"Don't just hear, but listen."

These are the words of my mother told my siblings and I. This was not told during a moment of discipline or after being hardhead. She would regularly say this durning simple conversation, or summon up the actions of a character in a movie. Well I've been listening, and I've become quite good at it. See, the thing is, many of us are so self assured or educated to the point that they "really" don't listen, because they're busy thinking about what they are going to say next.

It's easy to say, I'm listening, or look as if you are listening but what's really happening is "hearing". And there lies my speciality; It has been my privilege to be able to help educators, and staff solve issues with classroom behavior in the face-to-face

and virtual environment, unconscious bias in the classroom, and understanding both sides of race relations; by first listening. Therefore, I invite you to talk to me and I'll listen.

The Take Away...

* Don't just hear but listen.

* Listen to both sides.

* Don't take offense

Ross, Howard, "Exploring unconscious bias", Cook Ross, Inc., https://www.cookross.com/docs/UnconsciousBias.pdf