We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiffany Holman-Taylor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Tiffany , thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career.
I truly believe that life is more fulfilling when one is doing what they love and when that which they love causes them to make a retroceding contribution to the world in a positive way. In some ways, I believe that post-educational institutions help develop students in the area in which they have chosen to pursue. However, in so many cases, several students spend close to two whole years taking courses that merely repeat the subjects that were (or should have been) covered in high school. It would be much better if colleges, universities, and other higher institutions of learning could adequately prepare students for the realities of their respective fields. Truth of the matter is that they are unable to focus solely on this because students enter these learning spaces unprepared. A large number of students who attempt to matriculate through college do not have the basic academic skills needed to be successful in post-secondary education. It is the saddest thing to see children graduate grade school lacking these skills. To me, it is equivalent to handing car keys to a nine-year-old child. They have access to something they really want but are unable to use it because they are not equipped to handle it. Countless times, I have watched families celebrate their children as they walk across the stage to receive their high school diploma. As they loudly clap and cheer, in my mind, I am thinking about the gross disappointment many of them will face upon stepping into true adulthood. They are simply not ready. I know this because I would have spent the last 180 days assessing their understanding and attempting to give them as much education as possible within that time to help them be successful. No matter how much was taught or learned, it does not make up for the deficit they already had before entering 12th grade. And because they moved up to the 12th grade not having mastered the skills for that grade, I spend more time trying to catch them up by reteaching as I struggle to ensure they have equity in learning what is intended for them as high school seniors.
For my 6 years of being an educator, I have taught 12th grade ELA. From the first day of stepping into the classroom, I noticed that the majority of the students were very close to illiterate. A large number of them have a literacy level well below their grade. Without the fundamentals of literacy, it is difficult for students to grasp the concepts of other subjects; making it almost impossible for them to excel in school. Currently, in many inner-city classrooms across the country, ELA curriculums are unbalanced in covering all of the necessary literacy standards. If I could change some things about the education system, I would begin with dividing the elements of literacy into separate classes and reimplementing the practice of teaching literacy skills in isolation. It is my belief that this change along would strengthen the learning of students in urban community schools who fall so far behind their suburban counterparts. Continuous state testing throughout the school semesters is also forcing many teachers to focus on teaching towards the tests rather than focusing on some of the essential literacy components students need post-graduation. Curriculum standards should continue to progress throughout the entire course of grade school. Instead, many ELA classrooms are being retaught the standards from the previous year simply because those standards are what will appear on the test.
Education also plays a major role in producing and releasing quality candidates for college, leadership, and life. Due to a few acts passed by the United States government in recent years, students are being passed along from one grade to the next without needing to prove their academic growth. Not only is educational quality minimized by this, so is attitude and behavior. Often, school authorities are not at liberty to issue consequences to students for poor academic performance or poor behavior. Teachers are left to manage classrooms with a mixture of students who are eager to learn alongside those who wish to disrupt learning. A small percentage of students who cause disruption to the learning of their peers understand that they can do so without having to face appropriate consequences. According to many credible educational publications, the biggest reason students misbehave in the classroom is because they are unable to keep up academically. This causes them to challenge high quality learning with their behavior, while the masses suffer with learning loss that leads to more educational deficiencies. For these few reasons, alone, I feel that there should be a major overhaul in the system of education. Though there are various other ills within the system, in order to infuse an effective shift, I would begin with improving literacy standards and teaching accountability. Without these two things, students are doomed to failure.
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
Becoming an author was never something I actively sought. I had it on a future to-do list, but kept telling myself that one day, I would finally find time to sit down and write. I never had a clue as to what I would write about or if it would be fiction or nonfiction. I had zero insight or direction. All I know is that it was on my mental bucket list and that I had planned to put some action to this desire when I reached a much older age. Meanwhile, as time continued to pass and as I experienced different struggles and issues, I would write in a journal as a coping mechanism. I would literally sit down and write through my difficulties, all while researching Biblical scripture answers, until I could feel some ease or come to some resolve about whatever the situation may have been. It wasn’t until packing to move that I realized just how much I had written over the years. As my family packed, someone (I can’t remember who) grabbed a garbage bag to throw my notebook journals into so that it could be trashed in the apartment dumpster. I hastily agreed, but then thought to look through some of the journals. As I went through them, I realized that many of the writings were about my emotional experiences and had solid scriptural references. My youngest daughter jokingly said, “this is enough to fill up a book.” The light bulb went off. I took all of the journals and vowed to go through them all once I became settled in the new house. Once I went through them, I understood that there was no need for me to wait until I became older to carve out time to write a manuscript because I had been writing it all along. I combined a lot of my journal notes about my emotional ills and experiences and submitted it to an editor for review. Shortly after, I had a self-published book entitled “The Counseling Catalog, Spiritual Revelations for our Most Crippling Emotions”. It was as if my dream to be an author was not something I went after, rather it was something that found me.
Although I am an English and Speech teacher at an inner-city high school, I find that personal writing comes with little effort. This is especially so when I am writing about motivation, spiritual, and inspirational topics. One of the giftings I have is the ability to take any scripture and turn it into a message. Just about anything someone says can be turned into a written or spoken message as well. I find it quite difficult to hold normal conversations too long without going into “message mode”. Just about anything someone says prompts me internally to write something, whether it is piggy backing off their train of thought or challenging their thoughts. If I hear something profound, I either immediately take out my phone to jot it down or take mental notes so that I can sit down to write about it when I settle. The writings often turn into messages that I put in blog posts, social media posts, or short audio recordings. This is how I came up with my self-proclaimed title as an inspirational messenger with the brand title of AUTHORized2SPEAK. The inspiration will either flow through writing or through speaking, but the message will always be clear.
To date, I am most proud of how well The Counseling Catalog has done in sales. Not because of the money, but knowing how many people it has the potential to reach and inspire. It is my very first book, but has opened so many doors and afforded me many opportunities to speak publicly. Inspiring through public speaking is a service I offer to community groups by way of presentations, workshops, keynote addresses, and sermonic deliveries. I also offer in-depth teaching from chapters of my book on dealing with negative emotions to ministry groups in person or via zoom.
Conducting Bible studies and facilitating presentations from principles of the book have pushed me into completing a workbook to accompany the chapters from The Counseling Catalog. Many readers have approached me or sent messages showing me the phrases and nuggets they have highlighted in their books of the things that resonated with them. I have had readers inbox me or send emails about questions pertaining to the book; asking for advice and further insight on the different revelations I share. Providing a place for readers to record their thoughts seems inevitable and the workbook will be published and released within the year of 2023.
Although therapy and counseling has now become trendy and popular, many people still find it difficult to share their thoughts with others. Sometimes, ironing out emotions do not seem to be something people feel is dire enough to spend their money on. Inspirational publications such as The Counseling Catalog is an ideal choice for personal development in the area of spiritual growth and emotional development.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
When I was growing up, speaking up for or about yourself meant that you were seeking attention. As a child, I was taught that you had to be unheard and rarely seen. Even if you had just cause to speak around adults, doing so made you out to be a disrespectful child. Growing up this way made me very reluctant to speak much around people at all. So much time spent eavesdropping on those adult conversations that I couldn’t be a part of afforded me the ability to hear their pleasures and displeasures. What I quickly learned from those conversations is that having any form of self-confidence was deemed as conceit. Verbalizing something you did well was “showing out”. I grew older and, unfortunately, ran into the same sentiments from people in other places such as work and church. Just about every place I matriculated seemed to be full of people who turned up their noses at your talent or natural abilities; God Forbid, you mention it! At my home church, I was actually openly rebuked in front of an entire congregation simply because I offered to use my talents to help within the church. Not only did the dignitaries of the church frown upon it, but the members resented it. These attitudes not only happened at church, but I experienced in the work place. Projects that I worked on were sabotaged by jealous and insecure individuals who resented the very gifts that were offered to help. These such experiences sent subliminal messages that permeate my subconscious to this day. That message is that one should remain quiet and undiscovered and wait on someone to ask before being great. I carried this false sense of humility with me and never revealed my gifts or talents to people who I thought would think ill of me. I kept myself and my gifts hidden. This detrimental lesson is something that I am attempting to unlearn as it has adversely affected my business. Advertising is the life of my marketing and, to this day, I still find it difficult to offer my products and services. Working overtime to be humble is the exact opposite of what it takes to promote my business and sales. In my own eyes, I still sometimes see advertising and marketing as bragging. I use social media a lot, and I battle with the thoughts of people judging my posts. However, with some expertise advice, I am understanding that repeatedly pushing myself and all I have to offer is the most effective way to build a brand and grow revenue.
Have you ever had to pivot?
I have had to pivot several times over the course of the last six years. I had been a social worker for 14 years before switching careers to become a high school teacher. First of all, performing one specific job for such a number of years and then suddenly switching to something altogether different was a huge shift within itself. However, I had no idea of the various levels of exertion would accompany this change. Not to minimize the amount of work that went into my previous job, but the amount of preparation that is needed to operate as a good teacher required more time and thinking. In order to teach, I had to learn more. I had to develop strategies for things such as classroom management and planning engaging lessons, which is not easy for the tech-children of today. At the time, These I just named are a bare minimum of responsibilities that come along with teaching. I had deemed this change to be the biggest challenge of my life. However, a few years later, after writing my first book, I understood the significance of my career change and realized the benefits of embracing change and challenges. The new level of responsibility that include discipline, preparation, and time management were already in place. Not having the thought of making major profits from the publication, I didn’t consider my book to be a business venture. However, the consistency of sales far exceeded my expectations which added more responsibility to my life. Now, in addition to my employment, I have self-employment in that I have orders to fill, requiring me to handle shipment, inquiry responses, and customer service. It is as if I was thrust into a business for which I was not necessarily seeking that demands the elevated level of discipline that I mentioned before. Not only did the book itself become a product, it opened other opportunities for income expansion. After the book’s release in August, I began to receive invitations to dissect sections of the book with social groups, church groups, ministries, and book clubs which also morphed into another stream of income. Embracing the major shift and challenges with the career change provoked the new mindset that I would need to handle the new demands of business ownership.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.authorized2speak.com/
- Instagram: tiffanyholman_taylor
- Facebook: Tiffany Holman-Taylor