Disrupting Burnout
Disrupting Burnout with Dr. Patrice Buckner Jackson is dedicated to overworked, undervalued high-achieving servant leaders who give all to serve others and leave very little for yourself. You are an accomplished woman with many responsibilities and you often find yourself overwhelmed, exhausted, and burned out. I’ve been there. As a matter of fact, burnout almost cost me everything. Compassionate work can carry a high price tag: your mind, body, spirit and relationships may be in distress as you serve the needs of others. I am here to equip your hands and refresh your heart so you can serve in purpose and fulfillment and permanently break cycles of burnout.
Disrupting Burnout
100. Intentional Living: Navigating Work, Family, and Self-Care with Educators Dennis and Whitney James
Ever feel like you're on the brink of burnout? You're not alone! Striking balance between work, family, and personal life is often a challenge, especially for those in the high-stress field of education. We're excited to bring you our chat with power couple Dennis and Whitney James, seasoned educators and youth pastors. They share their journey, struggles, victories, and strategies in achieving a healthy harmony among their various roles. With over 25 years combined experience in education and youth ministry, there's a wealth of wisdom for you to tap into!
Dennis and Whitney are advocates for self-care, setting boundaries, and preserving relationships amidst the whirlwind of work and family life. They share practical tips on how to avoid educator burnout, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and preserve their marriage while working in the same demanding field. They've also found unique ways to ensure quality family time, like creating a "no phone zone" - a strategy we think everyone could benefit from!
But this episode isn't just about balance and boundaries. Their stories serve as a powerful reminder to prioritize ourselves and be intentional with our lives. This is more than just a podcast episode - it's a lifeline for those feeling overwhelmed, a beacon of hope, and a reminder that you, too, can take control of your path. So, tune in, take notes, and embrace the journey towards a healthier life with Dennis and Whitney James!
Grab a sample chapter of Dr. PBJ's new book,
Disrupting Burnout: The Professional Woman's Lifeline to Finding Purpose- https://www.patricebucknerjackson.com/book
Meet Dennis and Whitney James
Whitney and Dennis both have worked in education for over 12 years and have been youth pastors for over 13 years. Coach DJ is currently the Dean of School Culture and an educator, teaching Student Leadership and Career Planning in Lake County, Florida. Dennis is also a premier keynote K-12 and ministerial speaker and a published author.
Whitney has worked with the Orange County Public Schools Mental Health Services department, one of the largest school districts in Florida, for over 4 years before becoming a high school guidance counselor at her current school in Lake County, Florida.
Together they own several successful businesses. Their passion and life's work is to equip students and teachers to take ownership of their success through resilience and leadership development.
Whitney and Dennis have been married for 12 years and have two beautiful daughters, McKenna (8 years old) and Morgan (4 years old) together. When they are not traveling for speaking engagements, they are serving faithfully at their local church and enjoy spending quality time with their family.
Connect with Dennis and Whitney
● Website- coachdjinspires.net
● Plain Vision Digital- www.plainvisiongigital.com
● The Dream Again Tour- https://www.thedreamagaintour.com/
Connect with Dr. PBJ
● To connect with Dr. PBJ, go to https://www.patricebucknerjackson.com/speaking
● Do you need a dynamic transformational speaker? Dr. PBJ is ready to serve. Check out Dr. PBJ Speaks | https://www.patricebucknerjackson.com/speaking
● Follow Dr. PBJ on IG @drpatricebucknerjackson for #aspoonfulofpbj.
● Support The Show | https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/lovepbj?locale.x=en_US
Upgrade to Premium Membership to access the Disrupting Burnout audiobook and other bonus content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1213895/supporters/new
Hey, hey, hey, everybody, it is Dr PBJ here again with another episode of Disrupting Burnout. And you know we are equipping educators with the strategy they need to do purposeful work without burning out. This is what we do around here, and especially in July. We know that July is the time that everybody is going back to school, preparing to go back. Even if you worked all summer, you're preparing for fall and what August means. And this month we want to be intentional about giving you strategies and tools that you can implement to not just have a good school opening, but we want you to sustain that piece all the way through. So in the month of July I have had the honor of introducing you all to educators from different corners of this country, with different positions, because we are so diverse. Some of us are faculty members, some of us are guidance counselors, some of us are teachers in the classroom, some of us are deans or principals or APs or vice presidents. We are such a diversified field that I want to make sure that we get some different perspectives so that you can be equipped. We've come to teach you and share with you what we have learned, and today I have a special treat. Today is the first for disrupting burnout.
Speaker 1:I have to tell you all that a couple weeks ago my husband and I went to a speaker's conference and that could be its own podcast. It was so powerful. But I was standing in line to walk in and this woman was standing behind me and we just started talking and there was an immediate connection. You know how you can just feel, you just know, you know you never met the person before but you know that they are your people. You know that, like we, I had that feeling. I had that feeling and we just had a conversation about who we are and what we do and ever since then we've been connected. So today I have the honor of introducing you all to my new friends, dennis and Whitney James. So I'm going to read their bio and then we're going to jump into it.
Speaker 1:Whitney and Dennis both have worked in education for over 12 years and have been youth pastors for over 13 years. Dennis James, known as Coach DJ, is currently the Dean of School Culture and an educator teaching student leadership and career planning in Lake County, florida. Dennis is also a premier keynote K-12 and ministerial speaker and a published author. Whitney has worked with the Orange County Public Schools Mental Health Services Department, one of the largest school districts in Florida, for over four years, before becoming a high school guidance counselor at her current school in Lake County, florida. Together, they own several successful businesses. Their passion and life's work is to equip students and teachers to take ownership of their success through resilience and leadership development. Whitney and Dennis have been married for 12 years and have two beautiful daughters together. When they are not traveling for speaking engagements, they are serving faithfully at their local church and enjoy spending quality time with their family. Dennis and Whitney, welcome to Disrupting Burnout. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 2:Awesome. It's so great for to be here and know I am.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you for having us, dr PBJ. It's amazing to just even be here so thank you.
Speaker 1:It's amazing to have you and to hold space with you. Like I said, from my very first meeting, I knew heart knows heart, heart knows heart. So both of you. I met Whitney first and then I met Coach, and I'm here to tell you immediately, immediately, I felt connected and knew you were my people. So thank you so much. It's an honor and I just want to jump right in because I know you have so much to share. Start by telling the people who you are.
Speaker 2:Well, my name is Dennis James. It's Dr PBJ alluded to. I've been in education for 12 I believe going on 13 years now and it's my passion to see students start at a certain level and to help them elevate and, most importantly, prepare them for post-secondary education and their endeavors is my passion. So when it comes to K-12 education, I'm all the way in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I am the school guidance counselor and we actually teach at the same or work at the same high school. He's the Dean of Student Culture and I work in guidance as a guidance counselor. But outside of that, as you said in the intro, I'm a wife, I'm a mother two young girls, an eight year old and another four year old now, and they keep us busy and so, yeah, I'm just excited to be here. We run a couple of businesses, one being social media marketing and then obviously, him with the speaking and getting into schools and kind of touching bases with students as well as teachers, being able to inspire them and get them, you know, pumped up for the year, and etc. So we're just excited to be here.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness, listen y'all. If you're watching, I'm not crying yet. Okay, I'm not crying yet, but my allergies are going crazy. So if you're watching, you see me wiping my eyes. I've got to dive in because I need you all to share. So you work at the same school, you have two little girls, you have more than one business, you are ministers and speaker. Okay, you need to talk to the people about how in the world, how in the world are you doing all of those things and getting them done?
Speaker 2:well, first off, let me let me let me preface it and say number one is not easy, so I'm not gonna, but I'm gonna share. It's not gonna make it seem as if it's easy, but one of the things that I had to learn over the years is that throughout there are seasons throughout the entire school. So what may be required of me from August to September or August to October is going to be different than what's required from me. Jane, especially when I'm in basketball season, my wife knows that she's probably going to care the bulk of household responsibilities and duties etc. Up until about March, and from March to May or to the first half, first part of June, I pick up where she left off. So we learn in order to balance it. We have to understand that there are seasons attached to the year and that's kind of really been helping us a lot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we tag team. You have to be friends first to make it happen and teammates. Sometimes, like you said, he's running and going here and there, whether it's for basketball or speaking, traveling, things like that, or vice versa. I have clients that I meet with and to help them with their branding and social media and things like that, so then he's taking on the homes. We're balancing each other out so that we can ultimately reach our goal together, collectively.
Speaker 1:So that's the key. That's the key to not just be in a marriage but be in an aligned marriage Right. So it's not just in coaches direction is not just about what God is doing to him, it's not just about what God is doing with me. But you all understand that there's a pace to it and there's an alignment to it, and in the seasons where someone else needs to show up more so that the other person can be released, you've learned. You've learned that dance. You've learned that pace and how to support each other. And it is so critical whether you work at the same place or not, whether couples are both in education or not.
Speaker 1:Our gift in education is our schedule is pretty predictable. Like we are academic years, we can kind of plan around it for the most part. Now we won't talk about the covert years, but we can kind of play and we can kind of plan around it. We know what to expect throughout the academic year so that it empowers you to be proactive with your family, right to make sure that your home is taken care of, that your girls are taking care of and that you're getting all the things done right to be, because what you all are carrying is one thing. To be in ministry with you, that's another thing.
Speaker 1:But being Dean is also ministry. Students bring to school their whole life when, when you say you're an educator, people automatically think oh, you got the summers off, that's all they know. They have no idea between guidance counselor and Dean. You all know that these children bring their entire life with them to school and whatever challenges your local school deals with you dealing with it in that school. If there's homelessness, if there's food insecurity, whatever the challenge is in the community, that community comes to your school and now you have some responsibility to responding to it and supporting. So how, how do you manage the responsibilities of your ministry at work and your ministry while not allowing it to infiltrate your home?
Speaker 2:Take that, I think honestly, to be honest with you, and the beginning parts of our marriage and also in education, we didn't have. We didn't have kids early on. So we about three to four years until our marriage to start having kids and I think when our kids came it really helped us shape the importance of having balance and so understanding how to leave work at work, understanding how to leave ministry at church, you know, and so that really helped us and once again, it is to each his own. So you have to learn how to navigate based upon what your individual lifestyle tells, but we have to learn that over time that the order for us to stay sane, right, or the first to flourish individually in our marriage as parents and in the workplace we had to care while we were there but then we had to leave it where we when we left.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for me boundaries are big. Like I'm big on boundaries Me, I would say me more so than he is. He's a people person. He look like he, you know he gravitates to people and being there that's the you know, that's the passion that he has for not just kids but also, you know, just people in general, and I love people too. But I know, like I've always been big on boundaries and you know, this is my, this is my core people, me, my husband, my girls, this is my first ministry. And if I don't hold on to this, with everything that I have, everything else is going to crumble and I'm going to be left with with nothing. But just keeping that in the forefront of our mind has helped us a whole lot, I would say, you know can I jump in and say this?
Speaker 2:One big thing that helped me, really shook my paradigm was understanding that these spaces outside of my family, if I ever leave, or ever die or leave this earth, they're going to replace me within two weeks, right, and so that understanding really helped shape. Okay, I have to give my energy and I have to give what I'm called to give in this space, but I'm I'm replaceable at my job, right, I'm replaceable, I'm replaceable in my ministry, but I'm not replaceable as a husband, as a father. So that really helped me shift the paradigm of how to place energy and what spaces need to be placed.
Speaker 1:That's so good, that's good. That's so good, that's so good. I telling on myself. So I shared a little bit with you all about how I hit burnout real hard, and one of one of the things that I messed up in that I should have done better was my child felt like she needed to make an appointment with me. I was out here serving everybody else's child. I'm getting up in the middle of the night, going to the hospital, going to the jail, going to the campus, doing whatever needed to be done to take care of other people's children and my baby felt like my job was so important that she needed to stay out of my way.
Speaker 1:And when I hit rock bottom, when I hit rock bottom and I was working my way through it, one of the things that Holy Spirit brought to my attention is, when you get to heaven, you're gonna have to stand before God by how you love this one. She got one mama patrice. I'm step mom, but she calls me mama patrice. She got one mama patrice. One. Edward has one wife and before me and Jesus discuss anything else that I've done. How were you a wife to him? How were you a mama to her? So what you're saying, coach is so real. It shifts our perspective because I told myself I was doing the Lord's work. I was serving, I'm helping people, I'm doing what I'm, I'm helping my family and I'm helping these people.
Speaker 1:My perspective shift was I was doing too much. I thought people needed me. They didn't need me as much as I thought they needed me. It was my need to be needed. I gotta tell on myself cause it's gonna free somebody. It was my need to be needed. So I had to get my mind on straight and decide what am I unwilling to lose? Where do I draw the line and say you can take this title, you can take this job, you can even take this salary. But here's what I'm not gonna do. I'm not gonna lose my relationship with God, I'm not gonna give up my health anymore, I'm not gonna lose my marriage and I will not lose my baby. And I had to start making decisions based on those values. I had to start behaving according to those values. So it takes a shift. It takes a shift to acknowledge what's important.
Speaker 1:And, whitney, I love the way you describe those relationships because with you having what I call an anointing for boundaries Like it sounds like it comes easy for you. Yeah, you don't struggle with the boundaries when a coach might have to think about it and he might double-dutch a little bit. You come in like, nah we, good, here's the line, remember, here it is. But that's the beauty of partnership. That's the beauty of partnership.
Speaker 1:I always tell my husband I will quickly say yes. I have to be careful because if somebody asks me, my first answer is yes. Right, my husband has an anointing for no. Oh, no comes easy to him. He don't mind. No is his first response, and then he'll think about it and it might turn to a yes, but no is his first response.
Speaker 1:And I used to fight against that because I didn't understand it. I thought he was holding me back. I thought he didn't understand what the Lord has called me to do. I'm not telling nobody business, I'm just saying what I'm saying. I thought, well, you just don't understand. You don't understand what the Lord has called me to do. You don't understand what this job requires. You don't understand. This is what I told myself.
Speaker 1:But now I understand that he is a gift to me.
Speaker 1:He's a gift to me.
Speaker 1:We're not supposed to be alike. I don't need another me, I don't need another me. He brings that piece of me that I'm missing, so that both of us can be, collectively and individually, be everything that we were created to be. So I just I want to honor your partnership and your positions in that partnership and how the best of you comes out. Not just it's for your family, yes, but it also helps you serve better, it helps you show up better, it helps you speak better, it helps you impact better, coach, because you've got a partner who understands boundaries and naturally, naturally connects with those boundaries. So y'all got a good thing going on. Y'all got a good thing going on. I love it. I love it. So both of you, being in education and in the same school, like you, work together in the same space.
Speaker 1:Talk about some things that you've learned about how to preserve and protect your marriage, not just your family, but outside of the girls, your marriage. What have you learned about that? Hey, friend, listen, I have exciting news for you. So if you've been following, you know I've been writing this book and I am so excited about getting it into your hands. And guess what? Today I'm offering you the first sample of my new book, this Repping Burnout. Friend, listen, we have more work to do. Okay, it's still going to professional editing. We still need to design the book, but I can't wait to all that's done for you to start digging in. So there's a sample copy that I read myself for you. That's available to you today. All you have to do is go to wwwpatricebuttnerjaxsoncom slash book Again, patricebuttnerjaxsoncom slash book. Grab your sample, listen to the sample chapter and listen.
Speaker 1:Let me know what you think I cannot wait for you to hear this book. Friend, go grab it today.
Speaker 3:So I would say so this is at this particular school that we're at. This is our first year working together. He's been there for three, four years, but prior to that we did work at another public high school together. So we've always kind of co-work together in some way, even when it came to building our business, which we're really big on entrepreneurship, and kind of helping others in that way. So we've always been kind of tag-teaming in a way. I think the biggest thing.
Speaker 3:And we talked about boundaries. But just to go a little deeper into that, I think there's layers to that. There are boundaries when it comes to people, which is something that I think, like we said, he had more of a struggle with in the beginning. But there's boundaries when it comes to ambition and business attriming and for me that's always been like I'm very goal oriented, I'm very he says, I'm a pit bull.
Speaker 3:When I got my mind locked into something, I don't let it go. So I had to learn how to, okay, put the magma away, like at this time of the day we have. Well, we got picked back up on it. But we used to have what is called a no phone zone, so no business going on during a certain time of the day so that we can focus more time with each other. It goes back to what we said in the beginning, like it was us before it was children, it was us before there was a business, it was us before there was a career path. So just keeping the main thing, the main thing date often, like we are advocates of, let's get the babysitter or auntie or somebody to watch watch the girls, because we wanna make sure that we keep this intact.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's funny because when you were saying earlier about your need to be needed, I think for me, early on, being a basketball coach working at the school and a lot of people gravitated towards me and so I think for me, having my wife work with me over the course of those years, it actually helped me balance what was most important by being on campus with her. So there are even times now where, because she's working, she's a guidance counselor in high school. So there are times now where there are certain discipline reports that I need to get in, that I'm kind of lagging behind in that because I'm taking care of some other responsibilities from a coaching standpoint and she'll send me an email, She'll send me a text hey, you need to get this in.
Speaker 2:I think that accountability for me is it's almost kind of like in a mingling of okay, yes, we're here working together, but in essence, once again, when we retire from this field, we're still going to be together. So let's make sure that we keep this the foundation, so that it intermins with everything that we're doing. So I think that's the key component that's really kind of helped us.
Speaker 1:That's so good, and y'all are right. Our baby is 22. And she has her own life, doing her own thing. I can't tell you how many times a week we like, have you talked to know? Have you talked to her? She got the nerve to have a life, the nerve of her. I mean, she's working full time, you know, and she's, she's beautiful.
Speaker 1:I'm so grateful, I'm so grateful for the child that the Lord bless us with, because she is absolutely phenomenal. But this young woman has her own life and now it's us, and I'm so glad that we always knew it was us. I'm so glad that we never forgot that it was us, because when she moved on, we, we still like each other, we still, we still enjoy each other, we still want to spend time together. We, we know who we are, you know, and even now there are times she'll say, oh, I'm coming to visit me, like, oh, no, we are out of town, baby. We, we left. We will catch you next time.
Speaker 1:And it's not that we don't love our baby. Of course we want to see her. It's us. It's us. We committed until death. Do us part. We made a covenant and we met. We met that thing. We met that thing. So talk to people who do your work right. So I've spoken to some classroom teachers, but I really need to speak to you all as administrators and staff in a school. So talk about some of those pressures of August, so some of the things that come as you kick off. Now don't tell your school's business, you don't have to do that, but just we know, we already know, but just talk about some of those pressures that come in August and how are you preparing right now to walk into August with peace?
Speaker 3:So I'm working year round, so I'm still although it's a light, obviously a lighter load because students aren't there coming into the office and things like that but sending out. I'm still meeting with parents over the summer to help, you know, guide, you know their students or what their academic track is. So, you know, kind of keeping the keeping the flow going and, when it comes to communication via email, making sure the students know, hey, you want to, you know, give you a countdown, the school start, but I want to give you a countdown to school starts so that you can start thinking about these things, preparing for August. I think preparation, I'm big on preparation. Preparation is key, even mentally, and I was just talking the other day, let's make sure that we, you know, take that one last vacation with the girls because you want to soak up as much time as possible. So, although we're preparing to go into August, not allowing that preparation to take away from the time that we do have, you know, in the summertime.
Speaker 2:I think you know from my that was a great point. I think from my hand I'm thinking more so on the lines of structure and program. So, from from my aspect, a lot of my work is disciplinary work. So just making sure that we have correct structure. Structure because we're going to have. We were at a private school so we have kids who are transferring from the public sector, which is different mindset, a different culture, etc. So we have to have structure in place so that when they get there we're not scratching our heads or not scrambling everywhere. And then, from a programming standpoint, having those, those SEL type programs to help high schools as well, with a lot of our middle middle schools around lunches so they are, so they're all over the place. So having program like male mentorship program and setting up different activities throughout the course of the year so that we're not just handing out disciplinary actions but we have a programming that we can send the kids to help redirect them, you know, modify those behaviors.
Speaker 1:That's good. That's good. So what I heard, whitney, what I heard you say, is not allow your summer to be stolen. Worried about August, right, and I'm so glad you spoke for the 12 month employees, because sometimes it feels like what I didn't, I didn't get a break and my answer is friend, why didn't you take one, right? So if we know that we are 12 months, we've got 12 months to stretch that pto.
Speaker 1:We know what the academic year looks like, right, so we can look now and start planning. Okay, this is a long weekend, I'm going to take a mental health day there, we're going to go out of town there, and that way you got some stuff to look forward to. Right, so you can already plan. You don't have to wait until it's upon you and then I can't find a sub or I don't have somebody else in the office is out, and you make all of these excuses of why you can't get the rest time that you need, when right now, before the semester even starts, right now, you can look at this academic year and say I'm going to take time here, we're going to take time together here, whitney's going to take time by herself here, like this is in that way. You already know. You know it's coming and you don't have to like be behind the eight ball and worried about why you're not going to get a break. Go ahead, sis.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, that's so important. Even when I worked on the district level I just watching I remember this story about in the coast DJ kind of alluded to it there was a guy who worked in our department and he was you know, he was dealing with some health issues but he had been with the district for like almost 30 years. Yeah so but, and he was excellent at what he did. But over the winter break that year Guy rested, so he ended up passing. I got a text from my boss saying all in one text Not sure if you heard that Don passed. We need to go ahead and post his position. All in one post. That that thing.
Speaker 3:It took me for a loop because I'm like I haven't even processed the fact that this man who we've spent so much time with has just passed and now it's like boom, we need to fill his position. I said all that to say Take your time, like the time that you have that they give you, take that mental health time, holiday time, vacation time. Because, yes, no, we want to give our all to the, to the position that we've been hired for. We want to come up and show up fully for that, but we want to also show up fully for ourselves, because if we don't, nobody else will.
Speaker 3:That was a life turning moment for me when I, when I got that text message that was life turning for me. I realized then, hey, you know this job, you're a number like, you're filling a position to get a job done and as a, as a, as an entrepreneur, I get it in a sense, but you want to take care of yourself because no one else will. So take out that time, take out. You have your schedule. At this point, most schools know what their calendar looks like for the upcoming year. Start planning, start planning that vacation time, that taking those minutes, even if you don't know that you're going to have a mental health. You need a mental health break. You know, you know when, when exams are coming up, plan ahead for that, you know. So just just make sure you're taking care.
Speaker 2:I want to jump on this, for we're passing. Dr PBJ, I was. We recently been trying to get my daughter off of her sippy cup and she would not go to sleep. This is back in January. She would not go to sleep and I was in the back of the cover here about a week ago and I saw the sippy cup and I said to myself wow, we, we can do without what we think we can't do without. You know, we can do without what we think we can't do without, and so understanding that we can do without what we think we can do, but they're going to get the job done right. You know, from an administrator standpoint, they're going to. The show is going to keep moving. So let me do, let me take this time for myself because at the end of the day, once again, the job is essentially going to get done if you're there or not, and the show is supposed to go on.
Speaker 1:It's supposed to write maybe not in the same text. I mean, that's what I'm talking about. I'm talking about just last week. Just last week I had we had a lost soul, a man who was my student at one time and then he became a colleague in higher ed. 32 years old, he leaves work early on a Friday to head to his hometown and he never made it, had a tragic car accident and I said I'm going to wait for my friend, but I say that to say you may not be old or older, you may not be sick. We don't know. We don't know what this life is going to bring. What are you waiting for? Why do we keep waiting? I'm going to wait to take the big trip. I'm going to wait to take an international trip. I'm going to wait to take my days. I'm going to add all my time. I'm going to wait for my future. I'm going to keep putting it off and waiting and waiting, instead of living for today. Tomorrow is not promised to anybody. It's not promised to anybody.
Speaker 1:They will fill his position. They have to. He worked in student activities. He was associate director In August. He was a student. He was a student at the university had to fill that. They honestly need to fill it before August. I don't know if they're able to do it, but they need that filled in order to serve the students who are going to show up in August and need that kind of support and them feeling that is not a disrespect to him. Now, here's the truth. They'll never, they'll never get another Paul, but somebody's going to feel that position and somebody's going to do the job because we have to. We have to.
Speaker 1:So we've got to keep in mind, when we think about self-care, when we think about taking time off, when we think about our boundaries, when we think about being intentional, I always say you are your first advocate. If you don't value you, how do you expect other people to value you? There's no superhero. Nobody's coming to save you. If you don't want to take your time, we're going to let you work. Friend, like, with all the things on your plate, you don't have time to look at everybody around.
Speaker 1:You say you haven't taken any time off. You need to be the one to say I haven't taken any time off and, as a matter of fact, here's my time off plan for the next six months. Would you like to discuss? Because I come back better. I come back better after I've had a disconnect, after I've had real rest, after I have stepped away from the email, stepped away from the pressure. I come back better after I've had time. So I would love for you all to speak to people who are new in education Folks. Maybe this is their first academic year and they're excited and they're ready to go, but they don't know what they're walking into. What piece of advice would each of you give to new folks in education?
Speaker 2:I would say this has really been my driving force from the beginning of education Connection over performance. Connection over performance Because I believe a lot of especially with standards and meeting certain coders, testing and just so many things that the pressures that teachers in the classroom are under. And it's so easy to walk into a classroom as a first year teacher, second year teacher and your mindset is focused on numbers. Those kids in your class can care less about those numbers. I've learned over the years that they perform better when you connect with them. So when you focus on connection, it may be something that's self-alised. You know having a having a snack stash in your room Right and making them work. You know having a reward system that you're using and that works on all levels. I've seen high schools get excited about snacks at the level of a third grade All right and so so I would say connection over performance and you every all the numbers and the performances that you want to achieve as a teacher. They'll come as a byproduct of the connection.
Speaker 3:I Would say Bring your full self to the table. You being new to the position actually brings a new energy to your team and use that as your superpower. But also lean heavy into those who are seasoned so that they can tell you have to pace yourself. You have to pace it. A lot of times we like to because we're new at it, we like to just go and give our all. But you have to pace it, you have to pace yourself, and I'm I know the importance of Mentorship and community. So lean into that. Lean into Seasoned teachers who've been here for a while and but still come fully as yourself, being new, with innovative ideas and excitement.
Speaker 1:That's so good.
Speaker 1:That's so good. I have to. I have to go back. When you talk about connection over performance, it's the little things if they know you care, they'll learn. If they know you care, they'll be open to learn. And you talk about high school is being excited.
Speaker 1:I got college students who would fill my office for some m&m's, I mean you. Let me tell you something. I used to do something called BTK day. So I taught freshman seminar. You know the first class everybody's required to take it. It teaches you how to study what the resources are on campus, that kind of thing. So I taught that every year.
Speaker 1:Even though my research is, even though my role was dean of students or vice president, I taught it every year because it kept me connected. It kept me connected Not just the students, because I knew the leaders, but to freshmen. It kept me connected to freshmen. And every year, at the end of the semester, I would do what I call BTK day. Back to kindergarten day. I would bring coloring books, crayons, play-doh, cookies, milk. I would read Dr Seuss to them. No, I'm talking about. I'm sitting in a chair like the librarian. They're sitting in front of me with their cookies and milk and I'm holding up the book, reading all the places you will go To college freshmen. I'm here to tell you they loved it.
Speaker 1:I Even did it with my staff a couple of times and they those who would allow themselves to lay down the serious for a minute Appreciated it because inside of us, all of us need a moment. All of us need a moment. So it's little things. We always think, well, I don't have time, I can't afford it. Friend, have you tried? It's a little thing, it's the little thing. So that is such good advice.
Speaker 1:But also, whitney, you same, be yourself, shine. This is not a time to shrink, it's not. If you were hired, that means there's secret sauce in you that they need. They need you, they need you to do it your way. And, yes, lean into people, learn from them, but don't imitate. Inspiration and imitation are two different things, and you can be inspired by somebody without Imitating them, because you'll never be a good them and they'll never be a good you. So that is so good that y'all, we gotta let people go. I could talk to y'all all day. We gotta let them go. But before they go, I need you all to share. What are all the things that you're offering coach. Talk about your speaking, what you speak about. Where you speak at Whitney, the businesses like how do people connect with you? How do they know more about you and what you do?
Speaker 2:Oh, Well, my my Instagram handle is a coach DJ inspires across the board, so that's Twitter, threads, facebook. But my main thing is resilience. That's what I, what I'm speaking at high schools, when I'm speaking at different events, just teaching students and teachers alike how to, when, when life is in you, when things are not going as necessary, teaching you how to pivot, how to lay into those moments and be able to Adapt and still excel. So so my m? Or is resilient, send out. That's that's. That's my goal everywhere I go as it relates to my speaking engagement.
Speaker 3:You can follow me on Instagram at Whitney Tysh a wide Whitney Tashae. My business for business branding is plain vision digital. You can visit plain vision digital comm or you can send me an email at plain vision branding at gmailcom. If you are looking to, you know, if those who are grassroots in their business, looking to brand their business, looking for Social media management because that's not everybody's forte, but we know we have to be on social media but yeah, and then also we are in the middle of tour right now.
Speaker 3:So Dennis is and our brother Donovan Cohen, they're doing the dream again tour. So we are going in partner with different churches, youth groups, cities, however, so they're pushing the message of being given people permission to dream again. I think so often we I mean you can talk on this more than I can but especially as adults, we we tend to Allow life to snatch our dreams and not realizing that the dream that's within us is from God and so we're supposed to lean into that. So, yeah, you can. You can find the information about dream again or, if you're looking to bring coach in the team in, for example, dream again, the dream again tourcom. We're also on Instagram. So Listen.
Speaker 1:I speak lessons over you all. I Speak lessons over you all. May everything that you touch multiply, may your home be protected and full of peace and full of joy, and may everything that you need pour your way. In the name of the Lord Jesus, and I pray that every room that you walk into, every stage that you stand on, every time you open, hold a microphone, every time a child is sitting before you, that they receive exactly what they need, not from you, but from the Holy Spirit that abides on the inside of you. May all of your footsteps be ordered as they are and everything you touch turn to go. I believe that. I believe that. I believe that, and I'm so honored to be connected to you all I Consider myself family.
Speaker 3:I just want to say you said in the beginning, but our connection was definitely divine. I believe that God Sent us to the same conference. And what was that? The last day of the conference is when we connected. Your story has inspired us so much. It has taken us. From that day on, we have a whole new level of just drive and Assurance that God is for us in this, in these pivotal moves that we're created to make. So I just keep doing what you're doing. You are, you are amazing, you are amazing, you are a gem and so, yeah, I'm excited, I'm excited for the podcast where this is going. Yeah, you have family in Florida.
Speaker 1:Man, amen. Well, listen, I am. I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful. I don't believe in coincidence. I think everything was meant to be and because of that I honor it. I honor this connection and I honor whatever God wants it to be. That's what it's gonna be. It's good with me. So, thank you all for the time, thank you for taking a few minutes from the girls and everything that you're doing to share with us. Friends, you look, you heard it here a Few things from this conversation.
Speaker 1:Number one You're not boxed in. Just because you have a title, a position, a responsibility at work, that doesn't mean that's the only thing you're supposed to do. And Sometimes you are seeking motivation Externally from your job, and it was never meant to motivate you. Maybe you're the one that's supposed to bring the motivation. Maybe there's something outside of your job that you're supposed to be doing. There's a passion, there's a passion, and maybe your job is supposed to pay for that. Maybe the purpose of your job is to finance and fuel the passion and the purpose that God has assigned you to. And Whitney and Coach DJ they are witnesses, they are examples and just like he did it for them, he'll do it for you.
Speaker 1:You are not boxed in, you're not stuck. You're not stuck. Stop depending on your school, your school district, your college, your university to bring you peace. It's not their role. You take the peace with you, you take the motivation with you. You take the purpose with you, you take your why with you. They need you to show up fully. So I hope your heart is encouraged. I really, and I know it is, I know it is so, as always, you are powerful, you are significant and you are loved. Love always. Pbj. Bye y'all.
