Your Book Your Story with Dr Barker
Your Book Your Story with Dr Barker
S1 E9: Teacher of the Year - Kendria Johnson
Meet Kendria Johnson. Kendria is Texan educator who now resides in Abu Dhabi. Her second book, "Teacher of the Year", is a tongue-in-cheek slight at the pressures placed on teachers to be exceptional all the time. In this episode she reveals her writing process, what inspired her to write the book and how she markets her book. Kendria is a multifaceted individual with a plethora of skills to complement her commanding personality.
You will enjoy this episode, I certainly did!
Check out her website: https://teach4life.training/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pERC7b4yRbk
Email: KendriaJ05@gmail.com
Audiobook
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teachforlife-Program
Kindle/eBook/Amazon
Links
https://www.amazon.com/Teacher-Year-Strive-Thrive-Toolkit-ebook/dp/B0BBSBSLNF
For more information, press only:
Email: Kendriaj05@gmail.com
Teach4life_training@outlook.com
For more information on my brand and Product:
Website: www.iamkendria.com
Follow me on Twitter @mathter.
Megel R Barker 00:29
All right, yeah, let's get cracking. So, yeah, today's guest is Johnson and Kendrick Johnson is an author of a book that I must say that I came across long before actually even had the chance to meet Kendra, I saw this book being advertised on LinkedIn, and I was immediately captivated by the name of the book. I actually thought the book was someone saying that there was a teacher of the year until I began to delve into them. So today, it's my pleasure to have on your show on your book, your story. Kendriya Johnson, Kendra, welcome to your with your story. Well,
Kendria Johnson 01:07
thank you, Miguel, thank you so much for having me today.
Megel R Barker 01:09
Yeah, it's really a pleasure. I'm really so happy to meet you. Because as I said, the book and everything just had me thinking, who was so brave to see that the teacher of the year, and then I realized it was a lot more than that, as a person couldn't do that. But there's a lot more than that. So Kendra, just tell us a little bit about your early life. One of the things we do here is we want the story. But we also want to know a little bit about you. So tell us a little bit about your early life and where you're from where you grew up a little bit. Help us
Kendria Johnson 01:38
okay. Sure. Well, you know, it's a lot to pack in and five minutes, but I will try my very best. Yes, I was born and raised in Dallas, Texas. And I, you know, I had a humble upbringing, I was raised by my grandparents, my grandmother, my grandfather, had a tumultuous relationship with my mother. And you know, we didn't get along that well. And one of the things I will go to school and say is that, you know, my mother doesn't like my mother doesn't like me. And I first fell into writing when I was in high school, because I had teachers that would encourage me to write and I wasn't, I didn't think I was that good at it. But they would for you know, an English class, they make you write a journal. And so my English teacher would write, I wish she'd make us write a journal. And she would write notes back to me in the journal that she would take them up to take up what we wrote every week, and give us a prompt to get five minutes to write. And then she'd write me notes back. And in those journal writings, I would write about my daughter's relationship with my mother and how we didn't get along. And she hates me, and she doesn't speak to me, she'll talk to me. And she would write things like it'll get better. It's not a reflection of you, you know, your mother loves you, she just doesn't know how to express herself. So stuff. And it became like a part of therapy for me. So that's when I first you know, tapped into that writing is powerful that putting your words on paper is a powerful way to express your feelings also is a powerful way to get your thoughts out of your head. You know, some of the troubles that I was having as a teenager, probably are some troubles that are still happening today about you know, teachers, teenagers feeling lost, or feeling alone feeling lonely. And I felt, even though there were people around me all the time, I didn't feel like I was very loved. And she would write and write and write. Now, I did not know this at the time. But I found out later on in my senior year in high school that she did not write everyone in everyone's journal, she was only writing in mind. And she would just take them up and flip through them and give them grace for doing it. But she would actually take a red pen and write notes back to me every day. And I guess you just took an interest in my writing. And that was the first time I realized that I was probably good at this writing thing. I did graduate high school and went to college. And in college, I met a professor who had a writing contest. And we had to write could write a short story, or we can write a poem, I chose to do both. And I wrote, I wrote it in 30 minutes and turned it in the next day. I was the first person to turn it in. I was the first person to write it. And he was like, You sure you don't want to think about that? I'm like, No, it's easy. Yeah, give me something hard. That was easy. I write this poem. And it becomes published in the I win the contest, of course, and then it becomes published in the college newspaper. And that was when I really was like, Okay, maybe there's something to this right thing. I need to take it seriously. So it's always been like a hobby. Yeah, it's a hobby.
Megel R Barker 04:30
I want to show to that teacher give that teacher name please. Because we always pick up the teacher what don't call the name and sometimes just getting their names call is a powerful thing. Miss Grover.
Kendria Johnson 04:40
Grover was
Megel R Barker 04:43
taught the music. Teachers were making people's lives special by doing simple things that maybe impact your lives forever. So you're, you're you're a Texan. Yeah. And you have just when you connected with me you kind of sit here in Abu Dhabi tell us your journey from I mean, certainly you're still in the desert in some ways, because Texas is quite hot. But that journey from, you know, from Texas to Abu Dhabi, what's happening here?
Kendria Johnson 05:12
Yeah, well, that's always an interesting story while I was a teacher became a teacher, or in my late 20s, and round about a year 1112, I started to not like it very much. It was just being a teacher in the inner city, and Dallas is very urban. So I was teaching in some of the schools that I used to attend, but it was very urban. It's very, you know, a lot of inner city problems, a lot of drugs, you know, violence. breaking up fights was a normal thing. And it takes its toll on teachers year by year. So what I didn't realize is that it was taking its toll on me emotionally as well as mentally. And it was just basically depressing my mind my spirit, it was just, you know, sucking the life out of me something that I used to love that I started loving, that I started out loving, it was becoming this, this noose around my neck. And I really didn't feel that way. I felt almost claustrophobic going to school every day, I felt like the walls were caving in. And I go to my friends for help, and they couldn't help me. So long story short, I basically had a mental breakdown, literally, my, the stress that I was under started to take its toll on my body. And I started to get ill a lot. And it was abnormal type illnesses, like you know, I cure one thing, and then something else would pop up, I had high blood pressure. And then I had anemia. And they did. So for a very good reason I faint, I'd have fainting spells, because either my high blood pressure was too high, or my labia my iron was too low, and I couldn't, you know, stay afloat. So those things started to happen. I lost all my blood loss, I'm here at patches of hair missing. Yeah, and then lose my hair. But I had patches of hair in my skull in my back of my skull, and on this site missing because of the stress that was that I was under. So I constantly had to cover my head, my skin would break out in hives because of the stress that I was under. So I'd have these rashes on my body that I had to go see another doctor for. And I knew something had to give. And I knew that this job was going to either kill me or I'm gonna have to leave. And it was to me it was to me it was a life or death situation. So I started to either I said, If I don't get out of the school, I'm gonna quit teaching. And I know if I don't move away from this school and get into another environment, I am going to literally just get swallowed up by stress. So I did something very drastic, you asked this question, this is how this happened. I did something very drastic, I took a job offer that jumped into my inbox, I filled out the application. And I wasn't serious at first, and then they I didn't take it too seriously. And I was like, you know, I don't need to be overseas, I'll just go to another school district won't be that bad. But then they call me they said, you know, with a half done resume in there, they say call me anyway and said, we see that you teach math and science, we really need math, math and science teaching over here. And if you'd be interested, this is how much we will pay. And this is what will this is the package you can get. And I was like, You know what, Sign me up. And I just did it stepped out on faith. And I just did it. And you know, ever since moving here stepping off of that plane, of course, it's made all the difference. But what I realized though, Miguel, and coming here was that the problem wasn't just my environment, the problem was also me. Because you can switch, you know continents, you can switch countries, you can switch jobs. But if the problem is you, you're just going to be crying in another location. Yeah. And that's gonna be stressful in another location. Because that's all it was happening. And it's great
Megel R Barker 08:32
when you I think what you're describing is being in a space that allows you to recognize that, because sometimes when you're in certain spaces, there's so much noise, you can't get a chance to know what really is the piece on you're saying that by by leaving out of that kind of junk so to speak, you're able to come to a space where at least you could begin to understand what was really happening for you.
Kendria Johnson 08:56
Right, yeah, yeah, because education is the same all over the world. It's the first thing I realized when I got here was that kids are kids all over the world, parents or parents all over the world, the paperwork is still the same. All that stuff is still here. But what was different was the time Yeah, I had more time on my hands, I had more time to myself, I had more time after the chaos at work, to come home and decompress. And that's when I realized that, you know, I need to start working on me. I need to start figuring out, you know, what I want what my needs are what I really, really want out of this teaching career thing and how to be become a better version of myself, so I couldn't be better for my kids. So that was a journey that's taken this long. And then of course, I've chronicled that journey into the book.
Megel R Barker 09:37
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So. So why since you mentioned the book, and you have such an interest in life, but since you mentioned the book, what inspired the idea for your book?
Kendria Johnson 09:51
Oh my gosh, because for those many years, I was in public school in the States I you know, remember all All of the people that were kind of like me that we love what we do, but we were just being dragged through the mud, and we're just being pushed down. And the more you did, the more they put on you. And I remember all of that meant, you know, it comes from the idea of being a good teacher. And I use air quotes on purpose, what is a good teacher will see in the States, and sometimes here, you know, being a good teacher means your sacrifice, your time, your effort, your, your, your personal life, your personal time, your, your weekends, your, your personal relationships, you're sacrificing and that mean, all of those things mean, you're a good teacher, I don't believe that. I don't subscribe to that belief anymore. Because I know this is a lie. It's not true. You don't have to sacrifice your time, your personal life, any relationships, and you don't have to give up any of the values that you hold dear to just to be a teacher, you don't have to do that. There's no other profession that requires you to do that. So why do we have to do that? Yeah, that's so true. Why? Why are we doing that, because we want that title of Teacher of the Year, we want people to think that we're the best teacher ever. And I'm like, give up that just give give up that race to give up that Chase. Be the best you you can be and then your teaching will fall into line, and then everything else will come to you. You don't have to work so hard to get it. Plus the people that are in charge of saying, who's a good teacher who's not a good teacher, those people barely know what they're doing. And they're barely got their head above water themselves. They can't tell you and they don't dictate to you whether or not you're a good teacher, you decide that you have your own goals. And that's what my book talks about those six steps that I had to go through to figure out what makes me a good teacher. What makes me a good person? What makes me a good mother? What can I decide that I created the criteria for myself, I don't wait for them to give me that checklist that you know that they love to give you a walk through your room, because I just had an evaluation last week. And I could care less what they put on that paper. I really could my kids rocked it. And we did what we were supposed to do. And they made me look like I knew what I was doing. Yeah. And I I checked off boxes and you know, my list. My checklist, but their checklist. I don't know what they wrote. I haven't read an evaluation Miguel in 10 years, I have not read it no relation from unsupervised continues. I could care less. Because will you need me more than I need you. The fact that I come in here every day and serve you for these opinions that you give me. You're welcome. Okay, I do. And I come in here and I rock it every single day. And I teach math, science and English. Can you find teachers to do all that. And I'm overqualified to be doing all this work. And so whatever you write on that little sheet of paper saying, you know, she talks to lunch or whatever it is, she doesn't have enough hands on activities, no different. All the things are buzzwords that they love to use against our teaching methods. I could care less. I have decided, yeah, go ahead. Go ahead. I have I am exceptional, I've decided that I'm exceptional. Okay. So
Megel R Barker 12:50
you're lucky to have me so Teacher of the Year. That's a very bold name for a book I know you kind of talk about so your is this as kind of like a satirical take on it. The teacher of the year.
Kendria Johnson 13:05
It's just a jab, jab, because on the on the front, it's just it's the girl that's just
Megel R Barker 13:12
totally exhausted, exhausted. So you're trying
Kendria Johnson 13:15
to kill yourself to become Teacher of the Year. And then I remember it being like this coveted position. It was almost part of US politics, people would run campaign for and I'm like, You owe me money. Yeah. Or you just get the title. And I'm like,
Megel R Barker 13:29
that goes with that. Right? Nothing you
Kendria Johnson 13:31
did means nothing. And on top of that, some of the best teachers I've ever had in my life, and some of the best teachers that I work with never got that title. So what are they? What are they? Yeah, so I just everybody who is a teacher and has made it your teacher of the year, it's more.
Megel R Barker 13:45
So at some point, you're playing with a few ideas, or it was like, I'm gonna write a book, and I'm gonna call it Teacher of the Year. I did have stuff play anyway, I just want
Kendria Johnson 13:54
the original title because I had a, I had the workshop first workshop and online course first, and it's called the six steps to successful teaching. How to be an impactful educator. Well, that's too much for for book title. So, you know, I didn't have the book title until after it was finished. Okay, so you just sometimes it happens that way. It just happens that way. You write the material first, then the title comes later. Yeah. So the title came after the fact because I had already had for my workshops and the teachers that I were already working with, that I was working with as a coach. I had a group for them and it was called Teacher of the Year. So I'm like, What are just name a book that because then it's already a Facebook page and Instagram page, amp? Amp amp and bam, yeah, you
Megel R Barker 14:40
just get someone with an exhausted teacher on it to just provide the contrast.
Kendria Johnson 14:47
It's called the surviving to thrive toolkit. Yeah.
Megel R Barker 14:50
Wow. So let me ask you a question then. How, how would you describe your books ideal reader?
Kendria Johnson 15:00
I'm someone in education. And if it's not a teacher, because of course, it's Teacher of the Year, so teachers are going to be attracted to it. But if it's not a teacher, let's say a principal picks up my book, and I have spoken to principals and superintendents, let's say they pick up my book, and they want to know how to make their teachers great. They can call me as well, because they if you want to know what we're struggling with, it's in there. If you want to know why teachers are leaving the profession, it's in there. If you want to know how, what is the heart of a teacher without having to ask one of your staff, read the book, and then see if it's something that resonates with you and them, and then work on that together. Because I'm in the middle now of being able to work with principals and superintendents. I feel like, the reason why they've contacted me is because they see it, but they don't know how to address it. Yeah,
Megel R Barker 15:47
yeah. See, I haven't been teachers. So it seems like it may be moving into looking at when you can start doing stuff, consultancy kinda stuff working with people already have. I can imagine, I mean, I can feel her energy already. So your books, I need to realize not just teachers, also school leaders who might want to understand how to support teachers who might be trying to be this teacher of the year and ensure that we get the best out of them. Because ultimately, the teachers aren't firing on all cylinders. What happens is learning doesn't happen anyway. So yeah, so when when you know, to understand that, let's take a little bit of the purpose, you know why things I want to understand is your writing process. I know you mentioned that you did a course. But what was the most difficult part of your writing process?
Kendria Johnson 16:37
Well, that's a very good question, Miguel, because this is actually my second book. So my first book was a very, it was very difficult. That was a more in this book was easy, because I'm talking about my career. There's personal stories in there. But the first book is about my life. It's my memoirs about you know, that troubled that that childhood I was telling you about. And that was a harder book to process only because it's my personal story. And that's it's private things that I would never say out loud, talking to people about not putting wrote it down. So this book was a little easier to put out because I knew the material is I lived it. I lived it is my story. I talked to so many teachers in my in my career, then I talked to some of the teachers who used to be my mentees. And I was their mentor. And I remember the stories that they used to tell me, so I put some of those in there. And you know, I just remember, there's a trap chapter in there saying start with the end in mind. And I remember looking at other people who had been teaching 30 or 40 years, and I was like, I want to be like, they were so broken down and their bodies were just shriveled up and stress. And they were just they look older than they really were. And I didn't want to be that I wanted to look fabulous, I want to be you know, I want to have this great life and travel the world and see all these great things. And I didn't want to be you know, one of those, you know, stereotypical type teachers that you see in the movies, and you know, what a bong and glasses into the nose and you don't mean no life, their whole life is at the school. And I just knew that it was not, that's not what I wanted. So I just wrote down, you know, the fantasy of my life. And then I wrote down the reality of how to get there, because there's going to be some steps you have to take to get to the reality of what you want. And are you willing to do that?
Megel R Barker 18:22
Yeah, yeah. So as you said, you're in your second book, and your first book was more challenging. Once by the time you got to the second book, not only have you gone over that hurdle of writing, you know, knew what you needed to do to get it done. Yeah, so that's really good. I want to find out, you know, so when you're writing sometimes, as I say, coming into your second book, was there any risks that you took in your writing that something you maybe didn't do in your first book that paid off?
Kendria Johnson 18:53
risks that, well, I didn't name anybody's name. And the risk is that even though I didn't name anyone's name, people will still know who they are and that they know who worked with me they know if they work with me, they know what they do. They did they know what they said, because I did talk about how people in the people in the industry kind of have to subscribe to the system. Yeah. And when they're locked into that system, if you don't fit their MO they ostracize you, they talk about you, they laugh at you, they sneer, they scoff at you. And you know, I was there she is again, you know, when I leave the meeting, because I needed to go home and take care of myself. They laugh at you and say things like, Okay, you're gonna get fired or you go you're gonna get fired. You know, that kind of thing. They know who they are. Didn't name any names, but I know they know who they are. But that's a risk. That's always a risk because the people don't like what they do, how they're portrayed in the book, from someone else's perspective. How they
Megel R Barker 19:47
look to see the story. So my story, yeah, of course. No, no, that's what about like from a writing perspective and so on. times a style of writing, it might be hard to try to go this direction. You know, because sometimes we can get hung up. How do I write this story? Do I write there's a narrative to Why did you find that you kind of said, I'm just gonna go for it this week? Because it's more comfortable or even more risky, but I feel like that was in the end. No, you're like, Yeah,
Kendria Johnson 20:19
well, yeah, if you're going to write a book, and you have a certain style of writing, you're you really just stick to this style of writing. Like, I don't think I'd be very good at writing a fairy tale. Okay, I'm just, I just like to tell it like it is. And then I paint pictures. And I use analogies and lies, tell stories that are you know, like, almost like parables. In my books, I tell stories like parables in my book. And that's, that's the way I write I've written like that since I was a young, young person, but do what is comfortable for you. Because if you're trying to write like someone else is just like anything else. It won't fit you and people will not be able, they'll see through it. But it won't be authentic for you. And then it won't flow. So if you don't do it the way that's comfortable for you, the writing won't flow from you, and you'll find yourself stuck. That's what I say, writer's block. I never had that. Because it was easy. I'm telling my story. And I'm telling it in a way that makes sense to me. Yeah. And I use stories. And, you know, sometimes I use fantasies and parables to tell you to make a point.
Megel R Barker 21:23
Yeah. Yeah, that sounds quite, quite fascinating. Can I ask you a question? And as you're talking about writer's block, is there anything you need, for example, in your writing space to help you stay focused? Like you're gonna write? Is there anything you need? Like the things that you kind of decide has to be present for you to stay focused?
Kendria Johnson 21:47
Well, let me ask you this, what do you do to stay focus? What do you do when you need to concentrate that you cut on the TV and probably not that you cut all music, probably, maybe you cut the lights off, maybe, maybe you listen to music, maybe whatever you do to relax is what you do to to write because whatever you need to do to focus on the idea at hand, and get it out of your brain, then whatever. That's the same thing. And I would not, again, writing is a hobby for me, it's not a chore, not a job. It's a hobby. So it's not bringing me joy. I'm not having fun. I'm not gonna do it. So if I got stuck, or if I was like, Oh, I don't know how to say that. I'll just cut the computer off and going on do my all my other chores. Took me two weeks to write this book. Oh, yeah. Because it was all here and already written it. And so it was just a matter of getting it on paper. And, yeah, it's easy. When I say that, when I say that, it's easy, because the ideas come from me. I'm not making up anything. Yeah, I don't think I'd be very good at writing like a Harry Potter. You know, I mean, that's not my thing. So, but yeah, if I'm writing my story, or my ideas down, then, oh, I can say it this way, this way, this way, that what you what you will find, though, as a writer is if you start to write that you will start being more creative. They once you start, then it's like, oh, I can tell that a different way. So you erase everything you wrote the day before, and then write it again. And they say, it just add stuff to it. And your creative creativity starts to flow. But people who are not writers don't understand that. So when I say things, like what's easy, they get, like frustrated with me, because they're like, it's not easy for me. So it isn't me. And so we'll just get someone to help you coach you through it, you can always get a ghostwriter. And pay somebody to write your story down or you just record it. Or you can get a book, a book coach, someone who pulls the ideas from you, and you write down, outlines, and then go from there. There's different ways to be a writer. There's different ways now to be a writer, whereas before you remember, in the old days, it all had to come from you. You published it, you wrote it, you get you said to an editor, so on and so forth. But there's different ways to get ideas out of you on paper.
Megel R Barker 23:57
Yeah, I think right is is actually showing us how some people got their books published in the olden days, because we thought everybody was writing their books, and a lot of people are using ghost writers, writers. Yeah. No, it's more democratized, you know, the idea of how you can do this. And with self publishing, you can cut out the need to get a big publishing house to say yes to your book, you just go I own this book. I'll publish it. I'll mark it. I'll make it work. So that's really, really powerful. Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?
Kendria Johnson 24:33
I would say my daughter. Yeah. Yeah. My daughter is the one that told me to hurry up and get that book out. The first one because it took me five years to kind of release that book and not because it took me five minutes to write it five years, right. It took me about three months to write it in five years to release it. Why? Because it's my personal story. And my daughter was the one that was like, who cares what everybody thinks you're so worried about what other people think? Who cares what they will think it's YOUR Story, you need to tell it. And I that she's the one that kind of pushed me to do what I do. And then this last book has an audio with it. And so she was the one that was like, Mom, you know, I got two kids. So I don't really want to read your book. But if you if you gave me the audio, I said, I'll do it. So I did the audio version plus the ebook and paperback, because of her. So she's very, very, you know, hands on, and I always run everything by her anyway. Because, you
Megel R Barker 25:28
know, that's always good to have, you know, people you know, are rooting for you. And family. It's even, even even better. No, no, you're really tell a fascinating story. Um, you're in Abu Dhabi at the moment, right? I am. Yeah. And you're you're marketing in Abu Dhabi. Do you do any marketing or your books? How are you getting people to know about your book?
Kendria Johnson 25:52
Well, my publisher has helped me a little bit, I had to went through a publisher here, and she's helped me market myself here. I do a lot of these a lot of interviews I do. I've done some radio spots, I would love to get on the radio here. That's my next goal is to get on the radio in this space. Because it's published here, you can get it here. And you can get a paperback faster here than I'm from Amazon. And if you were in the States, but the states are the ones I get the most emails and phone calls about because they're in a dire situation. They're the education system, they are so
Megel R Barker 26:23
so this connects a lot more to them. Because yeah, teachers in the Middle East, maybe might be stressed, but they don't have the same kind of
Kendria Johnson 26:30
not the same sure they are stressed the DNA from kind of stress that comes along with teaching here. And there is a market here. But my book can be global. I've had teachers in South Africa, read my book, I have a teaching teacher in Italy got my audio book. And then there's a lady in Singapore that bought it because I speak a lot on stages, small stages and big stages. And so it just depends on who hears it. And if you hear what I say, and then you you I want to get that book, then you can easily go download it yourself. And if you're having that struggle, so
Megel R Barker 27:03
yeah, that's writing and publishing your book, change the way that you see yourself.
Kendria Johnson 27:12
It's nice to be considered a published author, that's not a bad title to have behind your name. Also, it if I feel sometimes in bold it, to be able to speak my mind and be able to say the things that are in the book to people. Yeah, you know, I mean, like, it's like, now I can go through the six steps, you know, to someone who has who hasn't read the book, and just give them a little bit of snippet of what I you know, talk about. But as far as public speaking now, that's easy. That's also quite easy for me. So that's easy. But I find myself like it's almost like leverage. Yeah, this book positions you as an expert. I'm automatically expert people in people's minds in people's minds. I'm not calling myself an expert. But I'm automatically an expert in people's minds when they you say you have a book with a guarantee system that can help anybody get through burnout.
Megel R Barker 28:03
Wow. Wow. So that has kind of impacted the confidence in which you speak about your work?
Kendria Johnson 28:08
Oh, yes. Yes, most definitely.
Megel R Barker 28:12
That's interesting. Isn't it that a book something that's in your head right now and then then it kind of a looping it kind of feedback to you that you actually are you are something and you can do something with what? What you have created yourself? Are you reading any books at the moment?
Kendria Johnson 28:32
I just finished the secret. And, gosh, the one before that was rich, Think and Grow Rich. I would like to do 48 Laws of Power. I need to go and download that 148 Laws of Power. And I haven't done it yet. I have to go and get that one. Yeah, but I listened to on my way to work.
Megel R Barker 28:52
Yeah, now these are good books. These are like, really powerful books and easy to easy to follow. 48 Laws of Power is a very powerful book.
Kendria Johnson 29:00
I gotta keep trying to download it.
Megel R Barker 29:03
Yeah, yeah, it's a big book, though. So
Kendria Johnson 29:08
I don't have anything to do for 45 minutes while I drive to work every day. It's perfect.
Megel R Barker 29:11
That is so true. I know that you you know you tapped into like working records, records online and so on. Are there any like blogs or websites that you think young writers should at least be checking in and it might even be stuff that you're doing, just asking in terms of that you'd recommend people having to read or listen to?
Kendria Johnson 29:31
I recommend people find them. Somebody who's already published a book and have someone coach them through it. Because of coaching a book writing a book is extremely personal. And it's like anything else you can you can try to fumble through it yourself. Or you looking to maybe get somebody and if they ask for an investment it's probably going to be worth it in the end because it'll help you you know, kind of override some of those pitfalls we find we find ourselves into like writer's block or Are you stuck in the middle and can't finish it? I highly recommend book coaches and they're all over the place. I have just Google them. They're everywhere. But people that can help you write your book that people that say, they claim they can help you read your book in 30 days. And then there's just people that will help you work through the process of writing a book, if you just really don't like writing and you just want to get a ghostwriter. Go for it. If you have the money to invest, why, why hold the idea inside of you? Because you're afraid to write it out or mess it up? Why hold it inside of you? Because there's a message that all of us bring to the planet, so why not just put it out there? Oh, when everybody's writing a book, so what? Yeah, whatever was whatever was somebody everybody's watching movies, too. But yeah, okay.
Megel R Barker 30:46
And then some people are writing the script. So there are different rules that you can play. In either that. No, no, that's that's something that's, that's, as I said, a lot of this is also from me, who want to learn and be inspired by people like you. You say, it's easy, I don't find it easy.
Kendria Johnson 31:04
Everybody says, so they get angry with me when they get frustrated with me because I say, oh, it's easy. Just go write it. But no, it's, I get it. It's not everybody's thing. But if you get stuck, who do you call, though? Yeah. Yeah, find someone, you can talk to you about it. And if you ever get stuck writing, then someone can help you get through those rough patches I have. I have book coach, I mentor have coach, Coach, all of us things. Our business coach, I have all that.
Megel R Barker 31:29
Yeah. Speaking of that, so who are the people that you trust to give you constructive criticism about you?
Kendria Johnson 31:36
I only take advice from people who have been where I've been, or have are in a place where I want to go. So my book, my publisher has published seven books, and then she's probably done over 70 books published over 70 books with other people. Now, I probably got her numbers wrong, she can give you all her own numbers. So I talked to people like that, who's who's done it themselves, and they're helping other people do it. So those people I do not talk to people who are not where I want to be?
Megel R Barker 32:02
Yeah, there's no value. Yeah,
Kendria Johnson 32:04
what do they have to offer, they just gonna tell you how they're just gonna give you a turtles perspective, they're just gonna tell you what's wrong with it, and how it's not going to work. And you shouldn't do that. And that's not right. And you're not gonna make any money doing that? Well, that was the things about that don't matter, I have to get these ideas out. And they have to have my name on it. And, you know, whether I make money is up to me, it's up to God.
Megel R Barker 32:24
Ya know, now you've shared some really powerful advice, I'm going to take it a little bit on a lighter note. No. So we're coming to the end. So I just want to take it a little lighter. So you get you get your full salary for the year, yet, guaranteed. Guaranteed? What do you do?
Kendria Johnson 32:46
thinking I'm on everybody's state, when I say I'm on everybody's stage, I'm booking stages for myself to speak on and just do exactly what I'm doing now. And I get to, you know, run workshops and retreats, once or twice a year, I would love to do that and just do nothing. But that because that could pull in, you know, quite a bit of money. But if I if I'm getting paid just to do what I want, oh, yeah, I'm definitely traveling, I'm definitely speaking on stage. And I'm having workshops with teachers to help them do exactly what the book tells them is to get through that part of it. So we need we need qualified people in classrooms.
Megel R Barker 33:20
So you can listeners purchase your book, or even because you seem to give in me two pieces here, one author, but also to contact you, if they want to have some of this magic sprinkled into their work. And they're telling me,
Kendria Johnson 33:37
oh, they can just go to my website, www I am kindred.com. That there, they will find excerpts of the book, they'll find the link for the book, they'll find my phone number, address, and my email address, all of my contact information is there. But I really like for people to email me the reason why is because not only do I have their email, I can send you all the links to all of my master classes, you can get on my email list and you can be on my master class lists. You can do the workshops that I do online and in person. And you know, just find out what the next event that I'll be speaking at in this area is there so the email might be the easiest way never know. It's up to them.
Megel R Barker 34:16
So I can add your email to the profile when I put this out. So that would be what you could still say no, it doesn't matter.
Kendria Johnson 34:26
Sure, sure. It's Kendriya j so it's KNDR i j 05 at gmail.com.
Megel R Barker 34:34
Okay, so can Drea or Kendra J
Kendria Johnson 34:37
Kendriya, J K nd R IA J 05 at gmail.com. Okay,
Megel R Barker 34:44
that's how people get in contact. So you have done two books. I have. What's next for you?
Kendria Johnson 34:50
We're going to be working on another book in January. This is going to be a collaborative effort. I'm going to start getting with those superintendents and those principals about how we can fix the education system is Gonna be a book of solutions. We don't have a title yet. But it's gonna be a book of solutions. So we can, you know, we all complain about the problem. You've heard about the problem in the news, we've all heard about the problem, right? We need to come up with a practical solution, then someone needs to read that so they can see if they can implement some of the things that we talked about in the book.
Megel R Barker 35:18
Yeah. So when you're talking about superintendents and solutions, you're thinking about the US education system?
Kendria Johnson 35:23
Oh, yes. Because all the people that are contacting me so yes. But it could be something that's universal and global. But we're talking about what the book is not going to chronicle what's wrong with education the book is going to be chronicling, okay, this is what's wrong. Here's the problem. Here's how we think we can fix it. And yes, there's money involved, but the money is inconsequential. We need to figure out how we can make this happen. This this, this and this happened, because education is going backwards, where all of the other industries are moving forward. We are still doing peds in person. Why are we doing PDS in person with all this zoom and Google meats? Why are we doing that? Yeah, tape it and send it out and just have people look at it and check it off your list that they saw it? Why are we still holding teachers hostage until five o'clock doing PDS or PD weeks and stuff like that? Just simple things like
Megel R Barker 36:09
that. Oh, man sign in, right?
Kendria Johnson 36:11
Yeah, stop this
Megel R Barker 36:14
is true. Hey, Kendra. It was an absolute pleasure having you you're just teeming with energy. And anyone who wants to lose feeling you know, like they're overwhelmed. I think this book Teacher of the Year is the book to get them to kind of realize that you don't have to be chasing and running around the hamster wheel to get things done. There are more efficient ways that you have what six tried and proven steps that teachers need to take. Right. So and if they get this book and get their mind into that book, and they commit to those six steps they can be Teacher of the Year and be alive to celebrate it.
Kendria Johnson 36:56
Is that to be happy and celebrate. You'd be happy now don't wait till you retire. Yeah, exactly. Happy now enjoy your life. Now you don't look back. No one ever looks back over their life. I should have been at work more. No one does. So yeah, just enjoy your life now like I do.
Megel R Barker 37:13
And Joe Johnson, author as Greg, teacher, speaker, business owner. Thank you for sharing your story. It was a pleasure having you on the show.
Kendria Johnson 37:25
Thank you so much. Bye bye.
Megel R Barker 37:27
Bye.