Over the last 20 years, Dr. Hollie has mentored, officially and unofficially, many educators. Similar to the feeling of when a former K-12 student comes back to visit you after many years, he feels the same joy when a former student or mentee comes back to say, "I made it" or "Thank you." The next 3 episodes will share those moments of joy with three of Dr. Hollie's mentees. We start with Dr. Lavenia Howard, who recently culminated with her Doctorate in Education from Cal State University, Northridge. Dr. Howard was a participant in one of Dr. Hollie's sessions long ago. She was inspired and reached out to him to be advised about her doctoral pursuit. Four years later, she finished and wanted to say thank you. Not only will you hear/see her journey to finishing her degree but you will see her 30 year journey in education. Dr. Hollie' two cents will ponder how we misvalue certain titles, labels, credentials, and, yes, doctorate degrees in the first place.

Learn more about CLR and Dr. Hollie at www.culturallyresponsive.org and Twitter @validateaffirm

Who knew that going down rabbit holes was a thing? Our second rabbit hole is is centered around one question: Is Zendaya (the actress) black? With this question, we are able to explore the intersection of race, ethnicity, and the culture of Hollywood. Don't expect to get a black and white answer (no pun intended). The proverbial deep dive (and fun) is how we come up with an answer that hopefully you will agree and disagree with. We even asked AI (Aisha.ai) for its opinion. Ultimately, this episode is about how we collectively conflate race and ethnicity which keeps us stagnated and confused. Make sense? It will.

Learn more about CLR and Dr. Hollie at www.culturallyresponsive.org and Twitter @validateaffirm

In a if you cannot beat them, join them move, we are totally into the FIFA World Cup 2026. The suspense of the matches, the excitement of the fans from around the world, and the focus on different aspects of culture have been engaging. The level of diversity led Dr. Hollie down proverbial rabbit hole: To what extent are the teams "authentically" diverse racially and nationally and why does it vary from team to team in expected but unexpected ways? Find out how this thought process got started for Dr. H and compare your thoughts to his. This episode is part 1 of 2, as we spend the summer time "just for fun."

Learn more about CLR and Dr. Hollie at www.culturallyresponsive.org and Twitter @validateaffirm