Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:00]:
Welcome, advocates, to another episode of the Leading Equity podcast, a podcast that focuses on supporting educators with the tools and resources necessary to ensure equity at their schools. Today's special guest is Jody Fernandez. So without further ado, Jody, thank you so much for joining us today.

Jodi Fernandez [00:00:18]:
Hi, everyone.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:21]:
I like that. That was that was pretty good. Okay. Well, Jody, you've been on the show a few times. You've been on the art of advocacy. You've, helped me out with some training in the past. So I consider you a friend, a colleague, a peer as well, and you reached out to me not too long ago to update me on some of the progress that you've been making on a personal side of things and your writing and everything. So glad to bring you back on.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:00:48]:
I know who you are, but I'd love for you to share a little bit about yourself and what you currently do.

Jodi Fernandez [00:00:53]:
Sure. Good morning and good afternoon, depending where you are in this country. My name is Jody Fernandez. I am a humanities educator. I've done a little bit of everything in terms of teaching. I started out actually I'm actually a career changer. I went to school to be a newscaster and really didn't see that trajectory working out quickly enough. So I transitioned into teaching, began subbing.

Jodi Fernandez [00:01:20]:
I got my bachelor's degree in communication arts, and then I went back to school and got my master's in English. I decided to become an English professor. And then I found out that adjuncts get paid very, very little, and it was hard to sustain, you know, even, like, a modest lifestyle. So I began subbing in New York City public school system, and then I became a tenured English teacher. Went back again and got my master's in education. And now I've been teaching really English, but I teach intro to African American history. I teach a bunch of electives, and I teach eleventh and twelfth grade. And I've been doing that for the last eighteen years at a school in Westchester, New York.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:02:04]:
Nice. Nice. Well, again, welcome back. And you're also an author.

Jodi Fernandez [00:02:08]:
I am. So in November 2022, I released my first book. It is called Elevators, A Bronx Girl's Tale. It's the story of my life growing up in a housing project and all of the obstacles I had to navigate and how I educated myself out of poverty. And last month, I released my second book, Quoted Steps, an unorthodox educator's ascension story. And this story is also autobiographical, but it is more about how I navigated the education the department of education, really, in New York City and all of the obstacles I had to face and the things I learned being on the other side.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:02:51]:
So when you say the other side, tell us a little bit more. What do you mean by what you learned on the other side?

Jodi Fernandez [00:02:56]:
So, you know, a lot of what I learned in grad school was about how to serve students, particularly students of color, students who who are come from marginalized backgrounds and don't have access to resources. But what I didn't learn in any of my education courses was what I needed to sustain myself emotionally and in some cases, physically as a teacher of color. And this is not only in, you know, Westchester where I work. This is in, you know, my experiences throughout education were really, really eye opening. That's what I mean by the other side. There there was no, you know, education around that. So very interested in that as precise why I wrote the second book because I don't most people have any idea.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:03:41]:
That was gonna be my next question. What's the inspiration? Because say you wrote a book. I think you said it came out in '22, and this is kind of more of a part two. Is it an extension to your first book?

Jodi Fernandez [00:03:53]:
It's not, you know, my the second part of my memoir, so to speak. But in in some cases, it is. Right? So it's kinda like it serves two purposes. So while I'm continuing my story, I leave off with elevators with my memoir about how I actually made it to a place where, you know, I met my husband and, you know, I'm thriving and I became a teacher. So I end off there. So with ordered steps, I I dig into the process of becoming a teacher and everything I learned. So it kinda, like, is a part two, but this is a very specific part two. This is all about my journey through education from really about 02/2002 till now.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:04:31]:
Okay. So the thing the beauty that I like as far as your background, your experiences is, like, you started off as a sub, and then you transitioned into teaching. When you were subbing, what draw what drew you to want to become, you know what? I wanna go ahead and get certified. I wanna go ahead and get my license. Like, what what was that moment that say, you know what? Subbing is not for me or for whatever reason, I I wanted I wanna deal a bit more than what I'm doing now.

Jodi Fernandez [00:04:57]:
Okay. So Hannibal's house. That is my friend. I talk all about that. So, basically, I was working at the Food Network. This is, you know, I'm I'm right out of undergrad, and I was so bored. I got all my work done by, like, 10:15AM. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Jodi Fernandez [00:05:12]:
And I just like, I couldn't sometimes I just couldn't do it. I couldn't go to work any so I had a friend tell me, you know, you should just sub to you until you figure it out. Like, you're really, really brilliant. And I'm like, what what does that have to do with teaching? You you know what I mean? Because I always thought, you know, it was glorified babysitting. So I'm like, you know, what does that I didn't really take the you know, I didn't really take it as a compliment.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:05:34]:
And Okay. Okay.

Jodi Fernandez [00:05:35]:
You know, so this friend of mine, she said, well, you could make some money, you know, per diem. At that time, I remember, I believe it was, like, $1.50 a day, which was pretty decent for, like, 2,002. And I was like, okay. So she was like, you should just try it until you figure out what you're going to do next. So and all of this is in chapter one. So, you know, I go to the the DOE, and anyone knows New York City DOE. It is, like, just process after process after process. It is grueling.

Jodi Fernandez [00:06:03]:
Right? So I get through that. I get certified. I get fit which entails getting, you know, fingerprinted. And I remember they send me to a school in the Bronx close to where I grew up, p s sixty eight. So I get to this class and, you know, at first, I thought you know, so I start off my day. Oh, I'm gonna kill this. This is gonna kill it in a good way. You know? I'm gonna kill it.

Jodi Fernandez [00:06:20]:
You know? Yeah. I'm 24 or something like that. They're gonna love me. And, you know, I put together what I thought was the best outfit. And when I got into the classroom, they would they made me feel so insecure. I started rethinking my outfit. I started rethinking if I could even do I was terrified.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:06:38]:
Were they

Jodi Fernandez [00:06:39]:
roasting you? Fourth grade. It was terrifying.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:06:42]:
Oh. You know, I

Jodi Fernandez [00:06:42]:
started walking really slowly. You know, I was sweating. I and then I remember I took off my my jacket. I had a little cute leather jacket on. And I and the first thing, one of the kids said they were like, miss, is that real? And so, you know, then a barrage of questions. Where's our teacher? You know? Blah blah blah. Can I go to the bathroom? My stomach hurts. You know? It was just it was a you you know, it was a little out of control for, I wanna say, like, the first half an hour.

Jodi Fernandez [00:07:10]:
And then I told them no more questions for, like, twenty minutes. Like, no one can ask me a question because I had to take control. And to make a long story less long, right, because, again, you'll find this in the book, and I try to include every emotion that I went through. I remember it was when we got to the to take them to lunch, to recess. Right? And then after they ate lunch, we were all in the play the playground. And, you know, and I just brought out my my true self, and I was teaching them how to jump jump double Dutch. And I became the coolest teacher on the playground. They all wanted to be around me.

Jodi Fernandez [00:07:44]:
They were racing with me. The other teachers, they were like, you know, so I'm this brand new sub. They, you know, just they thought I would never see see the kids again. And I remember they're whispering, and I'm having a ball. We get back up to the classroom, and then we start getting into, like, just conversation, what they were calling. Because, you know, in education, they have these catch phrases, and then they live for a while, and they then they die. Back then, the big catch phrase or the educational jargon word was accountable talk. I don't know if they had that around the country.

Jodi Fernandez [00:08:15]:
So we started to you know, I'm good at math. So, you know, I'd put, like, what I thought was a difficult math problem on the board, have them. So it was I got into this organic teaching, and it was so great. You know? Someone said that they you know, I'm asking kids. I'm like, well, what can you do well? And they're like, well, I can spell anything. And so I'm like, spell facetious, because I never knew how to spell facetious. I remember we had to look things up in in in the dictionary. I couldn't I never knew it was spelled like that.

Jodi Fernandez [00:08:40]:
Anyway, it's it's going really well the second half of the day. And then I have to get the kids together and bring them downstairs and wait for the buses. And I remember the moment. I was so tired. I felt like, you know, like I helped someone move or something like that. I was really exhausted. And I remember the kids were like, are you coming back tomorrow? And I said, something right there, a light bulb went off. And I was like, I wanna do this again.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:09:04]:
Nice.

Jodi Fernandez [00:09:04]:
That's how teaching really found me because it was the hardest day at work that I wanted to go back to.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:09:11]:
That's crazy. You said this is the hardest day at work.

Jodi Fernandez [00:09:13]:
It was the hardest day. I mean, when I say hard, I'm not exact my hair was my hair is big anyway. It was outer. It was big. I was sweating. The sweat had dried, and I had new I mean, it was, like, a really, really physically taxing day emotionally. I was afraid of them at first. Then, you know, like, intermittently throughout the day, like, I had these small wins.

Jodi Fernandez [00:09:35]:
And then at the end, these kids who were, like, little bullies at first were, like, you're not coming back. Like, what do you mean? You know? It was like I was hazed almost. You know?

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:09:47]:
So so prior to this experience

Jodi Fernandez [00:09:49]:
But I wanted to do it again. I was like, I wanna steal this again.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:09:52]:
So so let me ask you. Prior prior to this experience, had you worked with kids in the past?

Jodi Fernandez [00:09:57]:
No. Not to I mean, you know, my brother will tell me, you know, you've always been a teacher, but you know what I mean? I guess to him and my other siblings. Like, I guess he what he means by that is that I I've always had that inside of me, but I didn't I wasn't aware of it. But I never taught I was never, like, a babysitter for multiple children. You know what I mean? I didn't work at a summer camp. No. But I always loved school.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:10:19]:
That's what's up. You you you took me back to my days, like, my student teaching days. I remember when I first I was terrified. I I you know, I was young like you and walked into the classroom, and I remember getting roasted for at least the first first, like, first period. Like, the kids are getting on me about my shoes. They're getting on me about my clothes, just kind of like what you're saying. Yeah. And it throws you off.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:10:43]:
Right? Because you don't know what you're expecting. You know? Only thing I had to go off of was, like, TV, movies, things like that, lean on me, those kinda those kinda things. I knew what kinda school I was talking. I knew where I was headed. Right? And they had a reputation, so I was like, oh, man. About to go to the school. And, yeah, I got roasted. And and he you know, the teacher that was there, like, this the the teacher that was supervising me, he was, like, he was cracking up.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:11:09]:
But I watched how he interacted with the students, and he was roasting them right back. So I was like, oh, okay. So I can joke on them as well. It's not like I gotta just take this. Like, he he he kept order, and he also was very playful and joked on them back. And so that's kinda what I picked up as a student teacher, and it was very helpful for me. So I kinda look at your experience kinda like a little bit of a a student teacher side of things as well. What are your thoughts?

Jodi Fernandez [00:11:36]:
Well, absolutely. And I was fortunate enough. I didn't know it. Like, again, and I I use this aphorism throughout my book because it's one of my favorites. You don't know what you don't know. Yeah. So while I was subbing, I literally was subbing to pay my portion of the rent. You know what I mean? I didn't know that I needed another step to become a t like, you know, to become a certified teacher.

Jodi Fernandez [00:11:56]:
I thought maybe if I subbed enough, they would just have put me on full time like they would do in corporate America, you know, that kind of thing. Like like an intern and but no. It wasn't like that. So I had subbed so much over, like, a year and a half that my by the time I got into an education program, which was my third degree, my student teaching was waived because I had so many classroom hours that were documented from the deal. So I never student taught because I subbed so much.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:25]:
Okay. Mhmm. Well, that makes sense. And lucky you, as you

Jodi Fernandez [00:12:27]:
know Yeah. I know. Right? Because I've had a student teacher before, and I you know, they get glorified maids sometime. You know? That's all they do is make the copies, and they they wanna teach. You know?

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:37]:
Yeah. Yeah. That's a good point. I I went to two school. I went to middle school, and I went to high school with two different teachers that I work with and two different experiences. The the first school was when I was talking about where I was getting roasted like crazy. He he taught, like, the first hour, and I literally taught for the rest of the time that I was there. I was there for, like, four weeks or something like that.

Jodi Fernandez [00:12:56]:
Yes.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:12:56]:
And it's it got to the point where he wasn't even in a classroom. Like, he was out there having a good time, being in the gym, playing ball, doing whatever he was doing. I was I was running in class or he but he had that much faith in me. And, there I remember there was fourth fourth period was my roughest period. I was like, you cannot leave when fourth period comes. You have to be here. Like, I need you here because they're all,

Jodi Fernandez [00:13:19]:
you got a real teacher. You can't do nothing.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:13:21]:
You know? So they were doing all that to me. I was like, I can't I don't know what to do. I need to be coached fourth hour, but everything else, all the other periods, I'm okay. But, yeah, I I I made sure that he came in fourth but then when I went to my second school, the teacher base I think I only taught, like, maybe two lessons. He he basically taught the the whole time. And then my professor, like, when he would come in, he he would have me teach the class, but I only taught, like, maybe two or three times during that that that time frame. So it was, like I said, two totally different experiences. Wow.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:13:52]:
Let's get into a little bit more because one of the things that I found really interesting in regards to your book and and, again, just listening to your story folks, you gotta grab yourself a copy of the book. There's a link in the show notes. Please support Jody. I mean, this sounds so interesting. And she's she can only share so much. So I I want y'all I want y'all to really dig into the book. But one of the things that you you have in the book is the 7%. And I wanna I wanna learn a little bit more about what does that mean.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:14:21]:
Again, share what you wanna share in regards to 7%.

Jodi Fernandez [00:14:24]:
Okay. So one of the chapters in my books I I is entitled the 7%. And, again, you don't know what you don't know. So I'll take you back a little bit. So growing up, you know, I went to schools in my neighborhood. I thought I mean, I could count the black teachers or the I I should say the non white teachers. You know what I mean? I could even count male teachers. Instead of PE, I didn't have a lot of male teachers.

Jodi Fernandez [00:14:48]:
But definitely, maybe two black teachers throughout from k through, like, eight. And this was in my environment. This was in projects in The Bronx, which is a one of, you know, a a a high prime area, low income area. And so that perspective I knew, but I never thought about it, you know, as I became a teacher. Right? So when I I started teaching in Westchester, I went into the building and I could not believe that I did not see any black teachers. But the students were all black and Hispanic. And I guess it mattered a little bit more because I'm just like, wow. I just had this new lens.

Jodi Fernandez [00:15:27]:
You know? In the 7%, I I write about the Pew Research Center's twenty twenty one study because I really wanted to get some information on this and some real stats on this. And the the truth is is that for every 10 teachers, only one is black, which places black teachers at only 7% of the American teaching force.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:15:47]:
And that's male and female? That's male and female?

Jodi Fernandez [00:15:50]:
Male and female.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:15:51]:
Okay.

Jodi Fernandez [00:15:52]:
That's abysmal. Let's just say that. Right? Like, first of all. Yeah. You know, so that's that that's the truth. Right? But so what happens? I guess, what I'm writing about or what I wrote about and what I would like to talk about is, you know, what happens when only 7% of, you know, the teaching force is black? You know? All kids suss. And that's what I talk about. Studies show and everything that, you know, I've I've included has been well researched.

Jodi Fernandez [00:16:18]:
Of course, I'm an educator. We cite everything. But most importantly, you know, the lived experience of black teachers where they're we matter so much. And one of the stats that I've included is that when a black teacher and, of course, we're talking about a highly qualified black teacher. But when students have the the privilege, I'm gonna say, of learning from a black teacher, all students, irrespective of color, they learn better. Right? And we could just think about the ways that, you know, what we bring to teaching outside of, you know, just the science of pedagogy. We bring experience. You know what I mean? We we we experience our lived experiences are so much richer.

Jodi Fernandez [00:16:57]:
Right? We have an empathy that a lot of people who are not of color have. We kinda like not kind of. I have to say, we always gotta be about 10%, maybe 50% better just to get in a room. And I believe that that really speaks to our excellence. You know? So all kids benefit when qualified, black teachers are are in schools. And but then I also write about all of the obstacles I had to face Mhmm. That I had no idea that I would be up against as one of and I'm still one of maybe I think we have about 70, and these are rough numbers, but 70 teachers in my school, and there's 10 black teachers. And that includes the gym teachers because for some reason, they can always find a PE teacher.

Jodi Fernandez [00:17:41]:
I'm just saying. But, you know, there's no one in science. I'm the one in English, etcetera.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:17:47]:
So does your school offer AP? Because my next question would be how much representation are your AP honors teachers of I see you laughing.

Jodi Fernandez [00:17:57]:
No. Yeah.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:17:58]:
That's my next question. Are they all general ed teachers, like you said? Or or are there are are are do we have those opportunities? Or or do you have administrators of color as well? Like, I'm just curious. Break it down a little bit more.

Jodi Fernandez [00:18:10]:
Right. So I was assigned my first AP class my second year. Right? So I came to that school in twenty o seven. '20 o '8, I got AP English, which is twelfth graders. They seem like they found white kids because I had never seen any white kids in the hallway. I'm serious. You know, the the class was almost entirely white or, you know, non black. I remember I had one black boy in that class, one, I I wanna say he was from The Middle East.

Jodi Fernandez [00:18:37]:
I forgot what country. And and that was it. And I was like, oh, wow. So this exists. So, you know, I write about that extensively too. And, you know, I was teaching an elective. I was teaching African diaspora at the same time. And my students

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:18:50]:
So your AP class was the African diaspora and there was No.

Jodi Fernandez [00:18:53]:
No. No. My it was just AP English, but I was teaching English.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:18:56]:
Okay. Okay.

Jodi Fernandez [00:18:57]:
As well, a twelfth grade elective.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:18:59]:
Uh-huh. And

Jodi Fernandez [00:18:59]:
those kids were brilliant. I mean, you know, novel ideas. They took, you know, healthy risks. They were really, really I mean, it was amazing. And I'm like, well, they could be getting this AP exposure and maybe credit depending on you know, because you gotta get, I believe, a four on the AP exam for credit. Three. So maybe it's a three. You know? Okay.

Jodi Fernandez [00:19:17]:
Yeah. I believe it's a three. But they were not in that class. Yeah. You know? So that was another thing that I started to recognize. And I'm just like, so how are what how how are we doing this? Like, how how are we making sure that there's equity there? I would speak to students in my African diaspora class and say, well, why aren't you an AP? I'm teaching it. You know? And And they would be like, oh, that's for the smart kids. And I'm like, smart.

Jodi Fernandez [00:19:41]:
No. No. No. No. No, honey. You are a smart kid. Like, I said, that has nothing to do with it.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:19:47]:
Sadly, that is a stigma. I'm working with a school on the East Coast. They're out in Massachusetts. And that's that's the thing, is they offer IB classes. They offer honors and AP classes, but those are for the smart kids. And so a lot of our students, especially our students of color, are not represented in that school. And so they are in the process of trying to change that culture because not only is it the the the culture as far as what the students are saying, but then the teachers who are teaching these classes are only recruiting certain types of students. So it's it's like they're perpetuating culture as well.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:20:26]:
And so I'm glad that students are providing a voice or, like, amplifying their voice to try to make these changes. So just hearing what you're saying, I know it's not just relative to your school alone.

Jodi Fernandez [00:20:37]:
Absolutely. And, you know, when you think about it, most of these AP kids are tracked. I know for a fact. So when you go back to, you know, the elementary school, you'll find that in our in our district, it's a little bit different because when I went to school, we had more, like, the courses like the special accelerated courses we'll call SPE. And and and, you know, where I work, it's called the, like, dual language. Like, these kids are learning in English and Spanish at the same time, and those are really the top tier. The high high achieving. I don't wanna say top tier because that's you know what I mean? What does that mean? And those are the kids that usually get funneled into AP.

Jodi Fernandez [00:21:11]:
And just from speaking with students because that's where you wanna talk about research, that's where it's at. Right? Like, that's the qualitative research. They're like, yeah. You know, we've all been in the same classes ever since dual language days in, like, kindergarten and first grade. So it's not really about how well the kids are performing. It's a tracking system. It's just not called tracking anymore. And, you know, how do we get, you know, parents to advocate for their children, you know what I mean, to get pushed in? Because they need exposure to these to these works, you know, to Greek tragedy, to all of the, you know, the classics that I was teaching.

Jodi Fernandez [00:21:46]:
Any kid can can learn how how, you know, how to analyze those texts. They just need to teach you to guide them.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:21:52]:
So let's do this because I don't want this episode to be filled with, oh, our education system and and our schools. So let's let's transition for a bit because, you know, you're you're someone again, you and I one of the things I really appreciate about you is you're an advocate. You're somebody that, you know what, this is my situation. This is what I understand. This is what I'm I'm experiencing. However, I'm not gonna let me being, you know, not represented as far as my identity being represented within the staff and everything like that. I'm gonna do what I gotta do to bring more awareness. I know you're doing the work at your school.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:22:31]:
What type of strategies could you give to other teachers? Because we're talking there's only 7% out there. So there's there's a likelihood that a lot of our staff of color, especially our black staff, are one of few. What kind of strategies could you give to them when it comes to advocating, maybe bringing awareness, any kind of change strategies that you can provide to our listeners out there?

Jodi Fernandez [00:22:54]:
I'm thinking in a backwards kinda, like, design because I found most helpful is finding affinity spaces.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:23:02]:
Okay.

Jodi Fernandez [00:23:02]:
Because, yes, you can find different ways of you know, you can the teaching was never the issue. Mhmm. You know what I mean? And the black teachers in my school, you know what I mean, none of them have issues with teaching. None of them, you know, like, have flawed pedagogy. They seem to always have the best classroom management too, but that's a whole other story. What I what I would say is that what what has worked for me because a teacher who is emotionally fed and feels safe is going to you know, that 7% is not gonna matter. It's not going to chip away at the thing because we like, we need to feel safe in our educational spaces in order to show up the best way. So what I started to do was I started to reach outside of my building and actively pursue affinity spaces.

Jodi Fernandez [00:23:50]:
For example, I joined a fellowship called the Black Teacher Project in 2023, and that just changed my life because it was a whole bunch of Jody Fernandez's coming to and learning how to love on each other, how to navigate these spaces, how to create you know, how how to bring more you know, recruit more black teachers, you know, to to education. So that was one thing I would say. So that's what really helped me because I felt like I felt my tribe.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:24:20]:
Mhmm. And,

Jodi Fernandez [00:24:21]:
you know,

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:24:21]:
I'm a virtual is that a virtual space or that's a space within your community?

Jodi Fernandez [00:24:25]:
Oh, well, I took it virtually, but BTP is it's amazing. It's through the National Equity Project. The reason why we did most of our work virtually was just because it was on the heels of COVID. I think they're going back more to a in person you know, they still have a virtual element because it's 20 teachers from around the country. But, you know, there's a there's a, a admission process and everything like that. So finding those spaces really, really helped me. So when I'm in you know, I'm back in my school, you know, I'm not operating as this the one black teacher who has to figure it all out and, you know, has to be, you know, so much better just to be considered on par. But in terms of strata like, pedagogy, first of all, you gotta see every student as as yourself.

Jodi Fernandez [00:25:07]:
We gotta get over this thing that they're not like me. We are all human beings. As Freire says in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed that we are it's about the mutual humanization of all, really, people. And I you know, that is something that is at the forefront. You know, you you gotta see your students as an extension of you as a human. And once you do that, like, how can you not want someone to do well? How can you not, you know, give that extra and it's not about staying at 05:00 all the time. It's about not lowering your expectations for Johnny because he doesn't sit still. It's about not giving up on, you know, Kamoya because she's been absent for four days.

Jodi Fernandez [00:25:47]:
She she came one day. Right? Right. When you got it at one day, what are you doing with her? Tell her that you miss her. Don't begrudge her, and you would be amazed. Not you. But people would be amazed at what that means. And so, you know, next week, she comes twice a week because she feels safe and she feels seen. And she's not just coming because we have these laws that say, you know, held accountable.

Jodi Fernandez [00:26:09]:
So I you know, that's what it is because we there's no shortage of, you know, educational programs that teach you, you know, the science of teaching and all of that. That's the easy part. Yeah. Implementation amongst real people. Right? Like, actual human beings. Like, how I think that's the hardest part of teaching.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:26:26]:
Everything you said like, you I love how you started that answer with, let's take out teaching. We're not worried about the they their statistics. There's everything that says we can teach. But what I heard next was the importance of relationships.

Jodi Fernandez [00:26:41]:
Absolutely.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:26:42]:
So that's relationships outside. Like, hey. If I feel like I'm a lone wolf at this school, fine. Tap into the community, tap into affinity spaces. And I and I'm a big time supporter of affinity spaces. I am someone who has, like, I still try to keep myself involved in different things. Because sometimes you just need a place to just vent or you need a place to just find like minded ideas. Like, hey, this is a situation I'm dealing with.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:27:06]:
What are your thoughts? You know, sometimes there's some coaching, some mentoring I involved. Then the second part, again, to the relationships is not just having relationships with your colleagues and like minded folks, but also developing those relationships in the classrooms as well. I know we harp on it so much, but it is a real thing. Everybody that walks into those spaces, into our classrooms, into those hallways are human beings. They have emotions. They have feelings. And just saying, hey, I'm so glad you're here today can make such a difference to our students. Thank you for saying what you're saying.

Jodi Fernandez [00:27:39]:
Yeah. It's true. And I appreciate you appreciating that because it's something this is a conversation that I've I've had with other colleagues. You know? I remember the the I I used to one of my favorite sayings was the pupils the pupils should surpass the master or the or the teacher. I don't you know, you're familiar with that. Yeah. I've had colleagues look at me like, what are you crazy? And I'm like, no. They they're supposed to be better than us.

Jodi Fernandez [00:28:03]:
Like, that's the whole point. And that's when I knew. I was like, oh, like, we don't share the same ideology. When it comes to, like, the basis of, like, what good teaching is, we're not all on the same page. You know?

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:28:15]:
Bottom line. Yeah. Bottom line.

Jodi Fernandez [00:28:17]:
That's real. Right? That's that's that's real. But, like, you know what I mean? It's it's it's not without severe consequences.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:28:25]:
I gotta give a shout out to the principal principal Kafele. I mean, he was on my show, and he said there could have been tea there was probably teachers January 6, there were probably teachers out there in our classrooms that were out there on the Capitol Building. And

Jodi Fernandez [00:28:38]:
and when

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:28:38]:
he said that, it hit home. And I was like, dude, never thought about it. So For

Jodi Fernandez [00:28:42]:
sure. This

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:28:42]:
is good. Alright. So, yeah, I didn't wanna I didn't want the whole episode. I didn't want

Jodi Fernandez [00:28:47]:
the whole

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:28:47]:
the whole episode.

Jodi Fernandez [00:28:48]:
On an indictment of but, I mean, it's true. Like yeah. So we can identify the problem, but, also, like, what are we gonna do about it? Right? Like, what do we

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:28:55]:
Yeah. So thank you for that. You know, I I always enjoy this is kinda like an affinity space for you and I.

Jodi Fernandez [00:29:00]:
I was about to say that.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:29:02]:
Right? So I always appreciate anytime that you and I can get together, and we can kinda chop it up and just have this conversation and be able to share it with those who are listening. I'd love for you to take us home with any final words of advice you wanna provide to our listeners.

Jodi Fernandez [00:29:14]:
Oh, that was too short, doctor Eakins. But, I would say if I had you know, if if if I could only if I only had, like, one sentence, so, you know, one takeaway to sum it up, take care of yourself first. And then you that is the only way that you're going to be able to really show up in the as the best teacher. And taking care of yourself could mean finding your affinity space, going to therapy. You know what I mean? Taking that mental health day. You you know? Leaving at three if you need to. And I guarantee you, you know, you'll replenish your tank, and you will show up in a way that just benefits kids that you know, to no end. So I I would say that it's okay.

Jodi Fernandez [00:29:56]:
You have to take care of yourself. Just the way they say that, you know, the best predictor of a kid's happiness is the happiness of his mother, his or her mother. It's the same thing. Yeah. A replenished teacher is going to to really do do what he or she needs to do in that classroom. So

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:30:11]:
I love it. If we have some folks that wanna connect with you, what's the best way to reach you online?

Jodi Fernandez [00:30:16]:
You can, love and light 827 on Instagram. That would be a a great way because I'm always on my Instagram. I don't know if we do email addresses.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:30:25]:
Yeah. If you wanna share it out.

Jodi Fernandez [00:30:27]:
Well, sure. Fernandez, f e r n a n d e z j o d I at g mail dot com.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:30:33]:
Alright. And, folks, we have, like I said, links in the show notes, ordered steps, and on author oh my gosh. An unorthodox educator's ascension story. And re remind us what's the name of the first book. Elevators,

Jodi Fernandez [00:30:50]:
A Bronx Girls Tale.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:30:51]:
Okay. Do you suggest that we read that one first and then transition into order steps?

Jodi Fernandez [00:30:56]:
I do. Because I I hearken back to elevators a lot. You gotta get the whole story.

Dr. Sheldon Eakins [00:31:00]:
Gotcha. Alright. We'll leave links for both books in the show notes, folks. So make sure you grab a cop grab copies of the books as well. Jody, it's always a pleasure having you on. Thank you so much for your time.

Jodi Fernandez [00:31:11]:
Thank you. Have a great day.

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