The Sum is Greater

 

April 30, 2024

My vote is my kids' vote

Stephen Covey wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989). One of the habits is synergy. Another way to look at this habit is that the sum is greater than the parts, which means you do more together than you do separately. And if that's not a way to describe what's needed for voting behavior during election time, I don't know what is. We're all not gonna have the same opinions on everything but the reality is if we want to move the needle for things on a local level, on a state level, and on a national level, the people who have the ability to vote have to see the benefit of collective action. Nowhere is that more important for me right now than in the southern sector of Dallas County.

We don't get the luxury to pretend that we all live in a bubble and that each of our decisions only affects us. That's never been true! Although we operate in a very individualistic approach to a lot of things in the United States, the reality is it is a flawed state of mind to dismiss how colle
ctive thinking impacts everybody. There is a term coined by C. Wright Mills called sociological imagination. (The concept of sociological imagination may have existed long before Mills. He is the one that gets credited for coining the term.) The premise behind it is everything affects everything, and everyone affects everyone. And sometimes when it comes to voting, some of us forget that not voting is supporting the majority vote. Some of us forget that if you say no to a solution on the ballot and the no votes are the majority, some of us forget that's only part of the action steps. When a possible solution is placed on the ballot and the majority of voters vote no, it's just as important for the voters who voted no to be part of another solution to address the problem that was attempted to be solved by what was placed on the ballot. On the other hand, if a solution on a ballot wins, voters need to hold those in charge of implementing the voter-supported solution a reality. We don't get the luxury to be lukewarm voters. Voting isn't simply what you do at the ballot; voting should involve more. Voting should involve what you do to get ready to vote. Voting should involve what you do after all the votes are cast and a final decision is made about what was placed on the ballot. Yet for many of us just vote and walk away. What I'm asking of my fellow voters is to do more. What I'm asking is that collectively, we #DoBetter and that we #DoMore. I recognize that the results that are needed where I live can't be done by me alone. We need collective action. We need people to be informed. If you are reading this and you are part of a region or city where voting could improve education, this blog post is for you too.

I have had the privilege to teach dual credit classes, serve as a PTA officer, and serve in the All-Pro Dads organization in my Texas hometown within Dallas County. I've had the privilege to see the unmet needs of my city’s ISD (independent school district).  There are so many needs that students in my city need to be successful, but they can't do it alone. Improving their behavior or standardized test scores will not be enough. They can't simply do it with the teachers because the teachers don't have enough. They can't simply do it with ISD administrators because administrators don't have enough. They can't even do it with parents and community members who are/are willing to volunteer. None of what I have written is enough. The reality is it takes more. It takes more of us because the sum is greater than the individual parts. The groups I have listed are not the sum; they are parts of the sum. Synergy is required! And all those individuals cannot be effective in serving the students of Cedar Hill ISD, without the entire sum.

Election day for municipalities is May the 4th. That's kind of cool, because it kind of lines up with the whole Jedi mantra found in the film series Star Wars. May the fourth be with you, which is a play on the words, may the force be with you! In the film series of Star Wars, the Jedi do not rely on their individual strength, but also the strength of all the Jedi that have come before them. I'm hoping that if you read this and this does not apply to you, I hope you will share it with someone who does. My hope is that if you're reading this and it does apply to you, that you see the benefits in voting for steps to start bringing real long-term solutions in education that will benefit the students of Cedar Hill ISD because it cannot be done with you. I am not naive to miss the fact that to vote in favor of what's on the ballot might be an inconvenience financially…that it might require future sacrifice. But if our goal is to leave our cities, our counties, our state we live in, and this nation better than what we inherited, then we must be willing to think beyond the moment. We must be willing to not be stuck in what has been or what is because it will blind us from seeing the possibility of what can be. A better future cannot happen without the sum of the voters to make that happen. I hope this Saturday you consider rocking the vote in favor of ways that will make public education better in the United States better than it is, and to move the needle closer to what it should be.

Rock the vote!
Elgrie J. Hurd, III
- A Voter Wanting a Better Future!

 

 

Cause It Needed to Be Done

 
Dedicated to the Inspirational life of Mr. Bill Russell…Thank you!

 

August 31, 2022

On July 31, 2022 around 2:21pm CST, my Sunshine sent me this text message: “Sit down before you open this… Barack Obama’s Instagram page.” I did not need to know what it was about to know it was not good. I was right. Barack Obama’s Instagram was giving a shout out about Bill Russell, stating, “Today, we lost a giant…As tall as Bill Russell stood, his legacy rises far higher - both as a player and as a person.” That is a good segue to describe what Bill Russell meant to me. Some athletes inspire you as an athlete. Bill Russell inspired me as an athlete and as an individual.

Mr. Bill Russell changed basketball is so many ways

When I was a boy, my dad gave me a Starting Lineup figurine of Bill Russell. At the time of receiving it, I had no idea who he was. There was no Internet accessible like it is now. I had to go to local libraries to figure out who he was. I reviewed almanacs, encyclopedias, and many NBA history books. When it was all done, I learned that Bill Russell was the embodiment of success on and off the court, but for many generations that have come after him, it’s almost like there is sports achievement amnesia surrounding Mr. Russell. Some have forgotten he is part of a rare list in basketball. In one year, he won a national college championship, an Olympic gold medal, and NBA championship. He was the first Black head coach in the NBA, only player-coach to win multiple NBA titles, and he won 11 NBA championships in 13 years. Impressive is an understatement! And throughout his professional sports career he was not always the best player on his team. To me, he was the ultimate teammate on the court. He was often the best teammate on the court because he was willing to do what needed to be done to help his teams win. This holistic package is why Bill Russell is still my favorite basketball player of all-time.

Decades later, I still love playing basketball. What was true when I was a child is still true now. I was never the best player on the court. I wasn't the best shooter, or ball handler, or defender. I knew if I wanted a chance to be part of teams, I had to get out of my feelings, and figure out how I was gonna contribute…I did what needed to be done. I have held onto this mentality as a value that is a foundational aspect of what makes me - me.

In my personal and professional worlds, I do a lot of things that if I chose to promote them might bring notoriety in a monetary way. I edit textbooks, consult for municipalities, volunteer with numerous non-profits, and mentor others. Rarely, will you hear me sharing those things in casual conversation. It is not because they are not important. It is because the recognition is not at the center of why I do it. I picked up this approach from Mr. Bill Russell. He was the ultimate teammate in the community, too. Even in the twilight days of his life, you will hear stories of Mr. Russell doing things in the community (inside and outside the NBA). Mr. Russell did not do things for recognition. For him, he often helped simply because it needed to be done.

Russell welcomed recognition but it wasn't the motivation

Most recently I was nominated by one of my peers to be considered for our college’s faculty of the year award. At first, I was not sure why I was nominated. To me, I do not do anything out of the ordinary. I seek to teach in a way that is engaging and provide ways for the course material to be applied outside the classroom. But, to some of my colleagues, I do more than that. While I recognize some see this as a big deal, I do it because it needs to be done. Whether I ever get publicly acknowledged again for my efforts, I am going to keep doing what I do, because that’s what needs to be done. And apparently, having a “cause it needed to be done philosophy” is contagious. I have had the privilege of seeing my children help others in various ways because it needed to be done. You never know who is watching you. You never know how your values might become values someone else embraces. Act wisely!

I hope more of us do things simply because they need to get done. There are cynical people who believe individuals doing good things because it is the right thing to do (and do it without recognition) is rare. I strongly disagree. There are plenty of people behind the scenes doing great things to make the world better with small and large humanitarian acts. Our challenges are to stop waiting to see behaviors in someone else and to stop waiting for someone to broadcast an individual’s acts of service. We should start looking at ourselves and figure out what is holding us from filling a need when no one is watching or cheering us on. You see a need, be a solution to the need. Why? Because it needs to be done!

Be well!
Elgrie J. Hurd III
-2022-2023 Dallas College’s Minnie Stevens Piper Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee

Do Better

 

May 25, 2022

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” – Dr. Maya Angelou

On May 24, 2006, my life was turned upside down. I was in prepping myself to be celebrated by my family at San José State University's football stadium to receive my master's in Sociology. I was beginning my journey to be a middle school teacher in the school district serving my hometown…I was still fighting legal problems from an incident I had with law enforcement back in November 2005. But none of that mattered by the afternoon. On May 24, 2006, I learned my wife was pregnant; I was gonna be a father!

As a parent, I've embraced the idea of doing better for my kids. I have also learned just because you do your part as a parent, does not mean it is enough for your kids. For the last couple of years some of my children experienced bullying. For one of my children, the bullying never let up. Our attempts to get the school and school district to resolve the on-going bullying issues were unsuccessful. As a parent, I feel like the educational system I trusted to keep my child safe failed to do so. Rather than addressing the problems with the bullies, there was a lot of blaming my child (the survivor). The benefit of the doubt seemed to be given to bullies, even with clear evidence to suggest otherwise. Rather than investigating how to fix the school/district anti-bullying strategies that failed my child, my wife and I experienced finger-pointing to suggest we did not do enough. The message was made clear for us: The expectation for parents and survivors of bullying is to just accept the lack of accountability, the lack of urgency. I want the school and district to do better because my kid deserves a chance to go to school without being bullied.

May 24th has a new memory for me…Bullying by way of murder. Not even near the end of a school year and our children are not safe at school from domestic terrorism. In the state I call home, 19 children and 2 adults were murdered with less than a week left in the school year. This massacre brought the amount school shootings in the United States to 27 (and we aren't even in June😔)! We keep asking school staff and students to accept school shootings as normal. We keep asking school districts to accept the idea that schools should just focus on the symptoms of school shootings, but not provide them with tools to address the source of the problems. How is it we can make efforts to protect other countries, yet so little is done to keep our schools safe? Other countries have figured it out. Maybe if those who make up policies and provide funding to schools had to work in schools, then things might be different. Maybe they would be motivated to do better!

 I worked in schools. I taught middle school and high school at public schools. And even though I don't teach middle school or high school anymore, I'm still a teacher. I may not teach for high schools, but I do get the privilege to teach dual credit classes for the community college district that employs me. (FYI: Dual credit classes are college courses offered to high school students that allow them to get class credit for high school and college simultaneously.) This past semester I taught all my face-to-face classes at a high school. Unfortunately, there were moments when the school was in lockdown. And in those moments, I wondered if I was going to make it home. I wondered if all the students were going to get the chance to return to their homes. Those thoughts are sobering and scary. This shouldn’t be a reality. We MUST do better!

I’m down to help close the gaps of learning between high school and college. I’m down to use culturally responsive teaching strategies to help my students see the connection of what I teach to their reality. But asking me to take arms in the classroom or treat students as potential enemies?! Not me! I can't do that! There’s not even evidence to support this as an effective means of saving lives. Let’s do better! Justifying why assault rifles can be purchased with ease?! Not me! How long must we remain reactive at the loss of lives?! You want me to pretend other countries are struggling with this school shooting issue at the level it occurs in the United States?! Not me! Not me! Not me! Find someone else! Do better!

Condolences don't bring dead people back to life. Condolences alone do not fix problematic policies. The school shooting at Columbine High School happened in 1999 and yet we are not any closer to solutions for schools to be safe. Too many people who have been elected and are more concerned with their egos, than the lives of their constituents. Too many of us are constituents who do not hold those we elected accountable. Too many of us are constituents who are unwilling to hold ourselves accountable on how our inaction has aided deadly action of others in our schools. Schools' staff and students should not be used as trial-and-error band-aid solutions. School staff deserve better! Our students deserve better! Let’s do better!

 

Frustrated and concerned,
Professor Elgrie J. Hurd, III
- Professor of Psychology and Sociology

Just Pause

 

November 26, 2021

"Drive slow homie!" - The artist formerly known as Kanye West

 

The pandemic has put a lot of our lives on pause. It has sent many of us in two directions. One direction is to re-evaluate our lives and make meaningful changes. The other direction some of us have tried to cling to is to operate like nothing has changed. I am guilty of this, and it has proven to not work. It hasn't worked because things aren't the same. I'm in grad school (again 🙄), teaching face-to-face and online in a pandemic, husband duties, daddy duties, and community obligations. To adjust I took a quasi-break from social media. I didn't post online. I didn't read a whole lot on social media. And to my surprise I didn't miss much. It was a good pause from things.

 

It's OK to pause from things in your
life to get right

That good pause wasn't enough! My pause needed to be more than on social media...I gotta be OK saying no...I gotta be OK focusing on me...focusing on what matters. When I applied to DBU's Ph.D. in Leadership Studies I wrote how I was willing to remove myself from fellowships and not take on a bunch of new obligations. I gotta confess, it is easier said than done. Most of my life I've wrapped my mind around being an overachiever. But, the COVID pandemic became part of my reality, and my mentality of achieving A's in all aspects of my life was now a problem. When your obligations exceed your bandwidth to maintain your overachiever mentality what do you do? You change for success or fail in stagnation. I realized I had to reflect on the lessons of my ancestors and elders for my next steps.

 

I am a descendant of people who did so much with so little. For my ancestors and elders the odds have never been in their favor in the United States. To be Black in the United States is a great paradox. The institutions are made to exclude those who are bequeathed Black bodies. Yet, the will of those in Black bodies combined with some Divine intervention made the impossible possible. So, I gotta do my part. This includes setting better boundaries and adhering to them. It also means when I've done my part to move out the way and let God do the rest. I gotta make room in my circumstances to let God do His Thing. I'm learning to attempt to control less, so He can control more.

 

I'm embracing pressing pause on the things that don't matter in the grand scheme of things. It's a work in progress I cannot neglect. The negative consequences are too severe. Now I understand when you pause from the distractions, you un-pause living! I plan to live in a more meaningful way. That's my plan. What about you?!

Be well!

-       Elgrie J

The Cost of Change

May 7, 2021

 "Use it!" – Blade: Trinity (2004)

The first week of May is Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States of America. This year, many parents/guardians showed up and showed out in their appreciation of teachers. Teachers and schools’ staff are finally starting to be recognized. For many teachers, not even a pandemic or lack of support stopped them from creating space for students to learn. So, where do we go from here? When the good feelings about teachers begin to wane, and the gratitude turns into expectations of what should be, what then? Is that real change? No! It costs more!

Phrases like social justice and real/meaningful change have become buzz words in a new effort to restore humanity to the human experience (for all). But words alone are not enough. That means creating a social media platform to raise awareness isn't enough...sharing a news story isn't enough...Blogging isn't enough. These can all be good starts, but we gotta find a way to do more. Too often we compare our baby steps towards change to those who do nothing at all. This allows us to suggest to ourselves that we are doing something on a gargantuan scale. (I can say I am guilty of this behavior). In these moments we naively misunderstand the cost of change in its entirety. In these same moments we can foolishly think we cannot be part of the problem because we did something to fight against the status quo of oppressing other humans. Au contraire! Change is not simple; it is more complex. We gotta go beyond words. We gotta live it out.

Jellyfish syndrome is the concept of people having good intentions but do more harm in their actions than good. Whether is one is woke, naïve, or in denial, we all can create additional problems in our efforts to end problems. Hence, that doesn't mean you can only be part of the problem or part of the solution...you can be both! We must be careful not to mix up barriers to change with the cost of change. We need to know the difference. We need to be real about the cost of change. Change doesn't come free. You gotta be willing to educate yourself. You have to be willing to acknowledge the problems that are there and the role(s) you play towards those problems. If we don't name the problems that block change, we cannot be held accountable for our parts that contribute to the problems. So, while the United States is trying to move past the pandemic, our educational system is stuck. It’s stuck because as a nation we did not fix what was already broken, and we have not addressed the new problems in education that have manifested.

To fix any societal ills (education or otherwise), we all gotta sacrifice. We all must lose something that matters to us! We all gotta be willing to be inconvenienced consistently! Consistently, we must be willing to correct our behavior. We must hold people in our sphere of influence accountable, consistently. We ALL must sacrifice our time to invest in something greater than ourselves. In 2021, this is STILL not embraced by the collective. And that’s one reason real change for the better is continuously NOT happening in education. It can’t just be some of us. It has to be ALL of us!

I'm not a weightlifter, but I have heard you need pain to get the muscle gain you desire. Muscles grow by muscles being broken. Once they are broken, they can be repaired stronger than they were. I do know a little about distance running. All distance runners endure some type of pain to reach success. The Olympic and competitive marathon runners are no different. The fastest distance runners perfectly mix discipline and endurance of pain better than any other runners. They understand the cost of winning is pain, so they pay the price. To make education better is not a pain-free process. Pain is part of price of change. It's important to make sure the burden of that pain is not just for a few. When this happens, change is likely to be temporary. Education in the United States (and throughout the world) needs meaningful, helpful, and empowering change that will last!

Change cost; choose wisely. Good change is painful, but it's worth it! Sometimes the payoff comes quickly...many times the payoff is slow to generate. Don't be discouraged, be patient. It's coming! So, who's ready to mix their endurance and pain to win the race of change?! Our students of the present (and future) are depending on you! 

-Professor H.

Year 2020 Doesn't get the Victory

 

December 23, 2020

This year has been hard for so many reasons. Some of the reasons include...

●     COVID-19 and the pandemic attached to it. Too many love ones died, and too many survivors of COVID-19 were/are undertreated and underserved

●     Hate crimes against Blacks and in the United States gone viral

●     Hate crimes against ethnic/racial minorities and the Queer community at an all-time high in the United States

●     Thousands people out of jobs

●     Students struggling in an overwhelming digital learning environment

●     Leaders focused on themselves instead of the people they serve

In spite of all of the chaos and heartache, we are still here. We are the heart and backbone of the United States of America; we are the underdogs. The odds are stacked against us, yet we refuse to allow 2020 to get the best of us. We will NOT be the losers of 2020.

For many, our strength is revealed in times of crises. We have learned that there's more to us than meets the eye; there is power that we have yet to harness. This power flows through our ability to endure and invigorates our creativity. The fruits of this power are as follows: We have found new ways to serve others, combat debt, build equity, and fight for all of humanity.

All of those who have come before me are part of my inspiration. My elders, community leaders of the present and past, and my ancestors inspire me. They have given up so much in the hope I would have so much more. What a privilege and honor! And I recognize the source of those who inspire me to be strong and creative comes from my original source, Jesus Christ.

I alone am not enough to take on the toxicity of the world. And every day I am reminded I am not alone. On my wrist is a wristband that reads Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ. I believe this with all my heart. I believe even in failures I am victorious. I am victorious because my setbacks don't mean the end...They are setups for the next chapter. The failures remind me the work is not done, because in the end Jesus WILL get the victory. The victory may not end to my liking, but it WILL end with a victory for the King of Kings!

The toxic economic, social, emotional, and spiritual attacks of 2020 will not get the victory in my life. They will not rule everything around me. I will reflect on my source, because with Him impossible is nothing! Find your victories! Celebrate them! Carry the victories into 2021, leaving 2020 in utter defeat.

 -       Elgrie J. Hurd III, Victor of Year
2020

So What Are You Teaching?

May 9, 2020

This wasn't part of the plan. This isn’t what I wanted to write about, but it is necessary. If I am to honor the teachers who I seek to honor I have to write this. For me, teaching is not about teaching new things. Teaching is often about changing mindsets. As teachers, we often seek to give you a new way to look at something that you are already familiar with. Teachers give words and efficient strategies to what we tend to have already been exposed to. I learned that from my first real mentor, Mr. Rhem Bell. Mr. Bell was like a real-life Furious Styles, the character Lawrence Fishburne played in film Boyz n the Hood (1991). Mr. Bell wanted me to understand the power to real change starts in the mind. Maybe that's why I fell in love with psychology and sociology.

Too many of us think we aren't teachers because we don't have children or because our title is not teacher. But, we are all teachers. We teach others with our words; we teach others with our actions. So, what are you teaching with your words? What are you teaching with your actions? In my fight for humanity, I had a teacher who I have never told her how much she changed my views of the world. I've known one of my Frat Brothers since junior high. I remember being at his house and someone used the phrase “I hate him/I hate you!!!” And then with lightning speed his mother showed up. She said, “don't hate people; hate their attitudes.” In that encounter, she planted a seed in me. I am eternally grateful.

Two teachers gave me two lessons. Two lessons that I try to use every day. I'm not perfect; I have plenty of slip ups. The key is to know when you are slipping up. To know when you are slipping up, you have to recognize mindset roadblocks stopping you from being the best teacher you can be. There are usually three possible mindset roadblocks…

○     #1: Cognitive dissonance: We think one way, but behave in contradiction of that thought

○     #2: Silence: When we know we should say or do something, but we don’t 

○     #3: Guilt: You get defensive on what’s on topic because you know you should be doing more

If we want to change future generations, if we want to change work and community environments, we don't get to be selfish. We do not get to pass the buck for someone else to step up to create the change. We do not get to wait until older generations die. That is not how it works. Their lessons live on if we do not step up. To the teachers who teach change...Thanks! Keep it up! To those who don't...your grace period is over! #DoBetter ...The whole world is depending on you!

-       Elgrie J., an official and unofficial teacher in all things I do