Hello, good evening and welcome to live with
Dr. Andre Jerry, your trusted. real conversations,
practical wisdom, and purpose -driven insight.
I'm your host, Dr. Andre Jerry, and we're broadcasting
live from San Juan, Puerto Rico. This show is
broadcast worldwide in over 128 countries and
has featured artists, authors, entertainers,
entrepreneurs, and thought leaders from across
the globe. So wherever you're tuning into from
tonight, on behalf of myself and the Artist First
Radio Network, I want to thank you for your listenership.
So tonight, we have a special episode in store
for you. And I want to start this by asking a
simple question. How many of you out there listening
tonight are educators? Specifically, I'm talking
about teachers in public schools who carry the
daily responsibility of shaping our children
in grades K through 12. If you're a public school
educator, or you have family or friends who are,
I want you to call or text them and let them
know that this show is on. Send them the link
to this show and tell them to tune in, because
tonight we're going to have a conversation that
has been long overdue. So when we talk about
education, We often focus on things like underfunded
districts or outdated resources that the students
are using, concerns about student performance.
But very rarely do we look at the human beings
who are standing at the front of the classroom.
We almost never ask, how are our teachers doing?
What pressures are they carrying on a daily basis?
What support do they need and they're not getting?
So tonight we're going to explore that side of
the story. The part that doesn't make the headlines
all the time, but absolutely shapes the future
of our children. Joining us for this important
discussion is someone who knows his topic intimately.
He's a highly esteemed educator, a bestselling
author, and he continues to make an incredible
impact in his industry. He's here to talk about
his powerful new book called Suffering in Bleak
Silence, A Teacher's Mental Health Struggles
Exposed. So welcome back to the show, my friend,
Dr. Stephen Bond. Dr. Bond, how are you today?
I'm doing great. I can't complain. And thank
you again being on your show. I really enjoyed
it the first two times. So I'm really sad about
being on here again. Thanks. Thanks again. Hey,
listen, glad to have you here. I'm glad to have
you back on the show so we can sort of catch
up. And of course, we're going to talk about
your new book. But first, you know, a lot has
happened since the last time you were on the
show. I think it's been about two years since
you were last on. I know what's been going on
in your world, but do you mind letting our listeners
in on all the exciting things that have kind
of been taking place over the past two years?
Sure, well, awesome. Well, one of the things
is I did get married in August and it was awesome.
I know if you were able to make it, you would
have, and it was just an amazing time. And so
along with that, I'm still working and teaching.
and the second book about my grandfather did
really, really well, got a lot of accolades for
it, and also I appreciate being on your show
because being on your show really brought the
book to a spotlight, and I did a couple of book
signings in New York and even North Carolina,
and it was just amazing, and just being on your
show helped me so much because I always want
my grandfather's story to be told, and his book,
I wrote a film called Unsung, but better remembered.
And for me, it was important to give his legacy
for people to see because he had a patent for
the car turn signal. So that's the clicker blink,
as we call it today. And he had a patent for
it from 1927. And so what was amazing about it,
we found his patent and then that kind of validated
his invention because for years he told people
he invented it. And I would tell people, my family
members would, and unfortunately, most people
are the lie. So having a pattern and writing
a book about it opened up so many doors for his
legacy to be told. And I was on the main podcast.
I even did a few professional developments talking
about him and the inventor and grandpa that he
was. So just you being there for me and just
being on your show really opened up a lot of
doors for me. And I'm just so appreciative even
to this day. Thank you again, and while I have
you here, thank you again for doing the forward
for my new book. Oh, I was so happy to get that
call. I was excited when you told me about the
book. You know, this is the first time anyone
asked me to write a forward for their book. So
I was excited not only that your book, your new
book was coming out, but also to be asked to
write a forward for someone's book. That's very
personal and special. So I was like, wow, that's
awesome. And so, of course, I got to read an
advanced copy of it. And I just, I fell in love
with the book. So thank you again for that privilege.
I really appreciate it. Well, thank you as well.
And, you know, I got that before. When I thought
about who I wanted to get a foreword, you really
was the first person I thought about. And I was
thinking when the book was finished, I said to
myself, who do I think would really write a good
foreword who knows me and knows how I am as an
educated person? I thought about you. And so
when I asked you, I was thinking to myself, well,
I hope you say yes. And so I was honored and
privileged that you did want to do it. And it
was so eloquently written. And so just reading,
I was almost emotional just looking through it.
So I'm so grateful for that, because like I said
before, when we first did the podcast, I knew
as a person, as a colleague, but now we're friends.
And that Podcast was so amazing. I've had so
many people listen to it. I had hundreds of followers
and my friends listen to it. And they were just
amazed about the story of my grandfather and
they said, the guy will interview you. It's amazing.
He knows what he does. He talks so eloquently
and detailed. And so, you know, after that night,
you know, we just continue to grow closer and
closer. And I really appreciate our friendship.
And like I said, I'm glad I made the right choice
with, you know, writing the foreword and You
know, when a few work for things, one of the
things I wanted done was a historical marker
for my grandfather. And they told us you had
to wait at least 25 years for somebody to pass
before you can do a historic marker. And so what
we want to do in the town he's raising is just
have a historic marker with his name on it showing
that he had the patent for the car turn signal.
That, you know, even to this day means a lot
to our family. Oh, man, that's gonna be all have
that happened already or is that something that
you're currently working on? No, it has the way
in the works for it because we had to wait first
25 years and less about a year ago it came officially
25 years and so now we can do the paperwork and
You know, there's a process. There's a time wait
waiting period, but you know, we hope soon that
That'll happen. One of the other great things
that occurred, too, was the mayor of Windsor,
North Carolina, Mr. Hoggart. I met with him and
told him about my grandpa's story, and he didn't
even know about it. So I met with him a few years
ago when the book came out. You know, we had
a picture, shook my hand, and he was just amazed
at about the story of my grandfather, because
he didn't know about it. And Windsor, North Carolina
has maybe 1 ,000 people, and... Now, most of
the people in that town know about his invention.
And, like I said, the patent, if you go on Google
Patents, you probably can see it. Some, it's
still not showing it, but, you know, we have
access to it, which is amazing, and we're happy
for that. Because, like I said, for years, he
was denied by history, but, you know, he was
delayed, but thankfully not denied anymore. And
that what made us at the Bond family feel really
divided, you know? He shouldn't pay to compensate
for it, but the fact at least that he got me
recognized for it is awesome Well, i'm happy
that he's being recognized and i'm happy for
just a small part i've been able to play when
I first came across that story I believe it was
from one of your stories or posts on instagram
because I wasn't on tiktok at the time And I
was kind of captivated by the story. I love stories
like that true historical stories about real
people who did things that were often unsung
and overlooked and so when I ran I love authors
anyway you know that and so when I came across
your book I was like I'm gonna reach out to him
and see if he would like to come on the show
to talk about this book this is awesome and and
so thankfully we were to connect and you came
on the show a couple of times I remember the
last time I called you, I was like, hey, my guest
pulled out. Can you come on the show and give
us an update on things? And you were so gracious
with your time. And I just appreciate that. I'm
glad to see everything kind of churning and moving
and all of the accolades that your grandfather
is now getting for his invention. Because I know
that's the story of so many inventors who have
patents and they fail. through the crack somehow
and other people end up getting the accolades
and the financial things from it. So I'm just
happy that he's now getting his just due and
that there's been a lot of attention on his story.
And that's awesome that the mayor of Winston,
North Carolina has also become aware of the story
and stepping in to do his part as well. So it's
awesome. Well, definitely. Thank you. And like
I said, what makes the whole thing great is not
only were we able to get his story out, but main
times on social media, people would DM me and
say, Dr. Bond, my family member invented this
or invented that, did not get credit for it.
And they asked me like, what process or what
steps can you do to try to, you know, at least
have them have credit for it? And what I suggested
first, and it might be the easiest thing, but
first try to get a copy of the pattern because
in the case of my grandfather as well, you know,
any time you pass over the US government, they
give you a serial number. And so even if that
expired, because it's kind of like a driver's
license, you know, a driver's license can expire
in like, in most states, seven, eight years,
but at the same time, you had a license. So when
the patent expired after a while, we still were
able to find a patent. with the same serial number
and so valid. And we did like a Google patent
search. Like I said, on some search engines,
it'll show and then have his name and even a
picture of his actual diagram of the signal light,
of his explanation for it, and his sign and notarized
stamp. And that's important, too, because one
thing to have a patent, but when you also have
it notarized by the lawyer, which he had, and
also sign at the bottom that validates even more.
And so the fact we were able to find the patent
and find the signature with it and being notarized,
it made it valid. And so there was no denying
of that. You know, he may not have got compensation
for it, but history tells that David George Bond
had the patent for it. And a few years ago, I
was on the news in Greenville, North Carolina.
And after I did the story, yes, and it was awesome.
And here's what he did the next day, Doc, when
it was on their website, the fact checkers went
to check the validity of it, and the person who
got the credit for the signal light, his patent
was two years after my grandpa's. It was in 1929,
and my grandpa, he submitted his application.
in 1926. And it became official March 1st, 1927.
So it was like two years before the person got
credit for it. And so not only was the story
valid, but it also showed that he tried for years
to get loans to renew the patent. He also tried
to do some more innovations with it, but he couldn't.
And every time he tried to get a loan to renew
the license or enhance adventure more he was
denied by three banks in the county he lived
in because they knew what he was up to you know
he was getting threats from the KKK and still
persisted and especially back then in North Carolina
in the 1920s that was just a dangerous thing
to do anyway to be bold he actually voted in
Bertie county in 1920s so to do that the african
-american man that was very risky at that time
so he's only a pioneer but he also was an activist.
Oh man. See, and I'm so glad that you documented
all of this in your book. And even everything
that's happened since then is turning out to
be a lot of validation for your family, the Bond
name. And so I'm just excited about it. I look
forward to hearing more about this because I
think you reached out to me at some point and
told me that people were trying to get right
to the story and possibly do a documentary for
that. Has there been any more movement on that
front? There's been some I spoke to a few people
because what I wanted to do was even like a short
documentary on him and I spoke to a couple people
who are like movie producers and one person with
his story in North Carolina and they know about
the whole story and they're fascinated and intrigued
by it and so hopefully in the near future there
could be a documentary on it because I feel like
he owes it and he deserves it. And so I've been
talking to a couple of producers about it and
how we could do it and just step by step how
it would look. Because I said, more important
than anything, I want the story told. So not
just in North Carolina is told, but worldwide
that's told because pretty much for almost 100
years, the story was denied and the fact is now
open and people see it. Is a blessing because
after this so many people have told me and said
doc my family member invented this we had a path
for this and they never got credit for it and
for so many years and African American people
we invented things and Never fully got the credit
for it. And so the time now is where The whole
story is coming out that we see African Americans
inventing more things that was told. Because
like I said, either they kept it secret or they
used intimidation or bullying to stop African
American people from getting the patent. And
even if they got a patent, they tried to deny
them to renewing it. Because they knew you had
a pattern, they could try to talk to you and
intimidate you because like I said, any US patent
number, you put that in and the search engine
is gonna show. So they kept... tabs on it and
so that just made more dangerous for him, but
now it's 2025 and now those stories are coming
out in the spotlight of so many people who were
inventors and And I could he accolades they deserved
and I could set my grandfather's one of them
and I'm so happy for him because I knew a person
he died when I was 25 and So we would visit him
like almost every summer. He was a funny Country
guy, you know, he loved the fish loved the hunt
never cursed He would just say jack -snap. It's
a darn it. That was as close as he would ever
come to curse and use it No, he was a man of
God father grandfather husband and so just the
cool person to hang out with and so when we hung
out with them, he didn't want too many people
knowing about the invention because he felt disappointed
that nothing was done about it and so If that
came out, even though he's passed, I know that's
a blessing. And I know our family is. It's a
blessing. Yes, definitely. And that's why I'm
also glad you mentioned briefly the Google patents,
because other families that may have a similar
story as Mr. Bond, they can... Google their family's
patent and maybe get some movement forward on
their invention. Like I said, I think this is
so many people's stories, but clearly your grandfather's
story is very unique. I would love to see what
a Tyler Perry would do to that story. When I
saw what he did with the 6888, I was just like,
wow. I mean, I always knew he was a great storyteller,
but somebody like that of that stature would
do very great justice to your grandfather's story.
So just wanted to put that out in the atmosphere.
You never know who's hearing these conversations.
Definitely. And it's true. You never know because
you never know who's listening. And we have a
person like a Tyler Perry or other actors or
even Spike Lee who produced and they want these
stories be told. It's an awesome thing because
it's culture, it's life, and it's our history.
And that should never be, you know, taken away
from us. And there's so many stories like the
title unsung, where people did things and never
got credit. And if you were around my grandpa,
you knew there was no animosity. He was never
bitter about it. I know he was frustrated, but
he lived his life. You know, he owned land, had
a house built in 1956. So he still was very productive
and he didn't let that stop him. And that's why
Myre was his perseverance. Even despite the racial
climate and noted Jim Crow south He last stop
him or the term and that goes to show how people
were But yeah, that would be great if a producer
could be listening like right now. It's okay
Okay, Stephen, we'll make a story about the documentary.
It would just be awesome because Many of the
family members who are part of it, you know,
some of them are not here anymore You know my
dad passed in 2020 Uncles that he had I had several
of them because my grandfather had 10 sons and
one daughter and he adopted a daughter, him and
my grandmother. And I put that in the book as
well. So with all that, he still supported 12
children despite being denied in history where
he could have been a billionaire to say the least
because think about every move of vehicle, even
like a forklift machine. There's a turn signal
a golf cart. So so many moving equals have single
light and so the think where he could have been
and I even tell my students off that said Albert
Einstein You know Oppenheimer all these famous
no adventures. I said listen respectfully They
had nothing on my grandfather David George Bob
that he was a genius to say the least definitely
He was definitely a remarkable man, for sure,
and he's going to get his just due credit. I
really can feel it, especially in this upcoming
year. I want to talk about you, though, not to
disrespect your grandfather, but you are a great
man in your own right. With all of the things
that you've been working on, you've written several
books. You've had some major life transitions.
And, you know, you've also stepped into the world
of public speaking. I know you text me or called
me a couple of months ago when you was telling
me that you were going to be featured as a speaker
on the black education or black it summit real
talk this is back in october i think yeah and
uh... yet hope for anyone that's not familiar
with that event i think it's like a conference
for black educators right and advocates and folks
who are community leaders in delaware uh... but
you were uh... invite to be a speaker that don't
a little bit about that and and how they came
about Now that was awesome. It's a friend of
mine who started, his name is Darren Rainey,
and he's worked at Delaware State. And he asked
me to be one of the speakers. And it was just
a great one -day conference. They had several
speakers. And Dr. Yolanda Ruiz, I don't know
if you've heard of her, she's an amazing educator.
She was the head speaker. And they had several
teachers, student leaders, just talk about different
topics, like in history, like unsung in history.
Just historical figures and the topic I spoke
on was the topic of teaching topics such as riots,
assassination, and massacres because a lot of
people are intrigued by history. However, when
you teach certain topics like massacres, like
most of us now know about the Tulsa massacre,
but they hit down on people for years. When you
teach about the different assassinations of like,
For Balcomax or Fred Hampton and a lot of rights
leaders even while Luther King There's a certain
way you want to teach you where you want to keep
it compelling interesting But sometimes there
have to be a sensitivity because um, I know some
states Teachers been doing reenactments like
one teacher in Florida did a reenactment of a
little girl in elementary school Have a handcuffs
like Rosa Parks when she's arrested and know
some things you think Makes sense, but people
don't do it One lady did a reenactment of, which
is crazy of course, of Jewish people being sent
to the crematories and ovens during the Holocaust.
So, in my workshop, I was basically telling other
teachers, other leaders, some of the best ways
and methods on how to teach the massacres and
assassinations. Like, don't show bias, let the
students hear the facts, and let them think for
themselves what went on. And that's the best
way doing it because many times we bring our
emotions into it. But especially with children
and young people, you let them hear the story,
you give them the facts, you let them think about
how it went down or what's their view and take
from there. So that way I did the professional
development on and one thing to do in my heart,
I do professional development on social emotional
learning of teachers and students because many
times, students, now more than ever, you have
to reach them emotionally because kids go through
more trauma than I think our generation went
through. So many times we have to listen to students
more. I let students journal how they feel, what
they're thinking about, and you'd be surprised
if they write sometimes. Kids will say what's
going on in their life that's going good, what's
bothering them if they're depressed, if they're
struggling. That's where my first book was started
because back when Colbert and it's no School
physically and it's a virtual a lot of students
were downtrodden in the press and just They were
struggling and so I told the students Journal
like we normally wouldn't class like we'd have
mental health Monday where first 10 minutes of
class write down how you feel write it Text the
email to me keep it confidential, but let me
know how you feel and so you didn't get any pushback
from that Actually, I didn't. The students were
more than welcome to do it, and my director knew,
and so I think they're surprised by it, and so
I kept it going. And so when they would sometimes
text it to me or email it to me during COVID,
and I said to myself, wow, this should be written,
because I had so many intimate... Journal students
saying how tough was the cold but I had one girl
and her name was Lauren and mostly kids You know,
I still talk to correspond with math. I'm trying
to see if we could like maybe do like part two
of it and Lauren talked about how You know her
mom was a nurse and how she came to hug when
she gets home from work because she might pass
over to her She has family members with heart
issues and if they get Colbert what would happen
to them? No, students all set prom We supposed
to go to Disney that year. So a lot of normalcy
of a senior year they couldn't do and I never
forget that one young lady and it was amazing
we did like a drive -through graduation that
year and No, it was supposed to get their diplomas.
Well drive up get their diploma and then drive
away and what young lady did and Frankly, nobody
was upset. She got out her van and she hugged
every teacher that she had And we were not going
to deny that. I mean, why not? The girl was in
tears and she was the one that, she was a very
sweet young lady. She would hug her teachers
and just say, you know, I appreciate you. And
so we let her do it. So a lot of kids were traumatized
with COVID. You know, just something simple,
going to the mall, going out to eat or some kids
had jobs and they lost their jobs because you
work at a restaurant and COVID is happening.
They lost right and so they had a lot of school
from under them completely. They sure did They
sure did and so Devon wrote journals and for
some did for days and this for weeks and I put
as much as I could into the book because I wanted
the people to see how the kids are feeling how
they were struggling and how know venting about
it helped them emotionally but also as teachers
we need to see that okay kids going through things
that we may not be aware of and so I'm so glad
that this book was a picture on what kids are
going through and I think no that spectrum windows
open up you have more of sympathy and understanding
for kids and that's that social emotional learning
which you know now teachers doing them more but
I think it need to be incorporated even more
and multiple kids who I taught from that year
have either graduated college or finished up
college and you know when I see them or when
they see me on Instagram I tell them I'm so proud
of them and so it's just awesome like I know
one young man he's at St. Augustine's in North
Carolina he's a senior and one actually told
me that they graduated from college in a week
and a half in December and so from UNC Greensboro
so I'm truly proud of them how they persevered
through COVID. because it was a struggle for
adults so imagine if you're a 15 and 16 year
old kid how tough it is to have to navigate through
all that and not going to school not having the
teacher help you try and do things on online
or on zoom and there will be sometimes kids will
just say i can't do it today i don't want to
open up the zoom i don't want to try to do this
i just need a minute right it was a lot and you
know so i'm glad that you kind of stepped in
and Kind of went outside the curriculum and invited
them to journal invited them to talk about their
emotions Because I don't know many teachers at
that time Like you said there there may be a
lot more who are doing it now, but back then
certainly I'm sure you were an outcast I'm just
glad that you can get a lot of pushback from
the students from the the fellow faculty the
Administrators, and I'm just glad that you were
able to at least give some of those students
an outlet because everything that they had going
on was just turned upside down. And then you
had the fear of the pandemic, and no one knew
what was going on, and it was a lot of misinformation
and disinformation. Now school is turned up on
its head. Everybody's logging into Zoom and trying
to learn how to be virtual. It was just a lot,
those poor kids. It was a lot. And truth be told,
during Zoom, no one wanted to admit this, but
there was not a lot of learning going on during
Zoom. Many times I would be on the Zoom. Sometimes
kids would have their cameras on. Sometimes they
wouldn't. But sometimes what I would just do
is say, listen, take the first 10 minutes of
the Zoom to journal and vent how you feel. And
sometimes they would email it to me. So they
were hurt. They were mad. And they just... The
big question was, which most of them had was,
why? Why this? Why now? Where all these other
students years before... They had regular graduation,
regular school years, and now they didn't. And
what it also did, I think, that another topic,
and we're going to talk about it later, of course,
is that people, well, parents, a lot of them
took teachers for granted. You know, when COVID
hit and the kids weren't learning, a lot of parents
were now saying, wow, what that teacher did mattered.
We may not care before, but now we see how the
temperance they have, the patience they have,
the meaning they have in the heart of teaching
is so important. And COVID showed to a lot of
people at that point. Because many times, as
you know, our job is unsung, we get ignored,
we get disrespected, we don't get too much praise
for what we do. But in our job, we're empowering
young people to become the doctors, lawyers,
teachers, and leaders of this world. And many
times we do not get the props. that we definitely
deserve. That's absolutely true. And actually,
I want to talk more about that when we come back
from the break about what forms of support and
reform that you would like to see, or maybe that's
already been put in place. We'll talk about that
when we get back. But it just sounds like everything
that you've been doing, your experience in the
classroom, what you just talked about with the
COVID era, it just highlighted something that
we often overlook, and it's that Not just our
teachers our students as well, but definitely
our teachers are carrying a lot of burdens that
been just trying to figure out what the lesson
plan is gonna be and That's why I love this book
this new book that you wrote because it goes
right to the heart of that And we're gonna dig
into that when we come back from the break, but
let's do this. Let's take a brief commercial
break Everybody don't go anywhere because when
we come back we're gonna talk about dr. Bond's
new book called suffering and bleak silence and
the emotional journey that inspired that book.
All right, we'll be right back. You're listening
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Welcome to another broadcast of Spiritual Concerns,
the Deborah Ruffini Show on Artist First Radio
Network. We're live from England on Saturdays
and Sundays, 3pm New York, 8pm London. All past
shows or podcasts, find them at artistfirst .com.
I'll be your host where issues relating to the
spiritual matters of concern will be largely
examined and discussed. Enjoy the show. You're
back live with Dr. Andre Geary. Hey, everybody.
Welcome back to the show. Hey, if you're just
joining us, we're here with esteemed educator
and bestselling author Dr. Stephen Bond. Before
the break, we talked about the emotional weight
that many educators carry. It's far beyond what
the world sees or largely what we talk about.
But now we're going to turn our attention to
his powerful new book called Suffering in Bleak.
Silence a teacher's mental health struggles Exposed
and I was chuckling a little bit because we were
talking about during the break how You notice
where you know instance or two where teachers
will come into work? inebriated or you know on
alcohol or drugs or stuff like that and not I
chuckle because I If I was a teacher, I know
I would definitely be work with a bottle I just
know I would but yeah This is really a great
conversation because I really have not heard
a lot of conversations about what daily struggles
teachers deal with. We're always talking about
the students and are the students getting what
they need and do they have the resources they
need and all this type of stuff, but we never
really talk about the teachers. What are they
carrying and what are they going home with? So
that's why I want to talk about the heart of
this new Project this new book that you wrote
because like I said, this isn't your first publication
You published a number of books, but I want to
talk about what the moment was or the series
of moments That made you realize this was the
story you needed to tell next So it's interesting
By a couple months ago it came to me like I've
seen for years where teachers were struggling
mentally and people see it sometimes they don't
and they just ignore it like I've seen teachers
have panic attacks in the classroom. Teachers
deal with high blood pressure, anxiety, all type
of things. And many times we get unnoticed or
it's like no one cares. We go through so much
teaching these kids because most teachers, I
would say 99 % of teachers, they care about their
students and do the work every day. But we deal
with kids' attitudes, parents' attitudes. Administrative
attitude and it becomes much too much sometimes
you know If a kid cusses you out fuss you out.
You still gotta teach him you just want them
to do the work and then they try making personal
or then the parent is Complaining and they just
assume is you have some guess a child when reality
you just want the child to learn It's a lot and
lesson plans administrative work all this it
it compiles and Main times, people think we got
the easy job or you have summers off, you do
this, you do that, where in reality the 10 months
work we do is so much. And a psychologist actually
did research and said a teacher makes more, has
to make more quick decisions than even a surgeon.
Like we make about a thousand decisions in one
whole day. We see a child that has a need. What
do we do? What approach do we need to learn?
what approach can help, then another student
is misbehaving, he has to be quiet, or another
kid has their phone out, and that's a whole nother
topic. One kid trying to write something, they
need help, and so there's so many things going
on at one time, and we're pouring into everybody,
the administrator, the parents, the students,
and most of the time, no one's pouring into us.
If you work at schools where a fight occurs,
one most stressful thing is when a fight occurs
and you're breaking up a fight and I've had break
up a few fights in my day. So those who have
had me as a teacher, you know how Dr. Bond and
Coach Bond was. And after that, it's hard to
teach because the kids are hyped up with adrenaline.
You're hyped up with adrenaline. You're thinking
like, nobody's learning anything today. So those
are the things we deal with. a fight happen or
if even a talk of a fight happened, that's all
we could, we can focus on learning and let the
fight actually happen. No, the day is over with.
That's all anybody gonna wanna talk about after
that fight and who got whooped and who didn't.
So it's just, you know, as a teacher, you have
to care. I don't know who would get in this industry
and not care. I know there are good teachers
and bad teachers, but... Who signs up for this?
Being a security guard and breaking up fights
and being a psychologist. Who signs up for all
of this if you don't really care and have a heart
for those children? Whose needs, all their needs
are different. They all learn differently. They
all have different things going on at home, you
know? It's just a lot. I don't know who signs
up for that type of work if you don't care about
those kids and how they learn and what they learn.
I totally agree. I don't see how you can be a
teacher and not love what you do because then
it's not, it's not your DNA because the teacher,
what counselor, what psychologist, where the
therapist, where the lawyer, where the negotiator,
where the compromiser, where the mom, where the
dad, where the stepdad, it's all that because
the main time we spend more time with those students
than their own parents do, I'm the one time out
of principal that did not like me and she tried
to observe me and there was gonna be a school
dance, like, later that night. And so, it's one
of the things where, you know, going through
the lesson plan, all the kids would think about
was the dance. A couple of kids were like, whoa,
Doc Bonk, you sure my tie a tie? And so, it was
a teachable moment. I taught three young men
how to tie a tie. One boy was on the spectrum,
and he was like, how'd you ask a girl out? And
we was helping him. He was a smooth dude. We
helped him. And he was so happy. And so, sometimes,
it's beyond the lesson plan. We were helping
these kids so much. You know, nobody wanted to
hear history that day. They said, well, the dance
is happening in a couple hours. And so will so
-and -so say yes to me? Am I going to have fun?
Can you help me do the cha -cha slide? Can you
help me do the wobble? It's all types of questions.
So what did I do? I said, listen, I'm going to
put the YouTube on. And I showed the kids, OK,
this is how you do the wobble. This is how you...
stay in rhythm, I said, oh, no, stay in rhythm.
That's why you gotta listen. But sometimes it's
beyond the lesson plan. And those kids are so
happy. So they went and they saw, they did the
wobble. I danced with them too. And I'll never
forget, they were playing, they were playing
Lou John and Ludacris, no, singing yeah. And
I was singing yeah with them. I was like, I was
playing this while I was young and in the club
in college. Ain't know the kids got to God. They
recorded me dancing everything but the amazing
part doc was The next day we had class was just
a Monday. He remember that and so beyond the
book Beyond the lesson plans Beyond all that
not just learn to wobble not just learning little
John songs but the point was that they saw a
connection with the teacher and so we go through
because We have so many hats we wear. And sometimes
what happens to the teachers, you get tired because
we do so much compromise. We break up fights
for the start. We stop the gossip because, oh,
so -and -so looking at so -and -so man, now somebody
pop off and we got to talk to the kids and say
no, or they'll ask for advice with relationships,
but things like that. So there's so many things
we do and it's draining. And do we still got
to get observed? We got to do lesson plans, paperwork.
all these things. We go to meetings with your
feel like it. Oh, we got a meeting today at three
after class. Now we got a meeting tomorrow and
a meeting next day. And then you say, well, Doc,
what was the meeting about when you went there
yesterday? Huh? Huh? It's like, it's like you
get to the point where it's like, okay, my brain's
an overload. I don't remember what they talked
about in the meeting. And those who are listening
to this, who are educators know exactly What
i'm talking about you get no you guys give so
much of yourself. It's like you're always on
And so I can understand how you will be drained
at the end of the day And then what are you going
to give to yourself and your family? You you
definitely not going to the gym after all of
that So that's hard to all lots of stuff, you
know You're getting out of shape and maybe you're
drinking a little bit more because you had such
a day And it's not like one day or two. This
is like every day for you guys And so I can just
hear how draining it is, but also rewarding.
It's not all bad, you know, because it's a rewarding
job too. But Dr. Bond, at some point we got to
talk about this book now. Okay. Yes, definitely.
Let me tell you what I love about this book.
Let me tell you what I love about it. Because
of course, when you asked me to write the forward
to it, you sent me an advance copy. What I love
about this book is that The reader is first introduced
to the protagonist or the the main character
through his journal entries Yeah, I thought there
was a brilliant way to sort of bring people in
engage to reader and get them immersed into the
story I'm not gonna give too much away for those
who haven't purchased their copy yet. But the
way this is written it makes you become Kind
of emotionally attached to the characters. I
remember when I was reading I was I was texting
you in real time about my response Those characters
pissed me off one the little boys. I wanted to
fight I'm like, okay now come on, you know, and
then one of the administrators he had some stuff
going on I was like look, this is not right,
you know, so it's a very emotional story You
get caught up into it from the very first page
because it starts off with a journal entry So
you just immediately drawn in so I love that
about the book. And like I said, I went from
hating one of the characters to at the end, he
was one of my favorite characters during the
end. And so I just love the way you put all this
together and the way you gave us a raw glimpse
into the dark side of teaching. And so I just
want to give you your props on that. My question
is, what made you use that particular method
of telling the story that that narrative style
it was that Purpose driven or did you kind of
repurpose some journal that you actually had
or how did you come about that at all? You know,
it's interesting about that. You're like the
third person actually that I did the journal
style because I know me as a thinker I May not
journal everything but that's how I think sometimes
and I want people to really feel the protagonist
the teacher name was Jared I want people to feel
how he felt how he was struggling but trying
to hold it together. So he's at the new school,
he's getting punked, he getting disrespected,
and it's just a whole lot going on. And so one
of the things in the story, because you know
I don't want to tell the whole story, but he
gets injured trying to break up a fight and it
leads to a downhill spiral. And I know, and also
one of the characters who was another teacher
went through some, that person went through where
I remember I was breaking up a fight one time,
this was a few years ago. And before I got to
it, it was like in the gym, and this kid was
getting beat up really bad. Like he got punched
about five, six times in his eye. And I pushed
the other kid away from him and stopped it at
that point. So I get home, I get a phone call
from his grandmother, and first I'm thinking,
how in the world did she get my cell phone number?
And she yelled at me and saying, Dr. Bond, Dr.
Bond, my son came home with a black eye and he
said, you caused it. He said, you hit him in
the eye. We're trying to break the fight and
this and that. I said, ma 'am, wait a minute.
I said, first off, your son was cursing the kid
out. And I saw the kid punching him. I saw the
kid punch him in the eye at least five times.
And when I finally moved him away, That's what
caused it and then at first you didn't believe
me and he wanted to tell the truth and they finally
told the truth Basically said to his grandmother.
I won't let you know that got my butt whipped
by that boy Yes, yes, and so the grandma's upset
because she said why are you lying on bond like
that? Because that could have started some up
And so it bothered me. It was just for me that
the kid would lie to try to save face. Yeah.
Did the parent apologize? Come back and apologize?
No. No. Oh, not at all. Not at all. I know the
boy felt guilty, but there was no apology. And
so those are the things we go through as educators
where you're trying to help. And I would be the
superhero to try to help save this boy from getting
even more bodily harm. But now to save face,
he lies and makes it seem like I did something
wrong. Those are the stressful things. Or when
a principal may just not like to teach for whatever
reason, may not like the teaching style, the
personality, and you fight getting picked on.
These are the stresses we go through. You just
have that class that just wanna listen and wanna,
you know, curse teachers out and be disrespectful.
And so those are the things we deal with often.
And so when you compile that on, teachers get
worn out. But the question is, who's pointing
to the teachers? Most schools don't have mental
health advocates for the teachers. They don't.
If the principals see teachers are stressed,
if they do see it, what do they do? Would they
say, well, have a mental health day or let's
do this instead? Most of those things are not
accessible for teachers. So we suffer and struggle
in silence as the Book says and we still trying
to work work and we're like in survival mode
saying like, okay, let me just get through this
day Let me get through this class period. Oh
crap, but period is awful. Let me get through
for period Okay, gosh somebody through somebody
through a Marble at somebody. Oh gosh, let me
call admin. Let me call security Gosh, it's still
25 minutes left in this class. Like okay. This
is the slowest time I've ever seen And so D looking
is five minutes left in the class. That five
minutes seems like 38 and a half minutes. So
many times, like I said, it is a fight, it's
a doubt, and a struggle. And then you start to
call parents and say, well, Johnny has an A or
Johnny has a D. Well, why does Johnny have a
D? Did he miss the assignments? And then you'll
say, yes, I text you or emailed you before what
he did and didn't do. And so... We have to have
our ducks in a row and have all behinds covered
or if not They're trying to hold us accountable
Right, and then we're the ones getting in trouble
and that's why so many lead in the profession
and some of the other Statistics like only 1
.3 percent of teachers are black male So obviously
that discrepancy is due. Yes racism is one of
the reasons and so There's so many things I may
teach to lead the profession because they see
Money wise even first starting off is not that
much now the veteran teacher make a little bit
more but For most part it's like the end doesn't
justify to me like I'm going through all this
social and emotional toil and abuse and fatigue
anything But what why am I going for this? Is
it worth it? And sometimes why? profession to
keep the sanity. And so with this book, I hope
this book raises awareness that people respect
teachers, but also see if they're struggling,
that they may need mental health days off, that
they do need help, that their load is beyond
carrying. And it's not realistic that anyone
can carry the burden that teachers go through
daily. It could be elementary, middle, or high
school. It's a lot. And so many teachers are
burnt out and frustrated and tired, especially
because we don't feel supported. And that's one
of the major issues, the lack of support from
the top. Right. For people who are listening,
when you get this book, that's one of the first
things that's going to stand out to you is just
how much our teachers endure behind the scenes.
We talk about all the stuff that they had to
do, breaking up fights and getting cursed out
by the students and the teachers and the parents.
You know, like I was mentioning before, we always
talk about how the students are getting bullied.
The teachers are getting bullied. And it's just,
there's a lot going on. I remember one thing
you told me, I think it was in your last show,
you were telling me how, we already talked about
how there are not a lot of black male teachers
out there, but when you're a black male teacher
and you're really good and you're beloved by
the kids, You can get hated on by some of the
members of your own faculty Yes, you you can
and i've experienced that before because many
times the black male teachers And I know there's
been doctor work on this and research done on
this Research shows that when you have a african
-american male teacher Your the likelihood you're
going to college and graduate high school is
higher And many times, you know, the reality
is we had to work hard at four degrees that we're
hard for where we are. And many times we tend
to have connection that's beyond the X's and
O's or besides the lesson plans. Like yes, we're
hearing to lesson plans, but we may teach things
outside the box. For me, like one of the things
I've always done as a teacher, I incorporate
music. So if I'm teaching history from any era,
I'll incorporate music from that era, like from
the 1950s to the 60s. And every time I teach
like the 70s or 80s and 90s, I love music from
those eras. I will play the disco from the 70s.
I'll play the music from the 60s with the Vietnam
War. And I'll play the song War Was It Good For?
And you watch the Rush Hour movies with Jackie
Chan and Chris Tucker. Most of the kids love
that song. I'll play it. I'll play a lot of anthems
from... Like Public Enemy, I'm actually friends
with Chuck D from Public Enemy. So we'll play
fight the power We'll play the different songs
of that era and so many times we educate we reach
the kids by being different You're not just going
to just teach from the textbook and they read
this for 50 minutes and no kids get bored by
incorporating the music Sometimes our corporate
music to pocket even his poetry book and so What
you're doing with that is you're making history
not just a boring story, but you're making it
an interesting and intriguing and impelling story
compelling story and Those are things which wonders
which motivate kids to learn now sometimes I've
seen where it does cause like sometimes a little
Roving the feathers or even jealousy, but you
know you do what you gotta do as a teacher and
so many times you had that camaraderie and relationship
with that kid And sometimes when others see you
have a strong rapport with the students, there's
a jealousy. I remember when, and this did happen
to me in real life, and this is in my epilogue,
I found my twin sister pass while I was in the
classroom. And the group I had, bless their heart,
that was a group that made teachers almost quit.
That group, I loved them. They could be a little
lousy sometimes, but they loved my class. They
love my history class. Most teachers, they did
not like, but that grew to be annoying. And so
I get a call from a policeman and I'm like, wait,
what's this about? I'm like, I paid that traffic
ticket from like four or five years ago, so I
hope this ain't the problem. So they stopped
me and say, your sister passed, your twin sister
passed, I'm from your dad. My dad dementia. Being
with dementia he didn't call 9 -1 -1 to say something
bad happened. I don't remember something bad
going on So he forgot my sister passed out. So
police didn't tell me to the phone. They say
my twin sister passed and I lost it. I cried
in the classroom and The kids were like in class
like what's going on as they effectively call
me and I said my twin passed And most of the
kids in that class knew I had a twin sister.
I would talk about her. I talked about how I
used to protect her when we'd go to school in
New York. And I had a girl in that class who
was a twin. And so I ran out the classroom. Don't
remember much. All I know is I remember driving
to see my dad. And so I remember most of the
kids DM'd me, found me, or something. And said,
emailed me and said, Dr. Bond, we are so sorry
for losing your twin. we are praying for you,
we are here for you, we appreciate you, we love
you. And so we have that rapport with students,
they show they really care. And most of the time
the kids, even with the issues they may deal
with, the struggles, the emotional trauma they've
dealt with, many times they connect with the
teacher, there's not much they won't do for them.
And we write in this book, Was inspired to write
it because when I went through that trauma of
losing the twin then couple months later lose
my dad and all those things I also trying to
teach and I had to just Drop and say listen,
I need a break I'm trying to do too much and
most teachers especially effective ones. We're
always hoping everybody for many times we don't
take time for ourselves and I learned that myself
and that's why I wrote this book because if any
teachers in that situation get help, don't worry
if they complain about you taking days off. Take
the day off. If they're saying, oh, well, you're
late with this, you're late with that. And next
question. But being more in charge of your mental
health, Taking control and charge is so important
these days. And that's one of the main reasons
why I wrote this book, because I love education,
I do. And even in the story, the teacher loved
to educate. He was that teacher who, if kids
were hungry, he fed them. Old teachers I know,
the kid's hungry, they're going to get something,
they're going to find something for that kid
to eat. That's how we are. That's right. Yeah,
that's how we are. And so we're like almost those
superheroes, just unsung. And so we will stop
what we do to make sure a kid has something.
Well, this boy didn't have breakfast. Well, let's
get him breakfast. This didn't happen. I remember
one time they had an event in the school and
they wanted the kids to bring some food. And
the boy just said, my parents have money for
me to participate for the party. So what do we
do as teachers? We make sure the kid has something.
So that's what we do. And many times, it goes
unnoticed, sometimes forgotten. But that kid,
10, 20 years later, those kids will remember
it. I have students who I taught even 27 years
ago when I started teaching. They'll remember
me, the stuff I did in class, but more importantly,
they remember the lessons and values. You always
remember a good teacher. That's so true. Even
if it was second grade, fifth grade, you're going
to remember that teacher who left and made an
impact on your life in a positive way. You'll
remember him when you're 40, 50, 60 years old.
It never fails. Definitely, definitely. Even
I can remember a teacher that inspired me. I
had a teacher, Joseph Mayer, and I think he's
still alive in Freeport, New York. He was the
first teacher that said I was smart. He put me
on the science because he thought I could do
it. And I first thought it would be too hard.
He said, no, you got this. And he inspired me
like no teacher had before. And in undergrad,
I had a professor, and we still talk to this
day, and they were Dr. Arby Bonet. And he said,
no, you're going to graduate, but I definitely
going to graduate school and doing big things
in your life. And that stuck with me. And even
after I graduated from undergrad, and it's been
26 years, we still talk. And I told my dad, I
said, Doc, you were one of the people who inspired
me to be an educator. And he just texted me the
other day and said, Doc, I need a copy of that
book, and I need an autograph, please. No exceptions.
So we are inspired by educators as well, and
it's just such an awesome feeling. Well, Dr.
Vaughn, I'm so glad that you came on. We've run
out of time for this episode, but this has been
an incredibly important conversation. I really
appreciate you writing this book, the transparency,
the courage, and, you know, just shining a light
on the emotional reality that our teachers are
going through. Because, you know, you wrote a
powerful story, but you also live this work.
You've advocated. You've educated beyond, you
know, what you were asked to do or supposed to
do. So I just really want to thank you for everything
that you've done in this industry. To everyone
that's listening tonight, whether you're an educator,
a parent, a policymaker, it doesn't matter. My
hope is that this conversation gives you a reason
to check in on the teachers in your life. If
you have a family member that's a teacher, check
in on them. Thank the teachers that are teaching
your children, your nieces, your nephews. Give
them support and not just expectations. So again,
Dr. Bond, thank you so much for joining me tonight.
I'm sorry we didn't have more time, but definitely
come back and give us an update on that documentary,
because I know that's coming down the pipeline
soon. Well, thank you. And thank you for allowing
me to be on your show. I appreciate all you do.
And continue even for more. And thank you again.
Thank you. And until next time, I'm Dr. Andre
Geary. This has been Live with Dr. Andre Geary.
Good night, everybody.