We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maurisha Tucker-McFadden a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maurisha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

There are two that came from the same experience.

I was working at a school a few years back and my daughter was really young. We lived a good 30 mins away, not to mention the morning traffic rush, AND we had to make a daycare stop… mornings were rough. I had a hard time making it to my classroom exactly at 7a every morning. My principal noticed my tardiness in the kindest way. She acknowledged my struggle and asked, “What can I do to help you be more on time?” Now, as an adult, I knew there is nothing that she could really do, but it let me know that my struggle was seen AND that I am still accountable.

The first major lesson I learned was this: how you word things can change everything. We are accountable for our actions and how they affect others, always. However, the way that we frame the narrative plays a big part in how we internalize the events, and the way that we word what we want from others plays a big difference in how we nurture our relationships. It can be so easy to say the first thing that comes to mind, exactly how it comes to mind, but we can retrain that in order to acknowledge the work that you and others do, while still holding yourself and others accountable. Your social capital in a business is a foundational key, especially with your employees and co-laborers. They need to know that you remember their humanness while still having high expectations.

And secondly: true leaders do not lead with their emotions, they lead by being willing to help and serve. Being in that space, I learned to frame my letters to parents, staff members, and coworkers differently, coming from a space of humility and a willingness to serve instead of frustration, anger, or whatever other feeling was at the forefront. My principal in this experienced helped me to see what it was like to lead from the bottom. I used the word co-laborer earlier… Everyone on our team has the same goal. Therefore, I’m not helping our goal by leading with anger or frustration, I help by seeing how I can help my team as a whole.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

So, I am an edu-preneur. I teach, and I own/operate the organizations in which I teach. I have two organizations: (1) Mrs. McFadden’s Class, which is a mobile learning academy. I bring enrichment courses to schools and childcare facilities that do not have the resources or staff to support a full-time program and I teach adult ESOL/Spanish classes. (2) Made for More Academy, which is a Christian, dual-language microschool in the Orlando area that focuses on practical, personalized, and hands-on education in both English and Spanish.

I have always worked in education, even from before I realized my love of teaching. I actually did my Bachelor’s degree in International Studies (minor in Spanish) with the intentions of becoming an international lawyer. My senior year, every time I sat down to study for the LSAT, I just… couldn’t. I did not feel like that was my calling anymore. But I was NOT switching majors my senior year, so I researched other careers that I could do with my degree and my natural gifts, and teaching was on that list! So, I bought a $60 course on Groupon for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, and 3 countries, 4 cities, and a Master’s degree in TESOL later, I am loving bit of it.

Both of the organizations were created to try and bridge a language and a learning gap. There are more Spanish-language speakers here in U.S. than almost every other Spanish-speaking country in the world; I want to help both adults and children better communicate across that divide, so I both adults and children English and Spanish. I also noticed that there was a great learning gap: the schools teach one thing, but students need something else to be able to thrive as adults. I help by creating a space and curriculum designed to bridge that gap and by also mobilizing it for people and spaces that do not have access to do it themselves.

Society has changed a lot in the past 100 years since the public school system as we know it was created. We are willing to adapt to a lot of other changes: fashion, entertainment, food, technology. Why are we unwilling to change the systematic method in which we educate the masses? And my aim is true education: education is meant to prepare students. If we are not doing that, what are we doing?

I guess my biggest thing is that education should be about the people and the future; what do you want this community to look like in 15/30/50 years? Education now will make a massive impact on what we will see then. I want to see a community where people feel like they have a fair shot at life because they have all had an opportunity to learn how to play it well. That is what I want for my own children, that is what I want for my community, and that is why I do what I do. And I am privileged that have been able to provide that to an extent in my classrooms in the past, and I am excited to be able to do that on a larger scale now.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I think the most drastic pivot was when I actually decided to go into education. It was my senior year in my Bachelor’s degree in International Studies. For the past 10 years, all I wanted to do was be an international lawyer. I wanted to work for non-governmental agencies, travel the world, and help to facilitate great deals that lead to justice. And that January, I was trying to study for the LSAT, and I could not bring myself to do it. Everything that I had done was geared towards the career of being a lawyer, even down to the university I chose, because they had a great law school. I was watching a Korean Drama, and the show had an English speaking teacher in the episode and it all clicked for me. It did some research as to what the requirements were to teach English abroad, safe places to go, and if this was a viable career, and I hit the ground running.

This was a terrifying experience, because I did not know anyone who was in this particular career, and my parents didn’t even consider it a career, honestly. However, it was the absolute best time to do it. I was in a position with little responsibilities outside of myself, the flexibility to make adjustments, and the naiveté and sheer faith that it would all work out well. Opportunity is not always convenient, and sometimes you have to take it and run, scared and all.

I am not on a clear path like law would have been, and I am still exploring where education as a career can take me, but I do not regret choosing education. Had I stayed on my original course, the path might seem more glamorous, but you also never know where the crazy pivots of life can take you until you follow them to the end.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Closed mouths don’t get fed.

This is the exact OPPOSITE of what I’ve was always been taught.

Speak when you are spoken to. Keep your head down and do your work. Don’t talk about what you’re doing. You get what you get.

I was always told to make as little of a fuss as possible. I’ve learned that business owners have to do the exact opposite. Talk about what you do. Everywhere. All the time. To anyone who will listen, and even if they won’t, maybe someone else nearby will. Carry business cards, flyers, e-cards, social media, anything. You won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but you’ll be someone’s. There is a niche out there for you.

This has been a difficult lesson for me to unlearn, but it is so important. Word of mouth is still the most common way that businesses grow, and that starts with your own. So, I know there are some people who are tired of hearing about me talk about education. I also know that they know exactly what I am about because they have heard me talk all about it.

Contact Info:

• Website: madeformorefl.org / mrsmcfaddensclass.com
• Instagram: @maurishamcfadden ; @madeformore_fl