Intentions. This journal initiative was originally conceived as a place holder for self-reflection. My hope was that this writing journey, when coupled with prayer and honesty, would guide my
transformation into a better purposed-driven human, tethered to kindness. This mushroomed into an organization of random thoughts from an educated black female that acknowledges humility for being a product of life’s many lessons; grateful for God’s grace; and unapologetic for sharing her WHY? Worst case, reading my Q-Tips can provide entertaining commentary for
insomniacs. Best case: we grow together.

Back to topic. Full transparency, I was not blessed with the gift of children. As such, I am not here to provide expertise or attempt to fathom how this last parenting chapter tested all patience. Many were on daily “lost & find” [sanity] missions
appearing judgmental towards any overly enthusiastic social media fanfare. What I can do is reflect from numerous conversations with several diverse Ed leadership spanning distance and age, and synthesize data the best way a lioness, Type-A personality, harboring guilt for intermittent faith walks can possibly convey. No excuses. This is not a religious epithet, nor is it a research vetted report. Working in the EdTech industry across the better part of 25 years does provide a modicum of
respect and associated “street cred”. Hey! I did and continue to do my time. If you are in education, and this is no longer heart:purpose work… RUN! It’s not fair to anyone including YOU
for staying. I not only get it, but I greatly empathize with our educators.Everyone is tired and the new game has yet to really kick into high gear. From governance, administrative and building layers
with precious teachers; and, operational teams that are often overlooked but are so desperately critical… every facet of our US instructional ecosystem has required special attention. There is
SHIFT among us!

Transparency. There are too many immediate unknowns that I imagine whisk pass the educators frontal lobe in the speed of a millisecond, “Did I sign up for this?” or, “Am I willing to put me or my family’s life in jeopardy?” End scene. Shame steps in. Lights!!

With each passing day of rhetorical, international soundbites fueling our narratives, I had to ask myself, how do we encourage our teachers to return — Period!? I initially likened it to a horrible game-cliche of Russian Roulette. Then I realized, Cotton [yes… I call myself Cotton when talking to myself]- What in the crap are you saying? Then it hit me. If our nation is to survive as a world superpower, we have some serious fissures that demand massive clean-up. The success of our healthy tomorrow is being threatened. We all have parts to play in this non-fictional model!

Random thought #1: How are we helping to correct, normalize or improve our perceived challenges? Do we have the right attitude? Are we being viewed as flexible? Have we all put ourselves in our teachers’ shoes?
Random thought #2: Are we preparing consistent, motivational communication? When was the last time we properly thanked our teachers for showing up for a job that 2 years ago was viewed as an honorable position that didn’t require combat insurance? We thank our soldiers.

Random thought #3: Do your part and get your students vaccinated! It still baffles me when I hear this is optional. If we go to war and send our troops into harms’ way, don’t we provide them every layer of protection against the enemy? How is this any different but, we’re not talking soldiers people! These are precious educators and operational teams for whom without them, our future is poo!

Random thought #4: I’m a fan of sharing best practices. I have to put a company out there, Stuff&Stock, created and managed by a brilliant CEO mind, Ms. Jacqueline Marshall. While her company is dedicated to helping kids build wealth, she has a secret gem that she’s about to launch called Millionaire Educator. She can instruct [school] building level teams on how to become millionaires on a teachers’ salary. Imagine. If a school/district leader is vying for the same folks as their next door district, charter, independent, home schooling option, what if you offered legacy wealth?? Think about it! Financial stability can keep teams motivated to stay the long haul. We have to play the long game to win.