For the Kids, Not the System with Akil Parker

For The Kids, Not The System with Akil Parker - The Exit Interview Podcast

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dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: All right folks. Welcome back to the exit interview podcast for black educators with me, your host, Dr. Asia. It is a beautiful day in March in Denver. We're finally getting some spring weather and I am not mad about it. Um, but we are not talking about weather today. We're talking about a Akil Parker, who's come to our show.

Then we met at South by welcome to the show, Akil.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. Thanks for having me on here. I've really been looking forward to this,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: really been looking forward to this conversation. Well, I mean, I always enjoy having conversations about math and education, but, you know, um, the way you ran down on me at South by Southwest in the hallway, you know, I, I really respected it.

'cause that's how, that's how I be sometimes with, you know, running down on people to like, tell 'em about my YouTube channel and the, and the resources that I have for the community. So it just showed, um, how much confidence you have in your

platform and, and having these types of conversations with educators. [00:01:00] So, yeah, that may be, that also made me really, um, wanna be on your, on your platform,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I appreciate that. Oh yeah, of course. And I, you know, I love a good street interview. I love meeting black folks in community. Um, there's not a ton of black educators here in Colorado. I think I've said this so many times. We have less than a thousand black educators here in the state. So when we have an opportunity to be able to just talk to folks out, and you're in Philly, but talk to people all over the country, all over the world, um, educators sharing their journey, I'm on it.

Like, I have to get out and talk to people. So, yeah, thank you for stopping and, and chatting. And now fast forward to a couple weeks later, three, four weeks later, we're here,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: We

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: uh, and sharing your story. So we'll start off with our first question. Lots of folks come on the, uh, podcast and they have a journey into education.

Some people are, start off in TFA. Some people knew since they were a child, other people fall up on education when they're an undergrad. What's been your journey into [00:02:00] education?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So my journey into education is I'm, I was a career changer and I never wanted to be a teacher.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I was, I was one of those people that kind of bought into the propaganda, the negative propaganda around education. Like, you know, it's too much work 'cause you know, it's too, too hard or these kids are crazy.

I'm not trying to, you know, teach other people's kids. And, um, initially, you know, and also there was the money aspect. You know, I, I grew up listening to, you know, um, commercial rap music and I was, you know, trying to get rich. You know, I was,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the drug dealer rap and everything.

And I'm like, you know, I went to cars and, and the clothes and the women and everything. So I gotta, I gotta go, go get rich. So let me, let me, uh, pursue a major that might enable me to do that. So I ended up majoring in finance and I had intentions of like going to Wall Street, being like an exec investment banker, or equities trader or something like that.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that didn't work out, you know, so I ended up, um, when I graduated from Morgan State University back in like 2003, I ended up, uh, going moving to Philadelphia and I worked in [00:03:00] Delaware at the FDIC and I did that for a year, but I wasn't as, as glamorous and I wasn't really a good fit for that. So I did that for a year. Then after that, I. Left that position. Well, actually, they were going to fire me because I wasn't a good fit.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and then I was looking for my next move and I, I really got forced into education because I had a baby on the way, you know, I was expecting a child.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: there was a, um, there was an economic, it was an economic necessity for me to, uh, kind of become a teacher, you know?

So, but, but first I, I got, I hooked up with this agency here in Philly that was like a, it was like a temp agency for teachers and tutors. So I didn't want, I, I didn't want to teach. I didn't wanna teach, I didn't wanna substitute teach, I just wanted to tutor, you know. So I was doing that at first. And then I, I had this opportunity to be a long-term sub at this, uh, charter school down North Philly. you know, it was a long-term sub position for the whole, like fourth quarter, 10th grade geometry. the teacher had just went on, on like, [00:04:00] um, medical leave. So they just needed somebody in there. So I, I went for a couple days and then the person that ran their agency said, you know, take, give it, give it a couple days if you wanna stay, you know, that's fine.

You can stay. If not, I'll find somebody else. And then like, you know, I was there for like a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and then over the weekend I just thought about it and I was like, you know what, let me, let me stay with this and see what happens. You know? 'cause you know, if I think that teaching is something that if I decide to, know, put my mind to what I probably could become good at it one day, you know?

And that was,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: was actually 20 years ago. That was, it was March of 2005.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, I love it. Happy anniversary.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Thank you. Yeah, so this, my, this is my 20, my 20 year anniversary of, of stepping in the classroom. You

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: though I was a, I was a sub, but

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: work every day, you know?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I, I think it's ironic that you, you went into finance to make money and then ended up going into education to make money, right? Like Yeah, and, and, um, you know, so many folks, you, you [00:05:00] know, first of all, I appreciate you saying that you were gonna be fired, but you decided to resign because a lot of people wanna skip past those kind of parts of their life.

Like, oh, it was just not a good fit. It's like, well, I was supposed to be fired. It's, it was just not gonna, I was gonna lose my job. Um, but then, and, and at the same time, you know, sometimes when people lose their job, the job closes, the, you know, whatever the situation is, that's like the best thing. It just takes us in a whole different direction that we would've never thought of going, but it was because of something outside, like an outside circumstance, you know?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: And it was a, it was a real shock to my ego too, 'cause I had really had to do some, like, soul searching. 'cause like, I'd never been like, fired, fired from a job for like, you know, performance before.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: it was audit work and, you know, and there, there was just accounting. That I wasn't aware of.

Like I took accounting courses, you know, in my, in undergrad. But I think the amount of accounting that was, that they listed on the job posting that they required, I had that amount of accounting on, on my transcript. But the [00:06:00] amount that the actual job functions required, required more accounting coursework that I

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: take.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like a, it was, it was some, a bit of like false advertising. Right.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: or else they else, they wouldn't have hired me, you know, but I was, I was equipped based upon their job posting. But once I got in there, I was like, then, and then I was supposed to be, and I, I think this too, like if I knew then what I know now, I probably would've let them fire me because then I might have been able to, you know, file some type of complaint because I was the trainee and they assigned me like a mentor examiner. But this lady never worked with me. Like that whole year. This lady

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, wow.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that lady. She was always out on the road doing an examination of some bank, like far away somewhere. I hardly never, I never even seen that woman or worked with her. Right. Um, so, you know, and, and the supervisor kind of kicked it to me like, like it was like he was hooking me up.

Like he was like, you know, you should, you might want to just resign because then you won't have a termination on your file in case you ever want to get a, get government employment again. You know, it won't look like a, as [00:07:00] much of a blemish on your record. So I thought, you know, I figured like, all right, cool.

That sounds good. So let me do that. Let me go ahead and resign. Right. But I should have, just looking back on it probably should've been like, nah. Go ahead. Fire me.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: want, that's what I want on my record. I want the termination on my record. I want that. Let, let get.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Akil out here giving us two x interviews, y'all. He said, he said, no, I wanna go back. Let's start back in 2006. I wanna talk about this too. I appreciate that. Um, well, I, you know, I, I cut you off on your story, so you, this is you over the weekend. You're like, let me just figure this out. So what happened after that?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So I, I went back and I just, you know, just, uh,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: was figuring stuff out, you know, started putting together lesson plan, lesson plans, and, you know, working with some of the other teachers in the math department and, you know, practicing, practicing teaching, you know, and it, it is being a long-term substitute, if anybody's familiar with that. a little awkward because you're a substitute, but you're not because you're gonna be there every [00:08:00] day. So you're like the official teacher, but then you're not really the official teacher. 'cause the kids still know you just a substitute. So

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: it's a, it's a, it's a fine line that you have to like tow, you know.

But, um, it was, it was a learning experience, you know, learning how to, like, interact with, with youth, um, learning, you know, different learning styles. Um. Just a lot of things learning like about professionalism, you know, learning what's appropriate, what's not appropriate, you know, just a lot, just a lot of things.

Yeah. So that, but that was my, my introduction. That was my introduction into, teaching, you know, and I used to wear, back then I used to, you know, 'cause again, I was a substitute, you know, so I'm like, I would go, I was going in there and I, you know, I was like 20, 24 years old. So I'm, I'm going in there with, with Dicky suits on and Tims on, like, you know what

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Too cool. You just too cool.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like, like I was, I, I went in there looking like, I was like hanging out on the block, like, you know, all night, you know, before I came to work I wasn't, but, you know, that's how, you know, I mean, that's how we were dressing back then, you know, that was, you know, uh, I'm, I'm in Philly, like state property was [00:09:00] real popular back then, you know what I mean?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh man. You taking this back?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So, yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, but that was, that was early, early, early in my career,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you went, did you go back to school? Did you need to do that? Did you have like an emergency certification? How did, how did that work?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So I had an emergency certific, so I finished that. I finished that school year and then incidentally, that school needed a English teacher for summer school. So I ended up teaching summer school, ninth grade English. Um, and I jumped, I kind of jumped at that opportunity, well, 'cause I needed some money for one,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I had the opportunity to like teach, uh, one of the techs we were teaching was, um, to Kill a Mockingbird. And I knew that that was like, you know, popular literature and I had never read it. So I said, oh, well if I teach this, this would gimme an opportunity to like read that book

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: paid at the same time.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I ended up doing that and then, um, at the end of the summer, uh, or at the end of the summer school, I started putting out, you know, my re I put out my resume, you know, and this is back in the, so this is like oh five.

So, you know, we still using fax [00:10:00] machines back then. So I'm

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know, I'm going to like places to like fax my resume to like every, almost every charter school in Philly. And

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: by then you bitten by the bug. You like, this is, I'm gonna do this.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I'm like, nah, I'm gonna do this. Yeah, I'm gonna do this real. And then my, like my son, my son was on it when my son ended up being born that August.

So this is like July, right? You know, late July, like early August. And like, like I said, I got a baby on the way, so I, I need a job. Um, so I'm just sending my resume out to a lot of charter schools because I had been told that the traditional public schools were more stringent on, you know, their hiring, you know, requirements.

And I wasn't certified, you know, I, I wasn't certified. I didn't have an education degree. So, you know, the charter schools were, were, um, what I thought was a, was a better move, um, get, you know, to get a, to get an opportunity. So I, you know, and one or two hit me back. I went on a few interviews, but one I went on an interview with, told me that after the interview, they said, you know, we, we would like to keep you on as a building sub, So you just, you know, if anybody's familiar with that, you know, you go to, you go to work every day [00:11:00] in the event that somebody's absent. Unfortunately, in a lot of schools, it's always gonna be somebody absent,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, unfortunately

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. So somebody's absent, you're just gonna go to their class. You know what I'm saying?

You like the sixth man off the bench, you know what I'm saying? You just, you just there ready to go. Right? Um, like what, like, like, uh, Kurt Rambis back in the day when the LA Lakers, you know, somebody like that, you know what I mean? But,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: a akil, I don't, I don't watch sports, but the audience might, so, yeah. That's for y'all? Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. but yeah, so, but then what happened was I went home and I was like, okay, that's, that's cool. I, I'll, I'll accept that. Um, I got a phone call, like that afternoon they called me back to say, we just found out that our 10th grade, was it 10th grade or 11th grade?

No, our 11th grade algebra two teacher informed us that she's leaving. She needs to leave next week because her husband accepted a position in Connecticut, so she's leaving in a week.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So would you like to have her full her position? And I was like, yes. I mean, yep. Yeah, [00:12:00] definitely. So it was just like the universe, you know, worked in my favor.

So it was,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: For sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So that was, um, so officially my first full-time teaching position, started in September of 2005. So that's, that's, that's coming up. and yeah, that's how, that's how I got started, like in the classroom. And then teaching, I think it was, I had three sections of Algebra two and one section of, it's another lesson I learned one section of elementary functions, which really wasn't elementary functions because the students in the elementary functions course really have strong algebra one skills. So it really ended up being an Algebra one class.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: So what, explain to us what elementary functions are, uh, what, what that class entails.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: so it's more like a, more like a pre-calculus course where you we're doing a lot of work dealing with like the basic functions in algebra. So like you have like the absolute value function, uh, which is shaped like a v and you know, very intent, heavy on being at being able to [00:13:00] express equations graphically, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: so absolute value functions like a v you got your linear function, which is a straight line. You got your parabola, your quadratic functions of parabola, like a U or they could be, you know, like this, like the McDowell's arch from coming to America,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: mean? Um, what else we got? We got the, uh, the radical function, and I forget some of these sometimes,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: it's okay. We don't, it's not a bath test.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. And then you

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Now folks, if y'all on the, if y'all not watching this on YouTube, y'all missing all the hand movements that he's doing. So if you can't go on YouTube and watch him and do all these movements, but go ahead. Go ahead.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um, oh, the sign and the co-sign, you know, the

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: what I mean? So you got the sign function, the co-sign function, you know. Um, but yeah, just all of these functions, right? Um, teaching, oh, the peace wise functions. Well, not peace wise, but like the step function or the greatest energy function, you know?

So elementary functions is meant to focus in on like all of those basic. Primary functions and that we encounter in [00:14:00] algebra. And then also being able to express them as, as equations. And also dealing with, with applications of those actual functions, like how would you use them? You know, which is such an important question.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know, how do we, how do we use this? Because that makes the math realistic,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: brings,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: to life. And, you know, unless the students see, oh, okay, this is what I could possibly use this for. You know what I mean? But, um, but yeah, just all the, you know, it was, it was elementary functions, but the students really required a more of a foundation in, um, algebra.

And the class, that particular class, it was, it was a senior class, right? That particular element, elementary functions class. like, it became a dumping ground over the years, right? Because it was a small class, because the school had, um, configured this relationship with the Community College of Philadelphia, the students would get dual enrollment and take a math course on campus, which was, which was a great idea, but they really needed, you know, some more, more support in terms of, you know, making [00:15:00] sure they were actually going to class and not just taking it as an opportunity to just not be in the building, you know?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, just hanging out.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah, a lot of them ended up like failing and when they, or, or they, or they feel, or they, they realized like, oh, this is actually difficult. I'm gonna have to actually do work over here. So they were like, you know, they came and some of them talked to the counselor and, you know, they withdrew themselves from the dual enrollment. It was like every other day, like some other, another kid get dumped in a class, like, you know,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: class

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: see.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: bigger and bigger, you know, so, um, only like a couple of students like made it to the end, you know? And I think it was, it was for two semesters, it was two course, two math courses, you know, one for the fall semester, one for the spring semester, um, over at community college in Philadelphia.

But yeah, so the class got bigger and bigger as time went on. But yeah, so that was, that was my first year teaching, you know, my first full year teaching, teaching three sections of Algebra two and, um, one section of so-called elementary functions,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: So

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: which

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: ahead. I'm sorry I cut you off.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: [00:16:00] Algebra one slash algebra two.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. When you, thinking back on those days, you, like you said, you had a degree in finance, but. This is not finance, this is, these are, this is teaching children

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: obviously you were learning how to work with kids, like you said. Was there a time at night or on the weekends that you had to study the math book and like dust off your memory?

Or was it always like, oh yeah, I remember this is no problem. Was there any challenge with challenges with you trying to figure out how to break something down from how you understand it to how the kids could understand it? Like what was that like seeing how you did not go to school to be a math teacher?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Oh, every night, every night I was like, you know, at home, like, you know, usually like sitting in my living room with the TV on, with my textbook open, like going through the problems, you know, that were on the, the curriculum, which I was, which I was following at first. And I'm like refreshing my memory on like, like how do you solve systems of equations using the substitute method again.

Like

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Like how do you grab these [00:17:00] functions? Like, you know what I mean? Like, so it, that was every night. That was, that was a every, every night thing, you know? Um, and then like, also like even during the day, like, you know, talking to, you know, other teachers, other, other math teachers, know, um, that were more experienced and or that had more, uh, math content knowledge, you know, than I did. You know? Um, you know, definitely having, having those conversations, you know, looking, looking at the, looking to them for support, you know. Um, but yeah, I was, I was like back in school myself,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I didn't wanna, I didn't wanna, I didn't wanna embarrass myself, you know, in front of the class, like, and like not know how to do something, you know, that I'm supposed to teach.

And I'm like, you don't even know how to do it. But then at the same time, and this is something I talk about a lot today about like, especially within math instruction, you have, like, the way I look at it, I mean, it may be more, more ways to kind of dissect math instruction, but I kind of dissect math instruction down into two different ways. One is like, um, algorithmic instruction, and the other is conceptual instruction. [00:18:00] And what I realized was that. As a child, most of my instruction was very algorithm based, and I was very good with like, you know, learning formulas, memorizing formulas, memorizing the steps, and then, and the algorithm being, and being able to get the answer. But I didn't really understand concepts, the concept

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: or why the algorithm makes sense.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that. And oftentimes I think in the schools I went to, that wasn't a major emphasis. So, but nowadays I'm, and this is why I like Common Core, and I, so I always jump into conversations around so-called new math, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: it. I was gonna say that. Go ahead. Go ahead.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: because really the common core, what is, what if it's taught effectively, that's the other part of it's gotta be taught effectively. If it's taught effectively, what it can do is provide a conceptual understanding of the math for the children, right? So then they'll be able to better have a better understanding of the relationship between numbers, numeracy, um, they'll be more mathematically flexible.

They won't be just locked into just one way of doing everything, right? So then you end up with certain problems. It's like [00:19:00] if you only know one way to do it, it becomes very inefficient with a certain, with a particular problem, the way a problem might be set up, then it's very inefficient to do that way.

But if you knew two other ways, then you could pick a better method. But, and a lot of people push back on it because we were taught algorithmically. Like, look, just gimme the formula, gimme the steps and let me get the answer.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yes,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: children are being challenged to like, think and, you know, think critically and figure stuff out. And, but like I said, like it doesn't always work because the teachers have to be trained properly. Right? So when I was in, when I was first in the classroom, I'm giving my students the algorithms. I'm giving 'em the algorithms. I'm like, why aren't y'all getting this? Just memorize the algorithm. Just follow the

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yes,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and just do

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: of problems. And I think that has value at times, but I think that should be supplemented by a conceptual understanding. And a lot of us don't have a conceptual understanding. And I think that leads to people hating math. 'cause I never loved math initially, right? People assume I loved math. 'cause they say, oh, you, you are a math teacher.

A math professor. You, you know, teach math on YouTube and you know all this and that and you know, you do math tutoring. You [00:20:00] must have, you must have loved math your whole life. I'm like, nah. I liked, I liked getting good grades when I was young. I knew that

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: well in math was a, you know, getting good grades was the byproduct of doing well in math.

So

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: a means to an end. I liked math, but I didn't really love her though. You know, it was like, she was cool. Like, know what I

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: We hung out.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: We hug out

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: You know, I wouldn't claim, I wouldn't claim her though, you know

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Uhuh, I step

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: get, you might

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: at,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: on campus together in the cafeteria maybe.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: but we not hold hands,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: ain't my girl. You know what I'm saying? Like, ain't my girl. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like, you know, she, she, for everybody, you know what I'm saying? It's

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: right? She for the streets,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: her. Yeah. I'm not claiming Yeah. She, for the pavement. Yeah. Like, you know what I'm saying?

Like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: for the pavement. Oh Lord. East Coast. Oh, I can't,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I developed, when I developed my conceptual understanding, like around like six or seven years ago when I started teaching at Cheney, because I had to teach, uh, they wanted me to teach math methods. I'm teaching education majors to teach math, right? So that, that way when they get into their classrooms, they'll be able to show [00:21:00] these concepts to young children,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah. Well, let's, let's back, let's hold on for that because I do wanna talk about this transition, right? Um, you were at the charter school for how long, and then like, let's, let's kind of talk about that journey to get there. Go ahead.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So that particular charter school, I was there for three years

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I was there on, right. You asked me also about certification. So I had

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: certification and then that ran out, and then they let me go, right? So they let me go. So then I found another school, right? It was a teacher that I was cool with at that school that had a homeboy that he went to school, went to college with, that was a teacher at another charter school in Philly. So then we con, we connected, and then he was like, Hey, you know, we need a math teacher. Anyway. So I ended up sending my resume over there, did an interview and everything, and you know, ended up over there, you know, at the next charter school.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I was at the next charter school, I ended up getting my certification

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: through a [00:22:00] program.

There was a program called the American Board of Certification for Teacher Excellence. I had to take. Two courses. It was like an a, an abbreviated process to cert to math certification.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I had to take like two courses online they did the observations. They would like, they partnered with in Pittsburgh, I think Point Park University

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and they had a professor like fly out to Philly to, um, observe me like, I think three times during this one school year. then

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh wow.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: own own certification exam. So I, like, I didn't have to take the praxis. I took this organization, created their own exam, which was comparable to the Praxis, uh, for, um, subject matter for the, the math,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: grade seven through 12 for, to get a grade seven through 12 CER certification. they, they created their own exam. So I took that exam. First time I took it, I failed it. I was, I hadn't studied enough. Right. [00:23:00] You know, it goes all the way, it went all the way up to calculus. So, but the second time I was grinding, you know, I was grinding, I was getting

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: uh, up in my, um, of my bedrooms upstairs, which was my office back then, before my daughter was born, and that became her bedroom.

I was like writing, you know, Cartesian planes on the wall. I had the unit circle drawn on the wall. I was like, I was, I was

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: You were in it. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: every weekend, like on Saturdays I was just be in the house just studying, you know, just, just, just grinding, you know, just to

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um, but yeah, so, you know, I started out at that first charter school down in South Philly Three, well, technically South Philly, but anybody from Philly tell you that ain't really South Philly. It was really in Center City. It was really in downtown. Um, 'cause 'cause downtown is what? Uh, river to River Von to Pond Von Street to Pine Street.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay. Okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: below Pine Street.

So technically it was South Philly. But it ain't really like, like somebody from Philly tell you from South Philly tell you, especially the young people, they call it the P 'cause at one point it was called SP for South [00:24:00] Philly, and then they just dropped the S off. So it

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: And what, oh, okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: school wasn't really in the p as they would say,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: but yeah.

But um, but yeah, so taught there for three years. was my first home. And then went to another school, you know, uh, past North Philly. near broad, near, uh, if anybody's familiar with like Girls High uh, you know, central High. Those schools, those are like two, uh, special admission schools in Philadelphia. uh, school was, um, the second school was called Delaware Valley. Delaware Valley Charter High School, or Del Val as we called it. The first school was World Communications Charter. That was the school in down South Philly. But, um, up, uh, uptown, so to speak. And I started teaching at Del Val and I was there for four years. And I kind of like, um, learned a lot and kind of really grew as a teacher. Like grew into like really being a teacher, you know, in that school,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: It's interesting that you're saying that because [00:25:00] by this time you had six years under your belt and then you went to the school and you said, and this third school is when you felt like, no, like for real, I'm a teacher. What was the difference, or what do you feel like shifted in you or in an environment that made you feel like, I feel solid in my craft.

I feel like I'm really doing what I need to do.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I think just, um, just like developing routines and also like, I guess like the kind of being able to know what's going, know what's to be expected, like kind of learn, like myself in situations like where I know, okay, I know how this is gonna end, I know how this is gonna

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: already experienced this.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Say more about that.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: so, like, you know, whether it's like discipline issues, whether it's like, um, uh, instructional, uh, uh, issues like, you know, things to, especially like with teaching math, like you kind of develop expectations for what students are going to understand if you [00:26:00] explain it a certain way. What, what many students won't understand if you explain it a certain way. Once I like kind of develop that rhythm of knowing, okay, well I know, so what, so, and this will influence your lesson planning, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Of course.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: of times the book will just give you, okay, go over this, go over this. But then you're reading a book and you're like, all right, well they're not taking into, these authors are not taking into consideration the fact that many students do not understand this aspect or this common mistake that a lot of students make.

Like, great example, multiplying a whole number by a fraction.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: A lot of students will multiply that whole number by the numerator and the denominator.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: They do that all the time. Right. that's something that you gotta point out. gotta say it, you gotta say, listen, don't do that. And then even show them, this is why this doesn't make sense. Right.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, that, that's like you said, the conception conceptual part. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you rep, even if you just represent the whole number as a fraction, give it a denominator of one. then [00:27:00] once they see it like that on the board, it's like you would never multiply that numerator by the numerator and denominator of the other fraction.

In that situation, you wouldn't do that. 'cause now that whole number is not, look, it's not represented as a whole number anymore, but you gotta just know that whole number can be represented that way. So you gotta have that familiarity. So, but just things like that, that you have to like, include in your lessons.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and then like just the students, like how they, how they engaged me and inter interacted with me. And that's, you know, that working at that second school Del Val, that's, that's another, uh, another good termination story. I got fired. I, I really did get fired from there. Like, I didn't get a chance to resign.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: there too. Yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: You, uh, you gonna tell us about that? We just going to be left out here?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: oh no, I tell you about it. Yeah. So that, that school, um, I became I guess more like outspoken about certain things. And, and another thing that happened while I was at that school is. [00:28:00] I realized that there was a shift in my educational philosophy. Well, well the shift actually started at the first school I was at,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: at the first school I was at. I noticed that 'cause I was doing a lot of reading at the same time. Like I'm studying a lot of like, black history and African history and you know, I'm, I'm looking at like different like political science texts and you know, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm in my, you know, I'm in, I'm, I'm, I'm back into my consciousness and whatnot, you know, studying Amos Wilson and, you know, John Henrick Clark and different revolutionaries and whatnot. And I'm, I'm thinking differently about education and I'm realizing like, I don't really want to be a company man. I don't want to just, you know, and then I, and I'm, I'm kind of making a shift from, and I'm noticing like the dichotomy where it's like, in a lot of schools it's like this, uh, dynamic of, from teachers and administrators, it's like us versus the kids. And once I realize that, I'm like, I'm not down for that. 'cause I'm

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: [00:29:00] Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the kids,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah, yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the kids. It's not a prison. Like, it's not like the warden and the CEOs versus the inmates.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah, yeah, yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I'm not down for that. Right. Which, which leads, which can lead to a lot of challenges with your colleagues because then your colleagues are like, you know, you're too friendly with the kids.

Or like, you wanna be their friends. And it's like, nah, it's not about me wanting to be their friends, it's about me wanting to treat them like humans. And a lot of the policies and protocols you have in place. Completely and unapologetically, like disregard their humanity

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and it doesn't even provide like, good education, right?

That's not the outcome. It's really, a lot of this stuff is just about control,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, of course. Yes, yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: once I realized that, yeah, this principle might sign my checks every two weeks, but I don't really work for him or I don't really work for her, I work for these kids. So that became my focus, right? Um, so fast forward, like around the fourth [00:30:00] year that I was at the second school, Del Val, um, I became very outspoken about certain things, you know, um, and things that I didn't agree with.

You know, things that I thought, you know, were just, some stuff I just thought like, this is just dumb. Like, why

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Like what?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Like, Just different policies. Like I know one time I, I got, I got called out in the car, but I got, I had to go into a meeting for this, right? So every, every, the classrooms have phones in 'em, right? So I'm like, I'm always trying to think of like learning opportunities and teachable moments for young people. always thinking about how people always complain about like, you know, you call a business and they have poor customer service, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: thinking like, well, maybe some of these people never learned how to answer a phone. Maybe they don't know what it means to be, you know, how to politely answer a phone and, you know, speak or whatever. So I'm like, you know what? Instead of having the, my telephone on my desk and me be the person that, like, I gotta stop my lesson and like, you know, when the phone rings, stop what I'm doing and run all the way to the back of my room and like grab the phone and answer it. I'm gonna put the phone on, [00:31:00] on a student's desk and then have them practice. And these are like 11th. I'm, I'm teaching 11th and 12th graders,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: They're almost adults.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: to graduate. Like, they're

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: adults anyway. So I'm like, you know what? Let me be proactive. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna put the phone on the student's desk. I have the student answer the phone. I'm gonna, I'm gonna show 'em up front. Like, listen, when you answer the phone, you say, good afternoon or Good morning, Mr. Parker's class, um, who, who, who, who's speaking. And then, you know, you just say, okay, can you, and all, all it would be is like, you know, send so and so down to the office, you know how they do, you

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: calls, whatever. Right? I started doing that. a couple days after I did it, I got somebody in the, uh, I get a email, phone rang one day, and then it was, uh, somebody hopped on the phone. I think it was the vice principal. And she was like, um, you're not allowed to have, uh, students have students answering the phone. And, admit, I probably shouldn't have done this there, it probably wasn't the right time and place as I, when I reflected on it, but [00:32:00] my ground and I said, well, does that make sense? Like, this is like, like why can't they practice speaking on the phone? Right. and then, you know, it, it escalated and became, it didn't, it didn't escalate too much.

'cause I was trying to get back to my lesson, you know?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, you was asking the principal, the assistant principal, this why your kids were standing there.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. So it was, I was in the middle of a like, I think, and I think part of the reason that like, I, I, I, I went there was because I was annoyed that like, 'cause like, bro, I'm trying to teach bro. Like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: this conversation?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I'm trying to teach right now. Like, why are you like, you know, calling me, you know, calling me, calling me to have the, because I think what happened was this, somebody had, they needed somebody in the class like 10 minutes earlier. The secretary, um, had called for the person when the secretary realized that a student answered the phone. Um, and then they was, they then went back and told the vice principal.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: called my office like five my, my room like five minutes later while I'm teaching to have this [00:33:00] conversation.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: So we back to back on the phone calls and I'm trying to teach a class.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like, listen, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm trying to teach calculus right now. I'm trying to, I'm trying to talk about derivatives right now. I don't wanna talk to you right now. I'm trying to talk about derivatives to my students right now.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um, I didn't say

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: because you work for the students. You work for the students. Yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and I'm trying to, you know, so then I ended up having to have a meeting and, you know, 'cause I guess, and then they had their like dossier of like, different things you've done this year and whatnot.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So I also knew that I was gonna get laid off, right? Because the other thing the school was doing you know, some of us as teachers decided to, to unionize. So the school, and it was a charter school, which is kind of rare, like for charter schools to be unionized, right? we were gonna unionize, but the, the, the contract didn't go into effect until June 1st. the school had to do all their, like, typical activities, which denied due process to teachers by May 31st. So that means basically you gotta lay everybody off that you want to get rid of by May 31st before

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. [00:34:00] Yeah. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Because before, before they become unionized. So I'm like, like, I'm a mathematician.

Like, and I, I teach maths. I'm smart enough to know, okay, yeah, they definitely getting rid of me. Like, you know,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: they got, they, they laid off like maybe about like 10 people, right? 10, you know, teachers and some other staff, right? So, and then they give out the, the, the letters like during school, like they walked around the school building.

They're like, not like, wow, children are there at everything. Like, and it's wild, right? So. You know, this is May 31st. You know, I get my letter. So I'm like, you know, children are like very upset. Like, you know what I mean? And

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: of course.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: to say nothing, but they knew what it was because other people that got letters, you know, other teachers, you know, so people were like visibly upset. So I'm trying to downplay it and whatnot, you know, 'cause I told 'em, I was like, you know this, it's probably gonna happen. This probably gonna be what it is. And this is part of life. You know, when you

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: on certain things, you may rub people the wrong way. People may begin to dislike you. You gotta deal with the consequences no matter what they may be. Right? [00:35:00] So it's a teachable moment, teachable moment for all of us, right? You know, you stand for something or you fall for anything.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you gonna, you gotta deal, take the consequences with it. um, some of the students were very upset and allegedly, you know, started to vandalize certain parts of the building.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um, some lockers might have got knocked down.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: um, might have been some graffiti. Some of the students might have left the building and

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: And I was held accountable for that because I'm the popular teacher. I'm the cool teacher that everybody likes. Everybody was mad that I was the one that got got laid off. So instead of me finishing the school year. Teaching up until like June 15th for what A official last day, the principal was upset and then he converted my, my layoff to a termination. So he converted my layoff to a termination and then told me I had to, like, he got the security to escort me out the building. Um, I was cool with the security, so, you know, it wasn't nothing too crazy, [00:36:00] but I was like, all right, it's cool. It's, it's no problem. Right. Got them, got them to escort me out the building and then sent me an email telling me that I would have to contact the director of security to schedule a time to come back into the building after hours to come collect my things.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Right. He didn't want me in the building and whatnot. But that ended up leading to, I taught mostly seniors that year, so that ended up leading to like one of the highlights of my career up to that point, which was their graduation. 'cause I still came to their graduation. I think that, you know, he probably, the principal probably didn't want me to be there, but I still came to the graduation.

It's a public event. Right. I was in the graduation. Graduation and Graduat when the salutatorian, uh, was it the salutatorian? No, it wasn't a salutatorian, but one of my students that I taught since she was in 10th grade because, 'cause the thing about working at this particular school, I kind of [00:37:00] matriculated with them

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: sure. Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: because there were some students that I started teaching them when they were freshman.

My first year in that building, they were freshmen. then I remember I had a, a section of algebra one. My first year there. then I had like four sections of PSSA prep. PSSA. The PSSA is, is a standardized test in Pennsylvania. Right. So I was there teaching PSSA math prep. That was the name of the, of the other course I was teaching. So, but one, it was one algebra one course for ninth graders. And some of those students matriculated with me, like I taught them as, as sophomores. I taught 'em as juniors. I taught 'em as seniors. one of the girls that I taught from 10th grade, she was given a speech and she was talking about, you know, the teachers that, you know, supported them throughout the way. And, and, and they, and she mentioned my name and, and then she saw she was looking for me in the crowd. then she yelled out all the way to the back, like, stand up park. And then, so then I, I stood up. 'cause I, I wasn't, I wasn't trying to, you know, make too much noise, you know what I mean? Because I, I knew how the [00:38:00] situation was and, and whatnot.

I wasn't trying to be extra, I wasn't trying to do too much.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, which just said I stood up and like, I got like a standing ov, I got like an ovation, like from all the students on stage, and then a

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, yes, yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and then everybody's like, you know, whispering, asking questions like, why you get fired?

Why, why you get

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I think that made the principal even more angry, right? Because then it, it, it made it seem as though it was a, a me versus him type of scenario. Um. And then, 'cause then he, then he immediately, as soon as he could, he came to the microphone after her and then tried to divert the attention away from me and highlight some of the other teachers in the building.

You know, I wanna, you know, I want to mention, make mention of some of the, our other teachers and staff that, you know, a lot of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Right. So that, but that was, yeah, that was one of the, um, highlights. But that, that's because, you know, I, you know, I ended up like, you know, take taking a stand

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and also because let me also be honest too, like, because I was a, um, you know, a [00:39:00] black man with, um, that, that taught math and had a math certification. of had, I kind of had room to talk my shit you know, I knew that like, okay, so the worst y'all can do is fire me. That's the worst y'all could do, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: do that, I can go other places and still make money and feed my kids, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that did, that did play a part like, just to be, you know, quite honest.

So like, I had a bit of, I had a bit of, um, you know, leverage, know, because of like, you know, my professional credentials,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: something that I, you know, I tell the young people, like, you want to have, um, some type of background or some type of credentials that will feed you, know, and will be able to like, well, you'll be marketable and employable, you know, and be able to like, you know, procure resources for yourself, you know, and, and for your family. so yeah, that's my, um. That's like my, my, um, my termination story. But, but again, even to that point, like on a, on a larger, I guess on a larger scale, when I look at that, [00:40:00] I, um, 'cause a lot of people are like, like you mentioned earlier, a lot of people don't like to tell those stories. 'cause a lot of people are embarrassed about getting fired.

They, you know, embarrassed. But depends on like, contextually how you view that. Like what perspective you look at that

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: a lot of the revolutionaries that I've studied, right? A lot of them, like, like you look at like Malcolm X in the last year of his life, like in 1964, he tried to enter, enter France.

'cause he was gonna do some work in France, do some speaking. The government in France told him, no, you can't come in here. Right? He was banned from coming to France. Right. Kwame Tore was born in, born in Trinidad. Right. The, the government, because of his revolutionary work and his revolutionary politics, they told him, you can't come back into Trinidad, you can't come into your homeland because we fear what you may stir up among

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So look at the politics of the leadership in place and the ideology and the educational philosophy of the leadership in place, it's not a righteous philosophy, then it's almost like, well if [00:41:00] y'all actually do like, and support and promote me, then I gotta look at myself like, why? Like, you know, 'cause we don't have the same ideology, you know, we are very different. We shouldn't be on the same side. Right. So it's almost like if you decide to fire me, then I know I'm doing something right.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Pause. Pause. That's a real, yeah. So this is really interesting, um, because first of all, I, we have a very similar story. Uh, I always tell people, you know, when I left education, they definitely gave my contract, but, um, it's because they needed teachers. And I had, I was the teacher that students did a walkout for.

I was the teacher who the kids had silent protests and not so silent protests. And after that, my principal hated me

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: tried everything that she could do to, to get me to leave and to make my life hell. But I'm on the right side of history,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: [00:42:00] Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: right? And I think about this right now in the news, there's a woman, a teacher in Utah who has a poster on her wall that says, all is welcome.

All are welcome. And it has different colored hands, you know, brown, white, whatever, different colors. Um, on the poster. And she's getting some pushback from the school district. And I just think about how many black folks, how many folks of color were out here pushing for their kids? And it did not make the news, but because of who she is and where she lives, and in this particular era that we're living in, we get a lot of views on that.

But there's lots of us who are like, no, we work for the kids.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Right,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Right? We are here for the children. We are here to make sure that they have what they need to thrive. And how many administrators who've drank the Kool-Aid, who for some reason thought that they were gonna be the change at one time, and then all of a sudden now it's not that they've become just another [00:43:00] cog in the wheel, are just so much like making it so much more difficult for us to do what we need to do for our kids.

So I, I just wanted to say like, I totally understand that situation. Um, and I love that you left on that note, right? And, and I, I didn't go back to teaching after that either. Uh, well at that school, early at all, but that's probably not your story. But for me, I didn't go back to teaching, but I'm so glad that I didn't allow the system to kill what was inside of me for the sake of a job.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: And so I just wanted to pause you and say that.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. And it was, you know, and, and I didn't realize, I guess being caught up in the moment. until like, maybe like a week later, when I was in the bar, I'm sitting in the bar like drinking, it kind of hit me that I was like, damn, you know what that man did? He separated me from my kids. It felt like, it felt [00:44:00] like parental alienation a little

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yes, yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: me you can't come back in the building. 'cause I really like, you know, I really, really rode for my kids and my kids do that. And they know, and to this day, to this day that my, a lot of those, those youth are like 30-year-old men and women.

They out here, they out here in

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: You know, we still connect. I see them, you know, in, in person from time to time. I see them, you know, on social media, you know, living their lives. They got children of their own now they got, you know, husbands and wives and, you know, they, they doing grown adult things. And um, it's still like, they remember, you know, me,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: being in the, them being in my classrooms and, you know, and us like, like kids used to, mean, I didn't condone or promote this, but, you know, at least I tried not to. But kids would cut other classes come to my class. Not to hang out, but to come learn

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. I love that. Yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I'm like, nah, we ain't doing nothing in there. Like, you know what I'm saying? I'm like, all right bro, well all do me a favor. Go get a pass. Tell 'em you coming over here. It's cool if he give you a pass, right? Because I don't want y'all just, [00:45:00] you know, you know, let's, let's try to do this by the book.

So, and they would go, go get a pass and then come back, you know, come back and slide back over. And like, and especially that class in particular was a class called, um, black Philly. It was actually called African Americans in Philadelphia. It was a local African American history course, right, that I created.

I decided to create it because I said, people always complain about like, you know, these kids don't even know this person, don't know that person. Well, it's like, they don't know. 'cause we didn't teach 'em.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Period. Period.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: We gotta teach 'em. So I was like. I asked somebody like, can I create a class? And they're like, yeah, sure. So I'm like, all right, bet. So I created, created the class, the kids renamed it Black Philly. of them just called it that one day and I was like, nah, you know what? That's a better name. We, we going with that from that one, black Philly. I like that. Black Philly because it's like so many people like, um, in, in Philadelphia, like, you know, noteworthy people of African descent, Mumia Abbu, Jamal Philly, you know, political prisoner, Mumia Abbu, Jamal Revolutionary, former member of the Black Panther party, you know, did a lot with the move organization that [00:46:00] was bombed in 1985.

Well, first they got shot up in 1978, then they got bombed in 85. You know, just, you know, just a lot of things like that. Then people whose names you'll see have streets named after them, but the, the youth don't know who they are.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: nobody taught them. So like, see, so I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna start this class because I got a captive audience, so like, we gonna talk about this stuff.

Um, so yeah, so they would, they would come over to that class and just sit and just try to learn, you know, and it was, and it was cool, you know. But, um, but yeah, I think that was also was why being at the graduation and getting that recognition was, was so powerful and so

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: so profound for me because I realized that like a few days later I'm like, damn bro, like, like really separated me from my kids, man.

Like, you know, and I,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I grew, I grew with these kids, you know, they, they was really my youngins, you know? Um, like to this day, like I'm, I still, you know, I still rock with like a lot of them, you know, when I, whenever I see 'em, you know? Um. So, yeah, and I, and I, I say I, I say that I came like into manhood, like in that period, like from oh five to oh eight, [00:47:00] know, um, those, like four school years, you know, um, yeah. Those, those four school years. I say oh 5 0 6, 0 6, 0 7, 0 7 0 0 8, no. Oh five to oh nine. Was it oh five to oh nine? No, no, no, no. I'm tripping. Oh, eight to 2012. 2008 to 20 12, 0 5 to oh eight was when I was at World Communications the first time. So then I, then I kind of, um, after I got fired from there, I kind of left teaching. I did like, you know, I came back, back like Jordan wearing the four, five, like some years later. Um, because I, I, I left teaching 'cause I thought about going into administration. thought about going into administration 'cause I

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: of us do. A lot of us do.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: be a principal, I know I could be a

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: en enrolled at, um, ended up enrolling at Lincoln University because I was studying, um, IL Carl Cabral at the time, among other people. And I got a book in the mail, um, of Cabral's speeches and there was some, there was a picture in there of him receiving a honorary doctorate in 1972 from Lincoln University. [00:48:00] So cabal, if anybody's unfamiliar, he was a revolutionary leader of pa, a group called P-A-I-G-C and Guinea Basal in the Cape Verde Islands, which was colonized by the Portuguese. So. They were like at war with the Portuguese to, you know, get, you know, sovereignty and get their land back. It was an anti-colonial struggle. So, um, Cabral got an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University, and Lincoln had a, I think they still do, um, uh, a satellite campus in, in center City, Philly. Um, the main campus is out, you know, by the hour from, from Philadelphia. But, um, they got a satellite campus, you know, where you can get a master's in education.

So I decided to go there. That sealed

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: me. So then I went, I went to Lincoln and, you know, for the next two years, and I kind of worked, kind of taught part-time, like after school programs and, you know, did some tutoring on the side. so it kind of was like, I was, it was almost like I was back in undergrad again, like

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: gonna, gonna school full time, for the next two years.

I gotta spend more time, you know, with my daughter. I had just had a, had a baby my second child um, February of [00:49:00] 2012. So that was like kind of the bright side of me getting, you know, fired. 'cause then for them, those next two, three weeks, instead of being at work every day, I was able to just stay home with my new daughter,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: let me see, like, uh, three months old at the time,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Little, little,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: gotta stay in the house with her, you know, she's 13 now. You know, she, you know, she don't even like to hang out with me no more. You know? She, she

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: but you had your time. You had your time.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. She

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: her around places, you know,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: of course. Pick up some k pick up snacks.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: them. Yeah. Listen to her, own her music, not yours.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Just give, just gimme, just, dad, can you gimme some Chipotle or some sushi or something like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, the sushi. The kids in the sushi. I was gonna say my daughter and sushi and boba.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. Tea?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yes. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yep.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: So you were, so, I, I'm just thinking about all the things that you're talking about and this seed of like, I started to read, I started to get back my consciousness [00:50:00] and I find that so many folks on the podcast who start to understand self, to take a step back, to put a foot down and say, this is not how it's gonna be.

That's the path.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: when you start having folks just say like, oh no, you, you aren't following the rules that I make up. That make no sense for the school system. You're not with us on, against the kids. And it then we have a lot of like disruption and folks wanting to be, to give people a lot of problems like bullying, mobbing.

Firing folks, threatening folks, just all kinds of, and in some cases, like racial battle fatigue, racism related stress, because they just don't wanna see folks successful. And what I've seen, I've heard too, is a lot of times is administration, unfortunately, who has such a problem with the educator. And they, I think that these, the administrators feel like a loss of control.

Um, and they, they just can't [00:51:00] handle the fact that someone that they've imagined themselves being in charge of a school, whatever that means, and someone else, the students not just admiring, but really wanting to learn from, wanting to be like an educator, right? They're like, I've worked really hard to make this.

It's about me, or it's about some, whoever I want it to be about. I wanna have control of what the kids like and do not like. And so, yeah, your story definitely resonates with my own story, like I said, but the stories of lots of folks on this podcast, unfortunately. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Um,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: power is a, is a very, uh, serious, um, I guess dynamic, um,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, in, in, in school. 'cause that, 'cause at one point I realized like, you know, 'cause a lot, there's a lot of talk about, you know, black male educators, you know, um, black educators in general. But if you find yourself in a school where the principal doesn't [00:52:00] like you or feels threatened by you, all that, all that black, all that black male educators shit go out the window.

They don't care about that. They don't care about that

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: it don't even matter. 'cause I, you know, like the last school I taught at, um. In, uh, in Phil, in Philadelphia. So, af so after, let me like, finish, continue the story.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: school for two years full-time. Then I'm like, well, let me get back in the classroom because let me, let me, let me start teaching again.

I think I was like, you know, let me, lemme start making money again. Right? so I go back to World Communications, the first school I was at, right. So I go back there and, um, you know, so it's, it's a different experience though 'cause it's not like how I left it, you know, some of the same people, some of the same administrator.

Well, the administrators are totally different. They, they were, they were gone. Um, some of the same teachers were there, you know, some of the same staff Right. But, um, you know, it's a different experience, right? So it's like, you know, me getting adjusted to that. So I was there for a year and [00:53:00] then I ended up leaving.

Leaving there, right. Um, didn't get fired this time, right? I left, I left with my own volition this time.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: went to, went to another school, another charter school in Philadelphia and, you know, started to get settled in there, but then that wasn't a good fit. Um, I think I saw writing on the wall because I had a.

I some challenges with the administration. ' cause initially, so I had, had, I had finished my coursework for my, you know, to become a principal. I had my master's in, in a education and educational leadership, but I still needed to do my, like, my practical hours, right? So I needed to do certain activities that, you know, administrators do. I told them as a stipulation of like, you know, me being hired, I was like, will you be able to support me in that? And they said yes. then, you know, early in the school year, vice principal comes in and observes my classroom then she's like visibly like, you know, annoyed or bothered by something, right? So then we have a conversation later and she's like, you know, you're not, you're not at [00:54:00] pace with the pacing guide. And I say, okay, I know that because some of the students need more support and more time on this topic, you know, before we get to the next topic. then her thing is like, no, you have to stay with the pacing guide.

And I'm like that again. So these are the situations I often find myself in. Like, attempting to, you know, promote protocol that doesn't make sense,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: right? And not being willing to be flexible where it actually makes more sense to be flexible, right? I mean, I understand and respect protocol and, you know, systems and, you know, and whatnot.

I see the value in that, when it doesn't make sense, it's like, it, it's not gonna lead toward, toward learning. Like math is very cumulative, know? And

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: then the students were telling me like, you know, well, yeah, she used to be a math teacher anyway and like she wasn't even that good and everything.

And I'm like, you know, students say a lot of things, but you know, um. Sometimes I take it with a grain of salt. Sometimes I don't.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: But, then she, then she, you know, we had a meeting and she told me like, you know, until further notice, like you won't be able to, [00:55:00] you know, uh, you know, do the, uh, activities that you need to do, um, for your, uh, your, your principal, uh, certificate. So I'm like, oh,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh wow.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: y'all are basically reneging on my, on the deal.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Because you told her that it didn't make, that you had a different way of supporting your students, and because you didn't just do what she said, she used something, leverage that power to stop you from doing something else.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah, basically. And, and also she, well, she, the way she worded it was, until your teaching improves, you won't be able to do these activities.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I'm like, well into my, in my mind I'm like, well, what rubric are you gonna be, be able to use to tell if my teaching, you mean if I, until I start like steamrolling through these topics, regardless of whether the students, the majority of the students in the room understand them or not.

Like, is

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that, is that improve the teaching? Right. Me just going faster. That's what you want, you know, but, but you know, so then I, I, you know, and at this point I'm like experienced, I'm an experienced educator, so [00:56:00] I like, I see the writing on the wall, so I'm like, you know what, let me, and then I get an email.

I think the next week I got an email. About something. And I'm like, oh, okay. So this is the part where they start the paper trail. Okay, I know this, okay, I know this, I know how this movie

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: October now. So I'm like, yeah, see, I'm not, no first year teacher. Like, you not going, you're not gonna play in my face.

I know what y'all trying to do. So then I start looking for other jobs, right? Because I already know how this going end. Right. And, and at the same time, like the school itself had some contradictions with it, you know, that for a long time I was always interested in teaching at this particular school.

'cause it was an Afrocentric based charter school in

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: And you know, I knew a lot of people that worked there, and even they had told me about some of the challenges and contradictions and whatnot. But I kind of still was always interested in working there. And once I got in there, I was like, oh, okay, this what y'all talk about.

So

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. So they, you know, it's, it's, it's very cosmetic. A lot of the

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm. Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that's really about it. Really about it. But then a lot of this [00:57:00] is K cosmetic, you know, it's, you know, a lot of, you know, dashikis and, and drums and, you know, and, and all that.

But it ain't really what it, what it's supposed to be. I, I get it now. I see it. Okay. So I start, I started looking for other jobs, you know, and then I ended up with this Philadelphia school district, um, at Central High School. went, went over there and, you know, finished the, it was a, it was a temporary assignment.

It was a special assignment is what they call it, they didn't have enough math teachers. Their math classes were overcrowded.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: we hire another math teacher, we'll be able to do leveling, we'll redistribute, you know, the students in, in the math classes. And I ended up with, I think I had two sections of algebra one and three sections of geometry and yeah, so I was, I was there for the remainder of that school year and then I went to Overbrook High School where, you know, will Smith went to school, will Chamberlain, um, many other people. Um,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Can I pause you for a second? 'cause you, you have a long teaching career. Like it's a [00:58:00] lot of movement and I just, what us having me think about is what you said maybe like five minutes ago, which was, you know, black teacher, black male teachers, you know, we need more black male teachers. But all that goes out the window when anything, like, any kind of disruption happens.

It's just like, we just get rid of you and I this like moving from place to place to place. I, I think it's really good for the, for the audience to hear, because I do think that folks believe that a black male educator will get a position in a, in a school. The school will love them and they'll be there forever, become the principal, become the superintendent.

And like as if the, your journey as a black male educator is any different from, and maybe it is in some ways, but it's any different from a black woman who's teaching. But from this side of the microphone, it sounds very similar. It's not the [00:59:00] same to black women's experiences,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: though we, people talk about over and over again that there's only like 1.4% of educators are black men.

It sounds like you're getting the same treatment that black women experience.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I've seen that. I've seen it. I

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: through, went through similar things. You

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the, we've had these conversations, you know, and that, and that's why like, sometimes, and as I, as I advanced in my career, one of the things that I would try to like, be very, you know, um, proactive with is like when I would notice like, okay, this sister is being treated unfairly. I would, uh, I, I found myself trying to offer support, even if it's just a conversation. Like, look, sis, you know, don't even, don't even worry about that bullshit. Like, you know what I'm saying? Like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that's just what they're gonna do. Then they're gonna do this, then they're gonna say this, and then they gonna, you know, just, just be prepared.

They're gonna do this, and then they're gonna do that. And then, yeah, just make sure, just watch your back. 'cause you know, this, this what, this is how it usually plays out, you [01:00:00] know? I know from experience,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um, 'cause yeah, because we're, you know, we're, you know, we're, we're in this together. You know, um, despite a lot of the, uh, the, uh, pop culture, uh, gender war propaganda, you know, that we, that we see all the time, um, we really, we really do have a lot of similar experiences and we, we are in this together and we gotta like really support each other, you know, in terms of, in terms of those situations and circumstances. Um, and the, and the thing is too, like a lot of, um, black women educators have supported me, like, you know, throughout, all, throughout my career, you know, and they still do, you know, um, I remember I had a vice, uh, vice principal at, when I was at DelVal, told me something I'll never forget. She came to, um, observe my classroom there was some things that, you know, I needed to tighten up on. And then in my, um, evaluation meeting afterwards, she was like, you know, she kind of kicked it to me. She broke everything down that she saw, and then she was like, you know, you always wanna keep in mind that, um, anything, anything that you wouldn't want for your own child, you know, [01:01:00] don't, don't bring it to the classroom for, for these children. And I was like, I could, I couldn't be mad at her, you know, if, you know, if I had been like a little more immature, more, more egocentric, I might've like, took offense, but it was like she was right.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: And that's like, that's, that's, and that's great advice. That was great advice that she gave me.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I always operate like with that in mind, Um, or if I'm not able to do, if I'm not able to bring, you know, a level of quality that is comparable with what I would want for my own children, then I at least have to recognize that and try to make some, and try to compensate for it in another way.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: You know, but, um, yeah, but yeah, but definitely, I, I, I think, I think that is the case.

Like, you know, we do have a lot of like, similar experiences,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Yeah. I,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: uh,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I, um, be, yeah, well, go ahead. Continue. Because you've been to a lot of schools it sounds like.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I've been around, I've been outside.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. You been, you been, you, you, for the pavement.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: It sound like you for the pavement. That's,[01:02:00]

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: for the edu for the educational streets. I

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yes. Yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um, yeah, I just, well, you know, the thing is, I, I, I go wherever the, wherever the students are, you know? Um, and then that kind of, you know, so I was, I was at Overbrook for those two years, and then left Overbrook and that's when I made my decision to, uh, I think this is one of your, one of your other questions.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: led you to leave the classroom? Because

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the classroom the second time. was, it was two main, I guess, uh, catalyst for that. So one was, I did a professional development when I was at Overbrook my first year at there. And it was about hybrid learning. It was this new concept I had never heard of hybrid learning.

What they were saying was that in the future. Education is not gonna be so reliant on, on people, on like human instructors Right

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: actual teachers in the classroom. The teacher will still be there, but the teacher will, will be less, will be expected of the teacher because the teacher will like, you know, deliver [01:03:00] instruction maybe half of the time. And the other half of the time the students will utilize like online resources for their, for their instruction, right. As a way, as a means, I guess, to like, take ownership of, of their, their learning more, which is, which is a good thing, sounds good in theory if it's done properly. Um, and they also talked about the flipped classroom model, you know, with students, like watching videos in advance of the lesson and then coming in and receive the lesson.

All those, those types of things. So I started thinking, and I was like, and then I was looking at some of the video samples that they had and I was like, these videos are trash, man. Like, I definitely, I definitely wouldn't want, no, none of my kids would definitely learn from these, these people. Like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like, like, you know, and then, you know, and then you get, you learn about like different, uh, and I've used some of these, these resources like, you know, like, um, like Edgenuity, like some of their, their video content and whatnot, and it's like, guys look like they're from like 1985.

Like, where did they get these guys from? Like, what is going on? Like, what you doing? Like, like these white people from like 85, it look like they could have been on like, I don't know, like family [01:04:00] ties or something. Like one of 'em old sitcoms, you know what I'm saying? Like perfect

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: or something like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I mean, extra one of them shows, right. So that kind of signal, you know, made me think about something. And then also like, uh, just. being able to, like, realizing that I wanted to expand my reach,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Realizing the importance of mathematics and realizing too, like, gonna be able to teach the way I, I, I want to teach or need to teach in this space.

Because even like, like at Overbrook, Overbrook was like a, at that time, and it's probably even worse now, it was like a dumping ground, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: really have conversations with the students and I would watch, and I would analyze, and a lot of the students that were there, a very small percentage of them were in eighth grade and said, you know what?

I want to go to Overbrook next year for ninth grade. A lot of the students that were, there were students that had went to charter schools in the West Philly area. And for whatever reason, because charter schools often have a [01:05:00] zero tolerance policy. You get in one fight and they kick you out,

What's up everyone? It's me, Dr. Asia. So just quickly reaching out because I have something I wanna share with you all my friend Stacy Taylor, Brandon and I are coming to you with something new. It's called Podcast and Pause, an Unbook Club for black educators. So instead of a traditional book, what we're gonna be doing is talking through episodes from the exit interview, a podcast for black educators, and then in our sessions and our time together, we're gonna also be talking about wellness.

And healing practices that black folks in education can use to be well, this is open to paraprofessionals, admins, school psychs, teachers, professors, folks who support youth in any capacity. We love to see you there. Um, you'll find [01:06:00] information on my stories and then you'll also see in next week or so, registration landing page coming soon.

So make sure that you check us out. All right. Peace.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: right? Maybe catch you smoking in the bathroom or something, you know, something happens or maybe you get jumped or whatever, and then you, you know, whatever, whatever might happen, right? And then just kick you out or you end up transferring. That's how a lot of them ended up at Overbrook. Overbrook also had a lot of students that were, had just come from placement, placement in like a juvenile

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: right? So that's why I started to look and I'm like, and these were bright young men and women, but a lot of the, the brothers that came from placement, their orientation toward formal education was so negative that it's like they didn't wanna do nothing. were just there.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I would call a lot of them, I, I referred to a lot of them as like in school dropouts.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: They were physically there, but they had [01:07:00] already checked out mentally. They, I like, look, I'm just here so I don't get a truancy charge,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: right? I need to get Mark present. And a lot of them, I would call it, uh, I remember my second year there, I would joke with some of them.

I was like, bro, I ain't see you yesterday. What you had, you had fourth period of flu fourth period of flu. 'cause we was on a block schedule, so last period was nine. Every, all the minutes, all the classes are 90 minutes. Last period is 90 minutes. So if like, some of the kids would've lunch, third period, and then they would just walk out the building and leave.

And they wouldn't even, they wouldn't come to their fourth period class. And if it was my class, I'd be like, all right, so you, you have fourth period flu, you got sick, you had to go home. Right? that's how, that's how it was in then. And that, that was like really the culture of the, of the, of the building and the majority of the students. like, can't really, you know, and I had, I, I did have some, you know, some, of my classes, some of my sections were, you know, um, more conducive to learning, you know? So I definitely took advantage of those. But a lot of times, like, know, I had classes where [01:08:00] it's like some people, like, in order for me to really be effective and like teach this lesson, a couple of y'all gotta go. 'cause y'all aren't here to learn. And y'all, y'all wanna sit in here and just have whole conversations about other things that have nothing to do with this. You're not locked in.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: care about this lesson, this geometry or this statistics or whatever. I can't kick you out because there's nowhere to house you in this building.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that's responsible for that. And then the whole, and I think this is a large con, this is a very important conversation 'cause. People throw around loosely the term classroom management, right? And I'm all for classroom management, but I also believe that some things shouldn't have to be managed, right?

Or a form of management is, bro, you gotta go right? Pack your stuff up and get out. 'cause you're not ready. You're not ready to learn,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: But then a lot of administrators I've found will push back on that and say, well, you shouldn't have to kick nobody out and you shouldn't, if you have to kick somebody out, then there's an issue with your classroom management.

And I'm like, okay, [01:09:00] maybe there is, I want you to model for me how we can handle this situation differently. And especially when a lot of the classroom management techniques that I hear of really pertain to elementary and middle school

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's right. That's right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So I'm on a high school level, and I know somebody might hear this and say, oh, he's just making excuses.

All right? Call it what you want. But what I'm saying is, I'm on a high school level. I'm teaching an 11th grade class, or maybe a 12th grade class. I'm dealing with 17, 18 year olds that have been adultified. They might have been on the block all night the night before. And if I'm trying to teach my class and I tell this what I need, what I wanna say to this young man, man to man is like, bro, shut up, bro. Like I'm trying to teach right now.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that young man might feel offended, might feel uncomfortable, may wanna stand up, poke his chest out, and then I don't want to end up in a situation where me and him might have to step out in the hallway and he think he gonna, you know, get physical with me, and then I might end up potentially losing my job.

Right? in order to prevent that, it's like. Something else has to happen, [01:10:00] right? I've always been just very curious about like what classroom management strategies there are for those for, for dealing with that level. Right? And I sometimes people just listen, just don't come in here, you're not ready.

'cause the majority of people in this room, they wanna learn

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: lesson on percentile ranks and standard deviation and Z scores. Right? That's what we doing. You clearly don't wanna do that. Right? And not only that, you want to have a whole conversation and disrupt the lesson. And that, that you want to distract me while I'm trying to teach.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah, it's like the laws, like one of the laws of physics, you know, two objects, can't operate the same, can't occupy the same space at the same time, right? So one of us gotta go, and I, I'm supposed to be in here teaching, so I'm not going nowhere. So you gonna have to

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: then in a space where it's like there's nowhere for those students to go, it's like, what do you, like, what are you supposed to do? And you know, what often happens is it's like, instead of saying, well, yeah, we have to create the, you know, the space for, you know, those students to go somewhere else. [01:11:00] Um, not ready, right? I'm not even gonna say they don't wanna learn. I'm gonna say they're not ready to learn in, in that moment.

If you're not ready to learn in that moment, one monkey don't stop. No. Show. Why we gotta suffer. 'cause you not

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, that's a good point.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: You just gotta go somewhere else for, for the time being. You know, when you get yourself together, you wanna learn, come, come back and holler at us. We'll be here. You know? But, um, in the meantime, you know, you gotta go.

But, but I don't, I don't, that's, that's like a. That is like a hot button issue for me. 'cause like people always say, oh, it's classroom management. Classroom management. Like, alright, let's unpack that. Let's really unpack

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: some some real life examples and show me how, you know, let's talk about how to really implement that in a real life situation and dealing with high school.

Right. You know, let's make it age appropriate,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, that part when you talking to adults, basically, or they are not, basically they are adults at 18.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. You know, um, you know, young, young women that's, you know, out living their life doing, doing what they wanna do. Young young sister might be 16, 17 years old, but, you [01:12:00] know, you can't tell, you can't treat her like a child.

You know why? 'cause she might have a 30-year-old boyfriend,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: she felt like she a grown

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Like who you talking to? You know, I, I, I'm, I'm on par with grown men, you know, I deal with grown men, you know, so it's like I'm trying to teach my lesson at the board and I'm like, SIS, do you mind? then keep talking. And then I'm at the, still back at the board trying to teach my lesson and still I'm like, I asked you once, you know what I'm saying? So then I put some base in my voice and now it's a problem. Now you

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, so, so those, I mean, those are like, you know, real conversations. And I think a lot of time in, in the undergraduate, you know, education training programs. I don't, I don't know that that's addressed. I don't know that those things are addressed, you know, how to, how to, how to deal with, uh, how to deal with those situations, you know?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah. Thank you.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: but I think sometimes one of the, one of the tools of management is you gotta remove certain people from the space. So then the question becomes what do you do [01:13:00] that's not an option or an alternative? Removing people from the space. And then one, and I will say this too, one of the things I had to learn was, it's something Beanie Segel said on the interview years ago. He said one of the things he learned, I think he was on Drink champs, and he said, you know, Nori asked him, I think, you know, what's one of the things you learned from your experience?

He was like, everybody can't go. And he was like, as, as hurtful as it is, everybody can't go. As a teacher, you really

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: in there. You like, nah, I'm gonna teach everybody

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: this is. And I know what's out there

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: gonna happen. If you get out there in these streets and you don't know basic math, you don't have critical thinking ability, you don't have analytical reasonability, you don't have problem solving skills, you gonna be unemployable.

You gonna try to, you know, be in the trap somewhere, somebody gonna kill you or you going to jail. Right. It's, it's no happy ending to this. Like, I

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: what, what's going on. So you wanna, you wanna really help everybody, but everybody don't want it. And then the kids will be like, many times Mr.

Parker, forget [01:14:00] about them. They don't wanna learn. because they understand like, like, bro, you sitting up there trying to get them to be quiet, we, we already quiet. We

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: to us.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: And every time you stop, every time you stop, and I talked about this a lot too, is every time we stop to correct a student, stop and try to, it's, it's two minutes here away from another student. Five more minutes, 10 more minutes too. And over the course of a K 12 education, how many hours of learning is lost for children who want to learn?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Exactly.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's so, and it's hard 'cause you want everybody to come with and you can't control that. Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: so every, everybody can't go. So

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: You gotta like, I guess, you know, if I could do a lot of, looking back in retrospect, I would probably reorganize my classrooms and be like, listen, like those of y'all that, like if you want to like these seats up front, this is, this is, this is the VIP section.

This is for those that are locked in, serious [01:15:00] about learning this content. Those of y'all that don't, for whatever reason, you might have something going on at home, you might be tired, you might feel ill, you just might need a mental health rest day. go to the back and just be quiet. Don't interrupt us.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: we, we, we taking care of serious business now. Right.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's so hard. It's so hard to hear. Yeah, it is. And, and

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: go

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: it's really hard to, I can't even, I can't even disagree with you for so many reasons, but one of them is because I taught KK six and that is not 11-year-old talking is not the same as a 17-year-old talking in class. And so, um, I've all, I've often thought about that, like what happens to like kids that just, yeah.

Like what do, what do educators do? How do y'all navigate that? And I'm glad that you're on here being honest about this and not saying like, no, we gotta take every, everybody we all got. [01:16:00] That's just not real realistic. And it's unfair for, for folks who really want so badly to take everyone with them to beat themselves up, if that's not the case.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: right. Right.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: If you're putting in your, if you're putting in a hundred percent for your students and they're giving you back whatever number they're giving you back, you can only control so much of, of what's happening even in your own classroom. And so, yeah, this is like a tough thing to hear. 'cause we want all kids to win, but it's what is real.

It's realistic.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and, and it, it, it sounds insensitive and it sounds harmful when you hear somebody say it. and also you gotta consider what their intent is. Like, you know, like a, a racist teacher that doesn't like black kids saying that a very different context from, you know, a black teacher that is very committed to black

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: generally, and black children winning.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: It's like we looking for the best strategy. Like what's the best tactic and [01:17:00] strategy that we can use so that we can win. And if we try to help, if we try to help those, if we spend all this, if we exert all this energy trying to convince, like if I'm trying to convince you. Which is why when we think about it in 11th grade, that you should want to learn pre-calculus. First of all, I shouldn't have to convince you that you should wanna learn pre-calculus. I shouldn't had to fight with you so that you can learn pre-calculus. Learning. Pre-calculus is a gift in itself. If understand that many of our children don't know that it's a gift 'cause they've been socialized in a different way for many, many years. Right. And what I would try to do is like in that classroom space, in that classroom's time, that time in that classroom, whether it was a 90 minute block or it was a 45 minute class or a 50 minute class, it is, try to communicate to them why they should see it as a gift. And it's not enough time. And I, what I realized later on in, in my career was that that wasn't the time and place for that. [01:18:00] I didn't, I wanted to reject that. I wanted it to be the time and place,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: wasn't, it wasn't the time and place. And this is like as everybody, so everybody in like, you know, education policy, everybody always wanna talk about, you know, best practices and research based, this is research based. I got empirical data. it don't work. gonna work. The kids are right. You got, you gotta, you gotta let, as, as painful as it may be, you gotta let them go, man. don't, if they don't wanna learn. And, and you know what, it might not be a consistent thing. It might be on Monday. Monday. I'm not feeling it. My mom was tripping.

My mom was yelling at me this morning. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, I'm just not, I'm not having a good day. I'm not feeling this today. Right. All right. Let him go. Sit in the back and chill. You know, instead of, bro, pay attention. Take your notebook out, take your pencil out, write this down, take some notes. What's the answer to the next question?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Students have to have agency too.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. I would try to like force people to be engaged. It's like, nah, it don't work. [01:19:00] It's not, it's, it's not, it's not gonna work. And may, but maybe Tuesday he might be better.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: might be like, I'm on it today, Mr. Parker, I got you today.

I'm on it. Right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: not even like, like completely writing them off. Like, it's like, yo, I'll let you know. Like, listen, we, we, we, we have an agenda, we got a mission, we got work to do. So if you trying to work, let's go. If you not, don't get in our way. This

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: learning environment. I can't kick you out, you gotta stay in this room. But just don't be in the way, stay out the way, as the kids say, just stay out the way, you know? And it's like a lot of people, a lot of people gonna like watch this or hear this, and they gonna be like, they gonna clutch their pearls and be like, oh my God.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: What do you mean?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you got, you gotta do it. Like if you, you know, you gotta do it for the benefit of those that 'cause you take, you're taking it away from them,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and let, let the other ones come. They can come around around if they want to, you know, uh, or maybe you have some conversations with 'em like in [01:20:00] the hallway or at another time.

But like, when it's time to do math, like, nah, we gotta, we gotta do math 'cause this really is life and death. Like when you

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Literally.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: a lot of us that understand mathematics and we understand political landscape, you know, the economic landscape, we understand the direct correlation between like survival and math skills. If like Algebra one is a gatekeeper, math is a gatekeeper in general to opportunities. But algebra one is the gatekeeper to just, it already was a gatekeeper. Now we talking about machine learning, artificial intelligence, now we competing with computers, For all these like men, all these menial jobs that like people hate and people dislike and people go on Instagram and make their videos and reels about like, I hate my job.

I hate working. All right, watch that job. Not gonna exist no more. It's gonna be a computer doing that job. Then what you gonna do,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: So in that, yeah. So kind of going back to that same note, the reason you left, and you heard this at this professional development, that it's gonna be about technology [01:21:00] sometimes and classroom teachers sometimes, and you said, I got some ideas about that. And this kind of as going into the direction of why you chose to leave education in this traditional sense, continue telling us about that piece.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. So like in 2018, I had founded my company, all this math,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: In 2017. then in the end of the 20 18, 20 17, 20 18 school year, I left the school district of Philadelphia. So I left teaching for the second time. So I like, like before I, I had retired. You know, uh, you know, back in 2012 and went to grad school. And then I came back like Jordan wearing the four five, and then I left the second time. Right. And then I said, you know, I'm gonna build my company. You know, so I started doing like, you know, math tutoring and, but I was still, like, I was, I was teaching at LaSalle, I was teaching math methods courses to education majors at

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um, and, you know, just, and doing tutoring and then just expanding my tutoring business, you know, growing it. And then 2019 [01:22:00] started teaching at, uh, two other places. I started teaching at Cheney simultaneously, also Math methods, two education majors. I was in the right place at the right time. Ended up teaching at Cheney. Um, I took a lot of pride in that opportunity, 'cause I had studied, I studied Octavius Cato, you know, one of the, you know, a brother who was, um, you know, a math professor at the Institute for Colored Youth. When the Cheney first, you know, was, was in Philadelphia, um, near South Philly, um, not far from World Communications where I, where I started my career at my full, full-time teaching career at. Um, he was also a, a, you know, a, a. Act, human rights activist. He shared stages with Frederick Douglas back in the day,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: brothers to the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. Um, but a but a math teacher, you know, a math teacher, you know, at the Institute for Color Youth, which became Cheney was renamed Cheney years later.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So just being able to carry on that tradition and, you know, worked at Cheney and also teach at HBCU was, I was important to me. Like I was kind. I, I've been, I've been bred by HBCUs, like growing up in Baltimore. I lived [01:23:00] behind Morgan State for many years of my life. Went to summer programs at Morgan Saturday, programs at Morgan, at Vincent Morgan, walk through Morgan's campus on my way to the bus stop on my way to school, and middle school and high school. Um, ended up going to Morgan matriculating there. Um, then went to Lincoln, you know, got my master's from

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and, you know, but before I went to Morgan, I went to Morehouse for my freshman year of college. So I'm, I'm, I'm all HBCU without, I got a whole lot of HBCU experience. They're not perfect, but you know, they, they, they are, they are what they are, you

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: a lot of support to our people and they have trained and developed a lot of our best and brightest, you know, um, and it's a good space for, there are good spaces for us to get some work done that we need to get done,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: people. so yeah, so I, I jumped at the opportunity to be able to teach at Cheney, and then I also taught at a, in a night school program here in Philly called One Bright Ray, which was for students from 18 up to any age, anybody that ever dropped out of a Philadelphia public school that wanted to [01:24:00] get their diploma.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: there. And a lot of the work that I did with those adult learners has influenced, that wasn't my first experience teaching adult learners, but influenced me, you know, work that I do now currently with, um, you know, a lot of the parent math workshops that I do, but, you know, but just, you know, continued to like grow my company doing more and more tutoring. And then I stopped teaching at LaSalle and then I was just teaching at Cheney and also at One Bright Ray. Then I left one Bright Ray like 2021. let me back up though, 'cause I started my YouTube channel. So this is where the Compass learning, um, and the professional develop, the hybrid

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: um, PD comes into play because, you know, in, in 2020 when the pandemic hits, that's when I start my YouTube channel, you know, and the YouTube channel is up to about 7,000 subscribers.

Now we got about 860 videos. Matter of fact, later today I'm gonna record some content on there to upload. But, um, [01:25:00] yeah, so just, you know, trying to just create content, video content, you know, for the people. You know, I also was influenced by Khan Academy. 'cause Khan Academy has, you know, a lot of, uh, a, a heavy presence in the educational space and a

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: use Khan Academy

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, they do. Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I was influenced by Khan Academy because was tutoring a young sister one day, and her teacher put a Khan Academy video into her Google classroom. And tutoring sessions are an hour. Typically, unless I'm, unless I'm working with like, you know, very young children, like kindergarten, first grade, second grade, I might do 30, 30 minutes for them. but this is, I think she was in middle school, so we doing an hour session. she's like, well, my teacher put the Khan Academy video. Can we, can we watch that? Can you help me, can we with that? I spent 45 minutes explaining to her what Sal Kahn was talking about in this video. So then I said, why I gotta be the middleman.

Why don't I just make my own content that don't gotta be explained by nobody, [01:26:00] that our children will just be able to understand just the first time, right. In case they don't understand their teacher, you know, or don't understand the textbook, or don't understand Desmos, or don't understand math I excel or whatnot.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So that was all That also inspired me too, know, to, um, yeah, just create my own content. Just create our, create our own, you know, for our, for our, for our children. And not only our, and at first it was for the children, but as I kept, you know, developing content and kept, you know, with the work, I realized that parents need it too.

'cause every time you turn around, it's like a parent, you know, making a complaint. I don't understand the new math. I don't understand the new math. And it's to the point where it's like, now it's like that response has been like, institutionalized almost,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the kneejerk response. Like it's the new math.

It's the new math. So I'm like, all right, um, show y'all how to do that. So I got videos on there. So the, so the, the channel is really for parents also.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. I love that.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: um, the only way that anything is [01:27:00] gonna improve in terms of math outcomes for children is if the teachers are able to partner in a serious way with parents, right? whoever, whoever the children are spending time with. 'cause you know, I, and I, I have, I have some ambitious goals. Um, one of them is that schools for, for us should be spaces for practice. Schools that we don't control should be spaces for practice,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Because learning is such a vulnerable experience and a vulnerable opportunity. I may not be, want to be vulnerable to you if I feel like you don't like me or you don't respect my humanity, or your racist or your classist or whatever you might be. You know what I'm saying? But if I'm just here to practice, need to be that vulnerable to you. Just, you know, gimme the worksheet, gimme the sample problems.

I might have a couple questions here and there, but funda I gained my fundamental understanding from people that love me and care about me in my house or my community around my neighborhood or my block, wherever, you know. Um, so school should be spaces for practice. in order to do that, in order for them to become that, [01:28:00] kind of reclassified in that way, parents, and, you know, uncles, aunties, grandparents, whoever have to know the math.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: where I come into play. I'm like, okay, I wanna teach y'all the math 'cause I want you to be able to help. I want you to be help. I wanna help you become the primary educator. know? Um, in addition to that, I think that our children should be seeing. Math topics in school for the second time when they see it in school, it should be the second or third time.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Yes. That makes, that makes sense.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. So I don't, I don't want none of our children, none of our babies seeing fractions for the first time in school or like talking, even talking about adding and subtracting and multiplying fractions for the first time in school. I want to, I wanna see it first in the house, at the kitchen table in a car, having that conversation with their parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties, whoever, grand godparents, big sisters, big brothers, big cousins. I want them to, I want 'em to learn from them. And then when you go to school, it's like, all right, we about to do this. Cool. Let's practice. [01:29:00] So school will be for practice. You gonna see it like, I already seen this. 'cause like, where a lot of the mad anxiety comes from. It's like the feeling, feel, feeling of being overwhelmed. The feeling of being overwhelmed. Oh, it's too much. What is this? This looks crazy.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, it's true.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you're already seen it, it's like, you know, like, kids don't be overwhelmed. Well, most, most kids don't be overwhelmed at recess. They get to show off. You know? They, they like playing

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like playing football. But they didn't learn that in, in school though. They learned it at home in the neighborhood. They get to, they love looking, looking forward to recess because they get to practice their skills. They already

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: think, I think math class needs to be like that. So, and that's, so that's, but it's, but it's gonna, it is gonna require resources being created that are palatable, and useful for the community, you know,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, I love this.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: what my company is for. That's, that's, that's what we're here for. We're here to, here to help, help the community and, and improve the relationship between and the black [01:30:00] community.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: You already, so you've answered the question, two questions in one, which is what help you decide to leave? And then what's your, what are you doing now? And you've talked about all this math, your YouTube channel, the tutoring that you're doing. But so many folks don't want to leave a traditional space.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Mm-hmm.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: and there are a lot of folks who are trying to figure out how to retain black educators.

So this kind of comes to my next question for those who are trying to figure out, especially in this time where funding for pipeline work is kind of drying up, um, because of our current president and o other factors. And so there has to be a focus on retention because the pipeline of people flowing in is not as plentiful as it used to be.

The my next question then is what do you think the schools and districts can do to retain black educators? And I, the reason why I think this is a really important [01:31:00] question for you to a, for you in particular to answer is because I think that a lot of folks think about retention spa in like all white spaces.

Like we're just a few black folks, but seeing how you taught black children taught with black educators, um, your, your ideas may be the same and they may be different, but we'd love to hear like your. Based on like all these places that you've been and all the things that you've seen that probably worked well and things that you saw that did not work well.

What do you, what ideas do you have for the retention of black educators?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So, yeah, so I do have a few ideas about that. But one thing I do wanna, I do wanna point out is that, know, me, you know, with my, my, my Black nationalist Pan-African nationalist type ideology is, uh, it's one thing I've learned is that oftentimes many of those that share my political beliefs, we, we kind of go real hard on like, you know, just this mass exodus, you know, from the, from the school

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: right? and like, we need independent schools. We need [01:32:00] this. And, which is true, we do, I believe we, I believe that's the ultimate solution. Like a network of vast network of independent schools, schools for black children, right? People of African descent, right? However, thing I've also come to learn is that most of our children are gonna be in the public schools.

They're gonna be in the charter schools. So therefore, it is important for some of us to be there, right? 'cause that's where, that's what it mo the bulk of the children are for now, right? so I first wanna point that out 'cause I had to, I had to arrive at that, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: one point, you know, when I'm, you know, I'm studying, I'm learning, and I'm like, nah, okay.

The solution is we got, we need our own schools. We need our own schools. And then, and. it was a, it was an, I think it was an unbalanced approach that I had, right? Because I would hear people say what I just said, I'd be like, be dismissive of it because I'd be like, man, listen, this is what we need to do, man.

Like, just, but, again, we have to be, we have to be, you know, we can be radical, but we have to, we do have to [01:33:00] be pragmatic to an extent, right? To a certain extent. Not pragmatic, to the point where it leads to inaction and we end up just helping to maintain the status quo, which some people do. 'cause some people will say, no, we can't do that because we gotta be pragmatic, and then nothing ever changes, right? Um, I think we have to, we should be pragmatic, pending the realization of some radical goals,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: radical goal and be constantly moving toward that. Um, so I wanna say that first, but I think some things that the schools can do is like, well, I mean, realistically, you know, provide, you know, uh, provide more payment. People need money, you know, people need money. Um, especially starting out, you know, make it, you know, appealing, you know, and attractive, you know, um, I think, you know, schools, school has to be marketed differently. a lot of people think, like even when I would talk to my students, like, and I'm sure a lot of teachers can say, can attest to this, like, when you talk to your students, you know, if you try to talk to your, you know, your, your students, your, your bright [01:34:00] students, and, um, well, all students are bright.

I don't wanna say that. to your students that show promise and that you feel might be. good fit for education, formal education, you know, as teachers, right? And then you all, you recommend it to them. And then a lot of times the first thing they'll say is, nah. 'cause I, I'll end up smacking one of these kids. It's like, that's the common response. That's like

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the response that a lot of people have. And what I would say to my students, it's like, well, why do you say that? Right? Have I ever had to smack you? Nah,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: why do you think you would've to smack somebody? And then what I was trying to expose to them was this idea that it's really about the rapport that you establish, right? And also, these are also, these are also some of the same students that I have a positive relationship with them, but maybe, you know, some of my colleagues didn't, you know, or we being our content team or our grade team meetings. And then, you know, they're, you know, the other three teachers are like sitting around just talking [01:35:00] trash, throwing these kids under the bus.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: what about you Mr. Park? And I'm like, well, actually in my class, he's one of my best students.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: my class, he's one of my best students. So I don't really know. Um, I'll talk to him, maybe I'll have a conversation with them tomorrow, you know, see what's going on. um, I don't know.

And at this, and at the same time, like, you know, just like I work with these people and I, and I see them and I see how they move and I see their character and I see how they conduct themselves. And I'm like, you're not decent. You're not a solid person. You know, in my mind, I know. I'm like, you're not a solid person.

I would never hang out with you.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: not solid. it makes sense that like a kid, a kid might act up in your class

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: not thorough,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: not thorough, you're just not right. Um, and there's a lot of that that goes on too. Um, but I think, you know, that, that idea that you shouldn't want to go into teaching 'cause it's gonna be a problem. you're gonna have to fight somebody's child, you know? Um, [01:36:00] I think we have to figure out ways to address that properly and appropriately and aggressively, aggressively,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: a lot, lot of, um, why I feel like I never got burnt out, like I left the classroom, but I, I still feel like I never got burnt out. I just, again, it's from the study, like, I guess studying like our ancestors, like, you know, in, in the educational spaces that they created. Like, and also like, you know, people in SNC that were, you know, go down to Mississippi in the summers and started Freedom Schools and was trying to teach black people how to read, you know,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: trying to teach black people math and just all types of things.

Like me that's the, that's the baseline for education. because I've been exposed to that from having studied it, when I think about like, the inconveniences that I've experienced in schools or the disorganization or just the, some of the petty trifling behavior of like other adults in the building, [01:37:00] it pales in comparison.

'cause I'm like, I realize how much worse it could be.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Sure. Yeah, that makes sense.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: be, because I've been exposed to that information, but had I not been exposed to that information, then I, I can see how people get burnt out. can see how it's like, you know, it's, this is too much, but this is like, this is, it's carrying on, on the, on the tradition, you know?

Um, this, it's revolutionary work. I mean, teaching can be revolutionary work. It can also be very much, um, uh, oppressive and colonial work too. But, um, it can be revolutionary work if you look at it like that and if you've like, been exposed to and studied, people that have, have, have treated it that way,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Do you think, do we, do you think that people who think see education as revolutionary work, um, last in education as long as people who continue on with the status quo? 'cause it seems like unless we, like you said, [01:38:00] build our own or figure some other way out, or have micro schools or. Homeschool our own children and communities, children, which is also like a form of micro schools, that if we don't do those things for ourself and for our, our own, um, commitment to education that folks don't, don't end up retiring outta education at like year 30, year 40.

So how do you, how do you con like that's hard to say. Like, we need rev more revolutionary folks in education when so many people in education are not trying to do revolutionary things. You know what I mean?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I, I feel what you're saying.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: tho those that are, I think the revolutionary educators like never leave per se. I think they

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: sure. No, yeah. They're around and they're doing other things.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. I think they just like, you know, they, they change position,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: because when you, when you understand like, you know, the concept of what it means to do revolutionary work, you understand it's a protracted struggle. And, and hopefully you also understand [01:39:00] this too, that, you know, 'cause Dr. Bobby Wright would talk about this, you know, and a lot of Kwame Torre talked about this. Um, think one reason, just like, even if it's not in the education space, but just in like activism work, I think a, one of the reasons a lot of people get burnt out, it's because of the expectation the re they're gonna see the results soon

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: sure,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: in their lifetime.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: And that might not be the case. Like a lot of the work I do, I'm content and content with the idea that I may never see the fruits of it, of the

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: may be some, but it may be something for my great grandchildren to see and experience enjoy. But if I don't do the work, then they won't see it.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So it may not be for me, I think a lot of people we want to, it's like, you know, a social condition and it's like we live in a microwave society. You know, you think about how smartphones work, how, like how much information is processed in a split second to go from one app to another, you know, to pull up something [01:40:00] like, you know, whatever. Like it, everything is so fast, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So then it's like, you need to tell me, like, I gotta do some work and I might not see it, the result of it.

I might not see the benefit, I might not be able to eat off of it. like, nah, that, that's uncomfortable for a lot of people. So they're like, nah, I ain't doing this. I'm cool.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: we have to reorient ourselves and say like, it might not be meant for you to see it. So, you know, and yeah, it just, it just might not be, you know, but you keep, you keep doing the work and a lot of times with education, like you, you are honing your craft, you know?

'cause if, like, there are things I can teach now effectively in a shorter period of time, that would've took me much longer to teach effectively early in my career.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: sure. Of course.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: to, I had, but I had to practice and, and do the work of going through those, um, teaching, you know, experiences in order to get to that, get to this level that I'm at now.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I'll, I'll continue to grow be able to be even more effective and more [01:41:00] efficient and be able to help even more people,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: SS So your your, your strategy around retention and revolutionary educator, which sounded like to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, would be that education systems have to shift their thinking around revolutionary educators being a threat. 'cause that's what it sounds like for a lot of places. They, they feel like people are rejected because of the way that they think about education and our children and shift their, their thinking and systems to welcome the ideas and the, the understandings and the histories that revolutionary educators can bring.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Well, I wouldn't expect that. I wouldn't expect that.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. I mean, that's a ideal.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. The, the revolutionary educator will always be a threat. Like, there, there's

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: any, in any

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: of the system is to maintain itself. And any, any [01:42:00] threat to the system is a problem, No matter whether it's good or bad. Right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yes.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: but it is, but it's the revolutionaries that have to be the troublemakers that have to agitate, you know? And then we, if, if we build up enough momentum, reach a critical mass, then hopefully then the system changes, hopefully,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Hopefully.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: becomes the norm.

So then we create a new norm, right?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Uh,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I, I think that, I think that more revolutionary educators have to be willing to build institutions. You know, have to, we have to build institutions. Um, we have to be willing to, I guess, accept the fact that. You may work for a public school in a school district or a charter school, but just understand that you may not be there for, for 30 years.

You may not be there for a long time. It may be like, you know, an apprenticeship. You may have to look at it like

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: [01:43:00] Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: um, until you go on to create your own space,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: space. Right. Um, and hopefully you can still have access to the youth that are in those spaces. And, and hopefully you're able to find out a way, way to do it that's lucrative. 'cause we live in a monopoly capitalistic system, and you gotta be able to pay your bills.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: You gotta, you need food, clothing, and shelter,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, um, until we create a different system, you know, where people can have what they need just because they need it, you know, and con contribute to the community and they can, you know, receive things based on what they contribute to the community as opposed to, you know, um, being focused on profit,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know. But, but yeah, I think, but in the meantime, I think your question, let me try to summarize an answer to your question. higher pay, um, better training, um, [01:44:00] meaningful, meaningful training, you know, um, yeah, meaningful training, you know, in, in whatever, whatever subjects, whether it's mathematics, whether it's, uh. Science, the sciences, literature, foreign languages. Yeah. You know, um, more time and more time for training, more time has to be allocated for training. It's like, it's not a, not a lot of time, know, in a school year for training.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I think it's, I think it's gotta be more time.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Thank you. Um, so before we get on today, you, we went over the questions I was gonna ask on the podcast and I had the question of is there a black educator that you would like to shout out? And you said, actually, I have five

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: [01:45:00] Yeah,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: can I shout out all five folks? And I said, go for it. So now's the time.

Are there black educators that you would like to shout out? We want to hear this list of the top five that you have to bring to us.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: definitely. All right. And actually, you know what I might need to add too,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay, go for it.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: but let me start with, uh, let me start with my parents.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I gotta start with my parents. So my mom and my dad, let me shout them out. Um, the orig, the, the original, my, my original educators, from the beginning. My dad is still edu my dad is still a formal educator.

He, he retired, but he wasn't good at retirement, so he ended up back in the classroom, you know. Um, so he is been, he's been in the game for like 40 years.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Wow,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: that's awesome.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah, maybe more than 40 years. Around 40 ish. He teaches in, in DC at Ballou High School right now. You know, um, my mom, she was, she was in a classroom in, in Baltimore City public schools for a brief [01:46:00] period, but

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Wow.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: um, homeschooled me for a year, for one year. And my mom like really, uh, taught me a lot of foundational things, um, that really, you know, helped me to, that I was able to, been able to leverage over the years to get, to get through, you know, my K through 12 experience and in college and whatnot and, and to be able to do the work that I do now and then that I've done in, in classrooms. shout them two out. John Hendrick Clark, another educator, great influence to me. Historian, scholar, teacher, warrior scholar, Um, my mom also had the opportunity to be taught by him at Hunter College in Manhattan in the early eighties. And if she couldn't find a babysitter for me, was probably like three years old, three or four years old.

She would take me to class with her.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I love it.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So I would, I would be in there, you know, I don't vi, I don't have vivid memories of that, but, you know, it's something [01:47:00] about like watching his. Lectures from the nineties and the eighties. It just, it feels familiar.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: sure that's got, that's there's a reason for

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know, um, Hilliard definitely wanna shout out Asa Hilliard, um, Abdul em Shabazz, Abdul em Shabazz, uh, the mathematician, you know, Dr. Abdul Shabazz at one, at one point had trained more black math PhDs in the United States than any other, uh, professor. So, definitely, and I, and I think they, it is important to, you know, mention him and, and people like him, because if we want our children to begin to embrace math, they ha they need the examples.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: that's exactly right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: they need to see the, the, the black people that, that studied math at a high level. And that has to be normalized. Like they see, they see the people that play basketball at a high level. They see them all

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: the football players, the rappers, the comedians, um, yeah.

They see all of that. They see [01:48:00] the actors and the actresses. So, and it, and, and it's, it's really on us. You know, I don't, I don't expect nobody to like promote black mathematicians, you know, 'cause that goes against the status quo. So it's really, I, I take responsibility for

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I want our children to, to know the black mathematicians like Abdul Aleem, Shabazz, you know, and, and there are many others, you know, that, um, I talk about from time to time.

And I'll continue to talk about and promote on social media and YouTube and whatnot.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Um. others. Uh, Sam Brown. Sam Brown was my ninth grade Algebra two teacher in high school at, at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. And he also was my algebra instructor instructed at the summer program I attended at UMBC the summer before I started high school. Um, and it was at that summer program that he checked me, you know, he checked me. 'cause I was, I was, I was playing around. I got to, I got to that program. I remember I was my mom. My mom, lemme [01:49:00] go back to my mom real quick. My mom was real solid with finding summer programs. My mom was vicious. Like somebody, like somebody should have hired her to like, find summer programs.

I, I had a a summer program. An official summer program, like every summer of my

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. Shout out to mom for that 'cause that's some real work. That's true Work.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: yeah. And I think that when I became a teacher, I never took a summer off, I think. 'cause I was conditioned like to just do work throughout the whole year. Like no summers off. Like I never took a summer off.

Right. Um, she found this summer program for me. It was at UMBC. I was just talking to my daughter Asada about this the other day. And I was like, I was mad at her. I was so mad because that summer I just went to chill, stay around the way. I had a little girlfriend. I went to hang out with my girl all summer. Play baseball for the, for the baseball league. She found this program, she made me, it was a residential program at UMBC and it was a six week program. We came home on the weekends. But, you know, I was like, nah man. I was, I, I don't think I ever been so mad at my mom before I.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, this is a overnight.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Yeah. [01:50:00] Residential. Yeah.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Okay, I missed that part. It's Oh, wow.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: check in on Sunday, come home on Friday afternoon every week for six weeks. I first get there, I'm like, you know, I'm a young, you know, 13-year-old boy, hormones going crazy. It's girls everywhere. I'm like, I don't want to come home. That first Friday, I didn't wanna come home. I didn't wanna

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Uh.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I was trying to stay the whole six weeks. 'cause the other groups, they stayed on campus. They didn't come home, they didn't go home to the end. didn't even wanna come home and come back on Sunday. I didn't wanna be home at all. So, yeah. So, um, so yeah, that, that, that, that program. Um, but San Brown was my, my instructor.

So I get there, you know, I'm like, you know, I'm so enamored with, you know, all the attention I'm getting and all the, all the girls around and, and whatnot. And the first quiz we, he gave, I failed it. And I remember he gave back the quiz and he like, leaned over and was like, you gotta do better, you better than this man. And I felt like at that moment I felt like, damn, like I felt like my dad was [01:51:00] talking to me. Like

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: him. Right. I disappointed my dad. I felt like, so then I had to tighten up. I was like, yeah, all right, watch this. So the rest of the summer I was like, all ease and everything, you know, and 'cause just from having that conversation and then as fate would have it, when I got to, to Poly, we call it Poly, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute got there in the fall. He was, he was on my roster as my Algebra two

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's awesome.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: And then just, we just kept it going. Just we had con the continuity and I was already accustomed to his teaching style and I was like, okay, cool, I get it. Let's go. And I was just, you know, just learning. So I definitely wanna shout him. I shout him out whenever possible. I think about, and that's, and that, that's the beauty of education because it's like anything somebody teaches you, once you teach it to somebody else, it just keeps going and going and going. And it's like, it's a, it's a continuum,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, it is.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like, no, nobody can be self-made 'cause somebody taught you something that you benefited

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: It's all, it's all about community. It's about the interconnectedness of humanity and community, [01:52:00] right? Think people taught him sort Sam brown things and then passed on to him and then he passed them on to me and now I'm pass. I passed him on to so many, so many

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: a teacher.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: That's right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like, it's all about passing it on and like paying it forward. Um, last but not least, my old head, Barry Thomas, Barry Thomas, um, was, he was a math teacher at Dell. Val, when I first got there, he was the department chair. was like, you know, old black man took me under his wing, you know. And it was, I was still like, it was like my fourth year teaching, so I was still a young teacher. You know, he had been teaching for like, you know, already like 30 plus years or something. You know, he had actually retired from, he had left the classroom, became an administrator, and then like went back into te into the classroom as a teacher, you know, kind of after, after retirement. So I think he wasn't good at retirement either.

Just like my dad

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: right, but he was like a, you know, like a father figure, like a, like a, like my old head took me under his wing, you know, would look out for me, you know? And I, and I think that's important too. I think oftentimes that gets overlooked. 'cause you know, a lot of people, go into [01:53:00] schools and they start teaching and they don't get the support that they need.

And sometimes support just means like, I need, I need like a old head to like, look out for me, you know, somebody, I feel like that's got my back,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Because sometimes you be in these silos and you don't have nobody that got your back. And it's stuff, a lot of stuff be going on and it's like, it becomes uncomfortable and you become stressed

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you might end up taking it out on the kids and it's not really the kid's fault, So just knowing, like, you know, like, like I, whenever I was in that building, I'm like, you know, my old head downstairs, you know, I'll go check, check him out, lemme go. And I would, what I would do is on my prep, sometimes would go sit in his class. 'cause we, we taught the same students anyway. So

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I would take my work, my papers, I was grading.

I would just go hang out in this room. I just go, go chilling in there, you know? And you know, it was that type, that type of situation,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I love that as a,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I love that as a strategy for educators to consider no matter what year they're in that you're saying I've, I've never heard anyone suggest you didn't [01:54:00] suggest necessarily, but I love that you're saying that you did that because a lot of us, when the kids leave, we sit, we close the door, we trying to get things done, we're running around a copying machine, and like what would it mean if we spent two hours a, a, a week just sitting in the, the, the classroom with somebody who we look up to, just to see the craft being done well and not waiting for the professional development officially to happen and not waiting for us to be assigned to a, to someone, but just saying, Hey, I know what you're doing.

It is working. Can I just sit in here and just, just watch and just absorb with the knowledge? Right. And I wonder how many folks would be so much more successful, black, white, or otherwise if we had spent a couple hours a week just being in the, in the space with people who know this work so well. Right.

And, and not just the, the math or the topic, the subject matter, but then the systems, they know the systems and the [01:55:00] policies and the politics well too. Um, and so I just wanted to pause on that because what you just said is a great strategy, A great retention strategy is if I'm an educator and I will know, I wanna stay in this space and I know that people are leaving left and right.

What can I do to make sure that I glean from folks at all times? And it is get outta your classroom and go sit and pay attention to other folks as they're teaching. So I just wanted to say that.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and, and it was organic too,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like the principal told me, like assigned me

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: right. Exactly.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, link up with him. It's like, nah, you know, he, you know, you know how you naturally gravitate towards certain

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, I probably seen him, you know, heard him say something.

He probably was funny, you know, he probably start talking and whatnot, you know, and he, we hegra, I gravitated toward him, you know, he gravitated toward, he probably looked at me like a, like, like a son

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: he had like, like six sons, know, so he kinda like took me under

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like that. And then, you know, a lot of it was, [01:56:00] you know, me learning, know, life, you know, from him, you know, he was an experienced, you know, older, you know what I'm saying?

Old, old, older, black man, you know, that had been in education for a long time.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Seeing some things.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: new to

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: so like, he's telling me stories, you know, he's telling me like, you know, you might want to, you know, do this or do that, or, you know, when you see them do that, that's what it means or whatever. but yeah, just having, having that support is, is important. You know, my, my mom, you know, she, she doesn't like to talk about this much, but her teaching experience, but she, you know, she informed me that, you know, she was in the classroom for a short period of time and one of the, one of the reasons that she didn't stay was 'cause she didn't have the support,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know?

So I, I imagine like if that'd had been like at the school that she was at. If there had been like a, uh, you know, an older black woman that could have took her under the, under her

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: and say like, you know, come, come holler at me. Like, let me, let me, you know, let me, let me help you out. You know what I'm saying?

Just come hang out with me. You know, I got you. Just, just to know. 'cause in any profession, like just knowing that it's somebody in that building that got your back, it, [01:57:00] it can make a huge difference.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: it can. Yeah, sure it can.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I mean, some of us are, you know, we're independent, but even the person that's independent, 'cause I consider myself, I'm a very independent person, but being an independent person, it's like, you just appreciate that.

'cause you're like, you know, 'cause then, then it's like, well, I could be independent by choice.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know, I don't gotta be in this all by myself. Right. You know, some people, you know, it's like, with don't nobody any, don't nobody got your back. It's like, you know, you, you're not independent by choice. You, independent by, by necessity.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: By force. Yes. That's right. That's right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know? So, yeah. So I definitely, you know, um, wanna shout him out, you know, put him in that, that, that category as well as a, a black educator, you know what I mean? Um, yeah. 'cause that's, that's, know, 'cause in, 'cause in school, the thing about schools is that. It's content, but it's not just content. Like we're like, we're, we're, so, it's socialization, you know? We're, we're built with, it's about character [01:58:00] development of young people. It's about, shaping worldviews, influencing worldviews, and it's about ethics and values. It's about a lot. So it's more than just, you know, equations.

You know, even if you are a math teacher. Like, it's, it's more than that. And that's, that's one of the things I learned early on in, in my career too, is that which also motivated me to start reading more is like, young brothers especially would ask questions and, you know, and I was like, man, I wanna make sure I have the answers and have the right answers. like, let me start studying more

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: make sure that when they come to me with these questions, I have the correct answers for them,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah. I love that.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So, and then when I, once I noticed it, I remember being at, at World Communications and, you know, I, and like I said, like I'm in, I'm still in contact with some of these, these brothers, like, and they're like 30 plus year old men now and living their lives and whatnot. you know, so they, uh, they would, I noticed that they would come in my room every morning on their way to their locker as soon as they got into the building just to [01:59:00] come make sure I was there and come shake my hand

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: like every

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Like, that was their routine, right? I wasn't their homeroom teacher. They wasn't, you know, you know what I mean? Like they, but they would make it a point to like come in, like, and shake my hand. At first, I ain't think nothing of it, but then I started thinking like, okay, nah, this is serious.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: that's right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: teacher is, is something serious. Like it's more than just, this is more than just about solving equations, you know?

This is about, you know, modeling and also, and when the young people choose you to be their role model, they make that, you know, that decision, that conscientious decision of their own volition, that's a big deal. And it, you gotta, it's gotta be, you know, taken seriously. It's gotta be taken very seriously,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: I do, I do, I do. Trust me. I do. Um, so you mentioned that when you were teaching you didn't take summers off, that you were out here doing the work 'cause [02:00:00] it was, you were, you know, after school or summer programs when you were a kid. Um, but we can't do that forever. And so my last question,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: nah,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: last question kinda leads to that, which is, like, for you, what does it mean to be well?

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I think I was thinking about this question, I think to be, well, part of it is at least, um, having a purpose and having the ability to fulfill your purpose on a, on a regular

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, and I, and I think that. can be an issue for a lot of people. Just not having a purpose. 'cause not having a purpose.

It's like having idle hands. like, you know, I was, I was on another podcast talking to a brother about co-parenting and one of the things I talked about was how in my own growth and development as a father and as a co-parent, a lot of the arguments that I used to have with the mothers of my children. Mothers. I'm, I'm not ashamed. I'm, I'm [02:01:00] a statistic like a lot of

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Oh, damn. That's all right. But you also are taking care of your kids, so

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Right. Exactly.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: a lot of the arguments, I don't have no more 'cause I just don't have the time. 'cause I have a, I have more of a purpose,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: building something, I'm developing something. So I'm, it's much easier for me to just let stuff slide, you know, or, or even not, not take offense to certain things.

'cause maybe it wasn't even meant to be offensive, but you know how sometimes you caught up in the moment you read the text message and you're like, in your mind, you're like, who you talking

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: But it wasn't even that deep for real. Right. But when you have a purpose, it's like you, you, you're locked in on that purpose. Right. So I think, you know, being, well, part of it is about like having a purpose and finding your purpose. Having a purpose and being able, having the the resources to be able to work toward that purpose on a regular, daily basis, you know? Um, and I think that's also what people mean when they, when they say, um, find something you love and you'll never work a day in your life. It's kind of, I think that ties in into that, [02:02:00] you know?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: That's what I, that's how I kind of, kind of look at that, you know?

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I think that's, I think that's part of it, you know? Um, yeah, having, having a purpose, you know, and, and if you don't have one right now, well, I mean, I think we all have a purpose, but, you know, your purpose might change, you know, it

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure, sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, it might, you know, develop into something else based on work that you're currently doing.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah, I love that the, the, having the purpose, understanding that, and that takes so much work to seek that out, to sit and say like, what am I doing here and why am I what, why am I on earth? It can't just be to argue, like you said, argue over text messages or whatever, or bop around. It has to be something greater and like, what is that and how do I start to move towards that?

What resources do I have or what resources do I need? To thrive in my purpose. And that's, that's when you know like, yes, this is [02:03:00] feeling good. And like you said, it can change and shift, but you understand that and you're good with it because you understand it's beyond you. Like all of this is bigger than who you are and what you need to do at this current moment.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: because I think people, like, people are like bored sometimes. Like, you just bored. So like, you know, you see an opportunity to like, you know, argue with somebody and it's like,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: this. Like, you know, you wanna, you wanna feel successful and like. You wanna feel, feel like a sense of achievement.

So it's like, even if it's like winning this argument, or at

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: mm

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: that I win this argument, a, I'm gonna get a sense of achievement outta that. 'cause I don't, I don't really have a, a major purpose in life. I'm just, I just, and some, so, so many people. It's like, you know, I just work a job that is not really helping humanity, it's just contributing to the bottom line of some billionaire somewhere. You know, I'm just, I'm not really, you know, but it's paying the bills.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: biweekly

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: my life is pretty, [02:04:00] you know, not too eventful, you know, so I don't, I don't really get a chance to have enough wins,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: know, so let me, let me, let me go toe to toe with this, with this person or like, you know, with my baby mom or, know, so, but yeah, once you, once you get, you know, you, you determine, and sometimes it's about accepting your purpose.

That's another thing too. sometimes you'll have a purpose and you'll be in it, but you don't really accept it. 'cause you know, it's a, it's a major responsibility. And you might have a, you might have a fear of success 'cause it's like, man, I, I gotta be, I might end up, I might end up being great if I do this. And then, you know, there's a whole other set of, um, challenges that come with that. And you, you might be, you know, it's like you might be fearful of success.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: So sometimes you gotta just accept your purpose, accept your fate. Your fate might be, you might be the guy or the woman that's meant to go do this thing

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: nobody else is gonna do it.

You might be the one that's gotta go do it. And

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yes. Right.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: accept that. And then once you accept that, then you gotta start saying no to some [02:05:00] other things. 'cause now you locked in,

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: So good. Yeah. So good. Um, Akil, it's been good talking to you.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: Likewise, likewise. I like talking about this stuff.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: you know, a lot of my stories about like my, my teaching experience, I, I don't, I don't get a lot of chances to like really talk about them. Like, I talk about math a lot and a lot of the current work I'm doing, um, and a lot of the like, things that are content oriented and like pedagogical, but like, just the real everyday like, you know, like, you know, the, the real lived experience being a, being a teacher.

Like, you know, get to talk about those like experiences as much. So I really appreciated this. 'cause you like, you kind of jogged my memory too of some like, you know, some good, some good memories, you know, 'cause I love, I've, I've always felt, um, I've wrote a article some years back talking about the therapy of teaching.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: ' cause that's, that's another reason why I think I never got [02:06:00] burnt out because teaching, for me, being in the classroom every day, you know, for full school years was therapeutic for me.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Mm-hmm.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: 'cause I just like working, I like working with the young people. And I, and I also found that I've been able to like work through certain issues from being, um. Being in the position of a teacher, you know? 'cause I would kind of see myself in a lot of them

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Sure.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: be like, man, when I was 16 I was in this same situation. So it's like I almost get to live vicariously and, and give them the advice. They may, they may or may not take it, but I can give them the advice I wish somebody had gave me the way that I wish somebody had gave it to me.

Or maybe somebody did gimme the advice, but they ain't say it in a way that I was receptive to. So let me try to say this in a different way and let them know, like, listen, you're gonna do what you're gonna do, but I'm gonna just tell you like, having been in that situation, this is what the outcome or the consequence was for me.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Yeah,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: And I think even, even stuff like [02:07:00] that is like, you know, therapeutic. You know, I say, but I'm, so, it's almost like I'm talking to myself

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's perfect. Um, we could, we could be on this, we can be on this call all day, but we got stuff to do out here in the streets and change the world.

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: We do.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: Um, all right folks, so IL's out here doing some dope work, all this math on YouTube. You're tutoring, you're doing all these great things.

Folks are gonna be seeing you in community, talking about ways that parents can advocate for, um, helping their kids be more confident in math and teaching math at home. And you have a lot of good things coming down the pipe. We wanna thank you for stopping and talking to our show, and I got a feeling you gonna have to come back and hang out with us a little bit more.

Um,

akil-parker_2_03-30-2025_122513: I'm down.

dr--asia-lyons--she-her-_2_03-30-2025_102514: yeah. But all right, folks, it's another episode of the Exit Interviewer Podcast for black educators. We'll see you next time. Peace.

[02:08:00]