Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Good morning, Saints.
Snip Tip and the rest of y' all still lying in the group chat.
Welcome to Morning Tea and Allegations.
Where the devil gets no mic and the truth gets the final say Yes, a good job. Hey, hey she don't run on rumors she run on receipts Sanctified shade with the screenshots to preach this ain't just got it's gospel flow she prays, she claps back and lets the spirit go Bible in one hand, the doc's in the other she speak with fire can't silence our truth I did my beyond her to snitch with a mission calling it out cause our children deserve better what is he, an allegation? Porn? Truth with no hesitation Accountability and rotation this is gospel education Transparency is our foundation Integrity leads the conversation no rumor, no regulation facts receipts and revelations where faith walks fall through shady temptations no fake tongues, no false relations Just truth, conviction and conversation.
[00:02:04] Speaker B: Hello, hello, Good morning to you and welcome to Morning Teen Allegations. This is your host, Bianca Goolsby, otherwise known as Petty B. And I am so thankful that you are here.
We are Season 4, Episode 12 and the title of today's episode is it is for the kids.
We're gonna circle back to that. We're gonna circle back to that and we need to have some very vital discussions because there's a lot of conversations out here that are like, we're doing it for the kids. And I'm like, where?
Because the math ain't mathing, literally.
Okay, so I'm so excited that you're here. For those that missed me last week, y' all, listen, it was in my back, literally.
I was like, oh, no.
Oh, no.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: Sheesh.
[00:03:07] Speaker B: Thankful for the healthcare system here. I was able to get the things that I needed and I feel so much better. So, yeah, welcome.
Okay, let's do it.
We have an action packed show today and. And so much to discuss. So let me go ahead and start with the church announcements as we normally do. If you missed it, My new album is out. Grace and receipts. And I just want to go ahead and just share with y' all a snippet of my album because it means so much to me. I hope that you listen to it, that you enjoy it, that you share it, because it has been the labor of love.
And I can't wait to do the backstory and to share the story of how some of these tracks were created. But let me go ahead and share my screen so that you can actually see the video. So let's go ahead and do that. And here we go.
[00:04:21] Speaker A: I'm done pretending I can see them now when only you can bring me back.
[00:04:30] Speaker B: I surrender.
[00:04:32] Speaker A: I give up, Lord. I tried in my way but I can't anymore Leave me, Lord, I'll find no more. You have the control. You pat it all on.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: Yes, indeed. So that is grace in receipts, and that's one of my favorite tracks. I surrender. I really hope that y' all go check it out and. Yeah. Yes, indeed. God is good. So I also want to give a shout out to the Patreon community. Okay, let's go ahead and give them a round of applause.
As I was preparing for the show, I sent a message to the Patreon community being like, hey, okay, so this is what we talking about. If there's more things that you want to add, let me know. Just go ahead and send me a message, and I will be right there to talk about it, to highlight it and all of that. So I'm just very thankful for the folks on Patreon that gives me the tea, that communicates with me, and that is the safe space that I have set up. So join me in Patreon to get everything that you need, okay.
Because we're talking about the things as it relates to our children because it's really, really important.
Okay, so let's go ahead and get started with our docket. But before we do that, of course, we have to play our disclaimers. Amen. Our disclaimers are really, really important that we tackle and discuss.
Govern yourselves accordingly. Okay, so let's go ahead and get that queued up so that you can govern yourselves accordingly to the disclaimers. Here we go.
Thank you, church members, as we have additional announcements and disclaimers that require your full attention. I am a certified snitch and whistleblower that reports on what is happening in our community.
Like I always say, people lie. Receipts don't. With that stated, the content used in this programming is protected under fair use. In addition, the views and opinions on this programming belong to me. I hold myself accountable and prioritize accuracy and truthfulness in my communications.
So unless you have receipts, don't start with me. God is still working on me. I love the block button to protect my peace and I desire to snitch on everybody, including me. Thank you for your attention. And govern yourselves accordingly. Amen.
[00:07:02] Speaker A: And let the record stand.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: Yes, indeed. So like I said, if you don't have receipts, please don't try it with me. I am so serious about that, and I want you to govern yourselves accordingly. We have so much to talk about. And for those of you that haven't been paying attention to the Florida State Board of Education meeting.
Come on, have a seat.
Share tag, get people in the room, because we got to talk about that meeting. Because there was a lot of stuff that went down in that meeting that folks need to know and need to be aware of. So let me go ahead and share my screen so that you can see what I am talking about. Okay. Okay.
So the Florida State Board of Education unanimously voted to adopt the Phoenix Declaration, which is an American's vision for education.
This is significant because Florida, okay, Is the first in the nation.
First in the nation to officially adopt the Heritage foundation framework.
For those of you that might not be aware, this is the same organization behind Project 2025.
And at that same meeting, the board also approved new standards on teaching the evils of communism tied directly to the same conservative framework. So I'm going to post the link, but I want you to go to the website and to see the different things that are happening with this framework. And the question is, you know, is this indoctrination or is this education?
Because there's been a lot of conversation about we don't need to indoctrinate our children. But if you actually read the fine print of this Phoenix Declaration, I have some questions. Okay, so we are going to go through some of those questions that I have because I'm wondering if you have the same question questions, too. Okay, so here are some of the questions that I have. So following the money, right?
So one of the pillars of this Phoenix Declaration is that there needs to be some transparency as it relates to the money. And the funds are to go to every child and to follow the child.
So with that being said, I just wanted to know, okay, who was going to be held accountable for the voucher crisis that has impacted school districts and educational providers accepting vouchers? I just have some questions as to who is going to be responsible for that because it has caused the districts and school providers a lot of money, hassle and resources.
So if we to talk about following the funds, I just hope that we have some transparency in following the money, because again, like I said, the math ain't mathing. Okay.
The next thing that I'm wondering, were Florida teachers consulted before this was implemented?
There's a lot of use of the word transparency. And I'm just wondering, since this is calling for transparency, does this declaration demand transparency from schools that are not public schools?
Because why do we have such large disparities in the gaps of information provided by other educational systems.
I'm just trying to figure out how we're going to use this word transparency, because again, oh, hell no.
Right.
Also to note that this Phoenix Declaration does not have enforcement power, which was interesting. So I was like, okay, so if this doesn't have enforcement power, why are we adopting it?
And will school districts in schools that don't follow these principles face consequences?
The next thing that it said on here was talking about the Judeo. The Judeo Christian traditions teaching.
And then I had questions like, okay, so what about students from other faith traditions or no faith traditions at all?
What happened to the separation of church and state? It just makes me wonder, right? Like with these declarations, as it alienates some of the kids in our community, is it really for the kids? And I don't think so.
We have questions and there needs to be more transparency because if you watch the State Board meeting, you will see that there was a lot of opposition as it relates to this. And I feel like it could be so much more. But also to that point that there are so many people that don't even know that these meetings are even happening.
They don't know to go to the Florida Department of Education to get this information. They have no idea. So I'm here to amplify it. I'm going to put the links in the comments so that you are aware. Okay. Of how this meeting went, what they talked about in these notes, because it's really, really important.
I just think it's interesting that Florida has become a testing ground for the Heritage foundation for American Education.
And with no enforcement power, I just wonder what is going to continue to happen with this. We know that other states are going to adopt this. The question is how many and how fast.
So again, this framework, this declaration, is by the same organization that brought us Project 2025.
So I'm asking you to pay attention because when they say it is for the kids, we have questions. Okay.
But that wasn't all that happened at the State Board of Education meeting.
I want to go ahead and share my screen so that you can see the person that I'm going to be talking about today.
Excuse me.
So I want you to meet vice chair of the Alachua County School Board.
Her name is Tina Certain, and she was there to defend her controversial Facebook post about Charlie Kirk.
I just want to just note for the record the shirt that she has on. And we're going to get to that. But I want to play the video from what happened at the meeting.
[00:14:42] Speaker C: Alachua county school board members may be bracing for possible fireworks during public comments at their next meeting on Wednesday. School board member Tina Certain came under fire today when she appeared before the State board of education.
DB20's Kayla Lewis shows us how Certain defended her Facebook post calling conservative activist Charlie Kirk an uneducated white boy. Tina Certain says just because she's elected doesn't mean she can't speak. And she wanted to address state education board members to defend her personal character.
[00:15:14] Speaker B: My personal Facebook comment, while frank and imperfectly worded, was constitutionally protected speech.
It expressed a viewpoint on the rhetoric of Charlie Kirk, a public figure whose statement and influence were widely debated.
[00:15:28] Speaker C: Certain's Facebook comment in September referred to conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a, quote, 31 year old, uneducated white boy who's been glorified.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: The uneducated white boy was rhetoric.
It was a rhetorical use of race, reflecting the same racial framing that Charlie Kirk himself frequently used in public comments.
He openly questioned the intelligence and qualifications of black pilots, black women, and other educated black professionals. Your leadership continues to be a failure. You continue to not understand the point that this state board is trying to communicate to you. You are an example for these children. You are an elected member of a school board setting policy that impacts their daily lives.
[00:16:19] Speaker C: Certain wore a shirt to the meeting that said slavery did not benefit black people. This references a controversy from 2023, when the state board released social studies standards saying slaves benefited from the skills they developed. State Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamutsis says reports of discrimination continue to come in about the district failing its most vulnerable students.
[00:16:39] Speaker B: Charlie Kirk's comments were racist. Tina Certain isn't a racist.
[00:16:43] Speaker C: We've learned the district is paying for Certain's lawyer, but we have not been told how much this costs. We also asked school district officials about the complaints Komootsa says they've received about Alachua County. But school district officials referred us to the Department of Education and we have not yet heard. Back in the studio, Kayla Lewis, TV20 news.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: Okay, I just want to give a shout out to Vice chair Tina Certain for a moment, wanted to give her a round of applause because that is a lot to go before the state board and to be talked about in this way. And I am wondering what type of allegations are happening and also wondering, well, what is the State Board of Education doing about all the declining schools that recently happened? I just feel like we just need to go and check our own back door, maybe front door, maybe, I don't know.
But there's a lot to that.
Right?
What happened to the free state of Florida?
What, what, what happened to. To that?
I, I just, I just don't understand. So reference. Seeing the clip as I highlighted the shirt, I'm going to highlight it again because this is something that's really, really important and something that I've used this platform to talk about and to the social studies framework changing. I'm gonna share my screen so that you're able to see it. But on this framework here, it says, and I quote, that instruction includes how slaves adopted skills, which in some instances could be applied for their personal benefit.
Which is why she wore the shirt to say, slaves did not benefit black people.
Hello.
Y' all listening?
Y' all here?
Because I, I just, I, I, I have questions.
I have questions.
Okay, so I'm going to post the link in the chat so that y' all can read this because it is a lot. It's a lot to see. It's very intriguing and interesting to me how we continue to have this type of policy, and then for the commissioner to be like, you are failing. And we receive reports, and then people are like, well, can we see the reports? And then it's like, well, where, where are the reports? It makes me feel like you are fake news. Huh? You are fake news. Okay, let me drink my tea.
[00:19:47] Speaker A: Who.
[00:19:48] Speaker B: Ciao. Because people be playing, and I'm just like, oh, Lord.
The next thing that's on this docket here is there's a global crackdown on social media protection.
And the question is, is it protection or performance?
So let me go ahead and share this with you so that y' all can see this as well. Okay?
So you have places like Australia that are rolling out a world first law, okay, where children under the age of 16 will be pushed off major social media platforms, and platforms will face penalties if they do not block or prevent the accounts.
In Denmark, they just moved to make a band on social media where anyone under 15, with very limited exceptions, can be on the platform, putting big pressures on TikTok, Instagram, and others. And so the root question that I have as it relates to this is, are we actually keeping kids safe online or are we just pushing them into darker, unregulated corners of the Internet?
This is what real safety looks like. And this is someone who is a global safety expert. I go and I have communications about social media safety to schools and to parents and to folks on a global scale.
What real safety looks like is stronger age and consent controls.
This happens at the platform level.
Better reporting tools that actually work.
I'm going to talk about that in just a moment because there is content that I have flagged and reported and it is still under investigation.
Parents also need to be educated enough to check the cell phone and not just hope that the government is going to do something about it. This is why I have conversations with my equalizers and my digital guardians about why we cannot just outsource parenting to policy and hope the best while laws help literacy and receipts save lives.
When I tell you about the reporting process to some of these applications such as Meta and TikTok and all of these other platforms out here in the marketplace, it is hard to get content removed when it is harmful and damaging and et cetera. I'm sure that you know someone who's had a fake page that was created for them about them and that's wild work.
And I just want to take a moment of privilege so I can drink my tea and wipe my nose to play this song that I created for an individual who has been cyber harassing me and others for about five years now. I've named him publicly and will continue to Cato Nord Hodges, who served with the NAACP in Hillsborough county, used his position to get access to details that he should not have access to and posted it on a fake Facebook page to target and cyber harass me for calling out his political endeavors while he was on the clock working at Hillsborough County Public schools instead of working with the children.
So I'm going to sip some tea, I'm going to wipe my nose, and I want you to listen to the song that was created about this matter. And I'm also going to post the link of the article that was written about this because again, I am still wanting to hold Keto Nord Hodges, AKA Ben Banneker, accountable for his conduct on social media.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: We gather here today in the name of truth and digital justice.
[00:24:23] Speaker B: Justice.
[00:24:25] Speaker A: Five years.
Five years of harassment.
But honey, today we serve the receipts. Hot, fresh and piping petty keto, this one's for you, sir.
Because people lie, but receipts don't.
Five long years of fake names, fake games, spreading your lies but receipts hold the flames. You thought you were hidden but truth don't sleep.
And I got the screenshots, the evidence deep.
You want to test me, then do it in court.
But don't get it twisted. That's your last resort.
I'm not filing nothing. I'm just living free.
If you think I'm lying, then sue me, sue me and I got evidence to expose it all coming on track.
You want the car then step on through but the burden ain't mine it's all on you yo you're doing this mess on district time district time when children in your class should be on your mind this ain't the first time you've been pulled aside warnings ignored still running your li so I asked it for do your values align? Cause he's rapping your name while crossing line the cease and desist the nail the l not public record but I know what you did you think I lie?
[00:26:39] Speaker B: So like I said, when you try to enforce content to be removed from social media, it's difficult. And just imagine the content that children are creating and what the children are doing, which is a great segue because we're going to be talking about viral humiliation in the new face of bullying on TikTok and other platforms. So there's a new Tick Tock challenge and it's called Flip the camera. This is challenge secretly films people by flipping the camera on them, turning them into the punchline of a joke.
So here's how the challenge works. So let me share my screen so that you can see what I am talking about.
Okay, so you have a group of teens that approaches someone, a classmate, school staff, stranger, even houseless and elderly people, and will ask them to record a TikTok dance so they feel a part of it. They are holding the phone and the way that they're holding the phone is with the screen facing out so it's in selfie camera mode. And then the teens perform a dance and in mid dance one of the people reaches over and taps the screen and when they tap the screen then it flips to the other camera which is the external camera and is now recording the person who was holding the phone and they become the punchline.
The person recording has no idea that they are subject to being filmed. And kids are intentionally choosing people who they think would make funny targets, meaning they are targeting people who they perceive to be awkward, unpopular or vulnerable that they want to mock. Folks, this is social humiliation dressed up as content and it is not okay.
It is not okay on the screen. I have where a content creator on TikTok said My daughter just saw herself on Tick Tock Saturday and had no clue they used her for the trend.
Not only did she see the video, she also read the comments calling her names letting her know she's fat, she is crushed and couldn't even face the kids at school yesterday.
I want to play the video so that you can get context of what this trend is. And again, I Want to talk about it? So let's play the clip.
[00:29:33] Speaker D: To flip the camera trend has to be stopped. Here's what's happening. People are walking up to random strangers and asking them to hold their phone a certain way with the back camera facing the person recording. Then in the middle of the video, they flip the camera, revealing the person who's been filming the whole time. But the whole point of this trend isn't fun or creative. It's to make fun of the person recording. Once these videos go online, the comments get filled with people roasting them just for how they look or act. So, yeah, it's not a fun social media challenge. It's just another way of embarrassing someone for views. And that's why.
[00:30:14] Speaker B: Parents and caregivers, I need you to be very intentional with what your children are doing on their phones.
I need you to be very intentional with who they're following and who is in their circle of influence.
I need us to have more conversations about digital literacy and empathy, because this is not okay.
It is not okay.
And I find it interesting because I'm seeing videos of where some of this is being recorded in Florida. And don't we have a state law banning cell phones?
[00:30:56] Speaker A: Huh?
[00:31:04] Speaker B: It is for the kids.
I'm getting tired of hearing that. It is for the kids. And then when we look and say, how are the kids?
Okay.
On the power walk on Wednesday, I shared that I was working an incident that teaching for the culture was tagged in at Bev Shields Middle School in Hillsborough County.
The video was so heartbreaking to see that I am not going to continue to amplify that video.
There are two children in the same family.
The little girl was on the bus, severely beaten on the bus.
The boy was hit, hit by a belt several times in the classroom, was pinched, was grabbed violently, was shoved.
This child grabbed her hand around his neck and pushed him down to the floor to clean her shoes. Folks, the things that are happening in our classrooms. And don't you dare say we need to pull our children out of public education.
Don't you dare use this as an opportunity to weaponize public education. Because it's happening not just in public education. It's happening in charter schools. It's happening in private schools and some of the churches that have schools that operate. It's happening there, too.
I get very passionate about this because our children didn't ask for this. Our children deserve better. And then we're talking about we're doing this for the kids. Well, well, how?
The video was recorded and was posted on The Internet. That's how the family was. Was able to see the video. And then I'm like, well, didn't y' all ban cell phones in the recording of content?
[00:33:29] Speaker A: Huh?
[00:33:32] Speaker B: Seems like we need to change the approach of how we're addressing these matters, huh? Which is why you need to have people at the table who can help with the solution.
Just so sad.
Let's move forward to our educational confessions.
So this comes from TikTok, and this goes right along to what I was talking about as it relates to behavior.
Behavior that's happening on our school campuses and outside of our school campuses and even in some of our communities. The behavior, folks, the behavior. Parents and caregivers. Hello.
Okay, let me go ahead and. And share my screen so that you. You can see it. Okay, let me. Let me go ahead and get that information.
Okay?
Because it's sad, children being harmed like this.
Oh, and. And while I'm still here talking about the. The two children at Bev Shields Middle School.
So while investigating this, do you know that Hillsborough county public schools said child protective services to their house to ask them about how the children are being treated at home, if they being fed, if they're being taken care of, and not addressing the abuse that took place at the school.
Let's move on. I'm trying to protect my peace and to protect my heart, and I cannot elevate my heart rate. But this is something very, very serious, and I'm very, very passionate about it.
Something is in the water because the behavior is not changing.
Something is in the water because the behavior is not changing.
When I first started teaching seven years ago, before COVID I could threaten to call home, and they would stop.
I could call home, and they would stop inside.
This year, baby, I'm calling home. I'm changing seats. I'm giving warnings. I'm writing them up, and it's just like, they come back and they do it again.
And then the attitude on them.
Why do I have to ask you who you're talking to?
Why do you not know who you're talking to?
And then they always want to be like, oh, she. This teacher's me. That teachers me. Are they.
Are they mean?
[00:36:31] Speaker C: Are they really.
[00:36:32] Speaker B: Are you? Or you just don't understand boundaries?
[00:36:35] Speaker C: Okay.
[00:36:36] Speaker B: Because this is not a playground.
[00:36:38] Speaker A: Who are you?
[00:36:42] Speaker B: So in the last episode of Morning Tea and Allegations, I shared with you a study that was conducted by the National Educators association, and they highlighted that teachers are highlighting and saying that the behavior in our classrooms and outside of school has gotten out of control.
And it is very hard for them to do their job with some of the behavior that is existing in the classroom in particular.
And then when trying to reach out for parental support, sometimes that's met with a lot of opposition with statements such as they don't act that way at home, which does nothing for school or my child is insert zodiac sign, as if the zodiac sign has anything to do with correcting what is happening in the classroom.
And then educators feel that they can't and do not get the support from administration because they'll send a child out of the classroom to administration or follow the process to hold the child accountable for their behavior, in which they will go to the front office, spend a little time in the office, maybe five minutes, sometimes less, and come back with some candy and replicating the same behavior that they were exhibiting before they left the classroom. You have teachers that are so burnt out and tired, and we are just in the second nine weeks, we haven't even got to winter break yet, folks.
And you have teachers that are out of here and if they could go, some that feel like they're stuck, they would be gone too. And meanwhile, we have all of this policy that's coming through the pipeline saying our educators need to do this and our educators need to do that, and our educators are saying we need help.
Can we please help the teachers?
Can we please help the support professionals?
Can we please help the bus drivers?
Can we please help the cafeteria workers? Can we please help our admin?
There's a lot of conversation, a lot of, of people on the keyboard talking about what educators are doing, not doing. Whoop, whoop, whoop, la la la la la la. And meanwhile, what are you doing?
Is it really for the kids?
Oh, I, I, I just, I just don't know. I, I just don't know. But this, this is what I, I do know. Okay, I want to just take a moment to be accountable because I had mentioned the 14 day digital cleanup challenge and I must say that I did not follow through with making sure that this was set up with intention. It has been a lot going on in my life to where I needed to pivot, particularly as I was focused on my album release.
With that being stated, I do want to continue to uplift that this is a thing that is happening. Okay, so the first day I amplified and shared with you that you need to audit all the devices that are in your home, meaning you need to look through and make sure that you know every single device that is in your house, from cell phones to tablets to Gaming systems.
The second day, I said that you need to know all of the apps that are downloaded on set devices and to do an audit of every single application that is installed, not only on the phones and the tablets, but also these gaming consoles too.
In the last episode, I shared about online extortion and how that is happening at at such a elevated and quick pace that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is having a hard time keeping up with the victims that are being exposed online because of it.
So I want to just say that it can happen to your child. It could be right at your front door and you need to be very intentional with what your children have access to and what devices you have in your home.
For today, I'm amplifying that you need to check all of the social media networks that you and your child has and making sure that you have the proper access to. It says if something were to go wrong, but also to make sure that there are privacy settings put into place to protect them. If your child has Snapchat, for example, there's a feature that's called Snap Map and it literally puts it in indicator on a map and it literally follows your child everywhere it goes. I'm telling you this because children have been harmed this way by predators. Looking at the Snap Map and meeting children online, parents and caregivers. This is a message, a warning that I will continue to amplify and the bell and the alarm will continue to ring as we continue to see headlines day after day of children going missing, children being harmed, things that are happening because of social media, because of Internet spaces, because of their access to technology.
So I'm amplifying that. This 14 day digital challenge will be on checkthecelphone.com and I thank you for your grace as I roll this out again with everything that is going on. But this is important to me. I want you to be very intentional with what is happening on the Internet and what is happening online because our children deserve better.
Now, the title of the episode again to circle all of this back is it is for the Kids and I'm going to be on my soapbox for a moment. Particularly because I didn't do my show last week and I have a lot of things to get off my chest. I am tired of hearing the phrase it is for the kids.
You have every politician, every policymaker that wraps themselves like it's a security blanket, every controversial decision that is justified by four words.
It's for the kids.
Florida adopted a Heritage foundation declaration written by the architects of Project 2025.
It's for the kids.
They strip away DEI programs, ban books, rewrite history to say slavery gave black people skills. It's for the kids. They investigated board members for exercising free speech. It's for the kids. But you know what? I want to know which kids.
Because if I look at at Flipping the camera challenge, I see that kids are learning that cruelty gets clicks, that humiliation is entertainment, that vulnerable people exist to be punchlines to viral challenges. When I look at these social media bands that are being rolled out across the globe, I don't see protection. I see performance.
I see governments checking the ball while parents are giving their kids devices with no digital literacy, no conversations about empathy, no understanding that a screen doesn't make you anonymous to consequences.
When I look at Tina Certain, the vice chair of the Alachua County School Board, standing in front of the state board wearing a shirt that says slavery didn't benefit black people, having to defend her right for free speech in what they call the free state of Florida, I see exactly which kids they're not talking about when they say it's for the kids.
When I look at voucher programs that are bleeding public schools dry with no accountability to where the money goes into who it benefits for, where the money goes, I see very clearly which kids get resources and which kids get left behind.
It is for the kids has become the most powerful lie in American politics.
Let me sip some tea.
It is a shield that folks hide behind when they want to push ideology, when they call it education, that it's an excuse that they want, when they want to control what's being taught and who gets to learn.
It's a banner they wave when they want to defund public schools and funnel money to private institutions with zero accountability. It's for the kids meant it's for the kids. They chose the kids. They choose the kids that look like them, the kids who believe like them, the kids who won't ask uncomfortable questions about why some people get opportunities and others get empty promises. But you know what exactly is for the kids? Documents, receipts.
Teaching them to defend evidence and not just accept what they're told. Teaching them that people lie but documentation doesn't. Teaching them that when someone says, trust me, it's for your benefit. Your first question should be, show me how.
Empathy.
Teaching them that the person holding the camera is in context, that they are a human being with feelings. Teaching them that kindness isn't weakness and using someone's vulnerability for likes makes you the villain in the story.
Critical thinking.
Teaching them to ask, who benefits from this Policy.
Who gets hurt, who is at the table making decisions and who is absent in missing accountability.
Teaching them that actions have consequences. Whether it's a viral video that destroys someone's dignity or a political declaration that reshapes education for generations.
Real transparency, the kind that requires consultations with teachers, town halls, with parents, input from students, and honest answers about who's funding these initiatives and what do they gain.
So when they say it's for the kids, I want you to flip the camera on them and ask which kids?
The ones in well funded suburban schools are the ones in crumbling buildings with outdated textbooks. Mind you, there are some schools out here that still do not have working ac.
The ones who see themselves represented in cultural transmission lessons are the ones whose histories get erased.
The ones whose parents can't afford private school tuition with or without vouchers, or the ones who neighborhood schools are losing because enrollment is dropping and funds are following the child right out the door.
The ones who get suspended disproportionately while others get away because kids will be kids.
Stop letting them use the kids, our kids, as a human shield for bad policy.
So the next time someone tells you a policy, a law, a declaration, a ban, a mandate that is for the kids, don't just accept it.
Flip the camera.
Look at who is really benefiting.
Follow the money.
Read the fine print. Check the receipts.
Because people lie. Receipts don't.
And our kids, all of our kids, deserve adults who won't let politicians.
[00:50:43] Speaker A: Use.
[00:50:43] Speaker B: Them as props for agenda that serve everybody but them.
Now, check your child's cell phone, please, and thank you.
That concludes today's episode. Because it has been a lot and it will continue to be a lot.
It will continue to be, but I'm going to uplift that. We need to have conversations with our children about digital literacy.
In fact, we also need to be having those conversations with our adults and the elderly.
And also we have to stop with just accepting things when people say it. Check the fine print, follow the money and get the receipts. Because people lie. Receipts don't. Okay, I can't wait to see y' all next week.
There's a lot that we need to unpack and discuss. And it was only so much that I could put into this episode today.
But I am sending you so much love, light and peace. And if you truly are going to advocate for the kids, then let it be for the kids.
Other than that, until next time, peace.
[00:52:07] Speaker A: On the Sam.
