Ep 111 | Coming together with Sue Straughn

SPEAKER_00 0:00

For real problem solving, I think you you captured it right there. Real problem solving. And as a community, you know, we need to be invested in our children's education. And we need to be a part of that problem solving and part of fixing it. It takes the parents, it takes business community, it takes business leaders, it takes the grandmamas, it takes the aunts, the uncles, it takes the cousins, it takes all of us.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambi County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. Passionate for community, champion for education, Escambia High graduate, Sue Stran. Thanks for doing this.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

It is my absolute pleasure. Thank you for asking.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

Absolutely. You shared with me that you're a military brat, but despite not being born here, I feel like your Pensacola roots run pretty deep. Because while most news anchors hop around and, you know, go to different cities, you chose to stay in Pensacola.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Well, I did. Well, actually, I I was born here, though an army brat, but most of my formative years were spent away. So this is home. And I had certainly been back long enough to reclaim my native status. And, you know, once people come here, and you know, this is home to more military retirees than any other congressional district in the country. So Pensacola is a place that endears itself to many people. Uh we just have a great way of life here. And like I said, this is a place that embeds itself in the hearts of people. So this is a place that I love. It is near and dear to me. And when you talk about education, I have been blessed since graduating from Muscambia High School and continuing education here to be invited back into our schools and have a chance on many occasions to see what our teachers pour into our young people. And that is why I just love and endear myself to public education here.

SPEAKER_01 2:58

What do you think people misunderstand about it that don't get to see things from the way that you see them?

SPEAKER_00 3:03

What our teachers and what the administrators pour into education here, I think uh there is a lot of misperception. I think there is the bad rap, if you would. I think unfortunately, media plays into that to some extent. And I like to be on the other side of the media reporting that I like to do the good stories, I like to do the angels in our midst pieces. And I like to think that the WEAR, when we do have the opportunity to get into the schools and and to shine a light on the positive things that are happening, that we do that. We do have the crisis in the classroom. And I think it is incumbent upon us to to report where we do have problems and where there are things that we, and I want to put the the parens around we that we can fix as a community. I think it's incumbent upon us to do that too.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

Not just for sensationalism or for inflammation and the clicks and the views, but for real problem solving.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

For real problem solving. I think you you captured it right there. Real problem solving. And as a community, you know, we need to be invested in our children's education. And we need to be a part of that problem solving and part of fixing it. It takes the parents, it takes business community, it takes business leaders, it takes the grandmamas, it takes the aunts, the uncles, it takes the cousins, it takes all of us being a vested part of that.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

How would you like to see parents partner with education to be more next level in that process?

SPEAKER_00 4:44

Being an ally to the teacher. You know, I think it's easy to say, and as a parent myself, it's easy to say, not my child. My child wouldn't do that. I mean, I'd be the first one if I I'd be the first one to snatch mine up. I mean, she would look around, you know, and she's way grown now. Way, way grown.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

I won't say how grown Which is the like past the Statue of Limitations where you can storytell right about what I would storytell on her in a minute, right there, and she knew it.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

I mean, it would be nothing for her to look around and see me standing in a doorway, or her friends to be giving her the eye, your mama's behind you. You might not want to do that. Seriously. So that was, and and of course, and a lot of that people would say, well, that was back in the day. And I think that back in the day needs to be today, that we need to be allies with our teachers, with our educators, with our administrators in the schools. Our children need to know that we hold them accountable. And I think our teachers need to know that, that we are their allies, that we are their standing shoulder to shoulder with them, that we hold our children accountable, that we set the bar for them, that we set expectations for them. I think first and foremost that that needs to be the order of the day, that our children need to know, that we have expectations of them. It it saddens me, truthfully. And I think we need to be honest about this. And I don't think there is enough honesty about this, that when we see parents who will go up and not speak in a tone and a manner to teachers that they need to be spoken to, and that when their children see that, and then we wonder why children are disrespectful to teachers and administrators, that's because they've seen their parents do it. And, you know, I I might be admonished for saying it's on your podcast, but I think somebody needs to step up and say it. We see it, we know it's going on in the schools, and I would I would just appeal to our parents, our grandparents, our caregivers who are raising children. Please let's not let our children see this. Let's be an ally. We're we're all wanting the same thing for our children. We're wanting them to have the best education possible. We want them to grow up and be the best of whatever it is they want to be. And that's not going to happen if we continue with the cycle of some of the things that we're seeing in our schools. We've got to we've got to do better. We've got to be better.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

Do you think parents might be undershooting their kids as far as what they expect of them?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

In some regards, yes, it's happening. It that that's true. They are. And sometimes some of our parents may not have had the best experiences in school themselves. Some of them perhaps feel defeated. Some of them, their plates are way overloaded. Uh, some of them are just not in the best places. And all of that is true. All of those realities are out there. But I'm just gonna, I I for me personally, I just feel like somewhere, some way, we've got to stop the train. We if not, we're never gonna get out of this vicious cycle that we're in. We're never gonna get out of our children not reading at grade level. We're never gonna get out of them not performing in math on grade level. We're never gonna get out of a graduation rate that isn't where we want and need it to be. We're never gonna get out of our children walking across the stage because we're allowing them to walk across and they really haven't earned a diploma. And that's happening. Let's not say it isn't because it is. We can do better, we can be better. Let's set the bar where it needs to be, and then let's as a community come and help our children get to that bar.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

I heard someone call it putting all the cards on the table as a way to explain, let's be honest about all aspects of it. The everything that you just said, how parents feel overburdened, how students feel maybe like their parents don't expect much of them, all of the aspects that you're talking about. And, you know, teachers are feeling not supported, etc.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

And all of that's out there. And you're right. We talk about it in quiet corners. I I I talk about it with teachers, I talk about it with administrators, I talk about it with board members, I talk about it with people. We whisper it. Nobody's saying the quiet part out loud. And I'm probably saying it more out loud right here in front of you right now.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:31

And again, it won't necessarily go over well in our quarters. But we've got to start saying the quiet part out loud. We really do. Or we're never gonna make the difference. We're never gonna turn the corner, we're never gonna be the best that we can be. We we wonder why are people moving to this county? Why are people taking their children across the state line and putting them in a school somewhere else instead of right here? Where we've got the best teachers, where we've got teachers who are pouring their hearts out every day. It's not that we don't have the best. We do right here.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Do you think parents taking that honest approach in their own home will make an impact in the community? There's a temptation to think like, well, my one kid doesn't matter. Our one situation, taking an honest look at that one situation won't make an impact. Do you feel like one family doing what you what you just said, taking an honest look and taking responsibility and moving forward in that way will move the needle?

SPEAKER_00 10:46

You know, when you look at the problems, and I will tell you that for a long time, it took me a long time, for a long time to get to the point of counting successes in one. Because when you look at the problems, and I don't care what problems you're looking at, they can seem overwhelming. And I had to step back and start counting successes in one, saving one, making a difference in the life of one. So to answer your question, yes, count the successes in and by one, starting with that one child.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

What was that difference maker for you?

SPEAKER_00 11:24

That switched your perspective, seeing the difference in one child, seeing one child light up, being able to read, seeing one child who could not walk, who had cerebral palsy, being able to take a first step at age six. Success in one. Success in one child. It wasn't the room full of twelve, it was one.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

That's a very specific example.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

Just one. But one walked, one could read. It made all the difference in the world to that one.

SPEAKER_01 12:08

You are an outlier in that many people in your position have studied communications and broadcasting, but your your heart, which someone would have to be completely asleep right now to not hear it, has always been for the community, for the people. You wanted to be a social worker. And I wonder now if if your role and your perspective that you're in now gives you a platform for the same mission as you would have had if you were a social worker.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

I wanted to be a social worker since second grade. I didn't know what a social worker was. My grandmother, my mother would say that probably I wanted to be a social worker and I was predestined to do that from uh even from the time I could walk. I was grabbing my baby, my old, he was the older brother, but to me it was the baby brother because I was always leading him out of trouble and trying to, you know, do things for him. And and leading an elderly woman by the hand because she was sight impaired. You know, they they tell the stories of those things. So I don't know. But I didn't know what a social worker was. I just knew that people said that they helped people. So that was what I wanted to do. Nothing in my life was I smart enough or knew enough to know to really plan ahead. I tell people I am here, but by the grace of God, all of my steps have been ordained and ordered by God. I will profess that forever because I didn't know. So I feel that God placed me here. And I hope that I live my life and do things that He is wanting me to do. I think He put me in a place to be able to maybe do some things and can use this platform to help people. And I'm mindful of that every day. I'm mindful of that every day. That I get up and I need to use this position to help somebody. And I need to do that.

SPEAKER_01 14:18

You mentioned your mom and your grandmother. It was your mom who inspired you.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

You know, we I was one of six children. Granted, we were Army brats. And no matter where we lived or whatever, we did we didn't have a lot. We were poor people, we really were, but we didn't know that. And no matter where we lived, no matter how many sets of feet were under our table at suppertime or lunchtime on the weekends, everybody was fed. My mother never sent a child home. More of our clothes left our house on some other child's back because it wasn't always military children. We, you know, whatever neighborhood we lived in, if there was a child that didn't have my mother took care of them. So that was all we ever knew. It was all we ever knew. It was all we ever saw in our home. And it wasn't talked about. It was just what my parents did. It was what my grandmother did. It was what my aunt's, it was just all we knew. So that's just how we came up. No fanfare, no nothing. There were, there was nothing to be expected. It's just what we did in a house. If some if we had everybody else had, it was just spread around and and you just didn't think twice about it.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

That's incredible. What a legacy of your mom that you're passing forward in the community.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

I I I hope. I hope. We don't necessarily look at it that way. I am just ever mindful of how blessed we all were, how blessed we are, mindful every day, every day how blessed I am. And that I have an obligation to give back. It won't be much. It won't be much, but it better be something.

SPEAKER_01 16:09

Well, legacy, you know, there's different ways to look at that word, right? When we think of like just now when I said legacy, you were like, oh no, no, no. But that might be more connected to the the the form of the word that we think of someone who's highly visible and showy, and maybe maybe their name is on a building, right? But legacy is like what your your mom and your grandma left for you that lead by example. Legacy can also be negative, like what you're talking about, kids watching their parents speak down to teachers and administration. So legacy is really just what's seen, right? So being doing what you're doing seems like allowing yourself to be seen. And that's really beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

I don't know about the the the seen part. I don't necessarily care that people people see it, it's not the seen part. I tell my nieces and nephews, I have the one daughter and she doesn't have children. Um, but the nieces and nephews, they all know that I do have an expectation of them. Uh, because I've tried to to spoil them to some extent. You know, they get away, they get away with the murder. They've always gotten away with things with the the answer. I've been the one, you know, they they'd come to my house when they were little and they could, you know, do things. They could jump up and down in the bed, and you know, parents would go, why do you let them do that? Well, what's the fun of having uh, you know, if you've got a ceiling fan, if they don't know if they can see if they can jump up in the bed and touch it, you know, the just little crazy things like that.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

That's what they smoke in with true auntie style.

SPEAKER_00 17:46

Yeah, you know, so they could do things like that. But they know that there's an expectation. You give back. You give of your time, your talents, your treasure. Treasure, you know, okay, we don't have much, but whatever little you have, you give something back. That is an expectation in our households. And they know that. You don't have the highest wage-paying job, that's fine, but you will give a portion of it back, and we pass the plate, and so collectively we give, whether it is the sacred heart, the the children's hospital, you know, nephew that had cancer. So when when we had the children's hospital fundraiser, we we collectively we pass the plate. We called all the aunts, the uncles, all of the cousins, everybody, any up something. And as a family, we make a donation. Any charitable events, again, we don't have much. We call, they know to call everybody. Your responsibility, okay, it's your turn to call. You hit them all up, they go begging. We have the family beg. And then whoever's gonna make the donation, you know, okay, it's your turn, you go present the check. Yeah. So that is what we do.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

Yeah. Well, that speaks to the expectation for the Pensacola community to come together also and support families and support the the mission of education.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

And let us hope that we do that. You know, again, we can. And, you know, very soon we will have the stuff the bus campaign that I know that you've already been doing something on. And people say, well, you know, families should be able to do, but so many families can't. And that is a reality. So we're not gonna stand back, we're not gonna be judgmental. We know it is a reality that there are so many families who can't. And the bottom line is that our teachers, once again, it is those educators and those administrators who will be digging deep. So let's help them and let's help these families who can't. We've got grandparents, we've got other family members who are raising grandchildren, who are taking care of family members. So, as a community, come on, let's come together. Let's everybody do what little we can and come together collectively as a community because it's something that we can do. So we'll reach out and we'll do it.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Yeah. Yeah, you're right. It is the teachers that end up just pulling money out of their own pockets to make it work. I mean, I've been doing Voices United in education for two years now. And if there's anything I've learned, it's that the teachers are truly the salt of the earth. They're just incredible, incredible people. And I'm um like we need to protect them at all costs. The burnout potential I see is so high. And that's something that I wanted to ask you about because you've been at WEAR for 50 years, and burnout isn't like an it can come and go, right? Where you have moments of burnout. We do have some teachers that listen to the show. It's mostly parents, but would you have any advice for teachers on how to care for themselves during periods of burnout?

SPEAKER_00 21:05

The first thing, and you know, uh I'm just uh a nobody sitting here, and I don't have words of um wisdom. You know, I'm no expert to be able to share anything with you. The only thing I can say to you is thank you to alleviate your burnout, hear these words from me. Thank you. Just know that there are those of us who understand and appreciate what you do, and when you reach that moment of enough, I can't do this anymore. Just know that there are those of us who understand and appreciate. And I ask you, please go one more day on these words. Thank you. Thank you for what you've done. Thank you for what you're doing for our children, thank you for your heart, thank you for your compassion and love. And know that we're so grateful. We know that you have paid attention to that child who has come to school for the third day in the same clothes. We know that you have seen that child who has scarf down everything, everything, and literally literally been digging into that plate at lunchtime because they are so hungry and that you've snuck over and you've given them what was on your plate. We know. We know. We've seen you go brush that little girl's hair because it wasn't combed. We know. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Well, thank you, Sue. We appreciate you. We appreciate your perspective and your work that you do in the community and the way that you advocate with action.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

Well, just blessed and hopefully I can do a little something. And if there's anything that anybody needs me to do, you know, I'm I'm good at I sweep floors. I work carnivals, you know. I I I do the grunt work, I really do, and grateful to do it, and so grateful anytime anybody asks, if there's anything I can do, happy to.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Well, thank you again for being here and doing this with me today.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

I appreciate the opportunity. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Thanks for listening. Be assured to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Scambie County Public School.