well. Like, hey, listen to up first in the morning so that you can get a a rundown of what's happening in the world or watch sports or just talk about things that you're interested in. Absolutely. And we do practice that a lot with our students. And for those of you who are out there thinking, Well, how can I get my students to practice this even more? Yeah. You know, a lot of times schools will have things like career day. Well, career day is great, but but sometimes, you know, your local dentist may rather have a root canal himself than have to come in and speak at Career Day, right? So so Honestly, you know, early on when we first began really teaching a lot of these skills, we would just go to local businesses and say, Can you send some employees over? And then we would ahead of time talk to our students and say, Okay, here's some people that might be visiting. If you can, you can even look up their LinkedIn profile. You can talk about what is that role maybe? Like what what are we what are we curious about? What are appropriate things to say and inappropriate? But you you work for the bank, you make a lot of money. Not an appropriate thing to say. So younger kids need some coaching. And then when the community members come in, we just say all we're asking you to do is just network, like stand there and act like it's a networking event and have a conversation. If students can get over the fear of that, it will serve them the rest of their lives because as we've said before, many of us still get that little anxious feeling when we walk into a space and we sometimes lack the confidence that we need. But I found that when we do this early with our students They will walk into spaces and and I feel like carry themselves more confidently than most of the adults do. No, for sure. They absolutely do. I mean, they blow people away every single time, like, whoa, these are middle school students. I was not doing this as a middle schooler. And it sets them apart immediately from from their peers. And then what I love is that it doesn't just stop middle school because they take it with them into their high schools and their colleges and they come back and say, I had an interview or I had to go to this career fear and people were nervous and this was just the amazing shake. It was so, you know, it was so easy for me to navigate because we got the reps in in middle school. So what would you say to the person? I know what I'd say, but I'd love your answer, is is if you had a teacher that said, but my students are shy. Or I had this really shy child, so what do I do about a shy child? Yeah, well, shy doesn't mean that they don't need to have the confidence or the self-esteem. Right. I think what is beautiful about us as humans is that we're all different. And being shy or or introspective is your superpower. And some people connect with that. And what I love about and we keep seeing the amazing shake. We haven't really we'll talk about that in a minute. But you know, some of our students who really excelled with that pro with that program in the past have been shy or, you know, textbook shy or introspective or introverted. and so there's nothing wrong with being shy. Those students need to have the skills to be able to to connect with folks and to have the confidence to to be themselves as well. Sometimes they're the best listeners. They are. And so that's one of the things we want students to understand and we want teachers to understand about their students is that if a child has all the knowledge in the world but they never feel confident sharing it, to be able to go in and pitch their idea, to be able to lead their team, to be able to even just feel confident on the inside when they're in certain spaces, then we've done them a disservice. Even if they have all the textbook knowledge in the world. That's what I believe. They they they need to understand their value and worth and being able to share it. You know, one of my favorite stories about one of our students, he left here, he went to a a a wonderful school on an academic scholarship, a really top school. And in our classrooms, we ask our students to s stand to speak. Yes. they have to address the whole class. Every student, whether they're shy or not, you must stand and address the class. And when they get here at first, it's it's an adjustment. But when our students leave here to go to high school, One of our students went to his high school class and on the very first day the social studies teacher asked a question. So he naturally stood up and addressed the class. And so all the other boys in this freshman class thought, that's what we do here. So they all stood up and answered the question too. And so the social studies teacher said, This student transformed my class for the rest of my teaching career because Why was my not having this happen? But they all thought, that's how we do in his class. He just set the standard. He set the bar for everybody else. Yeah, that's just a beautiful thing. It's another example of things that teachers can do to prepare kids to be prepared for opportunities. Standing up and speaking and giving a presentation or addressing an audience is terrifying for some peop for some adults. Right. So to the fact that you can get those skills and those reps in at an early age and then continue to build on those throughout life just is a game changer. And you know what we also teach table etiquette. Yes. I love that. How how many how many banquets and events, gallows have you been to, Carl Brown? Too many to count. I gotta have that tuxedo on deck. And yes, the how to eat properly, which fork, knife, spoon, All of those things are real life. And kids are like, Why am I having to learn this? Because you will go to different events and you are sitting there at the table with the bread plate and all the glasses in front of you and the forks and you're like, Okay, where do I start? You don't want to drink out of your out of the boss's out of the boss's exactly right. Yeah. So So just all of those things I think it's just that preparedness and it's that confidence. And so because we do deal with children though. Yes. You also want to make it fun. You do want to make it fun. Hence the amazing shake. So for our listeners who have no idea what this is, explain the amazing shake. Yes, you do want to make it fun. So we have created the Amazing Shake program, which is basically a gamified way of teaching those workforce readiness skills. So it's an experiential program for students to go through different case scenarios where they are practicing how to handle different things in life, how do they adapt? But the entire time they're getting scored on the firmness of their handshake, their eye contact, poise, confidence, genes, right? That special spark, that special something. How do you use charisma to really show who you are as a person and connect with someone? And so the amazing shake puts all of those things to the test. We bring in judges from the outside community to come and score the students, and they have 60 seconds to make an impression while also handling whatever tasks that they have. So For example, they may walk up to a judge as you're about to shake the judge's hand, the judge turns around, drops a whole bag of pencils on the floor right in front of them. What does the kid decide to do? Do they go straight for the handshake first and ignore the pencils? Or do they use some common sense, some courtesy and go, those pencils, let me help you with those. Here you are, Kim. and by the way, my name's Kirk. I'm a seventh grader here. Pleasure to meet you. And then have their conversation. they may walk up to a table and they've they're at a wedding reception. And they've got to give a toast. How do you give a toast the correct way? The most polite way to give a toast at a wedding, not giving a 10-minute speech, but maybe a two-minute speech, right? So working on all those different nuances of life. how do you cut properly? So we've got tables with donuts that they've gotta that they've gotta cut using the proper utensils. So all these different scenarios, but what I love is that we are gamifying it. 'Cause we want to make it fun for kids to really practice those skills that they will use for life, which is so so fun. We always talk about we want to go through the amazing shit. We do. You know what? If we had the time and the manpower and the energy, we would have an adult version because adults the when the educators come and they witness this happening, they're always desperately wanting to take part in it themselves. my gosh. And our alumni who went through it as younger students, they all say, now that I'm in college or about to go out and interview for my jobs, can I do it again? Every time. So the Amazing Shape was something that started very small here at our school, our second year in operation. And we just got local community members to line up down the hallway and and then gave a score. And then I think one of the key parts was afterward to talk to the students about things they did well and then some things that they needed to work on. And so over the years it grew and grew and grew And then we started sharing with other schools. So now we actually have a competition where students from around the world come to RCA for the global amazing shake. It's pretty cool. So fun. I mean, you have four hundred students here for three days. these are the top students from across the country and around the world who have won their school amazing shake competitions or their district or regional competitions, and they all come to Atlanta to compete against each other. And these kids are sharp. I mean, they have put in the work, they put in the reps and They're coming here to to to bring home to bring home the trophy, which is a lot of fun. But yeah, it's continuing to give those those students the reps that they can work on, on on being prepared for opportunities today and tomorrow. And we do have a website about that, the the amazing shake.com. If people are interested in learning more about that, and there are some little instructional videos there and things like that. Yeah. I think one of the other side benefits of the Amazing Shake though, Kirk, is that what will you in your team work tirelessly to secure volunteers for this. That it's not the RCA teachers who judge it. You get community members and business leaders. But what I've seen over the years is when you have these community leaders and business leaders come in and take part in this with the students, they become our biggest cheerleaders. And so maybe talk about the benefit to schools of engaging the community to help teach these durability, career competency, soft skill workforce readiness competencies. Well, the benefit to employ employers or the folks in the community is that they know that they're not seeing these skills in the employees that they're hiring right now. And so they're like, What do we need to do to change that? And the fact that we as an organization or as a school are being intentional about teaching those skills. They're they're like, Yes, sign me up because we've gotta change the the the trajectory of preparing students. And so they come in and they Get involved not only as judges, but also they find a way to sponsor the event as well. And so we've been able to use it as a way to build a bridge between RCA and the community, the business community, to to support RCA because they see the value in workforce readiness because they want a strong school, because a strong school leads to a stronger community. A stronger community leads to a stronger workforce. And those employers want a strong workforce to continue to make profits and to continue to do. The work that they're doing as a company. And so they see the value. They're like, yes, sign me up. So they come, they sponsor, they volunteer, they get engaged. But then also they're once you've got them hooked with the amazing Shake as a volunteer, as a sponsor, they oftentimes ask, okay, what can I do? What more can I do to stay engaged, to support the organization, to support these students? And so it's a great way to get them connected to the school, even on a long-term basis, because they see the value holistically. Yeah, so educators out there, do keep in mind then if you're inviting in the community into your school and you're asking them to help you teach the things that they are looking for in their future employees, when it does come time, if they do have any funds that they could donate to a school or they have just even employees that they want to come to do a community day where they're volunteering, reading to students, mentoring students, the list goes on and on, you're gonna be the school that they remember. Absolutely. Because you're doing the work that they want schools to be doing. Yeah. And so it's it's a it's a win wins situation. It really is. It it I just saw something, it was interesting. I I saw it that it said that sixty percent of surveyed companies, they they surveyed a thousand US companies. Yeah. Sixty percent reported firing a new graduate within the last year. And they said that it was because they saw a lack of motivation or initiative, lack of professionalism. Forty six percent said the firing happened because of a lack of professionalism. difficulty receiving feedback, and poor communication skills. Wow. So the things that we're talking about, we have college graduates who are educated, who are being fired. And so perhaps nobody ever taught them some of these competencies. And we've all perhaps seen, or many of us may have seen, the recent viral about the about the iced coffee for the interview. Because they're all walking into the interview with an iced coffee. Like what in the world? and and not to sort of paint a broad brush with, you know, Gen Zs or, you know, the younger folks. But there is sort of this mentality that, yes, take me as I am, and everyone else should fall into place. And that is, that couldn't be further from the truth. You've there are structures that companies put into place so that they can continue to hold a high standard and continue to make profits and continue to serve the community. And when you start to lower those by not knowing how to communicate with folks or not dressing professionally or just trying to come in and create your own rules, then you start to see an infrastructure crumble. Right. And so I think that's what we need to have the the folks understand. Like, no, yes, you can come in and be yourself, but there are there are limitations to to what that are there are standards of professionalism. Yes. And so it's interesting we do have, Kirk mentioned these school wide meetings. And so We just pose the question, is it okay to bring an iced coffee to your interview? And and I understand we talk about these skills with our students all the time. And the students were like, Well, sure. And they were like, no, no, no, it's not. And then and sorry for listening, you disagree with us. But even that that recruiter that was that went viral, she worked for a very conservative job pool of people. She said people that are highly established, that kind of thing. So we talked to them about it and then they started to say, okay, we get it. Yes. And and so, you know, you can't necessarily fault someone if no one's ever taken the time to share this with them. But that's why I feel like that's a responsibility for us to show. These are these are standards. And it's it's actually a standard of respect. If I'm gonna walk in and you're gonna give me some of your time to consider hiring me, then I need to respect your time and and and show up the best version of myself, I think. Yeah, absolutely. And you know, that doesn't mean that, you know, we don't respect who you are as a person as well and what you bring to the table because obviously we need workers to continue to, you know push forward what we need to push forward and we need folks to to be on the team. And so yes, we respect you as well, but at the same time, that doesn't mean lowering what our standards are as a company, as an organization. So yes, the more that we can teach our young folks now those nuances of how do you show up for an interview? How do you have a conversation? How do you disagree? How do you communicate effectively and not leave people on red for weeks at a time. Communicate in you know in a a reasonable amount of time. All those things are things that folks just aren't doing these days. But if we can teach our kids now, they will be further along and further ahead. Even how to express gratitude. That's been is something you know we teach our students how do you write a a gracious thank you note? Or how do you write a a a a polite email or even asking, requesting something. What does that look like? And and if they sometimes even send one to us, if it's not correct, we'll say, okay, where was the error in in what you said? And it's not in a punitive way, but it's rather that We're telling you this because we want you to be able to do this when you leave here. Yeah. Those are the kind of things I feel like we should spend more time doing with students. I love that. I love to say, hey, here's what you said, here's how I would have said it. And just to show where the differences are, because some sometimes we as people just need to see an example. It's one thing to say it, but being able to see it visually, it kind of sticks or hits a little different sometimes. So I love to give that constructive feedback sometimes. Here's how I would have said this, to to really help it to land. And one thing I have to talk about with you and you didn't even know I was gonna talk about it, but you're you are notorious for being a sharp dress man. thank you. Notorious. As a matter of fact, when new staff come here actually as the mother of three sons, it was always like, Well, what would Kirk Brown award? So you you set the standard, but I do I know that sometimes people feel like, Well, you know, I I don't have the big wardrobe or I you know, I I I'm I'm on the floor working with kids. As a matter of fact, you all can't all can't see me right now, but I have a skirt on and I was teaching earlier today, and I was on my knees on the floor. And so I've got some kind of sticky goo on my skirt right here, and I was trying to hide it, but but the reality is I was teaching class right before this. So there is a degree of no matter what type of clothing you're you're fortunate to have, but there is a way to show up, right? Like neatly groomed. We make sure that our students, we tell them, Take a look at your fingernails. Is there dirt under your fingernails? Anybody, you can make sure there's not dirt under your fingernails. Absolutely. But you can steam your clothes. Yeah. Talk about the ways that somebody, even with limited resources, and why why does that even matter, Kirk? Is that trying to make us all the same? Is that trying to say that we have to fit a certain a certain type and you and and we have cultural differences and things like that. So sometimes people feel like we're trying to step on that. But but when you say we show up as our best selves, you know, talk about that. Yeah, I think what presentation matters. I mean before you even open your mouth, you're entering a room and someone is already making a judgment about who you might be. And so the the best way that you can show up as yourself is to put the time and attention into that. And that doesn't mean wearing a suit or wearing fancy or expensive clothing, but just taking the time to put something neatly together and ironing your clothes and having good hygiene haircuts and being having your nails clean and just you know having good hygiene with with oral hygiene. All those things are just small things that people take for granted. I think if we did more of that, people would would would set themselves apart. And so yeah it's it's all about your presentation. If you take the time to put intentionality around how you show up as a person, show up as an individual, then to me as an employer that says, okay, you're gonna take time and attention into how you perform your job and your work. I love that. And and shout out, I do there are some teachers who are listening like, you know what, I I believe that. And I've taken kids clothes home to wash. I've done that before, you know. you know, made sure that you got hair products for students who needed hair products, or you know, making sure that there's some things that they need, some supplies, even they they need deodorant. They need soap and things in the home. So shout out to educators who really understand that that's hard. It's hard work. But if you show students that that these are things standards of How the world's gonna receive them, it's it's whether it whether it's something that everybody agrees with or not, it's it's the reality. Absolutely. Well and I love that here at RCA we have the opportunity to partner with a local barber school. Shout out to ProFresh Barber Academy because they once a month they come and they give our students free haircuts and get them all cleaned and groomed up nicely so that they can walk with their shoulders back and and feel really confident about who they are as well. And so That's an opportunity that, you know, schools can look at as well. There are tons of barbershops and communities that would come and give free haircuts to the students. And so it's just a matter of a a phone call or an email and reaching over you know, reaching out and creating that bridge so that you can support your students in that way. But tons of people want to help all the time. And I tell educators this all the time. You know, the the best thing that you can do is to at least ask. You give people the opportunity to say yes or no, not right now, but if you don't open your mouth. Close mouths, don't get fed. I love that. You gotta reach out. I love that. And it is those boys when they walk back from those haircuts, you can tell they feel good. They they have their shoulders back. I mean, I walk different when I get my cut. So I already know that they do. So I as as a side note, I will tell you all as a I am a mother of three beautiful black sons that I adopted. And so when they first arrived here at age twelve. The one of the first things Kirk Brown said to me was, Kim, you gotta get a barber. You gotta you got it they gotta get edged every two weeks. I What? What's it what are you talking about? What are you talking about? So thank you for having my back. You know, white woman here, I I didn't want to have the you know, the the the three sons with the jacked up edges. You make sure that they were taken care of and everything so that they looked fresh and and and and they felt good. And kudos to you for understanding as a white woman I I needed to surround them with black men as well so that I can support them in the best way. So I love it. And thank you because you also though took them to buy their first suits and made sure that they look sharp in those. And so that that that means a lot. So I think that's just speaks to that idea that there are individuals in the community who want to do things like this. And, you know, and there are men who are looking for a way to mentor youth and they don't know how to do it or things like that. And so I think I don't think that we tap into that enough. There are people who want to help, they just don't know how to plug in or they maybe they don't feel welcome or invited. And I love what you said. A closed mouth doesn't get fit. And so just speaking up sometimes is is all that it takes. Yeah. It's beautiful. So I also want to talk about, you know, we every day, and I guess depending on your algorithm, but when we're doom scrolling, we know we feel like it's the end of the world with AI. Yes. And that AI is gonna take everyone's jobs, you know. We During COVID, I remember I thought the whole world was gonna be like ready player one. We were all gonna be in little goggles and we're all gonna do all our shopping and buying on you know in those fictitious little lands in in cyberspace. That didn't really, you know, to latch on as much as we thought. But AI is a reality. Yeah. I believe that in this time of AI, no matter how much it's infiltrating things, I do believe the kids that have these skills of being able to the human skills is one of the titles they have for these durable workforce competency, soft skill career readiness things. is that I I I feel like they're gonna be set apart even more than ever. Absolutely. I mean I think you see that now even with social media, the kids who are just so ingrained into what's happening on their tablets and they don't have those communication skills, you see that immediately. I mean we saw that with COVID with the masks because when we they took off the masks, it was hard for them to communicate. Now that the masks are the masks are off and they're scrolling all the time on iPads and phones, we're still having an uphill battle that we're fighting to get kids to communicate. And now AI is that next level of yes, you you don't have to interact with people as much or you won't have to interact with people as much because AI is gonna be able to do all these different tasks and and and and projects for you. So yes, you're absolutely right. I think the kids who understand how to connect with people, how to build a a a meaningful connection and to build rapport easily and show up as themselves and have charisma and and laugh and smile and have disagreements and be sad and show emotion and emotes. my goodness. All those things, right? Are gonna be so much more set apart from just anyone. If we're talking about opportunities, but just as as people in general, I think it's gonna be just a beautiful thing to be able to walk into a room and see someone and know that. they that you can connect with them in a meaningful way. Whereas some other folks are in a corner tucked away because they're too afraid or they don't know how to to to make those connections. I love it. And you said so many important things there, but two of them I think that really stand out. One is that ability to connect with people. Yeah. We are designed as human beings to connect with other people. And I feel like that is, as we all know, we've heard this, it wasn't just my my theory, it's something we keep hearing, is that we have a loneliness epidemic. Yeah. people don't know how to connect with one another. We have anxiety and depression among youth and adults. And a lot of it is that looking at the phone instead of looking at one another. So these career competencies are life competencies. They are skills for life to make people better equipped. And the other part you said though is about the mask. So for those of you who may be listening and don't work with children often, Something to perhaps notice and to encourage when you are working with children or maybe even your own children is that since I've been teaching for forty one years, I have noticed since COVID specifically, children's facial affect. When we say affect, A F F E C T, their ability to have those emote, as you said, their facial expressions are very flat. And the ability to read facial expressions. Yes. has has been gone and sometimes what they're saying does not match the face. They they will look Yeah, I had a birthday party, it was really fun. And and they looked so depressed. I'm like, baby, this this this fa that's not fun. Your face is not showing fun. And I actually will talk to said, sweetheart, your face is not matching your words. Let's what would fun look like? You know, and then they'll give me like the fakest smile ever. Like, no, like like think, you know, think happy thoughts. But also not only their ability then to be perceived, but also to perceive others. So You know, I may be looking at a student smiling like, I'm so pleased with you. I may be looking at them smiling like, You better stop that right now. Exactly. I got two smiles. So many nuances, right? There's the nuance and y if I were doing that, you would pick up on it. Absolutely. Students in the past have it. Some of my current students, brilliant children. They can't just there's that nuance between the different smiles and it's not their fault. It's because everybody's faces were covered or everybody's looking down. I mean, I remember as a kid. And we're acting up in the pews at church, and your parents are up on the stage and they're looking at you like and you know exactly what that meant. Singing the choir, like smiling at you, like baby, you better cut that out right now. And you know exactly what that meant. let me straighten up. Okay. So, yes. I mean, I think that is that is so important. And I try to do that as a father too, with Tatum, just showing emotion and just emoting because she can tell if I'm looking at her a certain a certain way, what that means. let me straighten up or What does that face mean, Dad? And I explained it to her so she knows for next time. But I think those are so important as parents, just to show our kids what that looks like and what that what that means because it's just it's so important as a as a human and in that in that in in being able to connect with people. Well, I do want to compliment you, and I will say you that one of the reasons you're so good at all of these things is that I think the example you set of joy. I I have For those of you that younger who are younger listening, so when you there were sitcoms on television, situational comedies, which television shows used to have a laugh track. There might not actually even be anybody there as they're filming it, but they had a laugh track. And so they would almost cue you at home. I need to laugh right there. That's funny. And so I have often said that if there were a laugh track to my life, I want it to be Kirk Brown's laugh because you have the best laugh. Because when Kirk laughs. sometimes I have seen him something wasn't even that funny. He gets up and knocks the chair over. Kirk tells people that when he laughs, he does a little jog around the room. He does the little circle around the room. And but that joy, I think that's why people are drawn to you too. And I think that's something that I want to make sure that we just touch on when we're talking about give a firm handshake, look some in the eye, speak with confidence. It's not that you are all having to be so serious. Yeah. People are drawn to joy. It's contagious. Absolutely. And you exemplify that. Not only being a sharp dressed man, you also exemplify joy. And also if his voice sounds familiar, you may recognize Kirk's voice from from he is also quite the influencer, but he does have commercials, and one of them airs currently is is one where he does f one for Fabriz. Yes. The waft wafting the air for breeze. Yes. Yes. So I think it would be a good time then for us to segue into our commercial because a lot of people want to know about. more about the Ronkark Academy because I mentioned that we have the amazing shake here, but we also have professional development for educators of all different types. And so let's take a moment and listen to a little bit more about RCA EXP. And we're back. And now that we've learned a little bit more about RCA EXP, I do want to reiterate that we do also have a website, theAmazingShake.com, with resources for educators as well. It's a great website where educators can go on and say, Hey, I want to try the Amazing Shake at my school. And we have tons of free resources that you can roll it out at your school, whether it's on a small scale in your classroom or for the entire fifth grade class or for the entire school. There's tons of resources there for schools to check out. And we also have a great, you know, in addition there on that website, you'll also find information about how to sort of use one of our Amazing Shake gauntlets and we pack it up in a crate. It's called Shaking a Crate. And so we give schools an opportunity to rent out some of our past gauntlets that we've used for schools as well. It's wonderful. So we have things for every level, the classroom teacher who's just looking for a lesson for tomorrow, but also we have resources for whole districts to even use if they want the materials and those to be made available to them. So Kirk. It's so helpful because honestly, when I wanted to talk about this, there's nobody in the world who's better suited to talk to about this than you because you do interact with so many humans and on a given day and you are so respected by everybody. You're out in that community. You're a phenomenal mentor, you're a phenomenal father, a phenomenal husband, and you are a phenomenal part of this team. So as we wrap up, I would love it if all the things we talked about, for somebody who's listening, what do you think would be Just the most important thing that you hope they remember and take from this conversation. Yeah. The most important thing I think that they take from this conversation, Kim, is just teaching kids to be confidently themselves and giving them the opportunity to put those reps in. Right. And so the things that we can do to prepare our students right now, our kids right now, will set them up for success more than we could ever imagine. And so let's not wait until our kids or our child is In their senior year of high school, and we're like, I hope you're ready for this interview, or I hope you're ready to go and get the scholarship. The things that we can do right now will plant the seeds that will continue to grow into trees that will help them be super successful in their life. I love that. And if you're talking to just that one educator who might say, I I'm working alone on this. I I I I believe this. I want to try this. I may not even have my whole school behind me. What would be just the simplest or or the first thing that you would encourage them to at least just try? Yeah, just try with a handshake. And just scoring your kid on a handshake in a general conversation. As they come into your class in the mornings, just test them on their handshake. Good morning. Greet each child with a handshake and say, that was a two or that was a ten. Score them so they can get better with that. And then just have them stand up in class. If you call on a student, it's so simple to just have them stand up and address their class instead of addressing them board or addressing the teacher. Those are two simple things I think that teachers can do. but I'd also say this, Kim, parents can also do simple things for their child as well. I think about my kids, I give them the opportunity to order from the menu from themselves. Right? That's something simple. And give the age of your children because they're young. yeah. So Tatum is seven and Maxwell is four. And so put your order in, talk to the the server and look them in the eye and say please and say thank you. Those are simple things. have them introduce themselves at church or in the community and tell them who you are. And if someone asks, How are you? you say, I'm doing well. And you are teaching them to ask that follow-up question. Those are simple things that parents can do for for little kids, no matter their age. I love that. I love that ordering from the menu. And I think that what that does is it translates to academic confidence as well. Yeah. I you know, somebody says, I can do hard things or I can do big things or I can do grown-up things. And then when they're in that classroom, then they feel more equipped and and ready able to handle things. Yeah, absolutely. So Kirk. Thank you so much for all you do. Thank you for being the best coworker. Thank you for having the best laugh soundtrack I've ever heard. And and thank you for all the wisdom you share with us today. Appreciate you, kid. All right, appreciate you too. And that is the RCA mix. We look forward to seeing you next time. Thank you for joining us. We hope you've enjoyed this episode and can take away something that you may be able to use in your classroom and school. And above all, the goal is to impact as many students as possible. So Please take the time to share this with your fellow teachers, colleagues, and friends as well. And please remember to subscribe to never miss another one of our amazing guests. While we hope you continue to watch and listen to the RCA Mix podcast, we would really love for you to come visit us in person here at the Ronkark Academy to attend one of our professional development conferences. They happen almost every single week, and you can learn more about them and how to register at rcaexp.com. We hope to see you here.