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Toni Dixon-McFarland - Educator, Author, and Double Dutch Dynamo
274 Plays2 months ago
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Toni Dixon-McFarland, a National Board Certified Teacher, published author, and 40+ Double Dutch Club member. Toni's diverse experiences and unwavering commitment to education and community service make her a true trailblazer.
In this episode, we'll explore Toni's journey from her early work in child development to her current roles as an educator, life coach, and creative writer. Toni will share insights on the critical skills needed for effective teaching today and discuss the benefits and impact of her National Board Certification.
We'll also explore Toni's literary pursuits, including the inspiration behind her debut novel, "Dead Confused," and the upcoming "Kuriously Krazy." Of course, we can't miss the chance to learn about Toni's involvement in the 40+ Double Dutch Club and how this unique activity fuels her passions.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in education, personal growth, and the power of pursuing multiple passions.
Books Mentioned:
- "Dead Confused" by Toni Dixon-McFarland: [Amazon]
- "Kuriously Krazy" by Toni Dixon-McFarland: [Amazon]
Connect with Toni:
- Instagram: @7goldbutterflies
Learn more about National Board Certification:
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Toni Dixon McFarland
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everyone, welcome back for a new school year of National Board Conversations. This is our podcast where we talk to National Board certified teachers and other educational leaders about their career journey. To kick off the new school year, we got an exciting episode. Toni Dixon McFarland is an NBCT in Prince George County, Maryland. She's also on the 40 plus double Dutch team. How random exciting is that? She made a lot of personality and insight to our conversation. So stay tuned until the end. I won't hold you much longer. Here's my conversation with Toni Dixon McFarland.
Toni's Diverse Interests
00:00:32
Speaker
Tony Dixon McFarland, thank you for joining me on the podcast. How you doing it today? I'm doing well and you? I'm doing well. First episode of the season. I'm happy to be able to speak with you, you know, starting off the school year and hoping to get off on the right foot. Yes, absolutely. I'm excited.
00:00:47
Speaker
All right, so we're going to get right into it. Can you tell us what your current role is and give us a brief intro yourself? And then I got a couple of questions to get your questions out of you. So my current role, I consider myself a multi-potential light, even though I am a teacher. I have other interests as well, but teaching is my passion. All right, all right. Yeah, so I teach child development under the Korean technology program at Northwestern High School.
Personal Insights: Food, Music, and Football
00:01:16
Speaker
Okay, so what are your three favorite foods? My three favorite foods are anything green, collard greens, kale, cabbage, and I love vegetables and fruit. All right, the last three songs on your music playlist.
00:01:34
Speaker
Last three songs were um Unstoppable by Corin Parthorn. Go Get It by Mary Mary. And These Are The Times by Drew Hill. Oh man, my mom used to listen to marry Mary Mary. I remember them days. All right, so the one sports team that has your heart, and if you're not a sports fan, a movie you can recite line for line.
00:01:59
Speaker
Okay, so the one sports team that has my heart, and this is for many reasons, is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh, why the Steelers? Yeah, it's a Steelers fan because for one, um I remember my father watching the Steelers when Terry Bradshaw was there. Okay. And he had this sticker on this little safe he had. So it had Pittsburgh Steelers, and actually I still have the safe. He passed away in 2008, but I still have this sticker on the safe, right?
00:02:29
Speaker
Second, my brother, one of ah I have a set of twins, um brothers, and he passed away in 2020. On the year that he passed away, my middle son was drafted by the Steelers.
00:02:47
Speaker
Wow. So they gave him an opportunity, and I just thought we just came full circle, you know? Yeah, that's amazing. Congratulations to your son. That's a tough thing to do, man. like That's awesome. Yeah, so he was able so my son was drafted April 2020, and my brother passed away May 2020. So he was able to see his nephew get drafted by his favorite team. Oh, that's amazing. That's an amazing story.
Career Transition to Education
00:03:17
Speaker
all so Can you share why you became an educator and remain in education now? so I became an educator in 2003 and it was a career change for me because I was working for Verizon. and I had been with Verizon for 15 years. I had ah four small children and I wanted to do something different. and I wanted to get out of the um the actual ah corporate America.
00:03:47
Speaker
so that I can meet the needs of my children, my, you know, my babies. Yeah. So what were you like as a student and how does that influence your teaching style? Whoo. As a student, I was, I was good academically, but I had behavioral issues. So, um, I went to public school up until the time I was in the seventh grade and I had to end up going to Catholic school.
00:04:12
Speaker
So I was not the best when it came to my behavior, but academically I did well. So as a teacher now, I am more mindful of students and how they feel. So a lot of a lot of my um styles are based off of social emotional development. So what do you enjoy most about being a teacher?
00:04:37
Speaker
What I enjoy most is the growth of my students. I have my students starting in 10th grade and they stay with me for three years. So they're with me from 10th grade, 11th grade and 12th grade.
00:04:49
Speaker
So actually watching the growth and then the relationships that I build afterwards. So um like right now I go, I still, I'm invited to weddings, baby showers, um just different events. So just having seen the growth and building the relationships and I teach I teach the CDA program, which means my students, once once they get their certification, they go into childcare. So I'm able to go into their daycare centers and actually see them teaching children. Oh man, you're teaching teachers? Yes. That's amazing. Like having those relationships, everybody has a favorite teacher and I'm sure you, a billion of these students favorite teacher. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Journey to National Board Certification
00:05:39
Speaker
So now you're national board certified. What pushed you to pursue and what was your journey like? Wow. So I started the pursuit in 2017 and I did not follow through. ah Then in 2020,
00:05:56
Speaker
ah Maryland State changed the game. They upped the ante. So in 2017, if you got your National Boys certification, you would get a stipend at the end of the year for $5,000. In 2020, they upped it where if you were at a high-priority ah needs school,
00:06:20
Speaker
you will get $22,000 every year added to your salary. And I didn't believe it. I went and signed my m MOU. I never forget this and because you know they give you three years to get it. So when I went to sign my m MOU, I'm thinking, okay, I got three years. I'm going to take the three years. I'm going to take my time with the four components because this is rather tedious.
00:06:45
Speaker
And I get there to sign my m MOU, and the coordinator at the time, um she asked me, this this is what she told me, she's she asked me what school I um teach at. And I said, um Northwestern. And she said, you know, you'll get $22,000. And I said, add it to my salary. She said, yes, so are you going to take the three years? And I was like, can I? And she was like, yes. She said, but you're going to do it in a year. The young lady sitting beside her who was also a teacher in National Board Certified She told me, she said, she got her national certification in one year. She did all four components. And she said to me, she said, if I can do it, you can do it. And I said, you did all four components in one year. She said, yes. And I said, and you passed. She said, yes. She said, you can do it. And I said, and you're telling me that I'm going to get $22,000 added to my salary every single year.
00:07:40
Speaker
if I pass, and she said yes. I remember walking out the door with my back towards the door, and I said, you did say $22,000. And she said yes. i know um I must have asked her about, I must have said $22,000 like maybe 20 times.
00:08:00
Speaker
Because I was just, it was unreal. It was unreal. Like no, and and you know, I even went through um the national board where they have the states yeah And when they have um with the, you know, you get to see what each state is getting. I saw California, but California was 25,000 over five years. So that meant it was 5,000 a year. But Maryland, especially in Prince George's County, if you're at a high need school is 22,000 a year. And that's just unheard of.
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, like it's, some it doesn't exist in any other word expertise, right? Like a lot of the stuff you guys do is becoming expert teachers. Yeah. It's rewarding you guys for becoming experts in your field. Right. Yep.
Impact of Certification and Mentorship
00:08:53
Speaker
So in your opinion, how did going through the process contribute to your professional growth beyond just earning a credential?
00:09:00
Speaker
um It really caused me, um it contributed to my personal growth to let me know that I could really, I could get this done. And it helped me grow as a person because one important factor was self-reflection, where you had to really look back on teaching, but it also taught me how to allow me to look back on my life in general.
00:09:26
Speaker
So has going through the process and becoming certified opened up new opportunities for leadership within your school or district? um For me now, I have become a mentor teacher. So currently I have, well, last year I had five mentor teachers um you that I was mentoring. So I'm a mentor teacher and I heard enjoy doing it. I really enjoy doing it.
00:09:52
Speaker
That's amazing. You was already teaching teachers, and now you're doing it even more often. Yes, yes, yes.
Writing and Teaching: A Symbiotic Relationship
00:09:58
Speaker
Okay, so you're not only an educator, you are also an author. Yes, I am an author. The debut novel, Dead and Confused, was published in September 2003. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the book? Well, um I wrote the book 30 years ago, believe it or not. And a couple years back, I was working on another book, which was called like No Accountability at the Playground.
00:10:23
Speaker
why family, schools, and communities are failing children. And my little boy said to me, hu you need to finish the first book that you wrote, and you need to get that published. So I went to a English teacher and asked if she could edit the book for me. And she edited, and as she was editing the book, she started asking me questions about, because I only, I had ah had the book dead confused,
00:10:53
Speaker
I had the second book, which was called Into the Wilderness. And my third book was called The Promised Land. But as she started editing the book, she was asking me questions before I could even get to the second book. So she's working on her national board too. So she edited the book for me and then another art teacher actually did the cover. And she's also working on her national board. oh That's amazing. Yeah. So the the teaching group like really helped me really really helped me. Yeah and it seems like you built like like you said like built a cohort of friends out of going through the process and like or people like getting involved with it that's pretty cool. Yeah. So how does your work as an author complement or contrast with your work as an educator?
00:11:39
Speaker
So um me teaching and child development, I deal a lot with social emotional development or domains of development, um which really had me look at, you know, I'm digging into like childhood traumas and triggers. So that kind of spills onto my creative side of writing. Nice. And you have, so you have another novel, like Alone in the Lives, I have another novel that released this year, Curiously Crazy.
00:12:08
Speaker
How does it de differ from Dead and Confused? So Curiously Crazy is actually a spinoff from Dead Confused. So in Dead Confused, that book introduces the characters. And Curiously Crazy is a spinoff about one of the characters. And I go into her um childhood to explain why she is the way why she is the way she is as an adult.
00:12:37
Speaker
Okay. So we definitely going to link to both of these in the show notes. A lot of the reviews are really high. I definitely going to pick up a copy. So hopefully I can come get a sign by you. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Make sure I sign. And I love doing, I do a lot of book clubs. I go visit them and sign their books. And it's so amazing to hear them talk about the characters if they're real people. And I have to tell them like, these are not real characters. These characters were created in my head. As a credit to your writing. So, yeah. So the social emotional piece is really important because that the the question is always like, why why? Why do people act the way that they do? And I'm able to teach that in child development because they're looking at children, you know, and it's like, why do children act the way that they do? It's always a reason. It's always an answer behind the why.
00:13:36
Speaker
Yeah, you just got to go a little bit deeper. Yep.
Balancing Fun and Professional Life
00:13:39
Speaker
So alongside being an author, you're also part of a 40 plus double Dutch club. Yeah. So about four, five years ago, my girlfriend called me and asked me did I want to jump rope? And I was like, you know, what kind of rope, you know, and it's just... Did you do did you double Dutch growing up?
00:13:58
Speaker
I did double dutch growing up. I did. And so to be a part of the 40 plus, you have to be 40 years or older in order to jump. If you're under 40, you can't join the club. So that's been really, you know, it's been fun it and it, you know, play is the first learned behavior anyway. So it takes you back into playing. Like we, we get to play.
00:14:22
Speaker
Yeah, like that to that point, how to how important do you think it is to have that kind of activity for educators in particular? All educators need an outlet and you got to have some type of outlet where you're going to have fun. It's going to make you laugh because you know, if you look at the educational system now,
00:14:44
Speaker
It's not too much laughing we can really do, you know, because of everything that's going on um with children and and their behaviors and ah in the community. So you got to have some type of outlet that allows you to get away from the classroom or the system itself.
Advocacy for the Teaching Profession
00:15:03
Speaker
Absolutely. And so to end on a positive note, if you had to sell the education profession to someone looking to get into it in one to two minutes, what would you use as your elevator pitch?
00:15:14
Speaker
So I would say, are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of students? And do you have the desire to inspire and educate the next generation? As an educator, you have the opportunity to shape the minds of tomorrow and help them reach their full potential. When you become an educator, you can make a positive impact in the lives of families and contribute to the future of the community. So I would ask them to join you know in the rewarding journey of teaching and watching students grow and thrive under their guidance, become an educator and make a difference today.
00:15:54
Speaker
Oh, man. Strong, strong words. All right, so we have a feature on the podcast called the shoulder tap. You obviously have a lot of friends going through the national board process, so we need to get you a couple more. if We're going to have you give them a shout out. So you give them a shoulder tap. Well, here, your it's when you tap somebody on the shoulder, to let them know they're ready to become national board certified. Here, you give them a quick shout out, and we' on social media, we'll tag them and encourage them to go through the process. So Tony, thanks so much, Marlon. Who are you shoulder tapping today?
00:16:24
Speaker
So ah you know what, you you want me to shoulder to tap one or two people, but I really would like to shoulder tap any teacher that's going through framework for teaching. If they're on cycle, they need to be doing National Board because when you're on cycle, that is a National Board process. So any teacher that is on cycle,
00:16:52
Speaker
in the system should be doing the national board process. And any leader any like administrator, they need to go through the process, whether they pass or not, but you just need to understand the process. So I'm sure that's happened to a lot of people.
00:17:07
Speaker
All right, we show the tap and everybody, everybody. I want to show the tap like, yeah, let me just show show the tap all the educators at the National Board. You need as over going do need to go through the process. Whether you get it or not, you need to understand and go through the process. We love it, we love it. Tony Dixon McFarland, thank you for joining me. Thank you, I appreciate it. That was such a fun chat. I want to thank Tony again for joining me on the podcast and thank you for listening to this episode of National Board Conversations.
00:17:37
Speaker
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to them and we'll see you next time.