As teachers, we know that professional development is part of the job. It helps us learn and grow as educators. But is it always helpful? No. The education system has some real problems but they never get solved because we’re focused on the wrong things. That’s where my guest, Tiffany Smith comes in. She’s sharing how her professional development business is not only real, but focuses on teachers. 

Tiffany’s new business, Education Evolution, is real professional development that directly impacts a teacher’s day-to-day struggles and problems. Its main focus is to empower teachers and be part of the solution, which Tiffany shares can be more simple than complex. Along with her business, she gives advice for those wanting to leave the classroom and follow their business dreams.

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Lily

Tiffany Smith is the founder of Education Evolution, where she provides real PD to teachers. Tiffany spent most of her career as a math teacher teaching eighth grade math, algebra one and geometry and she resigned for her position this school year.

Lily

Tiffany is also a published author of two books titled Second Wind: Spiritual Respiration I can breathe again and a daily devotional titled Deeper Than a Devotional.

Lily

Tiffany currently resides in Wyoming, Delaware, where she spends most of her free time sharing ice cream with her husband, traveling to watch her daughter play lacrosse for Syracuse University and supporting her students off the clock.

Lily

Hi, Tiffany, welcome.

Tiffany

Hi, Lily.

Lily

It's good to have you on the podcast. So I always start with the same question, which is that tell me about your journey as an educator.

Tiffany

My journey as an educator. So initially, I was in the criminal justice system. I worked as a paralegal right before I switched over. But my lifelong journey was to actually become a lawyer.

Tiffany

After working on juvenile felonies, I realized I wanted to be more proactive. So I switched out of my application from law school to a master's in Special Ed and I just finished up 10 years 10 and a half years of teaching secondary math.

Lily

Yes, that's awesome. I love that pivot. I mean both are so important, right? Like, we need people in all places to advocate first kids. But I think thinking about yeah, how you pivoted to teaching is so inspiring too like being able to have that that thought of like, alright, well, how do I go even deeper or before? Or like, what is the root problem is such a great way of thinking about things.

Tiffany

Like, again, I said, law school always was my lifelong dream. But when you start seeing the same problem over and over again, you kind of like, oh, let me I need to get my preventative right part of this.

Tiffany

So I ended up in the 10 years of teaching. It's funny, because all that I learned through criminal justice, it's crazy. I transferred in the course of just being with people learning how to be with different people. So in middle school is my thing. So I realized I like older kids, which is my jam.

Lily

It's not mine. My daughter's going to middle school next year. And I'm like, All right, it was like a new situation.

Tiffany

It is. Middle school is one of those. I did not hear the middle school in one year, the high school and middle school is kids are really coming into their own and they're very impulsive. And you know, you're their brains aren't fully developed. So they're liable to say anything. They're very truthful, very honest. And I can appreciate that though.

Lily

Yes, my daughter is that way. She's like, having any fun. We talked about the word facade yesterday. I was just telling you like it is.

Tiffany

I appreciate it, to be very honest, I do appreciate.

Lily

Oh, that's awesome. So thinking about your time in the classroom, was it what you expected?

Tiffany

Yes and no. I think just kind of the caliber of student like how kids acted their behaviors I expected. But I think the system around it, I didn't expect.

Tiffany

So I came from a prosecutor's office, which is our voted position, like the person is voted in and very political. And I left a very political system to an even more political system. And I was not ready for that. And that's kind of what kind of sent me spinning.

Lily

Yes, absolutely. I feel like I didn't realize that either. Coming into teaching, you know, I really came to teaching cuz I was like, all right. I love kids. I love learning, like, I want everyone to have access to really exciting, like joyful learning, right.

Lily

Then it was a little bit like there were all these forces like acting against that, that was so frustrating to see so many amazing teachers, and still, you know, so many amazing teachers doing amazing things that it's really, we were just allowed to do what we know works and spend the time and have the time and the resources to do it. So much would be different. But that's not the reality.

Tiffany

It's it's not the reality. And the last, like I went out of the classroom for about almost like a year and a half, two years, I was an instructional coach, and I was in a temporary assistant principal position. So it put me over to like the district I was so I was able to kind of see that whole picture.

Tiffany

And I was like, I think it frustrated me even more, right because we pride ourselves on data and what works and evidence based strategies and things that prove to be right. And yet we it's so many things, so many facets we don't use that at all. Like none of that.

Lily

Yes, absolutely. I mean so many things to change, it honestly kind of reminds me of like, what you were saying about your journey becoming a teacher or being like, what do I do to change this? Right? Like, go before it, you know, think about the root cause.

Lily

And so I'm curious now I know you just decided to leave the classroom. Congratulations on going towards your next step. Yeah. And I'm curious kind of what motivated you to do that?

Tiffany

So one plus, one good thing was I got to teach before COVID. And then I was able to teach be in a leadership position after COVID and then go back into the classroom again, after COVID.

Tiffany

And so what I am a very solution driven person I kind of thrive on, if there is a problem, there's got to be a way to fix it. And so I think not the school pascall year, but the year before that, I kind of was coming to like, I was coming to my wit's end with it, I was, I was getting frustrated, because you can't overthrow the whole system.

Tiffany

But there's a lot of things, small things that can be done even within the school in the classroom, that can change a lot of things, and we just kind of are not doing it. And when I say not doing it, why teachers are trying to do it, but a lot of the forces will allow it. And so I realized I no longer wanted to be a part of problem.

Tiffany

Like, and I hate to say it like that, because teachers are not the problem. Sometimes students want to talk to the administrator, but the system that set up is the part of the problem. And if I was tired of being a parent, like, I feel like I wasn't doing enough to kind of break that, like, have a solution to that problem. So I decided it was time to leave.

Lily

Yes, I hear that. I think it's so once you realize that, you know, or I think we all kind of realize as at some level, but it becomes clearer. Yeah, sometimes of like, it's limiting, right? There's only so much you can do. Yes.

Lily

And I always said my biggest frustration as a teacher is like, I knew what could work. But I was like, if I could give this one student, you know, three hours of my time, every day, just me, they would be doing great. But that's all possible. Or I have the resources or, you know, all the different things.

Lily

So it's, it's really frustrating, you know, being asked to do this insurmountable job, and then not taking it on as a human, you know, being like, I feel like, I feel like I'm failing. But it's because it's an impossible job. It's not set up for success.

Tiffany

It is it is an impossible job. And I think it just got to a point where I was like, I was so tired. But I was telling I'm so I'm recently married. So I mean, I've been married for three years this year, and he's retired every day, I was coming home just uhh. And he was like, you know, why don't you do something different?

Tiffany

So initially, last year, it was I'm just gonna quit, I'm gonna quit. And I'm gonna find another state job or another job that I can use my skills for. And I'll just kind of buy out my just kind of workout the last 14 years. Because I was gonna say like, you need 14 more years to retire, like, and I'm like.

Tiffany

But the problem is, I love teaching. I absolutely love teaching. And so I'm like, that's not going to work. So I said, I'm, I'm going to change schools. So I changed schools change the grade levels, and said, Okay, maybe that'll work. And it was the same stuff. And I got frustrated. And I about maybe a quarter through this year, I said, No, I'm gonna, I'm going to build something that I'm looking for as a teacher, basically.

Tiffany

So I've got to figure out something to do that's gonna help me have put solutions in place. Give me the ability to still kind of teach. I want to, again, I want to strengthen teachers. The focus is teachers right now, you know?

Lily

Yes, absolutely. And I love what you're saying about being solutions oriented too, because you can, you know, we can solve problems. And we can take effort to do that. And I think sometimes the problems that we've experienced were the best position to try and solve. Yep. Because we know what they're like, exactly.

Lily

I am super excited about the business that you're building. Tiffany has been she's part of our Grow Your Education business accelerator, you've done our curriculum program. And please tell our audience a little bit about the business that you're creating.

Tiffany

Education Evolution, that's the I am building a consulting company that really kind of focuses, though more on professional development focuses on the teacher. So even though I like to do, I'm going to do stuff that's going to have the ability to kind of sit down and kind of look over stuff and look at data and talk to leadership.

Tiffany

I am building professional development to empower teachers. Basically, my focus is teachers right now. And and, you know, I feel like that's only one part of one part of the puzzle, right? It's only one group of stakeholders, but it that is such an important group of stakeholders that I feel like you strengthen that part, you know, the other parts kind of that are linked to teachers are going to automatically become stronger as well.

Tiffany

So I am focusing on professional development. That's kind of my main thing.

Lily

Yes. And how would you describe your offerings and kind of what is this professional development?

Tiffany

Okay, so the professional development that have kind of solidified already, it's called Real PD Signature Series, your real PD, and really help me with that. I want to offer real professional development. And the only way to offer real professional development is to identify real problems.

Tiffany

So I want to, I want to give an opportunity for first of all teachers to speak how they feel like, you know, as a teacher is so funny, because I see even teachers post stuff on social media or jokes. And I often see parents come on, and they're like, Oh, you shouldn't, they shouldn't be teaching it there.

Tiffany

And it's like, everything is a fight against teachers. Like, it's like the the only profession where you're not doing anything wrong, right? Everybody else can mess up, the banker can mess up, this person can mess up, but we're not allowed to mess up. And if teachers say the wrong word, or the wrong thing, they are penalized for it.

Tiffany

I'm tired of that teachers need to be able to know their feelings are valid, they need to be validated. They mean, they're in their right fulfillment way, they're not crazy, what they see is true, you know, and so I want to validate and empower teachers, and I want to talk about the real problems that happen the classroom, so we're able to offer them real solutions.

Tiffany

Like you can't have professional development that doesn't work. You know, we have a lot of out we every time I go to promote development, I'm probably the the worst person for professional development was the instructor or facilitator has no idea that they're walking into like, a fire with me.

Tiffany

Because I'm always like, oh, when's the last time you taught? How about kids doing this? And you know, you're always like, usually hasn't been in the classroom for years, and they know nothing about, so they're not offering you any valuable information to sustain you through the year, you know, so I want to change that I'm gonna offer me real PD. That's the name of it. Real PD Signature Series.

Lily

I love that so much. And I love how you shared you know, starting with just acknowledging and validating because I think so much is swept under the rug. Or like, oh, it's cute. See, teacher time. Yeah. Teachers are just giving, giving, giving, and like, so adorable.

Lily

No. Like, that's another reality. Right? And so I started with just like, well, what is the reality? Like, what is not working? And going back to our, you know, what we said earlier of just like, this whole system, this impossible job. And then on top of it, being under a microscope.

Lily

Yeah, not only they'll like, internal, I'm not doing enough. But also all these people telling you, you're not doing enough or you're not doing it right, or all the different feedback is incredibly unsustainable and exhausting. And not okay, so I think just started with like, hey, it's not okay. And how are we going to then solve it?

Lily

You have to acknowledge it, you know, and so we go in and have these PD's and we're like, oh, okay, we're gonna learn about these different strategies for teaching reading, and you're like, but my students aren't showing up to class.

Tiffany

And so that's the thing they never, you know, some of the solutions aren't some big complex solution. It's simple solutions. But in order to give people simple solutions, you have to talk about the real problems. And a lot of times, we just don't, we want to talk around the problem, but we don't talk about the actual problem.

Tiffany

You know, and, and that's, that's why I want to be able to, you know, teachers can't say this are teachers, you know, one day I posted on the beach, I'm like, these parents are getting on my nerves, and my friends are like, Oh, my God, you put that on your bed, you know, but it's true. I'm a parent, and I as a parent, and as a teacher, you know, I think some of they forget, we're human, you know, we are human too.

Tiffany

And just like we're parents, you know, they're always like, well, this bet there's a bad teacher. Well, there are bad everything in every profession, right? When the 10 year 10 and a half years I've been teaching, I've worked on some really awesome and solid teachers. And so there's way more great teachers than they were bad, you know?

Lily

Absolutely. And I think like a system creates, like burnt out bitter teachers. Understand, like, I feel like, if I kept teaching, I probably would be like, not a great teacher right now. Because I would just be resentful, like counting down to summer and just feeling like, burnt out, like beyond repair. And so I think that it's understandable too.

Lily

And people like to, like, blame individual people absolute rather than a whole unsupported system and thinking about how to change that. So I love that you're thinking about, again, going to the root of the problem. And again, thinking about I mean, it really does mirror so many things in your story.

Lily

I think I'm just like, hey, being a classroom teacher seeing all these teachers and seeing this problem, like you're creating the solution. Right. And I think that teachers will really resonate with that too.

Tiffany

I'm excited. I am so excited.

Lily

Me too, yes. I mean, it's so needed, So needed. So I know you're at the beginning of your business journey, but are there anything else that you've learned about kind of yourself or starting a business that you'd want to share?

Tiffany

I absolutely have magazines for where your point? Yes, but I absolutely appreciate you I really do. So I am a kind of a go getter anyway, and I kind of do a bunch of stuff. But one thing was changing my mindset. So once I one thing about changing any type of direction, you're going to be uncomfortable.

Tiffany

So I am very uncomfortable. But I'm with someone who recognize that and kind of helps me kind of work through that. And I appreciate you for that. Because I am literally crazy, like, I actually did a video on when kids were telling me I was crazy than the kids that I love. And what you're crazy, you know.

Tiffany

And so I love that I'm working with someone who works with who I am, right. So I'm able to build something, I'm building what I want to build, I'm not building something that someone thinks sounds better if you say it this way, or if you do it this way better, you know.

Tiffany

So even like kind of cloning that signature series that real pd i wrote that perfect, you know, that is so important. In a journey like this, when you're kind of trailblazing and going down somewhere you're not used to, you kind of want somebody that's going to kind of pull that out of you and kind of help you kind of build that where you're going.

Tiffany

So I absolutely appreciate you. That's the truth. You've helped me start with simple things on one thing at a time, versus I'm like doing 90 things in my head at one time, all the time, you know, and just kind of having that mindset that I can do it like the whole time I've been working with you, oh, you're gonna do this.

Tiffany

And I'm like, and the closer it gets to me watching, I'm like, oh my god, I really want to, you know, I talk in front of kids all day, who are 14-15 and say anything, and I'm teachers and but for some reason this is makes me very nervous, you know, and even though I know my intentions for it, so I know it's going to be great just because my intentions are great for it.

Tiffany

But it's still there's this nervousness that you do, because you're used to doing routine, like going to school, you're a teacher, you do this, you know, and I must say last two weeks, I actually resigned has been the most liberating thing in my life, like, I feel so free the last few weeks.

Tiffany

And you know, it helps me to kind of pull the emotion on stuff and be able to look at things logically. And I you know, I do love teaching, and I'm going to continue to teach just in a different way.

Lily

Absolutely. I mean, it really feels like it's your next step, right. I mean, you're using all that you've learned, and you're creating something that then will impact so many more teachers, and so many more students in so many more schools. And so I think that is really super inspiring.

Lily

And it's such a joy to work with you and see your ideas come to life. And really, I'm so excited about the real PD and just really inspired by your commitment to creating what you wish was out there. Right. And also just want to normalize that it is scary. Like, it is scary.

Lily

And for everybody, you know, for everybody trying something new, it is scary. And I think that's really awesome. You know, I think adults should do things that are scary, absolutely should do things that push us outside of our comfort zone. And we should do things that are done really awkwardly, and that we, you know, don't do really well the first time like all of that is how we learn.

Lily

And I think that as grown ups and especially as grown ups we're in teaching right where it's like can be like Groundhog's Day, and every year, we're like going back to the classroom again. And again, we get so stuck in it, we do, it's hard to even see that there's a different world out there and all the different feelings that come around it.

Lily

You know, feeling scared, feeling nervous, feeling like uncertain stops us, but those actually should motivate us like, I really do think that we need to feel scared.

Tiffany

We always encourage students to do this, right? We encourage students to be uncomfortable, we encourage students to step outside and we encourage students, you know, we're the best cheerleaders for everyone else, but ourselves.

Tiffany

And I think thoughts and that's because society is kind of beat us down to work out like, where's what to say in this one spot and do this, you know, so it's so funny, because we always expected students to do something specific and then certain things and then it's hard as an adult to do you know, so it's, it's, we can't encourage this. And so who else better to do it than us?

Lily

Yeah, absolutely. No, I always like give myself pep talks like I did to my kindergarteners many years ago. Mistakes are how we learn. I said really like flippantly to my students just like, oh, mistakes are great, you know. And then now I'm like, Oh, they're actually really hard, but also how we learn.

Lily

Absolutely. So I think that is the key mindset of just like, yeah, doing anything new is gonna be uncomfortable. And we're going to make mistakes. It's not going to be successful right away. But you have all the skills you need to persevere and to figure out what works. Yeah, and I think it is free. You know, it is like you'll figure it out. You know, you'll figure it out by doing it.

Tiffany

Absolutely awesome.

Lily

Well thinking back to other teachers or how you felt as a teacher, you know, thinking about maybe leaving the classroom, thinking about how it might not be working for you. What advice would you give teachers considering leaving the classroom?

Tiffany

So for years, I think I held up leaving the classroom because I felt like I was leaving kids, right. So anybody who teaches especially I teach secondary, I teach eighth, ninth 10th grade, and most of the time, I've always worked at a low income on public school, you're parenting kids, right.

Tiffany

So your you're parenting kids. And so you think that as a parent, you don't leave your child, right. So that's kind of it, it's this unhealthy way of thinking, I've got to stay here for the kids and I have my own child, she's thank god, she's a freshman in college. And, and she even said a few times, like, I feel like you do all these for all these kids mom and your, your after schools.

Tiffany

Because I mean, I did a little more than normal, I deal with kids after school, and kids have my phone number and my kids messaging me during, if I can't get the school for finals, and so it'd become very, it becomes very draining because you try to be everything to everyone in that's absolutely an impossible position.

Tiffany

And so if you're thinking I gotta stay for kids, or, you know, you have this one kid in mind that you have to stay for, and you know, every year it's gonna be another. That's what I gotta say for you. I said, at some point, you want to be giving a service as your best self, right? You want to be servicing kids in your best state.

Tiffany

And if being in the classroom is not allowing you to be in your best version of you, you might need to really think about leaving and leaving doesn't mean leaving them, we have to learn to really balance what's important, we don't get to sacrifice ourselves, you know, to me, like we want to, like sacrifice ourselves for.

Tiffany

And I can respect that we have a noble job, I think people don't realize that we do a lot of sacrificing our own personal stuff for money time for kids. But at some point, you got to have boundaries and some balance, you got to bring it back, right? You can't possibly be a God to everyone, that's not even your job to do.

Tiffany

You can't do what can't be done, all that's gonna do is drain you, and you're not helping kids. You know, when you're not like, this year, I have some kids were like, Oh my gosh, you're having a bad day, we read your scripture, you know, and you start to not give the best version of yourself when you stay in a place that you're not supposed to be anymore. So when it's time to go, it's time to go.

Tiffany

And it doesn't mean you can't serve as kids, you can do it in a whole nother way. Or you can take a break and come back. But always put yourself first your your mental state and your your health and your and your family because nobody knows you're missing like your family does, you know, when you're sacrificing yourself, so.

Lily

Absolutely. And I think that seeing your story from the outside, like, you're gonna still be helping kids, so many more kids, right? Though it might not be that personal, like, hey, you know, I'm connecting with this one kid after school, I are going to be able to help so many more teachers support more kids. And so I think that you are still gonna be doing that.

Lily

And it's almost like this limiting belief we get stuck in, you know, like I was, do you know, I was like, Oh, my gosh, no, yeah, you're right. Like, it was like, All right, Daniel Nope. Always go, like, who's gonna go to the IEP meetings, like, who's another teacher who then hopefully will be better supported?

Lily

You know, and so I think, getting into the mindset that, like, it's not a good model for kids, you know, we can't, we can't show kids that we're always just like, trying to solve everything on our own, at the expense of ourselves, like, anyone.

Lily

And so what can we do? Like, there are real problems, right? There are real problems. We need teachers, we need students to feel supported and you know, be able to do all the things that they want to do. How do we get there? And there are different ways of thinking of other.

Lily

So I think a lot of it for me was like, I mean, everything is so narrow in the school, right? Like you're saying, like, a 14 year, so retirement, like the school year ends on this day, you know, like, all the things we get, and we're around people who also are like, on the same thing, you know, like, Okay, I got to do this PD, and then I got to save, we have my pension and like, all these things, that we it becomes so hard to see another way.

Lily

And I think that's like, also part of the toxic system. Like, it's also part of what makes this system not change, because we're just in it. Yeah, we're like accepting it as just our life's. And so I think all of it is hard. And even thinking about like, what's the other way, but you're still, you know, you're still impacting students, you're still impacting teachers, you're actually taking all that you've learned, and having a much wider net.

Lily

And so I think it's, it can be hard, you know, leaving the classroom feeling like you're leaving kids, but if you're staying in education, like you're still Yes, in fact, absolutely. Awesome.

Lily

Well, thank you so much for sharing about your journey. And please keep us posted on all things related to your business. I'm so excited to see it launch.

Tiffany

Thank you, Lily. I mean, I so appreciate you because I wouldn't got this far without you.

Lily

I will be your biggest cheerleader always.