May 11, 2025 • 30 mins
Elijah gets you caught up on his past week, answers your email questions, & answers a very special question of the week from Lexi!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Elijah Winfrey Show. Each week, Elijah gets
you caught up on his work in the community, talks
with guests about issues and causes that are important to them,
while also answering your email questions. So sit back, relax,
and enjoy the show. Here's your host, Elijah Winfrey.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Hello, folks, and welcome to the Elijah Winfrey Show. I
am indeed your host, Elijah Winfrey. It is great to
be with you on this cloudy I don't think it's
going to rain a lot today, but definitely cloudy outside
right now. It's cloudy day. Happy Mother's Day to all
(00:49):
you incredible mothers out there and those of you that
support it. You know, I know it can be tough
for a lot of folks who have you know, lost
their parents or lost their mother recently or in the past.
So I wish you a happy Mother's Day as well.
(01:13):
We have a really good show lined up for you today.
We have a question of the week actually that we're
going to highlight and it comes from Lexi and Tennessee.
And it's a great question, something that I talk about
with friends quite a bit in the community. It's definitely
(01:39):
a hot topic and I'm gonna save that for later,
but I'm happy that Lexi sent it in and we're
going to answer a few questions from fans of the show.
But before we do that, I want to get you
caught up in my past week. I want to shout
out my producer, Greg Nice, who always push the show
(02:00):
in position to succeed. Our numbers are doing really, really well.
I am very thankful for that, and I owe you
the listeners, a lot of praise and thanks for making
the show what it is. My past week was was
(02:21):
business as usual. I was trying to think of another
word to use there, because I always say that I'm
pretty busy. This is that point in the year where
I really start moving about the community, you know, kind
of gauging where the needs are. My team does a
(02:42):
great job in helping me do that. I do have
friends that are in these communities as well who reach
out to me regarding families that are in need of
a voice or in need of you know, groceries or
help with rent bills. So this is a This is
(03:05):
definitely a busy time. So I've been hard at work
interacting with families on zoom, over text and email. My
fourth children's book Little e Celebrates Juneteenth will be out
(03:25):
officially Tuesday, May twentieth, So make sure you get your
copy and support your boy. You know, I really would
appreciate it. I am working on a book signing on
June teenth with a local bookstore and my fingers across.
I'm meeting with them this week, so let's hope that
(03:48):
it goes really well. I believe it's going to go
really well. But I'm excited to have dialogue with this bookstore.
It's a great bookstore in the area. And once I
know more, I'll share more. My role as a pair
(04:09):
of professionals going well. I mean, there's really nothing to report.
I know you all send an email questions every week
asking me, you know about my role there and how
much of a role it plays in my community work.
You know. Again, all I can tell you is, you know,
I am trying my best to get it to sync
(04:29):
up with the work that I do. You know, I
think it The hard part is, you know, they are
rules in place, right and you have to follow those rules.
And I respect that. I have a business and I
want individuals to follow the rules that we set and sometimes,
(04:49):
you know, things don't quite match up the way you
hope for them to. That's not saying that it can't.
I think we're building towards that. H I do think
I am finding some consistency. I've been able to interact
more with my local school district and I do think
(05:14):
that they're they're listening, which is which is a good sign.
So things are going well in that department. My team
is doing really well. There are some changes that are
gonna take effect for the next school year, and I
think we are all trying to make sure that we're
all on one accord. You know when that does happen.
(05:35):
So things are going well on that front. I went
out to the golf course to practice. I'm going to
play in this charity event on behalf of the first T,
the Chambers Based Solstice, and it raises money for the
first T. They do a great job implementing core values
(05:56):
and life skills along with golf to students ages five
to seventeen. I want to say, I don't have the
we don't have the site. The website up on the
screen here, but I believe that's accurate. They do a
tremendous job. So I went out to practice at Chambers
Bay yesterday shout out the Chambers Bay too. The staff
(06:18):
was very friendly, very kind, great conversation with one of
the members in the practice facility, and it felt good
to be back. A lot of russ to knock off,
and again, I'm not building to be like super competitive
at all. It's just a fun day. I'm going to
(06:40):
try to walk thirty six holes, so wish me luck
on that. But yesterday was absolutely fun. It reminded me
once again why I go to the driving range to
kind of work on things. It's a place where I
can really hone in on practice and also work on myself.
(07:02):
At the same time. I'm not bothered really by the
other players, and I always have a spot where, you know,
I'm pretty distant from everybody and I can work on
things and think about things. So that was good. Yesterday.
We had good weather. I really enjoyed it. From a
(07:25):
physical and mental standpoint, I'm doing okay. Outside of being
a little sore this morning, I'm doing all right. This
peloton program that I am on to build up my
body to get ready for this thirty six hole marathon
has gone really well. I've seen the games and it's
(07:51):
given me a bit more energy. So I am happy
across the board right now. Meditation has also been the key.
So things are things are going well, Things are progressing
on the family standpoint. On the family front, we're doing well.
My son had his first track meet this past week
and he rocked it. He came in first in the
(08:15):
two hundred meter run. His team came in first, I
think on the four by four, four by two, and
I was just proud of his success. You know, he
was extremely excited, and you know, I reflect back to
(08:37):
when I was a kid and I knew my parents
were there, I didn't really want to like come and
talk to my parents because I wanted to hang out
with my friends. And while he saw us, you know,
it was more I see you, but I'm gonna hang
out with my buddies. And he did that, so that
was neat to see. And you know, just being present
and watching him thrive and enjoy those moments it means
(08:59):
a lot. And he has another one coming this Thursday
that I'm going to attend as well, and I've tried
to tell him, you know, don't get too high, don't
get too low, try to stay even keeled if you can,
but definitely enjoy your successes. Right, take it all in
(09:19):
because they go by it really fast. He's going to
be a freshman in high school next year, so I
think we're getting our minds wrapped around that. You know,
he's pretty excited, but you couldn't tell it kind of
(09:39):
he he doesn't really display that emotion at least not yet.
So all is well. Lisa is doing well. Busy as
always with work. We do find time to kind of
hang out and laugh and catch up and talk about
the important things in the direction you know that we
want to go as a family and as individuals. So
(10:02):
things are really going well. All right, Let's get into
the show today, and I always tell you or encourage
you all to send questions into me at Elijah dot
Winfrey at gmail dot com, and my producer, he goes
(10:23):
into the email bag and he pulls out some great questions.
No question is ever a bad question, and we're going
to answer a few today because I do want to
get to the question of the week, which is an
important one and it's something that I've talked about a
lot with families with school districts in my area, and
(10:51):
I can't wait to get to that question. First question, though,
is from Kelly in Seattle. Kelly writes, Hello, Elijah, I
really love your show. What inspired you to write your
new children's book? Great question, Kelly. I you know, I
have a list of topics and titles you want to
(11:16):
call it that that I want to write about. You know,
I have a journal where I write down a lot
of things, and when I started the Little E series,
the first one was a Little E giving back, and
I really wanted to cover core values and life skills
(11:38):
and talk about why that's important and why it's it's
sort of lacking in the world right now. The Juneteenth
book was it was heavy on my mind. And you know,
(12:02):
my wife threw out a bunch of core value titles
and then she threw out Juneteenth. So I owe her,
you know, the bulk of the credit for that. But
when she threw it out, it was something that I
had been thinking about. But I wanted to write it
(12:26):
in a way that it would reach kids, right because
I think we have to we have to start there.
So that was really the inspiration, you know, in writing
the book. It's I wanted to write it to inspire kids,
students too, to think about that day and to try
(12:46):
to process it as best as best they can and
to ask their parents these questions. So that's my that's
my inspiration behind the book.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
It.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I think it's going to do really well. I'm a
big believer in that, and I just hope that it
inspires more conversation around Juneteenth and why that's an important day.
I won't get into into the parameters of that right now,
(13:20):
but I just hope that it gets people talking to
their kids more about it and why it's important. Next
question is from Paul in New York. Paul writes, Eli,
what drives your passion for working in the community. I
(13:42):
want to see all of a successful Paul. I. I
I know what it's like to not have much and
to struggle and not feel so rooted in it. You know,
(14:02):
sometimes we tend to sit in things or sit in
the emotion, and then we ultimately become the emotion. So
I think what drives me is what drives my passion
(14:22):
for working in the community is is just making sure
that these families know that there is a way out
or there is a way up. Listen to my story.
(14:46):
Let's devise a plan that will help you if we're
not the answer from a nonprofit standpoint, Let's try to
find you the answer. Let's try to get you the help.
But I want to see you become successful, so it
you know that that drives my passion for working. I
(15:07):
want to make sure that those voices are heard and
they're able to get the services that they need. And
there are a lot of organizations that are doing the work.
They're doing the very same thing. So I see others
working extremely hard in the community, and it drives me
(15:30):
to get in there and grab a hand and work
really hard as well. All right, let's take one more
before we dig into the question of the week. Let's
go Jennifer in Minnesota. Jennifer Wrights, Elijah, I love your show.
(15:52):
How do you balance writing, community work, and your personal life.
I think they're all intertwined. I think are all one.
To be honest with you, you know, I I'm able
to create. The best way I can say it is this,
(16:16):
I'm able to create balance because I really love what
I do, and I don't think it's extremely difficult for
me to find peace in my work as I'm doing it.
I don't have to. I don't have to go to
(16:39):
an office and missing family, you know, for a large
portion of the day, I can do my work here
at home, you know, not here in studio, but at
home where I'm there, I'm present, and that's that's a
(17:00):
lot of balance to me. Some might say, you know,
I'm around my family a lot, and I don't care
for going out a lot. I really don't. I hang
out with friends from time to time, but the bulk
of the time i'm working or i'm around family, I'm
(17:21):
right there. And you know, that's been so beneficial and
I think that's that was one of the dreams I
had in starting my own business, is being able to
set my hours right so that I can have the
(17:42):
balance that I want and that I need. And I've
been able to do that, and it's it's it's worked.
So you know, I've been very, very very grateful for
(18:07):
the things that I have and for you know, the
balance that I am. I'm getting right now. And I
know I'm in school the bulk of the day, so
you know, you it would be fair to ask, you know,
as I leave school, I pivot to my work. But again,
(18:28):
my work, I can do it anywhere. So that's how
I find my balance. It's not really hard for me.
It's right in front of me. I'm right there, I'm
present a lot. It's a great question. All right, let's
get to questions of the Question of the Week from
(18:51):
Lexi and Tennessee. This is a great question, Kelly writes Elijah.
Why is inclusively It's important to you personally and in
your work. Also, can you define including versus inclusiveness? What
does it really mean? That's a great question, Kelly, great
(19:16):
question of the week. I talk about this a lot
because I see I see a lot of things and
I hear a lot of things that aren't inclusiveness or inclusive.
Not just in you know, my school district area. I
(19:37):
see it in the world. Inclusiveness to me, and it's
just my opinion, right and we all have them. But
to me, being inclusive means creating an environment or classrooms
(20:00):
where students and people with special needs feel safe, supported
and fully part of the learning experience. It also applies
in the community. You want to be involved, you want
to feel supported, you want to be heard, you want
to feel safe. It means meeting people where they are.
(20:30):
It also comes with steps. I cannot express that enough.
There's steps to inclusion. And this is where we talk
about including versus inclusiveness. You have to take time to
build meaningful relationships and communicate with people and with families.
(21:00):
You got to be able to provide the support necessary
for these kids and people to survive whatever they are.
I've worked with some great advocates. I consider myself a
good one. I've worked with some great advocates. I've listened
to some great advocates talk about this, not just here
(21:24):
in Washington State, but around the country. I go to Springfield,
Missouri every summer, and I'm around these incredible advocates who
are doing incredible things. But we're talking about the steps
necessary to make sure that these individuals are safe, they're
(21:47):
cared for, they're heard. Are we setting realistic goals? Are
we being clear? Because when we're when we're intentional about inclusion,
(22:09):
we help those with special needs. We help them feel confident, involved,
and capable of achieving success. You're picking up what I'm
putting down. I know that. I know I said a lot,
but that's how I see it. There's steps. When I
(22:32):
advocated for my for my UH, for my niece and nephew,
there's steps to this because I think sometimes we include,
but we're not being inclusive including versus inclusiveness. It is
(22:56):
they're different. Including isn't bad, right, but it's not inclusive.
It provides an opportunity to participate. I'm including you in this,
in this program or on this team. I may not
(23:18):
let you participate, but you're there. We've included you. So
including can feel like like a handout. It's a token.
There's not a lot of support. You're there, but you're
(23:40):
not there really, And one of the negative impacts regarding that,
as far as inclusiveness goes, if it's not implemented correctly
and with care, it can overwhelm staff, people who don't
(24:02):
really understand, who require training, and it creates unrealistic expectations.
So I'm including you, but you're not able to pick
up the plays in the game or the curriculum in
the classroom. You're there, but you're not there. You feel
(24:28):
what I'm saying, and that's where a lot of misunderstandings
are happening or taking place. You can't force it. You've
got to follow the steps. There's steps in everything that
we do in life. It's a process and we have
(24:54):
to follow them in order to get it right, and
we have to be willing to listen. Sometimes there is
no response needed. Just listen. This is what it is,
This is what we see. Here are the steps necessary
or inclusiveness to be successful. There's got to be a
(25:17):
want to. It comes with training, it comes with understanding,
It comes with building trust in partnership, not just with
the community, not just with the people, also with the school,
(25:38):
with the businesses we're building always. So let's say that's
what I that's what I see, that's what I feel,
that's my opinion. It is. It is very important to me,
(26:06):
and I love having these conversations only with those who
are willing to listen, those who can hear me. I
don't really do well with going back and forth on
things like this with people because I don't I don't.
(26:27):
I don't want to come at it from a negative standpoint,
because it's not it's not supposed to be that way.
I want to listen to your definition of inclusion, and
everybody has their definition, some may disagree with mine, and
I don't mind sitting down and talking about it. If
(26:49):
I know we're going to work toward meeting in the middle.
If it turns into me versus you, nobody wins. It's
that simple. Nobody wins because now we're forgetting about the
(27:09):
benefits of the family, the child, or the adult student.
So that's my two cents on that. That was a
great question of the week, and I hope those of
(27:30):
you who are dealing with this right now really take
the time, whether it's positive or negative, take the time
to reflect on what inclusiveness and including means to you
know the difference, do your homework. I'm not talking at you,
(27:52):
I'm talking to you. In order for us to provide
a safe space for everyone, we have to be willing
to listen with the intent on understanding someone else's point
of view, even if you don't like it. Find a
(28:17):
way to understand where they're coming from before you give
your response. Process it. There are steps to that too.
All right, we have run out of time today. I
(28:37):
would like to thank all of you, as I always
do at the end of the show, for your continued support.
So many of you have downloaded, shared, listened to the show.
I am so grateful. Shout out to my producer once again,
who does a wonderful job of putting the show out
there to the masses we are listening to by folks
(29:00):
around the world. I get so many positive emails regarding
the show, and I can't begin to thank all of
you enough for that. It really means a lot to me.
So with that being said, let's keep building. I'm loving this.
(29:21):
Get out in your communities this week and check in
on your family and friends. Put a smile on someone's face.
Remember always remember, it doesn't take a lot of energy
to do that at all. I want to thank you
for listening to the Eliji Winfrey Show. Please be sure
(29:42):
to download this show wherever you download your favorite podcast.
Until next week, Take care, God bless Bye bye
Welcome to the Elijah Winfrey Show. Each week, Elijah gets
you caught up on his work in the community, talks
with guests about issues and causes that are important to them,
while also answering your email questions. So sit back, relax,
and enjoy the show. Here's your host, Elijah Winfrey.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Hello, folks, and welcome to the Elijah Winfrey Show. I
am indeed your host, Elijah Winfrey. It is great to
be with you on this cloudy I don't think it's
going to rain a lot today, but definitely cloudy outside
right now. It's cloudy day. Happy Mother's Day to all
(00:49):
you incredible mothers out there and those of you that
support it. You know, I know it can be tough
for a lot of folks who have you know, lost
their parents or lost their mother recently or in the past.
So I wish you a happy Mother's Day as well.
(01:13):
We have a really good show lined up for you today.
We have a question of the week actually that we're
going to highlight and it comes from Lexi and Tennessee.
And it's a great question, something that I talk about
with friends quite a bit in the community. It's definitely
(01:39):
a hot topic and I'm gonna save that for later,
but I'm happy that Lexi sent it in and we're
going to answer a few questions from fans of the show.
But before we do that, I want to get you
caught up in my past week. I want to shout
out my producer, Greg Nice, who always push the show
(02:00):
in position to succeed. Our numbers are doing really, really well.
I am very thankful for that, and I owe you
the listeners, a lot of praise and thanks for making
the show what it is. My past week was was
(02:21):
business as usual. I was trying to think of another
word to use there, because I always say that I'm
pretty busy. This is that point in the year where
I really start moving about the community, you know, kind
of gauging where the needs are. My team does a
(02:42):
great job in helping me do that. I do have
friends that are in these communities as well who reach
out to me regarding families that are in need of
a voice or in need of you know, groceries or
help with rent bills. So this is a This is
(03:05):
definitely a busy time. So I've been hard at work
interacting with families on zoom, over text and email. My
fourth children's book Little e Celebrates Juneteenth will be out
(03:25):
officially Tuesday, May twentieth, So make sure you get your
copy and support your boy. You know, I really would
appreciate it. I am working on a book signing on
June teenth with a local bookstore and my fingers across.
I'm meeting with them this week, so let's hope that
(03:48):
it goes really well. I believe it's going to go
really well. But I'm excited to have dialogue with this bookstore.
It's a great bookstore in the area. And once I
know more, I'll share more. My role as a pair
(04:09):
of professionals going well. I mean, there's really nothing to report.
I know you all send an email questions every week
asking me, you know about my role there and how
much of a role it plays in my community work.
You know. Again, all I can tell you is, you know,
I am trying my best to get it to sync
(04:29):
up with the work that I do. You know, I
think it The hard part is, you know, they are
rules in place, right and you have to follow those rules.
And I respect that. I have a business and I
want individuals to follow the rules that we set and sometimes,
(04:49):
you know, things don't quite match up the way you
hope for them to. That's not saying that it can't.
I think we're building towards that. H I do think
I am finding some consistency. I've been able to interact
more with my local school district and I do think
(05:14):
that they're they're listening, which is which is a good sign.
So things are going well in that department. My team
is doing really well. There are some changes that are
gonna take effect for the next school year, and I
think we are all trying to make sure that we're
all on one accord. You know when that does happen.
(05:35):
So things are going well on that front. I went
out to the golf course to practice. I'm going to
play in this charity event on behalf of the first T,
the Chambers Based Solstice, and it raises money for the
first T. They do a great job implementing core values
(05:56):
and life skills along with golf to students ages five
to seventeen. I want to say, I don't have the
we don't have the site. The website up on the
screen here, but I believe that's accurate. They do a
tremendous job. So I went out to practice at Chambers
Bay yesterday shout out the Chambers Bay too. The staff
(06:18):
was very friendly, very kind, great conversation with one of
the members in the practice facility, and it felt good
to be back. A lot of russ to knock off,
and again, I'm not building to be like super competitive
at all. It's just a fun day. I'm going to
(06:40):
try to walk thirty six holes, so wish me luck
on that. But yesterday was absolutely fun. It reminded me
once again why I go to the driving range to
kind of work on things. It's a place where I
can really hone in on practice and also work on myself.
(07:02):
At the same time. I'm not bothered really by the
other players, and I always have a spot where, you know,
I'm pretty distant from everybody and I can work on
things and think about things. So that was good. Yesterday.
We had good weather. I really enjoyed it. From a
(07:25):
physical and mental standpoint, I'm doing okay. Outside of being
a little sore this morning, I'm doing all right. This
peloton program that I am on to build up my
body to get ready for this thirty six hole marathon
has gone really well. I've seen the games and it's
(07:51):
given me a bit more energy. So I am happy
across the board right now. Meditation has also been the key.
So things are things are going well, Things are progressing
on the family standpoint. On the family front, we're doing well.
My son had his first track meet this past week
and he rocked it. He came in first in the
(08:15):
two hundred meter run. His team came in first, I
think on the four by four, four by two, and
I was just proud of his success. You know, he
was extremely excited, and you know, I reflect back to
(08:37):
when I was a kid and I knew my parents
were there, I didn't really want to like come and
talk to my parents because I wanted to hang out
with my friends. And while he saw us, you know,
it was more I see you, but I'm gonna hang
out with my buddies. And he did that, so that
was neat to see. And you know, just being present
and watching him thrive and enjoy those moments it means
(08:59):
a lot. And he has another one coming this Thursday
that I'm going to attend as well, and I've tried
to tell him, you know, don't get too high, don't
get too low, try to stay even keeled if you can,
but definitely enjoy your successes. Right, take it all in
(09:19):
because they go by it really fast. He's going to
be a freshman in high school next year, so I
think we're getting our minds wrapped around that. You know,
he's pretty excited, but you couldn't tell it kind of
(09:39):
he he doesn't really display that emotion at least not yet.
So all is well. Lisa is doing well. Busy as
always with work. We do find time to kind of
hang out and laugh and catch up and talk about
the important things in the direction you know that we
want to go as a family and as individuals. So
(10:02):
things are really going well. All right, Let's get into
the show today, and I always tell you or encourage
you all to send questions into me at Elijah dot
Winfrey at gmail dot com, and my producer, he goes
(10:23):
into the email bag and he pulls out some great questions.
No question is ever a bad question, and we're going
to answer a few today because I do want to
get to the question of the week, which is an
important one and it's something that I've talked about a
lot with families with school districts in my area, and
(10:51):
I can't wait to get to that question. First question, though,
is from Kelly in Seattle. Kelly writes, Hello, Elijah, I
really love your show. What inspired you to write your
new children's book? Great question, Kelly. I you know, I
have a list of topics and titles you want to
(11:16):
call it that that I want to write about. You know,
I have a journal where I write down a lot
of things, and when I started the Little E series,
the first one was a Little E giving back, and
I really wanted to cover core values and life skills
(11:38):
and talk about why that's important and why it's it's
sort of lacking in the world right now. The Juneteenth
book was it was heavy on my mind. And you know,
(12:02):
my wife threw out a bunch of core value titles
and then she threw out Juneteenth. So I owe her,
you know, the bulk of the credit for that. But
when she threw it out, it was something that I
had been thinking about. But I wanted to write it
(12:26):
in a way that it would reach kids, right because
I think we have to we have to start there.
So that was really the inspiration, you know, in writing
the book. It's I wanted to write it to inspire kids,
students too, to think about that day and to try
(12:46):
to process it as best as best they can and
to ask their parents these questions. So that's my that's
my inspiration behind the book.
Speaker 1 (12:58):
It.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
I think it's going to do really well. I'm a
big believer in that, and I just hope that it
inspires more conversation around Juneteenth and why that's an important day.
I won't get into into the parameters of that right now,
(13:20):
but I just hope that it gets people talking to
their kids more about it and why it's important. Next
question is from Paul in New York. Paul writes, Eli,
what drives your passion for working in the community. I
(13:42):
want to see all of a successful Paul. I. I
I know what it's like to not have much and
to struggle and not feel so rooted in it. You know,
(14:02):
sometimes we tend to sit in things or sit in
the emotion, and then we ultimately become the emotion. So
I think what drives me is what drives my passion
(14:22):
for working in the community is is just making sure
that these families know that there is a way out
or there is a way up. Listen to my story.
(14:46):
Let's devise a plan that will help you if we're
not the answer from a nonprofit standpoint, Let's try to
find you the answer. Let's try to get you the help.
But I want to see you become successful, so it
you know that that drives my passion for working. I
(15:07):
want to make sure that those voices are heard and
they're able to get the services that they need. And
there are a lot of organizations that are doing the work.
They're doing the very same thing. So I see others
working extremely hard in the community, and it drives me
(15:30):
to get in there and grab a hand and work
really hard as well. All right, let's take one more
before we dig into the question of the week. Let's
go Jennifer in Minnesota. Jennifer Wrights, Elijah, I love your show.
(15:52):
How do you balance writing, community work, and your personal life.
I think they're all intertwined. I think are all one.
To be honest with you, you know, I I'm able
to create. The best way I can say it is this,
(16:16):
I'm able to create balance because I really love what
I do, and I don't think it's extremely difficult for
me to find peace in my work as I'm doing it.
I don't have to. I don't have to go to
(16:39):
an office and missing family, you know, for a large
portion of the day, I can do my work here
at home, you know, not here in studio, but at
home where I'm there, I'm present, and that's that's a
(17:00):
lot of balance to me. Some might say, you know,
I'm around my family a lot, and I don't care
for going out a lot. I really don't. I hang
out with friends from time to time, but the bulk
of the time i'm working or i'm around family, I'm
(17:21):
right there. And you know, that's been so beneficial and
I think that's that was one of the dreams I
had in starting my own business, is being able to
set my hours right so that I can have the
(17:42):
balance that I want and that I need. And I've
been able to do that, and it's it's it's worked.
So you know, I've been very, very very grateful for
(18:07):
the things that I have and for you know, the
balance that I am. I'm getting right now. And I
know I'm in school the bulk of the day, so
you know, you it would be fair to ask, you know,
as I leave school, I pivot to my work. But again,
(18:28):
my work, I can do it anywhere. So that's how
I find my balance. It's not really hard for me.
It's right in front of me. I'm right there, I'm
present a lot. It's a great question. All right, let's
get to questions of the Question of the Week from
(18:51):
Lexi and Tennessee. This is a great question, Kelly writes Elijah.
Why is inclusively It's important to you personally and in
your work. Also, can you define including versus inclusiveness? What
does it really mean? That's a great question, Kelly, great
(19:16):
question of the week. I talk about this a lot
because I see I see a lot of things and
I hear a lot of things that aren't inclusiveness or inclusive.
Not just in you know, my school district area. I
(19:37):
see it in the world. Inclusiveness to me, and it's
just my opinion, right and we all have them. But
to me, being inclusive means creating an environment or classrooms
(20:00):
where students and people with special needs feel safe, supported
and fully part of the learning experience. It also applies
in the community. You want to be involved, you want
to feel supported, you want to be heard, you want
to feel safe. It means meeting people where they are.
(20:30):
It also comes with steps. I cannot express that enough.
There's steps to inclusion. And this is where we talk
about including versus inclusiveness. You have to take time to
build meaningful relationships and communicate with people and with families.
(21:00):
You got to be able to provide the support necessary
for these kids and people to survive whatever they are.
I've worked with some great advocates. I consider myself a
good one. I've worked with some great advocates. I've listened
to some great advocates talk about this, not just here
(21:24):
in Washington State, but around the country. I go to Springfield,
Missouri every summer, and I'm around these incredible advocates who
are doing incredible things. But we're talking about the steps
necessary to make sure that these individuals are safe, they're
(21:47):
cared for, they're heard. Are we setting realistic goals? Are
we being clear? Because when we're when we're intentional about inclusion,
(22:09):
we help those with special needs. We help them feel confident, involved,
and capable of achieving success. You're picking up what I'm
putting down. I know that. I know I said a lot,
but that's how I see it. There's steps. When I
(22:32):
advocated for my for my UH, for my niece and nephew,
there's steps to this because I think sometimes we include,
but we're not being inclusive including versus inclusiveness. It is
(22:56):
they're different. Including isn't bad, right, but it's not inclusive.
It provides an opportunity to participate. I'm including you in this,
in this program or on this team. I may not
(23:18):
let you participate, but you're there. We've included you. So
including can feel like like a handout. It's a token.
There's not a lot of support. You're there, but you're
(23:40):
not there really, And one of the negative impacts regarding that,
as far as inclusiveness goes, if it's not implemented correctly
and with care, it can overwhelm staff, people who don't
(24:02):
really understand, who require training, and it creates unrealistic expectations.
So I'm including you, but you're not able to pick
up the plays in the game or the curriculum in
the classroom. You're there, but you're not there. You feel
(24:28):
what I'm saying, and that's where a lot of misunderstandings
are happening or taking place. You can't force it. You've
got to follow the steps. There's steps in everything that
we do in life. It's a process and we have
(24:54):
to follow them in order to get it right, and
we have to be willing to listen. Sometimes there is
no response needed. Just listen. This is what it is,
This is what we see. Here are the steps necessary
or inclusiveness to be successful. There's got to be a
(25:17):
want to. It comes with training, it comes with understanding,
It comes with building trust in partnership, not just with
the community, not just with the people, also with the school,
(25:38):
with the businesses we're building always. So let's say that's
what I that's what I see, that's what I feel,
that's my opinion. It is. It is very important to me,
(26:06):
and I love having these conversations only with those who
are willing to listen, those who can hear me. I
don't really do well with going back and forth on
things like this with people because I don't I don't.
(26:27):
I don't want to come at it from a negative standpoint,
because it's not it's not supposed to be that way.
I want to listen to your definition of inclusion, and
everybody has their definition, some may disagree with mine, and
I don't mind sitting down and talking about it. If
(26:49):
I know we're going to work toward meeting in the middle.
If it turns into me versus you, nobody wins. It's
that simple. Nobody wins because now we're forgetting about the
(27:09):
benefits of the family, the child, or the adult student.
So that's my two cents on that. That was a
great question of the week, and I hope those of
(27:30):
you who are dealing with this right now really take
the time, whether it's positive or negative, take the time
to reflect on what inclusiveness and including means to you
know the difference, do your homework. I'm not talking at you,
(27:52):
I'm talking to you. In order for us to provide
a safe space for everyone, we have to be willing
to listen with the intent on understanding someone else's point
of view, even if you don't like it. Find a
(28:17):
way to understand where they're coming from before you give
your response. Process it. There are steps to that too.
All right, we have run out of time today. I
(28:37):
would like to thank all of you, as I always
do at the end of the show, for your continued support.
So many of you have downloaded, shared, listened to the show.
I am so grateful. Shout out to my producer once again,
who does a wonderful job of putting the show out
there to the masses we are listening to by folks
(29:00):
around the world. I get so many positive emails regarding
the show, and I can't begin to thank all of
you enough for that. It really means a lot to me.
So with that being said, let's keep building. I'm loving this.
(29:21):
Get out in your communities this week and check in
on your family and friends. Put a smile on someone's face.
Remember always remember, it doesn't take a lot of energy
to do that at all. I want to thank you
for listening to the Eliji Winfrey Show. Please be sure
(29:42):
to download this show wherever you download your favorite podcast.
Until next week, Take care, God bless Bye bye
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