“Can’t be everything for everybody” - J Cole

Written by Frank Jackson (Mr. Positive)

Prior to every takeoff, courteous flight attendants read and demonstrate important, but often overlooked safety instructions. They outline the six marked exits and proceed to communicate the worst-case scenario responsibilities for every passenger on the plane.

 “Upon the loss of cabin pressure, the panels above your seat will open, and oxygen masks will drop down. If this happens, place the mask over your nose and your mouth, and adjust it as necessary. Be sure to adjust your own mask before helping others.”

 Currently, the education plane  is two weeks into a nosedive as we struggle to deal with digital classrooms and the Rona, Miss. Rona, Corona, COVID-19 or whatever you want to call it. The oxygen masks have been deployed, literally, yet we refuse to put ours on. We can’t help but to hop onto google classroom (and all other digital platforms), ignoring the planes Wi-Fi restrictions, to recount the safety instructions for the 100+ student passengers because WE KNOW they ignored them. As we gasp for air, textbooks crash from the above overhead compartments. Our neatly placed glue sticks, journals and pencil stashes fling like knives in a tornado to the front of the plane. In the midst of the destruction, we manage to recite every word verbatim as the flight principal did. We pause, having lost track of where we are, to confirm that all of our students have their masks on and have proceeded to parachute the remaining distance to the ground. Before the last student jumps, they look at us in our eyes to ask: What were we supposed to do again? Alone and struggling to breathe, we desperately reach for our own oxygen mask but notice it has been punctured by a pair of scissors. Then, after a smooth 10 second hyperventilation our eyes open, the director yells cut and we realize the entire thing was created in our minds.

 Our experience as educators right now is similar to the emergency on the plane. Our minds have immediately shifted to the safety and well-being of our kids (rightfully so). Whether Pre-K or 12th, for 6 months, we diligently squeezed our way into our students lives. We taught them how to navigate themselves and the lives they soon will embark on, all the while attempting to impart as much academic knowledge as we can. We have pushed ourselves to the limit all year and worry that all will be undone as our kids are pushed back into their home lives indefinitely. Some of us have conjured the worst-case scenarios and are plotting CIA level plans to extract the kids from their homes and into a better life (I’ve been there). Beyond the endless streaming of Netflix and Fortnite, the Tiktoks, Takis, and of course the occasional online assignment, harsh and terrifying realities exist for our kids. But as the famous philosopher Jermaine Cole once said, “You can’t be everything for everybody”. We are not Luke Cage, Black Panther, or Storm and even they have weaknesses. Ours’ is also our biggest strength, we care.

I want to remind all of us, like flight attendants do daily: if we do not take care of ourselves, we will be unable to be everything we want to be for our kids. The same effort, attention to detail, and unmatched fight for perfection we put into our school family is required for our own lives. The oxygen will run out, our drive will get punctured, and we will ultimately be pushed out of the fight. This time away will be tough; it may very well contribute to students forgetting their annotation strategies. However, we must trust that the values and mindsets we have instilled in them have stuck. We can make ourselves available to them and their families, but we cannot put their entire well-being on our backs. Pandemic or not, it was never on any one of us to save these children or even shelter them from the harsh realities of the world. It has been and continues to be our job to educate. To educate, we must be at our best. Use this time to mend some of the holes we have put into our own oxygen tanks. Spend time with family, take daily walks, journal, have those restorative conversations with those who have hurt us. Do ALL the things we say we WOULD do if we had the time and energy. Let’s come back to our kids full, not because we have been pushed to the brink and escaped to our summer caves for hibernation. Instead, we should come back full because we used this time to become whole again. In fact, we should take some time to do the self-work to ensure our tanks never hit empty. We owe it to each child we pray about at night to take care of ourselves during this time. If we don’t, we might become the monsters we complain about.

Education PowerED's Interview with LA Voyage

Interview facilitated by La Voyage - September 10th, 2019

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.

”We all began our respective careers teaching in the Dallas Independent School District. Our experience teaching a majority black student population at Billy Earl Dade Middle School taught us that our students require more than what a traditional classroom can offer them. Data shows that our country’s public education system has failed our Black students time and time again. The racial achievement gap has become more visible to the common public, but still no significant gains have been made. As if the achievement gap isn’t enough, black students are also more likely to be suspended from school than their white peers for common misbehaviors. Common misbehaviors are almost always a direct result of student disengagement. We know that something has to change if we want to see our Black students achieve at a high level and gain the access and opportunity needed to be successful in society. As a result, Education PowerED was born.

Though founded in 2017, we had our first partner meeting in June 2018 where we began planning the launch of our business which was made official in February 2019. Education PowerED generates culturally responsive solutions and resources to energize educators, empower students, and eradicate educational inequity. Our aim is to create resources and offer consulting services to schools that improve the classroom and school experience for Black students everywhere. We’ve facilitated professional development to schools across the Dallas/Fort Worth area to offer campus culture and classroom engagement support. We’ve delivered sessions to teachers from Desoto ISD, KIPP Texas, and Teach For America DFW, an education nonprofit responsible for supplying new teachers to districts and charter networks across the region. In addition, we’ve recently released our first set of culture essential resources for teachers on our website. The resources include leadership roles, student agendas, a social & emotional learning reflection guide, and more! We are looking forward to our continued growth and visibility in the Dallas area this school year.”

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?

”The biggest challenge for us has been shifting educators’ mindsets about what is possible in classrooms. Our education system is rigid at times and is long overdue for innovation especially at the grade school level. It is difficult for teachers and administrators alike to adopt culturally responsive teaching practices with fidelity. However, we are firm in our belief that students have boundless potential to accomplish more than we could ever anticipate. They deserve the opportunity to think critically about issues that interest them and form opinions about the world around them. We’ve seen it personally in our own classrooms as well as select schools and classrooms across the country. We won’t stop until every educator is inspired to reimagine the broken education system.”

Photo from Black Teacher Panel with Teach For America Dallas Ft. Worth

Please tell us about Education PowerED.

“Today, Education PowerED has three main focus areas:

1. To provide engaging and culturally responsive classroom activities and lessons for teachers that are designed with elements of Black culture.
2. To offer professional development and consulting services to educators that challenge their mindsets and acknowledge the role identity plays in classroom interactions.
3. To highlight black educators and connect them to one another for collaboration, camaraderie, and support.

We specialize in classroom/school culture and engagement, which we believe are the prerequisites for student achievement. We are most proud of how fast the Education PowerED and Young Black Educators movement have grown in only two years. It is encouraging to know that there is a market for our products and services. Our Instagram handles have a collective 17K followers and counting. In addition, we’ve held student resume workshops and have brought student volunteers onto our team as interns. Ultimately, what sets us apart from any competitor is our personal success using the strategies and resources that we are promoting. Our approach has improved mathematics and English language arts scores by double digits and we have countless students who proudly speak of their positive experiences in our classrooms.”

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?

”The proudest moment we have had as a business so far participating was participating in our first pitch competition at the Dallas Entrepreneurship Center in Dallas, Texas. The pitch competition marked our first time sharing our business plan externally. We were selected to receive the Audience Choice Award at the competition. It gave us much comfort to know that our idea is something that community members and families will support. Our motto is “not powered by battery, powered by community” so we recognize the huge role that they will play in our success. Our hope is for the remainder of 2019 to continue to spread our brand not only in Texas but around the country. One of our mantras is that Each One Teach One. No matter where you are, you are a part of the young black educator movement in some way.”

Redbird DEC’s Pitch Competition - March 2019