Collegiate Academies’ Post

According to recent Memorial Business Journal articles (Sept 7 & Sept 14) that were put out by the National Funeral Directors Association, mental health, stress, and compassion fatigue costs the funeral profession upwards of $48 billion. The articles describe how this looks in the real world: 1)Compassion fatigue leads to absenteeism. The mortician deals with death all day, is mentally and physically exhausted, has worn multiple “hats” all day with the diverse nature of this job and is on sensory overload. With limited skills and resources on how to manage these feelings, the mortician calls in sick to work. 2)The funeral home is down one person, which means everyone else who is also dealing with those same feelings above not only show up to work, but have to carry additional workload. This depletes them quickly. 3)Productivity slows down. Employees are prone to making more mistakes and oversights. Paperwork gets missed because there are more urgent matters. Lapses in judgment occur. 4)This situation leads to resentment within the company if this is not addressed, or staff turnover if the owner or employee decide to call it quits because this mortician is “not a good fit” for the funeral home. 5)High staff turnover negatively affects any business, but especially funeral homes because their #1 asset is their staff. 6)Now the funeral home is left under staffed while simultaneously expending time, money, and resources into finding a new mortician. Does this sound familiar? Not only does this impact the funeral business, it impacts the families we serve when they don’t get our best. We can teach mortuary science students the ins and outs of funeral service. But I firmly believe equipping them with tools to find purpose and build their personal self-care armor for protection against compassion fatigue and burnout is one of the best gifts we can give them. Thank you Honnalora Hubbard, Erin Creger and the Death Care Collective for helping our students identify and build their armor. Families across the nation deserve morticians who bring their best selves to the arrangement table. #deathcareindustry #deathcare #visitingtedinheaven #nfdatake5series

We value the space, connections, partnership and opportunity for discussion during such challenging times

Have you been supporting higher education but getting disappointed in your ROI? Disappointed that the Ivy League college you've been supporting teaches students to hate Jews and demand their genocide. Disappointed that your money is going towards furthering hate instead of spreading light. I understand. You wanted to help propel society forward, but your money has been funding a backward slide. Luckily, there's another option. You can still support higher education. Jewish higher education. Only this time, your money will be spent on spreading light, love, and real moral values. PM me and I'll find you a great Jewish school to support. ______ ATT is Chicago’s central agency for enhancing Jewish education through professional development, courses, funding & advocacy.

June 1st is Global Day of Parents, celebrating parents for nurturing, protecting, and preparing our next generation for the world around them. There has been much to do about Kansas City Chiefs player Harrison Butker's commencement speech. https://lnkd.in/evNK8cPU Harrison is entitled to his beliefs. Just because his views aren't popular, doesn't mean he's not allowed to have them. My views are different. I don't think all women intrinsically want to get married, have kids, and stay home. Some will, Some won't. The same goes for men. We live in the 21st century, a time in which parenting is becoming more and more of a shared responsibility. So to give a bit of counter-weight to Butker's deterministic views, I thought I'd throw some neuroscience into the ring. A 2014 study compared brain activation in straight mothers, straight fathers, and gay fathers. The straight fathers played an active role in raising their kids. The gay fathers took on the roles of both mother and father. The results showed a general 'parental brain network', including brain areas involved in: 1️⃣ Alertness: any sign that something might be wrong with your child is perceived like an air raid alarm; 2️⃣ Reward: the feeling of reward you get when your child smiles at you for the first time, grabs your finger, gives you a kiss, or says 'mama' or 'papa' is indescribable; 3️⃣ Social understanding and cognitive empathy: these functions are crucial for appropriately responding to your child's needs. Interestingly, mothers showed more brain activation in their amygdala compared to straight fathers. Straight fathers, on the other hand, showed more activation in their superior temporal sulcus, part of the neocortex. The maternal pathway follows an evolutionarily older route (the amygdala), while the paternal pathway goes through the neocortex, the newer part of the brain. It seems that these brain pathways have developed over the course of evolution in response to environmental expectations. The fact is that, for most of human existence, mothers took care of the children, while fathers brought home the bacon. The primitive male brain was therefore not geared towards child-rearing, but rather towards protecting the family and hunting for food. Now that roles are shifting, the neocortex adapts accordingly. Perhaps the most intriguing result from this study was that in gay fathers, both areas—the amygdala and the superior temporal sulcus—showed increased activation. This could be a beautiful example of neuroplasticity: in the absence of a biological mother, gay fathers take on both roles, and the brain adapts accordingly. Considering the location of Butker's speech (a catholic college), I'm sure his words resonated with his audience. And that's OK. I just hope that on June 1st, we celebrate ALL parents. Mothers, fathers, and everyone else taking on these roles. #inclusion #gender #acceptance #neuroscience

Not what I planned on posting about today but... 4 years after changing the school names that honored Confederate leaders, the Shenandoah County school board voted to change them back. Mountain View High School and Honey Run Elementary School will return to be known as - Stonewall Jackson High School and Ashby-Lee Elementary School.  3 men who fought to protect the institution of slavery in the United States. And it will cost the school district approximately $300,000 to make the changes. In 1860-61 South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas all presented "declaration of causes" for their secession from the United States and formation of the Confederacy. All included statements regarding slavery, including this one from Mississippi: "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world." The State of Texas complained against the northern states: "They have encouraged and assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes; and those who remain, have been incited by emissaries, books, and pictures to servile insurrection." This is only one county, in one state - we shouldn't generalize this as being a representation of the entire country - BUT, we shouldn't underestimate it's representation either. Open your eyes. #humanity #challengethestatusquo #ethicalleadership #slavery

For some, it's hard. For me, sharing my story is about embracing my authentic self. It's about looking back and deciding what you want to take and what you want to leave behind on this journey called life. Most importantly, it's about touching the soul of another so they know they are not alone and there is a path to success. If you can't understand that mission, skip this post.

This is such a sad story. Dear Organizations, Covering up bad behavior when one has been made aware of bullying, harassment, or discrimination is egregious. It is important that leadership stop protecting their friends unethically. The people in the organization can discern beyond the facade. I often ask how people can rest at night knowing that they have or are harming others. How many more tears to be shed before equity becomes the norm? How many more lives need to be ask risk? How many more lawsuits are needed? Prayers for her loved ones. More than prayer is needed in 2024. Accountability is what we need.

This article highlighting the current state of St. Louis schools is illuminating. We are excited to see a focus on St. Louis and reporting that centers parent voice Bridge 2 Hope. We know that the work that is needed to support our schools and families is challenging, we know we have to do things differently. So many points in this article...what are your thoughts? What's working where you are? Put them in the comments. #parentvoice #stlouis #parentpower #actnow #schools #the74 The 74 Media

Something HAS to change! Why does it have to get to this point? Why can't proactive measures be taken? Why can't our appeals for help, support, and addressing these issues be taken seriously? To ALL of my Black Queens, I SEE YOU! As a Black woman who lives with multiple mental health diagnoses and a two-time suicide attempt survivor, I know all too well the struggles. I have experienced struggling with addressing workplace mistreatment, toxic work environments, unprofessionalism, being Black and misunderstood, and being told how resilient I am despite my outcries. Individuals who live with mental health challenges (diagnosed or undiagnosed) still HAVE to live, navigate, operate, and function in a society that has all the cards stacked against them. We fight against inner stigma, community stigma, religious stigma, workplace stigma, academic stigma, and societal stigma. We still have bills to pay, families to care for, and fight for our well-being! For many, we HAVE to work and desire to do so. We still want to seek higher education. Some wish to use our lived experiences to help illicit change and inspire others. Then, add the other intersectionalities that cause additional stressors, barriers, stigmas, and ways to discriminate against us. May Dr. Bonnie rest in POWER!

In this piece, I explore 20 years of mayoral control in NYC - a system that has consistently diluted family/community voice and power. https://lnkd.in/eGhrSGX4