Latest / Be A Global Citizen! / 188. HGSE Global Citizen: Alex Smith: Partnering with Families to Inspire Hope for the Future

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188. HGSE Global Citizen: Alex Smith: Partnering with Families to Inspire Hope for the Future · Be A Global Citizen!

0:04
Hi there, and welcome to Be a Global Citizen, the podcast that
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explores the concept of global citizenship through the lens of
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value creating education. My name is Scott Bauer and I'm a
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SOCO researcher and educator. I hope you find the discussions,
0:18
stories, and insights on this podcast to being valuable and
0:22
inspiring as we strive to become global citizens who are
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committed to living a contributive life.
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Enjoy the conversation. Hi, I'm Alex Smith.
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I'm just outside Philadelphia in Pottstown, PA, and I'm the
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executive director at an early childhood center.
0:43
Hi, Alex, thank you so much for being on the podcast today.
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Really excited to have wonderful Harvard friends from our cohort
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share their story and really get us all inspired about the work
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that you do and the various communities and like, you know,
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students and individuals that you impact on a day-to-day
1:02
basis. I I know that, you know, you've
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had quite the experience as a teacher and educator.
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You mentioned early childhood. So we're talking the little
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little ones and yeah, the littles.
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And I'm excited to, to learn more about that since, you know,
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I've taught across grade levels myself, but have not taught the
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littlest of them, like from kindergarten and down.
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I think the earliest for me was first grade and that was already
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a lot. So, you know, you are, you are a
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different, yes, there's a whole new world and you're different,
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you know, you know, breed of teacher, you know, to to be able
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to step into that space and, and really not only navigate it, but
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create the kind of like learning environments where kids are able
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to be themselves, be able to discover new things, build
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skills, make friends, make memories.
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So much. I can't wait to hear more about
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that. And so wanted to pass it back to
2:00
you to share like how like, yeah.
2:03
How did you find yourself to to do this work in early childhood
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education and and what were some of the main influences in your
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journey as a as a teacher? So I actually stumbled into it.
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I needed a part time job while I was doing some college and I was
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going through ads online and I saw someone needed a toddler
2:21
teacher for two year olds of all things.
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And I was like, I could do that. He can sit and play all day.
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He's not playing all day, Scott. So I fell into it.
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I was in the classroom with these kids part time and we
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would go in in the morning and it was exhausting.
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But I fell in love with it immediately because there was so
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much energy and no two days are ever the same.
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I did 2 year olds for the 2 year old classroom for probably a
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year and a half. And then I got to move up to the
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preschool, which seemed like a college level compared to 2 year
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olds. And we were actually doing like
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lesson planning and stuff like that with those kids.
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Not so you don't do that with the 2 year olds, but it's more
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intense when you get to a preschool classroom.
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So yeah, preschool was where I stayed for, oh gosh, 20 years.
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Back when I started, you didn't really need a degree to teach
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early childhood education. You had to have some experience
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with kids, and they threw you into the classroom, and they
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were like, good luck with that. And the longer I was in the
3:15
field, the more people started to see that we really needed to
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have educated people doing this work.
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Everybody brags about how it's, you know, the foundation of all
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this learning. But early childhood educators
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are kind of left behind. I feel like we're forgotten a
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lot. A lot of our staff live in
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poverty because we're not paid as well as regular teachers are.
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So. Yeah, preschool for 20 some
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years, it came to the point where I needed to have a
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bachelor's degree to continue teaching preschool.
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So I did that. I got my degree through Purdue's
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online education platform, So Purdue Global University.
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I got my degree in early childhood and admin.
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So I was able to stay in the classroom with that.
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And I knew that eventually I was going to want to go on to to
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lead. So the admin part really
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intrigued me. I got my teaching certification
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through Pennsylvania and I taught pre-K accounts, which is
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a state funded program here in Pennsylvania where they really
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target kids that are at high risk for educational issues.
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We serve impoverished communities, families that that
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aren't quite, they need help. So that's the families we serve.
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And I did that for four years. It was one of the most rewarding
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experiences of my life. The families are, they're
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incredibly grateful and they're, they're ready and they're eager
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for their kids to be something more than they were.
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I think that part of it intrigued me because I grew up
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in a part rural part of Western New York, so just South of
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Buffalo. And the community that I grew up
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in, we were poor. We didn't, I didn't realize this
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until I was older, but our family didn't have a lot.
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We always just thought my mom was mean when she wouldn't stop
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at McDonald's. But turns out later years we
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found out that she just couldn't afford even, you know, happy
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Meals for my sister and I. So it really, I wanted to be
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part of that community because I wanted to, I wanted to show
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those families and those kids that you can pull yourself out
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of this and you know, you can be an achiever and you can do
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something that you really want to do.
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So I love my stint in that. My PA teaching cert we had to
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get in order to get to a level 2, which is a lifetime
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certification. They ask you to either get a
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master's degree or they ask you to take these courses at a
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school district, which just really didn't interest me.
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So I told my wife one day, I said, I'm going to apply to
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Harvard to get my master's degree.
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And she looked at me, and she was like, uh huh.
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Yeah. OK.
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So I applied. It was the only school I applied
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to to get my master's degree credentials.
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And in March, when we all got our letters, she was sound
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asleep on the couch. It was 8:00 at night.
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And I got the letter. And I sat there quietly for a
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minute because I was like, how am I going to handle this
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rejection? Like, I'm sure we all went
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through that. You know, I was like, what am I
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going to do when this says no, I'm going to be OK?
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And so I'm talking to myself. And I was like, just open it.
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So I opened it and the confetti was there and I literally jumped
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up and knocked her onto the floor.
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I was yelling, Oh my God, Oh my God.
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And she thought something happened to one of our kids.
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And she's like, what's wrong? What's wrong?
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And I started crying and she's like, what is happening?
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And so I showed her the letter. And so we just spent the whole
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night like we stayed up until I think it was almost 4:00 in the
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morning, just talking about what an amazing opportunity this was
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going to be and how this was going to impact my career and my
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kids and my family and everything else.
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So it's been, it's been an interesting journey to get from
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where I came from to where I am today.
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And then I'm excited about it. Wow, thank you so much.
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Alex and I, I'm very excited also about kind of not only
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where you've been, right, what you shared, but also where
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you're moving towards. And it's just so evident like
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that you, you found your niche, right, with early childhood
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education and that regardless of like what, you know, society
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kind of thinks of that particular profession.
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And then the lack of maybe like support or like, yeah, kind of.
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Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
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That the support side of it, it's just really baffling
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because like you said, right, everyone says that that is the
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foundation and that's so important, right?
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Developmentally, so many big strides.
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But yeah, your commitment to stay in that field and, you
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know, really kind of shift that narrative and like persist with
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making your impact is so inspiring.
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And, you know, you mentioned about in the at the start, you
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stumbled into this job and it was shocking, but at the same
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time electrifying because of the energy that you spoke about.
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Yeah. And and ever since, you know, it
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seems like you haven't really looked back in terms of, you
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know, why, why you do the work that you do.
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So I wanted to kind of like rewind the clock a little bit
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and really focus on that part time job because it sounds like
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there was a lot going on. And I know that for myself, some
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of like, the early experiences in the classroom were the most
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terrifying. And, you know, so much self
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doubt. And, you know, I don't know if
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I'm doing this right. Maybe I'm scarring this child
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because I have no idea what's going on.
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But yeah, like, could you maybe like, speak to a particular,
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like, anecdote that happened that really stayed with you in
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those early fate, like, early years?
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Or maybe it was like day one. What was that like?
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Because you didn't really know what you were getting yourself
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into. I had no idea what was getting
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yourself into. There were I think there were
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nine kids in that initial classroom that I was in.
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And there was one other teacher in there with me.
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And I honestly like, I expected it to be like a play date.
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Like I had had, you know, friends who had babies and
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little kids like that. And I thought we're just going
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to hang out all day. But it's not what it was.
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It was actually, they were, they were teaching these kids things
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and activities were structured and I had no idea that that was
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even a thing. But it's also these kids are
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also all over the place because they're not all at the same
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level at 2, you know, So you've got some that are speaking
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really well and you've got some that are still babbling.
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So it was a challenge to figure out what each kid needed and how
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we were going to provide that. So individualization was day
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one. Like you got to figure out who's
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getting what and what they need. But the kids were always great
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because even when they're in the in the throes of, you know,
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chucking crayons at one another, they'll stop for a second and
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they'll come over and they'll curl up in your lap and they'll
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just want to have that moment where they want to just connect
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and they just want to be for a second.
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So I think it was that constant like up and down throughout the
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day that I really appreciate it because you don't, you don't get
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bored. I did a stint in kindergarten.
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I did kindergarten enrichment and it was great.
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I loved it because the kids were learning stuff.
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But every day started to become the same thing.
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You know, we were doing math and then we were doing English.
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Whereas in the 2 year old classrooms and younger, you can
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plan a day if you want to, but you're not guaranteed that
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that's what's going to happen throughout the day because the
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kids are coming in and they're wanting their own thing or
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they're not interested in what you want to say.
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So I really appreciate that not really having a plan.
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It's it's fly by the seat of your pants every day.
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Sometimes I feel like, and I appreciate that I work best in
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chaos, I guess. And that's, that's a good
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environment to be in if that's where your niche is.
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So, yeah, but the kids, we fell in love with the kids.
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I mean, you know, we would, we would help the parents out.
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We did babysitting after school for some of them sometimes.
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And we became really close to the families.
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And I think that's something else that the teachers who work
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in K through 12, they don't get to have that.
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Like we, we have a very close relationship with our parents
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because we're, we're helping parent their children every day.
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We got to see things they didn't.
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Sometimes we were seeing first steps or we were seeing the
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first time they would write their name.
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So being able to share that with families that created this bond.
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So I think also having an appreciation for, you know,
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relationship building in those early years is really important
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as well for me because you know, connecting with the families is
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it's rewarding for me. So I enjoyed that as well.
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Definitely, yeah, the connection part of it is, is huge.
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And I, I love how you, you, you expressed like the roller
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coaster nature of like, you know, you could plan out the
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day, but then something totally unexpected happens or, you know,
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the excitement of one thing just overrides everything else.
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And, and you really, it's just kind of have to like tune, be
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like really attuned to whatever the needs of that individual
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student are. And I think wouldn't it be great
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if like all of education, you know, moving from, you know,
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preschool all the way up into college was like that, that
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would be, that would be nice, right?
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And you and you learn the things that interest the kids.
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Like I, I always made a point to we would start talking at the
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end of early fall about like how magical the first snow is and
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how, you know, Frosty the snowman came to life with
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magical snow. So we would watch for those days
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and the very first snow, we would be watching out the window
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and we would stop everything that we were doing.
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I'd be like, Oh my gosh, the first snow is happening and like
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they get excited off in your energy.
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So now everybody's off at circle time and they're up and we're
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looking out the window. So now we just spend 1520
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minutes talking about that and you wait for them to get built
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up and you're like, let's get our coats and go outside and
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play in this. And that's something you can't
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do in K through 12, you know what I mean?
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Like you can't just abandoned your day to go and do something
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that really is pulling towards them.
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So it's little things like that that I love doing.
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Yeah, the spontaneity of it sounds so much fun and it just
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like vibes with like, I think the authentic way that kids are
12:03
just always observing and like absorbing, you know, information
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from their environment. And when you were able to direct
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their attention towards something genuinely awesome,
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like the first snow, they of course they're going to get like
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pulled into that. And, and I think it's just so
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cool too that like everyone's able to like hold that kind of
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space and like put attention towards something that maybe to
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a lot of other people, right? It's insignificant or they've
12:29
seen it before, but there's so little, this is their first time
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seeing it. So like, yeah, you're able to
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see like through their their eyes and feel that right.
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And it's funny because sometimes they'll lead you into things.
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Last year I was taking I always made.
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But the kids are always helpers so they always had jobs to help.
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And last year 2 of my boys were helping me take trash out and we
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went outside. They were cutting limbs off
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trees and the boys were just fascinated with us.
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They're like Mr. Alex, look at what he's, he's climbing up that
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tree. He's going to cut that branch
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off. So we stopped and we went in and
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got the whole class and we spent probably 30 minutes sitting
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outside on the steps just watching them cut these trees
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off. And so it becomes part of your
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unit of what you're doing. And I see that you're interested
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in this. So let's, how many branches have
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they cut down so far? So we're pulling into every
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moment has some kind of learning in it, but it's stuff that
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they're interested in. So they don't really realize
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that it's learning. It's fantastic.
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It makes me look good. Well, I mean, because I think,
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you know, kids, like, you know, all, all young people are like
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wired to learn. And you know, I've, I'm sure
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you've heard this as well, but sometimes like being a good
13:29
teacher is just knowing when to get out of the way.
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So they can just go ahead and like, you know, do that.
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But it really does take a certain I think wisdom is the
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word I would use as the teacher to recognize, Hey, this, this is
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an interest. And let's let's do everything we
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can to create a pathway towards that and channel that interest.
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And then afterwards you can always work kind of like, what
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is it? Yeah, you can always like kind
13:58
of structure out new lessons that will then tie back to that
14:02
new interest. But that's kind of, I don't know
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what I see a lot of times in like, you know, just schools in
14:07
general, especially when you get into the high school area, which
14:10
is more of my background such disconnect and like, why am I
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studying this and why? What's the purpose of that?
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And, and often times like there's, there's no real effort
14:21
made, I think from the school's part to understand what their
14:25
genuine interests are. It's always just kind of this is
14:28
what you got to do. This is the pathway moving
14:30
forward. Go to college, right?
14:31
That kind of thing. Yep, I will see the teacher last
14:34
year, she's scared to death. The first day she came in and
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her eyes were real wide and she was sitting at circle time and I
14:39
want to sit next and I said, are you all right?
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And she was like, I don't know what I'm doing.
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And I said, none of us do. I said just listen and whatever
14:46
it is that they're talking to you about, do that.
14:49
So she was sitting with this kid and he was playing with blocks
14:51
and he was like, I'm going to knock it over now.
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And she was like, don't do that. And I was like, let him do that
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now what happens next? So it was just a lesson for her
14:59
on how learning was going to occur with these little kids,
15:01
because I think she thought she was going to come in and she was
15:03
going to have a math lesson with them.
15:04
And it doesn't work when you're 3 and four years old.
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You know, they're not really interested in that too much.
15:08
So it's, it's been nice to watch the next generation coming in
15:11
and realizing that that was me at one point in time.
15:14
And now to be able to give them what I've learned.
15:16
So it's, it's, it's been a journey.
15:18
I, I love that little story that you just shared that piece of
15:22
like mentorship, right? For like newer educators, right,
15:25
that have maybe similar, maybe even more anxieties of, you
15:30
know, stepping into that classroom space.
15:32
And I, I wonder, was there a teacher like that did the same
15:37
thing that you just did for that, that younger teacher?
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Like, could you speak to a particular teacher that gave you
15:44
really great reassurance or important feedback about what
15:48
being a good teacher really entails?
15:51
Yeah, I was lucky that I had a lot of great teachers in my life
15:53
growing up. I mean, we had a really small
15:55
school district and some people would say it probably wasn't
15:58
worth much, but I had some fantastic teachers.
16:01
I had a teacher in high school, my English teacher, her name was
16:05
Marianne Bender was her last name and she was fantastic.
16:09
She recognized immediately that sarcasm was my love language.
16:12
And so she and I connected in that.
16:15
And she was going around the room one day and she was asking
16:17
something and I had some smart aleck comment about something
16:20
and she stopped and she came over and she sat down and next
16:22
to me and she put her hand on my shoulder.
16:23
She was patting me. She said, you know, you'd be
16:25
really dangerous if you'd use just 30% of your brain.
16:28
And I just looked and I was like, you can't say that to me.
16:30
And she's like, but I did and just walked away from me.
16:34
But she was always like she, she knew that I loved reading.
16:36
And so she would always push. She would come over and just set
16:38
a book down on my desk and I'd be like, is this extra homework?
16:41
She's like, if you need it to be, just read the book.
16:44
So she really, she pushed me outside of my comfort zone and
16:47
she made me, she made me love language and reading and all
16:52
those things that I could find and I could escape within it.
16:54
I think she recognized that sometimes I needed that.
16:57
So she was fantastic. I had another teacher, Rourke
17:00
Charlo, he was a photography teacher.
17:02
He would just sit and talk to me.
17:04
Like I would stay after class and we would just sit and talk
17:06
not about school, just about life and stuff like that.
17:08
And I think, I think teachers nowadays are afraid to have
17:11
those kinds of relationships because you have to be very
17:13
careful with that. But he was, he was fantastic
17:17
about just sitting and and chatting with me and then
17:19
letting me be there and decompress when I needed it.
17:22
And I think that's important for kids.
17:23
So yeah, I had a lot of great teachers.
17:27
Thank, thank you for sharing those, those great teachers of
17:29
yours. And it, it what sounds like is
17:32
the, the common denominator for for both of them is that they
17:36
really cared about you, right? They took interest in your
17:39
development. They wanted to spend time with
17:42
you. There's this like wonderful
17:43
phrase that I've heard is that attention, and I don't know who
17:47
this is attributed to, but they say attention is the purest form
17:50
of generosity. So I think in a profession that
17:53
demands so much of you when it comes to like, yeah, lesson
17:57
planning, grading, putting in the hours, right, doing all the
18:00
correspondence with the families, etcetera, etcetera,
18:03
and yet also finding time to support newer teachers, I think
18:08
that's, that's incredible, right?
18:10
It speaks to, you know, their their own understanding of like
18:14
this is important, right? Yeah.
18:16
We're here for the students, yes, but we also need to be here
18:19
for one another. And I think that speaks to a
18:22
wider culture of just what what the school community can be
18:26
right for everyone, not just for the students.
18:29
Is that something that you kind of continue on as like a maybe a
18:33
bit of like a philosophy as you find yourself in new leadership
18:36
roles and, you know, it's a brand new school that you're
18:39
you're, you know, supporting in this development so.
18:43
Yeah, yeah, I think that I when I started to do our hiring, I
18:46
intentionally hired young teachers.
18:50
They're both in their 20s. One's just out of college.
18:53
I want to make sure that I'm giving what I have to the next
18:57
generation of teachers. One of a parent came in to do a
19:00
tour and, and our infant teacher, she's she's 23.
19:04
She's got experience in the baby room.
19:06
She's fantastic. I, I would leave her with my
19:08
kids and she was like, she's so young.
19:10
Like I, yes, that's what we need.
19:12
We need the next generation coming in.
19:14
I mean, I can hire Grandma Hilda to come in here and sit on the
19:16
floor with your baby, but this teacher has something else to
19:19
give. You know, she's, she's, she's
19:21
young and she's thirsty and she wants that.
19:23
So I'm intentionally hiring a younger generation of teachers
19:26
so that I can mentor them through and they can become the
19:28
next great thing. I hope I was also lucky enough
19:32
when you were just speaking about having teachers who who
19:36
took the time. I had great examples.
19:38
My parents were great examples of how important education was.
19:43
My mom was a Teen Mom. She got pregnant with me when
19:45
she was a senior in high school and she she struggled.
19:49
She worked two and three meaningless jobs sometimes to
19:52
take care of us, and when my sister came around, it was even
19:55
harder. But my mom hustled her entire
19:57
life working those jobs and she put herself through nursing
20:00
school. She started out as ACNA and then
20:02
an LPN. She became an RN.
20:04
Eventually she went on to get her bachelor's degree in nursing
20:07
and by the time I was in college, she was teaching
20:10
nursing courses. So she was, she was a living
20:14
example of how important this was.
20:15
My dad dropped out of school when he was in 8th grade.
20:18
My stepdad, he raised us, so he's my dad.
20:22
He dropped out in 8th grade and he was a contractor.
20:24
He built the most beautiful thing, Scott.
20:25
He could build a house and he could put anything together that
20:28
you wanted to, but the man could not spell for the life of them.
20:32
I can remember my mom sitting at the table with him writing up
20:34
contracts because he just struggled with this.
20:36
And when my stepbrother was graduating high school, my dad
20:40
said to my mom, he said, I want to be a High School graduate.
20:42
And she was like, well, then be a High School graduate, go and
20:44
do it. So he called the school and they
20:46
were like, yes, we can set you up with the GED program.
20:49
And he said, no, He said, I want to graduate high school.
20:52
He took two years of his life to go back to high school and get a
20:57
high school diploma. And so they were living examples
20:59
of if there's something that's important to you, do it.
21:02
Find a way to make it work and do it.
21:05
And, you know, graduating, they both, they both passed.
21:08
I've done without them for years now.
21:10
But graduating Harvard, I feel like they would have been in the
21:13
front row cheering the loudest because it's something that, you
21:16
know, they did it on their own and I did it on my own as well.
21:19
And it's just I wanted to pay that forward because that
21:22
example from them was so important to me.
21:24
I want my kids and not just my kids that belong to me, but my
21:27
kids that I teach. They're my kids too.
21:29
I want them to see that education is important because
21:32
it can take you places. And that's what my mom always
21:35
showed us. She's like, if you get an
21:36
education, tomorrow's going to be a better day.
21:38
So yeah, I appreciate that about both of them.
21:43
That's that's amazing. I'm like kind of getting a
21:45
little teary eyed. That's yeah, no, no, I, I, I I
21:49
already love both of your parents and and I think that's
21:52
so special. I love what you said about if
21:55
there's something important to you, then do it.
21:58
Don't overcomplicate it. I mean, that's my commentary.
22:01
Don't overcomplicate it. Just, you know, it's like the,
22:04
the attitude, the can do attitude.
22:06
But then knowing that, like, you know, through that like hard
22:09
work and like focus, rallying people, right, your support
22:13
system around you. You only need that one person
22:17
really to like give you that encouragement that, you know,
22:20
persevering you'll, you'll accomplish things beyond your
22:23
wildest dreams. And what is like your goal
22:28
doesn't have to be the same as like the person next to you or
22:31
the person across the country or all this, right?
22:33
I mean, even just like the high school diploma and like
22:36
following through with that. And then the sense of like, you
22:39
know, I'm sure like elation and pride that like you, you know,
22:44
job well done, you did it. I think that's so amazing.
22:48
And also my mom is also an RN and has her own journey of
22:53
really struggling, not knowing English very well since she's a
22:58
Korean immigrant and just being like, how am I going to, to get
23:03
through these studies? I, I can barely write, you know,
23:06
a full paragraph, you know, let alone essays.
23:10
And yeah. And so it's just like, I think
23:13
we need these models in our lives to show us that, you know,
23:19
yeah, life is difficult. And, you know, achieving that
23:23
goal can be hard, but it's never impossible.
23:26
And yeah. And then there's one other.
23:29
Oh, sorry. I don't know if you wanted to
23:30
comment. On that, isn't it funny, Scott,
23:32
how we both come from like everybody in my all the women in
23:34
my family are nurses, they're all medical backgrounds.
23:36
Isn't it funny how we come from a line of givers and caretakers
23:40
and we found another path to do that in?
23:42
You know, like I think about that too.
23:44
Same, but differently. Yeah, I never I just so we you
23:46
said that just now. I'd never really thought about
23:47
that. But yeah, it's it's the same,
23:49
but different. Yeah, I, I, I think about this
23:53
in terms of like nursing and I, I don't even fully, I mean,
23:56
like, I've, I've heard like a lot of table, you know,
23:58
conversations, both my sister and my mom both work as nurses
24:03
And, and so I hear it a lot. And, and there's just a lot of
24:07
stuff they, they have to put up with.
24:09
Yeah. And, and often times, like, you
24:12
know, it's, it's, you know, thankless work.
24:15
Yeah. It's not glorious, right.
24:17
Cleaning someone's butt is not a glorious thing.
24:20
But when it's like, you know, human dignity that we're talking
24:24
about, when it's about, you know, their life, right.
24:28
And what that imparts on their families and how important that
24:31
is, is literally life or death. Yeah.
24:35
I realize, wow, what could be more important than that?
24:38
And then how that ties into the work that we do as educators.
24:43
Again, it's it's life. It's, you know, we're working
24:45
with people's lives here, their futures.
24:48
And and it also requires the same level of like humility and
24:53
patience and and and effort so that we can connect.
24:57
Right. Yeah, so much.
24:59
So much patience. Yeah, my, my mom, she said.
25:02
I'm a medical junkie. So all, all things medical.
25:04
I love, I love hearing, I love learning about it.
25:06
So she would, she worked 3:00 to 11:00.
25:09
So we didn't see her all that often.
25:10
By the time we got home from school and she got home from
25:12
work, we were in bed. So on her days off, she would
25:14
come over with, you know, Mac and cheese or whatever she was
25:16
cooking for dinner and she'd be like, you should see the Abscess
25:19
I helped drain today. Like these are just normal
25:21
dinner conversations that we could have, you know, because
25:25
she knew, she knew what she knew that I like that kind of stuff.
25:27
So that she she would throw it out there just so that we could
25:29
have that connection. And I'm sure that you had many
25:32
of those conversations with your mom as well.
25:34
And. Yeah, sometimes they were very
25:36
sad conversations, too, right. In terms of like, someone didn't
25:40
make it right, family, right. Yeah.
25:43
I'm surprised that you didn't go down the nursing pathway because
25:47
my mom encouraged me to become a nurse.
25:49
Actually. She was like, you should do
25:51
that. And then I was like, you know,
25:53
rebellious, you know, teenage version of Scott is like, no,
25:56
I'm going to do my own thing. Going to go to liberal arts
25:58
college and figure it out. No, I wanted to go to medical
26:02
school. I wanted to be a doctor.
26:03
But there was just, I mean, the way that we grew up, there was
26:05
no, that wasn't going to happen. You know, I knew that that
26:07
wasn't going to be in the cards. It was expensive and there was
26:10
no way that was going to happen. So, and I wasn't, I didn't, I,
26:13
I'd heard enough of mom's nursing stories that I wasn't
26:15
interested in that. So my dad was always like, you
26:19
got to find something that can pay the bills because in high
26:22
school he was like, what do you want to be when you grow up?
26:24
What are you going to do? And I was like, I'm going to be
26:26
a photographer. And he's like, well, you're
26:27
going to be hungry all the time. He's still honest.
26:31
Very much about make sure you can support yourself, you know,
26:33
So I decided photography probably wasn't going to work
26:37
out because Dad wasn't going to be buying dinner anymore.
26:38
I guess so. But yeah, they were always
26:40
pushing me to do what I wanted to do to make sure that you can
26:43
take care of yourself in the process of it.
26:45
Because unfortunately there's not a lot of people that are
26:48
going to take care of you like you're sometimes it's you got to
26:50
be self-sufficient, so. You know, and I, well, yeah,
26:55
that's so true, right? The JOB is very important.
26:57
And yeah, the salary part of it, I understand that.
27:02
But, you know, taking care of yourself right through the job
27:05
is one thing, right? Sometimes people go into a
27:07
profession simply with that as their metric and they just want
27:10
to, you know, have enough to enjoy, I don't know, maybe they
27:14
get a nice car. Maybe, you know, they go on some
27:17
vacations and and that's, that's that.
27:19
But you know, I've also heard that people go into teaching as
27:24
if they're like vocation, right? They're like, this is, this is
27:27
my mission. And, and I'm sure there's like
27:29
an in between. There's a middle ground between
27:31
there as well and I'm just I'm OK.
27:36
So there was something that you said a little while back that
27:38
like really, really struck me and I just wanted to like raise
27:41
this because, you know, you said it so naturally, but I don't
27:45
know if you realize this or maybe you do, but I just want
27:48
you to know that I'm in awe of like what you said about, you
27:52
know, you, you treat your own kids right, your students as if
27:57
they were your kids, right? So you said that in in some
28:00
effect. And I think people don't realize
28:03
like that's, you know, a genuine feeling that I think we have.
28:06
It's like taking care of that we're entrusted by these
28:10
families to, to take care of their their children, to to
28:14
educate them, to inspire them, to show them that, you know,
28:18
concern and, and care. But like, it's, yeah, there's,
28:21
it's, there's something really profound about that.
28:23
And I just wanted to let you know that that really resonated
28:26
with me. And I wonder like what are your
28:29
thoughts about that? I think it's especially true in
28:31
early childhood. Like I can't speak to, you know,
28:34
I can't speak to your aspect of teaching high school because
28:36
they don't know what that's like.
28:37
But when someone brings me their three-year old and I have them
28:40
for two years, sometimes I spend more time with that kid than
28:42
their parents do. And sometimes I'm I'm getting a
28:45
kid who doesn't have a dad at home or who doesn't have a mom
28:47
at home. So I think sometimes there's
28:49
also we end up being fill insurance, you know, so we're,
28:54
we're taking what what mom brings us for the day.
28:56
And it's been a rough day at home or it's been a rough
28:59
weekend. Maybe the kids haven't eaten
29:01
because they're struggling at home.
29:02
So they come to us and now we're acting sometimes as not just a
29:06
teacher, but we're parenting as well.
29:08
You know, we're giving them the things that they need and, and
29:10
I've built lifelong relationships with some of these
29:12
kids. I just had one of my kids from
29:14
last year. He's, he's a ruffian.
29:17
And his dad messaged me. He's like, oh, he's like, you're
29:19
not going to believe what happens.
29:20
And he sends me an X-ray. The kid was playing football and
29:22
broke his leg. So, you know, there's this,
29:24
there's constant, there's they're, they're going to be in
29:27
my life for life. You know what I mean?
29:29
Like they're, they're there and they're, they're celebrating
29:31
with me and I'm celebrating with them.
29:33
But there's a connection that I think that we have as early
29:36
childhood educators that, that people that teach older grades
29:40
don't necessarily get because we're, we're helping raise kids
29:43
sometimes. And not just in the fact of, you
29:45
know, you guys do a great job of instilling morals and stuff too.
29:48
But we're literally teaching these little people how to be
29:50
human beings. You know, like they come to us
29:52
as blobs of, of goo and we, we mold them the best we can and we
29:56
send them out, but we're instilling the things that, that
29:59
are important to us as to, to them just as much as their
30:02
parents are. So I think, I think it feels, I
30:05
think it would feel different and teaching, you know, a 12
30:08
year old, I could never do that by the way.
30:10
But I think it's different, you know, having them at such an
30:13
early age. There's so much more to it, I
30:15
feel like. And, and there's just so like
30:18
pure, right? I mean, it's the BLOB that you
30:20
were talking about of clay and the the impact that you make,
30:25
like every every action, every word that you're saying is being
30:29
registered in some capacity. So of course, I think there's
30:33
there's like this feeling as like all educators, we want to
30:36
do right by by the families, but we also want to, I don't know,
30:42
like, yeah, recognize the fact that this is a lifelong kind of
30:46
endeavor education, such a long term project.
30:50
And it's wonderful when you're able to have those positive
30:54
relationships formed and maintain that right?
30:58
And have like, you know, not maybe not like daily or, you
31:00
know, even monthly, but like, even like years later, right.
31:04
Playing football, maybe in high school, I imagine.
31:07
And then they just reach out to you and tell you that.
31:10
And you can immediately say, yeah, yeah, that sounds like
31:12
that sounds like, you know, that's him.
31:14
I don't know his name, but yeah, that's him.
31:15
You know the ruffian. That's the ruffian.
31:18
Yeah. It's just, it's I, I love it.
31:20
There's, there's kids now that I had when they were four and
31:23
they're now graduating from college.
31:24
God, that makes me sound old, doesn't it?
31:26
But you know, they're like, they're human beings now, like
31:29
they're grown adults. And, and I can remember when
31:32
they were potty training, you know, and that was, that was my
31:34
job is to make sure they were doing that.
31:35
And now they're these, they're people now.
31:37
And it's just, it's nice to know.
31:38
And some of them still remember they're like, Oh, I remember
31:40
you, you had the class where you made us bring the peanut butter
31:42
cups in for you. And I'm like, yes, that was me.
31:45
So, you know, they remember these things from our classrooms
31:47
and it's just it's it's you can't, I don't think that you
31:50
can teach early childhood education because you're in it
31:53
for the money. Like you literally have to be in
31:56
this because this is what you want to do.
31:57
You're not going to be rich work in an early childhood.
32:00
You're just not. But there's so much more that I
32:02
get from it than a paycheck every week.
32:04
It's just it's hard to put into words.
32:08
Yeah, and it's really upsetting when you talk about, you know, a
32:12
lot of a lot of teachers in in preschool, early childhood
32:15
education in general that are living in poverty because of how
32:19
low the salary is. And, and it just, yeah, it's
32:23
just, it's very baffling, right? I mean, because then you have on
32:26
the other side on the, you know, like college and where there's
32:30
such kind of prestige and there's this sense that, you
32:33
know, they, they deserve a certain salary amount.
32:37
And it's, you know, the last stage before they go out into
32:41
the quote UN quote real world. And what are what are your
32:45
thoughts? Because I'm sure you've thought
32:46
a lot about this in terms of that discrepancy as to like why
32:49
that might be the case. Yeah.
32:51
Well, that was one of the things when I started this job, when I
32:53
did my interviewing, I, I wanted to make sure that they
32:56
understood that one of my non negotiables with our teachers
32:59
were going to paid, be paid above what the average salary
33:02
is. Because I can't, I can't keep a
33:05
teacher in my school. If they can't feed their kids or
33:09
if they can't pay their bills, they're going to jump and
33:10
they're going to go somewhere else.
33:11
If you make more money at Chick-fil-A, you're going to go
33:13
to Chick-fil-A and sling Nuggets because it's easier than working
33:16
in early childhood education and it pays more.
33:18
I had to do 1 of McCarthy's speeches that we had to do.
33:21
We had to pick. We had to pick, I don't remember
33:24
what it was, but I picked early childhood teachers and I was
33:26
talking about it when I was doing the research.
33:28
I was baffled that in Pennsylvania, the average, its
33:31
salary for early childhood teacher was like $11.00 an hour.
33:35
Like that's crazy to me that we expect them to come in and do
33:38
this hard work and this is a labor of love and we, we, we're
33:42
not paying them. The government wants to help.
33:45
They do, they want to, they want to do something, but I don't
33:47
think that they're capable of doing anything either.
33:48
This year the big thing in PA was like, we're going to give
33:50
all of them $1000 bonus and I'm like, what is that going to do?
33:54
Like that's, that's what they make in a week, Sir.
33:58
Like, so I don't, I don't know what the answer is.
34:01
I know that I know they need to do more because if you're
34:05
expecting that we're creating a foundation for education and I
34:08
can't keep people in there to create that foundation, you're
34:10
going to have problems down the line.
34:12
I mean, look at the issues that we have in schools with kids and
34:14
behaviors and stuff. If we don't have qualified
34:17
teachers in the classroom, we can't, we can't address those
34:20
behaviors. We can't help those families.
34:22
So I don't know what the answer is, Scott, but they need to
34:24
figure it out right quick. Well, I know that the immediate
34:28
answer and what you're currently engaged with with this new
34:31
school and hiring younger teachers is to really empower
34:35
them and give them the confidence and create the model.
34:39
Sounds like that's what you're doing.
34:41
And I think having a model that is like shining example of this
34:44
is a school that's doing it right.
34:47
This is what should be replicated right across the
34:50
nation. I can't help but think that's
34:53
that's what's going to give hope to building out.
34:55
Maybe maybe it's yeah, maybe the word is a movement, right?
34:59
To really shift this in the right direction and to bring
35:02
more attention on just how critical this period is for
35:07
human development. And just, you know, like letting
35:11
people know that this is a long term project.
35:13
Again, it's like you need to invest in in young people, and
35:17
you need to also invest in those who are taking care of and
35:20
educating those young people. Yeah.
35:22
Even little things like teachers qualify for student loan
35:25
forgiveness. It's up to a certain point.
35:27
Early childhood educators don't qualify for that.
35:29
So unless you work for a nonprofit organization for 10
35:33
years, you can apply for PSLF after the 10 years, but we don't
35:37
get any kind of students. So they're, they're demanding
35:39
these things. Like for me, they're like, oh,
35:41
well, we need you to get a master's degree.
35:43
But now I'm out. All that money and your salary
35:45
that you're paying me isn't, it's not going to help with
35:47
that. So there, there needs to be some
35:49
balance and they need to take a real look at policy and how
35:52
they're how they're doling out their money.
35:57
Yeah. So, so, so many like different
36:01
directions to take with, with that big, big issue.
36:03
But I, I did want to kind of kind of ask, ask a different
36:09
question, if that's OK, go in a different direction.
36:13
Because you said that, you know, again, going back to when you
36:16
initially started and you were kind of like, oh, wow, you know,
36:19
it's a lot harder than I anticipated.
36:22
And you were in a sense, taking care of people's young children,
36:25
right? 2 year olds were, did at this
36:29
point, did you have kids of your own?
36:31
Because I know that you've had, you know, you, you have four
36:34
children, right? Which is amazing.
36:37
I'm sure they're all equally incredible.
36:40
But, you know, yeah, I'm just wondering, like, did doing this
36:43
job as an early childhood educator help you to be a better
36:48
parent as well, like. Yeah, so, so no, I was, I was
36:52
young. We didn't have kids yet.
36:53
I don't even, we just got married, didn't have kids yet.
36:57
And I, I think it did drive me, it did drive me to want to have
37:02
kids of our own because there was so much we, I love the
37:05
energy, you know, So I, I thought to myself, it will be
37:07
great because I'll have this energy all day and then I'll go
37:09
home to it too. I, I think that it prepared me
37:12
for parenthood because there were so many things that I got
37:14
to see behind the scenes, like I knew what to do for our kids, my
37:19
son, all four of our kids are adopted, by the way.
37:22
So they were all babies when we brought them home.
37:25
Jace, who's our, our oldest son, was the oldest when he came home
37:28
at six months. Because I had worked in early
37:32
childhood education, I recognized immediately that Jace
37:34
had some quirks. And by the time he was almost
37:37
three, he'd been diagnosed with ASD.
37:40
And I've been fortunate enough to work in a classroom where we
37:42
had special education kids who had been diagnosed with ASD as
37:45
well. And I think that that
37:47
experience, I was able to translate that.
37:49
And we were able to get Jace the things that he needed
37:51
immediately. And it really helped him get his
37:55
best foot forward in life and become successful.
37:58
By the time he was in second grade, second or third grade, he
38:03
was unidentified as a special education student.
38:07
And he went on to be, you know, the star of his basketball team
38:10
in high school, and he led them to a championship.
38:12
Like he did all these fantastic things.
38:14
And if I had just been, you know, working at a newspaper,
38:17
taking pictures as a photographer, I don't know that
38:19
we would have been able to give Jace that kind of hand up, you
38:23
know? So I think that, yeah, I think
38:25
it prepared. It prepared me a lot for the
38:27
things that I didn't even know. We're coming down the Pikes for
38:29
me. So yeah, I guess an education
38:33
and an education, right? What a great story.
38:36
I'm so happy to hear that, you know, and I'm sure that that's,
38:40
you know, you're just citing one story with with Jace, right?
38:43
But in so many other ways, like you were able to really like
38:48
really get to know your kids and like not only like the
38:51
connection piece, but also just in terms of like, yeah, what do
38:54
they need and how can I bring them the right resources?
38:57
And and I think a lot of parents struggle with that.
39:00
Maybe there's just, there's just such overwhelm.
39:02
I think just being thrust into suddenly, yeah, very different
39:06
endeavor, right, Which probably they didn't have any kind of
39:10
schooling or any preparation or experience with.
39:13
I mean, yeah, there is some preparation, but like when
39:15
you're doing it just like a couple months before, you know,
39:19
you actually have the kid, right, Which is often times I
39:21
think people, they're like, oh, OK, now suddenly we have to like
39:25
shift gears and suddenly become experts in the span of a couple
39:28
months. That's not really going to, you
39:30
know, cut it, you know, aside from like the years of.
39:33
Doing on that SO. But, you know, it's, it's just
39:39
incredible. I think I, I, I, I have this
39:42
feeling that like some people, they go into education and you
39:47
know, the, the way your attitude is is so important, right?
39:49
Because you can see it as like, wow, look at all this great
39:52
energy and like, look at this potential and look how much fun
39:55
this is and look and, and this and that.
39:58
But then you can also see it in the flip side, right?
40:00
More negative and being like, this is terrible.
40:03
I have no control. This person said this and you
40:07
know, I, I just, I, I, I, I want to get out.
40:10
And sometimes it actually is like the precursor for like,
40:12
This is why I don't want to have kids because.
40:14
But like what you said is like complete opposite.
40:16
Like what is that about? Like is, is it just like you're?
40:20
Yeah. Like how?
40:21
How do you explain that? I think now, like, I think it's
40:24
different when you're younger because, you know, you have a
40:26
lot more energy. I think now if my wife were to
40:29
come to me and be like, let's have a baby, I'd be like, let's
40:31
get divorced. I don't have the energy for that
40:35
anymore, you know what I mean? But I think being younger and
40:37
having that I can, I can take on the world.
40:40
I, I tend to bite off a lot more than I can chew.
40:44
And like I said, I, I thrive best in chaos, I think.
40:47
And I think that that had a lot to do with it.
40:49
We had a lot going on. I mean, our three youngest, they
40:52
were boom, boom, boom. So Kate is 17, Aiden is 18 and
40:56
Jace just turned 20. So they, we had like, they were
41:00
like, what is it? Irish twins?
41:01
I think they were all like boom, boom, boom.
41:02
We had three in diapers at one point in time.
41:05
And I don't know how I survived that.
41:07
That was, it's nuts to look back on that.
41:09
But I was in a classroom with, you know, 20 or 32 year olds all
41:13
day so or three-year olds. So it didn't, it didn't, it
41:16
didn't seem like a lot to me because I was so used to bigger
41:19
numbers at home. But yeah, I mean, going back, I
41:23
was overwhelmed all the time with it.
41:24
I just didn't, you just don't have any, right?
41:26
You can't think about it. You just got to keep going.
41:28
So that's that's basically how parenthood and that's how I got
41:30
through it. Nice.
41:33
You don't, you don't know just how much it how much work it is
41:36
until you've done it. No, you don't.
41:38
It's kind of what you're saying. So you know, you've, you
41:41
supported so many, like not just your children, but like, you
41:44
know, probably at this point, hundreds and hundreds of, of, of
41:49
little ones who have now probably grown and are off doing
41:53
awesome things and still probably figuring out a lot of
41:56
things as well. And, you know, part of me wants
42:00
to now like bring in this concept of global citizenship.
42:02
And if it's something that in the work that you do ever does
42:06
come up in terms of maybe is it preparation for the world?
42:10
Is it is that kind of, is there alignment in terms of like what
42:13
your understanding of being a global citizen is with the
42:17
actual kind of, you know, behaviors and that you see in
42:21
the classroom or the kind of, I don't know, the way in which you
42:24
try to really get them to like connect with each other,
42:27
building friendships? Yeah, Yeah.
42:30
Is that something that has been on your radar before or is this
42:35
something kind of like new in terms of the work that you do?
42:38
I think that we wanna prepare good humans in our classrooms,
42:42
right? So we want our kids to take
42:44
away, these are the things that I need to do to be a good human
42:48
in order to make the world a better place.
42:50
And now we call that social emotional learning.
42:52
You know, back back in the day that didn't have a title, but
42:54
now it's social emotional learning.
42:55
We want to teach kids about their feelings and we want to
42:58
teach them it's OK to feel those things, but it's not OK to act
43:01
out on our feelings sometimes. Like we have to learn some
43:03
self-control at some point. So I think that that comes into
43:07
our classrooms daily and not just with our kids with us too.
43:10
Because if I come into the classroom and I've had a bad
43:13
night and the kids are, they're off the rocker today, like it's
43:16
loud and I'm over stimulated, I have to also be able to
43:19
demonstrate to them I can keep myself under control as well.
43:25
So I think for me being a global citizen, I think it's, I think
43:28
it's demonstrative, you know what I mean?
43:29
Like I, I want to be a ripple that's positive in their life
43:33
and I want them to go out and be the next ripple for somebody
43:36
else. So I think every day coming into
43:38
that classroom and being very self aware and helping them
43:43
understand that I can have a bad day and you can have a bad day,
43:46
but we don't have to clash and make our bad days worse.
43:49
I think that's kind of where I was when I was in the classroom
43:52
with the kids. Does that make sense?
43:55
Makes total sense. I really like what you said
43:58
about you being the ripple through your actions, right,
44:03
that effect, but then also saying, hey, you're going to be
44:06
the next ripple. And, and, and so yeah, it's
44:10
really like, you know, beautiful imagery really when you think
44:13
about it, because I think the idea is like continuity, right?
44:16
Of like it doesn't stop right. When you have a stagnant, you
44:21
know, lake, that's when you know, things get, you know, you
44:25
know, I don't know, is it like something's fester mosquito?
44:28
Yeah, the damn mosquitoes come out and no one wants them.
44:31
So yeah, it's also, I think, oh, the word is I putrid, right?
44:36
And it's also being able to demonstrate like, listen, we're
44:39
all human, right? So if I have a bad day, and if
44:41
if they're acting out and I turn on and I yell at them, OK, so
44:45
now I've got to take responsibility for that.
44:46
And I've got to show them that I can be apologetic.
44:48
I can make mistakes and I can own those mistakes.
44:50
And you can do that too. So we all have bad days, but
44:53
it's how we own it that defines not that mistake that we made,
44:57
but how we own that mistake. I think is what I want to teach
45:00
them is the important lesson. And I think that's an important
45:05
lesson in global citizenship as well, right?
45:08
Because another way of saying like taking that ownership is
45:11
taking responsibility for our actions.
45:14
And, you know, when we when we look to the, you know, social
45:19
media landscape and just news media in general, there isn't
45:24
much of that going on, if I'm being honest.
45:26
And I don't think that's like a political cut on either side.
45:28
It's like across the board, no one wants to take responsibility
45:32
for a lot of the bad stuff that's happening because again,
45:36
many of these things that we're seeing have been compounding
45:39
over years. And and so when does the cycle
45:42
end? No one seems to be strong
45:45
enough, right, to bear that brunt or put themselves in such
45:50
a vulnerable place where, you know, suddenly now that it's
45:53
like their head on like the chopping block.
45:55
And it's like, you know, again, these things have to be taught
45:59
at a younger age, like what you were saying.
46:02
Otherwise, you know, we we wouldn't have like, it would be
46:04
unthinkable, right? You know, unconscionable for
46:06
them to to do some of the things.
46:08
That's not something that we were taught as kids.
46:10
You know, I mean, like, we come from us Gen.
46:12
Xers. We, we, we weren't, we didn't
46:13
come from a generation of feel your feelings and you know, we
46:16
pick up and move on. That's what we came from.
46:18
So this is this is a new skill that I've learned over the last,
46:22
you know, five years or so is being accountable for myself
46:26
because we we didn't learn that we didn't need to do that.
46:29
You know, adults were kids should be seen and not heard.
46:32
You know, so we've learned all these terrible things from our
46:34
parents and that we're like, oh, well, that's what you do.
46:37
And then we learned that that's not what you do.
46:39
So now we have to be accountable for that.
46:40
And so I think constantly being a lifelong learner is constantly
46:45
picking up something that's new and being able to implement that
46:48
somehow in your life and being able to look at somebody and be
46:51
like, listen, I recognize that you make mistakes and thank you
46:53
for your accountability. And being able to pick up and
46:55
move on from that is, is something that I think we all
46:59
need to practice constantly, especially in today's world.
47:06
And, you know, in today's world, it's very easy to kind of like
47:09
lose track of, you know, what is this all?
47:12
Where is this all heading towards?
47:14
And and is there hope, right. I think again, it's it's
47:18
somewhat dire and people are quite negative.
47:21
Yeah, pessimistic about future outlook.
47:26
You work with very pure lumps of clay, AKA kids.
47:32
And so I'm just wondering like, what gives you the most hope
47:37
when you, when you enter into a classroom?
47:40
You know, like, is it, yeah, I mean, maybe there's something
47:43
specific or. Yeah.
47:46
I'm just curious, like what what gives you that hope that like
47:49
actually the future can be different through the work and
47:52
your efforts that you're doing today?
47:54
I think when I walk into a classroom and I see a parent who
47:57
wants to do the work and who wants their kid to be something.
48:01
I think it was this doctor map when we were talking about
48:06
coming into the classroom with families and she said you should
48:08
always ask your families what they dream for their children.
48:11
And I never thought about that until she had said that.
48:13
Because what what does that really matter?
48:15
I thought, but it does because I can't, I can't do my work unless
48:19
I know where it is that they're trying to go.
48:21
So I think walking into a classroom and seeing families
48:24
that want something more for their kids inspires me and gives
48:28
me hope because these little lumps of clay, they need
48:30
something. They need something to form them
48:32
and shape them. And we're not doing that work
48:34
out on our own as teachers. They're they're going home to
48:36
families who who have the biggest input on who they are
48:39
and who they're going to become. So I think that's my biggest
48:42
hope is seeing these families that definitely want more and
48:47
they want their kids to be that changed that we're all
48:51
desperately needing at this point.
48:53
So I haven't completely given up.
48:56
Hope not complete. Like that's good 70.
49:01
That's good. I'm encouraged.
49:05
Oh Dave, we're at 70% now. Oh my gosh, I.
49:08
Mean, I'm not saying there's not a bag in my car with Canada's
49:10
plates on it, but we're that's not either here or.
49:15
Oh, man, yeah, you've disclosed it.
49:17
It's out there now. We all know the world knows.
49:20
Alex, tell us how you really feel.
49:22
OK, so you know, I, I, well, first shout out to Doctor Mapp.
49:27
And you know, there's something really powerful.
49:29
Again, I think the the word community comes to mind because
49:33
this work is not just falling on the student right to become
49:38
model citizen. It's not falling on the teacher
49:42
to be best teacher of the century, but it's also not to
49:46
like put all responsibility on the parents to say, Hey, get,
49:50
you know, get your stuff together.
49:52
Come on, It's it's all on you. There's something about, you
49:56
know, that the, the, oh, I was about to say, is it trifecta
50:01
that you have like the, the three different points, but
50:04
like, you know, they need to be working in tandem, but you also
50:06
need to really get to know like the family and simply like, what
50:11
is the like, what are you hoping for them?
50:12
Like, I think that is so powerful cuz what parent doesn't
50:15
have a dream for their their child?
50:18
And it could be something as simple as like, I just want my
50:20
child to be happy. Yeah.
50:22
OK. Yeah, that's a good starting
50:23
point. You know, actually, I think
50:25
that's what all families should really be gearing towards rather
50:28
than just I want them to go to Harvard or something.
50:30
Yeah. It's like, well, OK.
50:31
You know, best answers, though, because, you know, then what
50:34
that means. Whatever that kid finds that
50:36
they're interested in or whatever it is that, you know,
50:39
tickles their little fancies and makes them light up at the end
50:41
of the day. And the parents going to be
50:42
happy because they've found something wrong, You know,
50:44
whereas you've got families who are like, oh, I want my kid to
50:46
go to Harvard. Like it's, it's this.
50:48
But it's not like kids that want to be happy.
50:51
It's, it's a bigger ball of everything included in it.
50:53
So I like that answer, Yeah. Yeah, well, even just your hand
50:56
gestures said a lot because it's like either like attack or like
50:59
hitting or it's like this encompassing.
51:02
This is, this is it's one pathway only, you know, this is
51:05
the only way to success is this way.
51:07
Whereas parents who just think about their kids being happy, I
51:09
think there's there's a more, there's a rounder approach to
51:12
that than just one straight path.
51:15
Yeah, there's so many paths, right?
51:17
We just don't realize that because I think there's a lot of
51:20
fear of that unknown of, well, what is the path that my child
51:23
is going to take? You don't know.
51:25
None of us know. We just have little inklings of
51:27
it, like little bread crumbs. But we just got to support them.
51:31
What works for us doesn't work for our kids all the time.
51:34
You know what I mean? Like education is huge for me
51:36
and I've always, I've always geared myself towards learning
51:39
something and being in a classroom and that for some of
51:41
my kids, my personal kids, like that, that's not the path that
51:43
they've chosen. And that's OK.
51:45
I mean, they'll find their way in their own time.
51:47
I didn't figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up
51:48
until I was in my 40s. So I figured they've got time,
51:51
you know, but it's just, I was one of those parents who was you
51:54
graduate high school, you got to go to college.
51:56
Like you got to get an education, you got to be
51:58
something. And by the time now the Kade's
52:00
in high school and he's finishing up, I've, I've learned
52:03
that that's not necessarily it's not necessarily what's going to
52:06
work for all of them. So look, learning something
52:09
every day. Every day, Scott.
52:11
Every day, every every day till the very end.
52:15
I I love that and you know your your love of learning and like
52:19
the fact that you stated that you love to read books.
52:23
This brings us to the the last question that I wanted to pose
52:26
to you. Any any book recommendations?
52:29
There's been so many good books I've read this year, book that
52:33
probably changed my life in the way I think about things.
52:35
The Midnight Library by Matt Hague, phenomenal book.
52:40
I couldn't put it down. I think I read it in a few hours
52:43
and I just read Mad Honey. I think that's Jodie, Jodie
52:46
Pickle. I think that book was, there was
52:48
a twist at the end that I was like, so it was just a really
52:52
good read. So those two books.
52:57
Awesome. Thank you so much for those
52:59
recommendations. I'm gonna have to check it out
53:02
myself. And yeah, I just just wanted to
53:05
really emphasize how amazing this conversation has been.
53:09
And it's I, I, I, I want to have more voices from the early
53:12
childhood education field onto my podcast because it's just,
53:18
yeah, it's just so critical, the work that you do.
53:21
And I, I love how you stepped into this space with such like
53:25
humility and vulnerability, a little bit of sarcasm, but
53:29
that's OK. But you know, it's, it's just
53:31
like, it's, it's just wonderful to, to hear that you've really
53:35
found your way. But at the same time, even
53:37
before hitting that, you know, you said like in your 40s,
53:40
that's when you really knew what you wanted to do.
53:43
You were already like you already knew what you wanted to
53:46
do even in the smaller steps that LED you to like that bigger
53:50
realization or maybe the conviction, right?
53:52
Because even the stumbling into like that initial like tutoring
53:56
with like 2 year olds, I don't think was a coincidence.
54:00
And I think, you know, you had enough wisdom to like perceive
54:03
how powerful that was to just stick with it.
54:07
And I think people don't realize even just deciding like if
54:10
something feels true and sticking with it is like 90% of
54:14
the battle. So, so I really like applaud you
54:18
in the work that you're you've done and that you continue to
54:20
do, Alex, because there's, you know, I'm really excited about
54:23
this school that you're you're building with all these
54:25
fantastic young educators. I'd love to to visit one day and
54:30
hang out and yeah, just learn about that world even more.
54:35
But yeah, I just wanted to give you the last word as we kind of
54:38
close out this awesome conversation.
54:40
So any any final thoughts? No, I just thank you for this
54:43
conversation. It's really nice to always sit
54:46
down with people who are like minded and to have conversations
54:48
about, you know, the importance of, of what we do in our lives
54:51
everyday. So thank you very much for
54:53
having me today. I appreciate it.