We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Duggins. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.
Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?
I taught college level Composition 1 & 2 and then moved to public education where I taught middle school for another 13 years. All of my years teaching in public school were spent at economically disadvantaged campuses-one predominantly Hispanic and the other predominantly black. I did spend one year at a charter school but was disgusted by the practices and false information spread about public schools so I left. More about that later. In fact, after over a decade, I left education entirely due to the huge failures I see in our educational system. Our current method of education in the United States simply does not work for everyone.
There are so many things that need to change, starting with money being tied to education. Education should not be better for a particular group of students simply because their district has more funding. This process sets marginalized communities behind others and there is no catching up. It’s a way for our government to control the working class. I know all the arguments against what I’m saying, but they all have inaccuracies. Ultimately, all schools will have students who rise above, what needs to be leveled is the standard and lower range academic performance. Students who are in the middle and those who are struggling benefit from programs, but those programs only exist in schools with money. If money were removed from education, then the field is the same for everyone. This would also change the way some charters operate and are able to skew data to show a better success rate than public schools. The charter system (in some cases) is a tumor on public schools. Charters are privately held programs that take public school funds away from public schools. They can then lottery students in, but also set parameters to kick out students who aren’t performing before they graduate. Which means, the most challenged students are dropped back into public schools that have less program funding due to charters.
Another element of education that needs to change are testing as a measure of success. It isn’t an accurate guide of a students capabilities due to other extenuating factors from food scarcity, to emotions at the time of testing, to having a safe home environment, and a number of others.
And finally, we ought to be pushing more than STEM programs. Not all students are destined to be in science fields. The arts have suffered in many schools, with more and more specials classes disappearing due to limited funding. Not all students are destined for college either. School districts should be putting an equal focus on other avenues for fiscal success such as the military, vocational schools, entrepreneurship and more. By doing this, we reach people where they are and find a method to elevate everyone regardless of traditional academic proficiencies.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My whole life most people would have called me talented but lacking discipline and focus. I was good at and loved a lot of different things. A refrain I often heard was “pick one and you’ll be the best at it,” except I didn’t want to choose. I loved writing, dancing, acting, and design. Bless my parents for dealing with choreographed dance numbers, repetitive belting of “One” from A Chorus Line, the number of times I rearranged my bedroom, and the decor experiments that resulted in potential fire hazards. Truth is I simply could not focus all my attention in one area without feeling like I was missing out on something somewhere else. Ultimately, I got a Creative Writing degree and moved into the corporate world then became a teacher while I got my Masters Degree.
That sense of split loyalty between my passions really suited education and my students were my lifeblood. The politics of education, the long work hours, low pay, and the general inequities for marginalized students ended up disenchanting me. Changing, inspiring, teaching one student isn’t enough. There are so many needs in public education, and I wanted a bigger role in advocating for students. So, I stopped teaching and started a blog (now with over 3,000,000 views). I also started a writing business (Femscribe Creative), which morphed into creating a nonprofit writers workshop (Mile High Writers’ Workshop), then another business flipping houses (Patronus Renovation), and finally a creative catchall business (Boho Gypsy Girl) for my painting, furniture refinishing, and staging. All of these businesses were a natural progression from that starting point. I taught myself to pivot when things get hard. I also manifest abundance. We all have the capability of taking a breath, sometimes giving ourselves permission to mourn, then picking back up and believing that there is enough in the world. There is 1% of the population with more money than they can possibly use in multiple lifetimes, which means there is plenty to go around for all of us, me, you, and everyone else. The key is that those of us who “have” realize that we can make choices to lift up those who don’t.
People have superpowers. Each of us have different capabilities. Because I wasn’t focused on one thing, my superpower is finding a thread between my clients’ wants and needs. Whether someone is aiming for a successful event, developing a product or business launch, needs videography for their new YouTube channel, requires full-scope writing and editing, is aiming for accelerated growth both in the for-profit or non-profit sectors, or all of the above, I can accommodate them to build integrated programs that look and feel exactly like their vision.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Growing up Gen X, there was a lot of teaching women that they can do everything and be good at it too. We can bring home the bacon AND fry it up in a pan. Culturally this phenomenon was everywhere. In advertising, in television shows, in music. How often did I sing the words to Flashdance – I can have it all…take your passion, and make it happen. The trouble with this messaging is that when life got hard and when I wasn’t as successful at something as I wanted to be I felt like a failure. The problem wasn’t with me though. It was in the lesson. I had to unlearn that I could do it all and be good at it. Sometimes we can’t do it all. Sometimes we try and fail and then we start over again. Sometimes we do it all, but it’s mediocre at best. There have been times I’ve been a great mom and an average entrepreneur. There are times I have been running myself ragged to accomplish all of my tasks, but can’t form a proper sentence of response to my partner when he asks what I want for dinner. There have been weeks where I’ve gotten a total of 15-20 hours of sleep. Women are incredibly strong, intelligent, capable, and human. But, the most important quality in women is that we are resilient. We can bring home the bacon, and fry it up in a pan, but sometimes it’s ok to just order the bacon burger from Burger King and call it dinner.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
These are tough things to discuss as many of them are quite personal, but it’s also important to be able to show others that we’re real people who get knocked down. I married in college after an unexpected pregnancy. We were young and naive and things didn’t last. Mostly because I didn’t have the mental maturity to weather the rough road. Then, I remarried in my mid-twenties. My second husband was outdoorsy, funny, loved dancing, and looked like George Clooney. He also developed a drug addiction while we were married, which resulted in abusive behavior. It was a horrible journey down the rabbit hole. I didn’t want to divorce having already failed in one marriage. Unfortunately, the option to stay was not healthy for me or my children.
In an instant I became a single mom, raising my two kids and eventually a third when my son’s best friend needed a guardian. My ex-husband ended up going to prison for two years where he got sober, but those years were rough. I was living paycheck to paycheck, struggling with on-and-off depression, and feeling defeated. I once cried because I couldn’t afford a hamburger on the dollar menu. I would sometimes pay for groceries and get $20 cash back, overdrawing my account, so I could buy gas to get to work. I knew I couldn’t withdraw the money directly from the bank since I would be overdrawn from the groceries. At one point, my car died and I would ride my daughter three miles to school on the handlebars of my bike. She has fond memories of those rides. I had great legs. It was during this time, in a moment of clarity, that I enrolled in a Masters program that offered me a paid teaching option while getting the advanced degree. I would teach during the day, work retail part time evenings and study in the wee hours of the morning. Because I made that decision, the rest of my story was able to happen.
My daughter graduated at 16. My son dropped out of high school, eventually getting a GED and now works as a bartender. My ex-husband made a complete turnaround and is a wonderful person. I adore him and am so happy he is in our lives. The key for me is to not stay down long. I allow myself moments, but action has always been the answer for me. I will tell myself, “DO SOMETHING” after I’ve had time to grieve. My parents have also been my backbone during moments of weakness. It’s so helpful to have people in your corner rooting for you, whether those people are family or friends doesn’t matter. It would be remiss for me to not acknowledge that there are people who are alone when things get tough, with no family and/or unavailable friends. I’ve also had moments I felt like this. In these moments, I would lean on strangers. A single smile or shared moment can turn things around. Don’t ever be afraid to share with others. There are angels in this world but you don’t find them if you hide.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.femscribe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urban_gypsy_girl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urbangypsygirl
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/femscribe/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/JenDuggins
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT-mi9jjWgOejSfuVGbVi7g
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=aw4SMce5r6B1_sWqlMRw1A
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenniferduggins72
Image Credits
Headshot: Hartshorne Photography