L.O.V.E. in Education: An Interview with Taína Benítez on Cultural Intelligence
Taína Benítez, founder of Teach With Love® and creator of the LOVE framework (Lift Others Voices Everyday®), spoke recently about why she developed the framework and how it connects to Cultural Intelligence (CQ).
Could you briefly describe why you developed the LOVE framework?
Yes. I’d like to start with the “why.” My own story is part of this. I dropped out of high school in the 9th grade. Looking back, I know that had I experienced teachers who taught me with actionable L.O.V.E. - teachers who knew me, who had the culturally intelligent best practices to work with me - I would never have left. Instead, I had to find my own way back. I earned my GED, and eventually, my master’s degree in education. That journey taught me firsthand what it feels like to be unseen in school, and what it takes to return when that actionable L.O.V.E. and belonging are missing.
Later, in my work with educators, I saw the same problem play out in classrooms. When students or colleagues behaved differently, instead of curiosity or understanding, I heard judgments: “It’s not that serious.” “She is so disrespectful.” “She’s selfish.” “She talks too much.” “She expects me to be like her.” “She is too different.” Or even, “Why can’t she just conform to me?” These weren’t just passing comments. They revealed a deeper issue—eductors were misinterpreting cultural behaviors through their own lenses.
Dr. Soon Ang’s research on Cultural Intelligence helped me name what I was seeing. What began as a framework to give educators a practical, human-centered system for working across cultural differences…not only with students, but also with one another…has grown into something much larger. Because this is not about awareness. It’s about action. It’s about having the skills to actually work, lead, and build trust with people who see the world differently than you do.
Now, I bring this work into institutions and organizations…working directly with leaders and executives across five continents who are navigating complexity in how their diverse teams collaborate, communicate, and make decisions.
So LOVE is more than just a “feel-good” word?
Absolutely. LOVE is an acronym: Lift Others Voices Everyday. Each word is intentional. It’s not sentiment; it’s a system.
Lift reminds educators that love is active. What you’re lifting is others’ voices. To teach, for us, means that love lifts through action and purpose. This idea includes why we build culturally relevant environments in our classrooms, why we develop a strong sense of cultural sensitivity, why focus on building a safe community, and why we learn about boundaries and relationships in education. The L answers our ‘why’ for the reasons we enter a school everyday. (This is your CQ Drive.)
Others asks us to decenter ourselves, reflect on positionality, and intentionally build capacity to learn others’ differences. This includes learning about their cultural values, harmful and hurtful generalizations, uncovering our biases, understanding social customs, addressing misconceptions, and more. The O is what we learn about our students, colleagues, parents, etc. (This is your CQ Knowledge.)
Voices calls us to strategically create an intentional space for students, families and colleagues ...to be heard and honored. This includes creating strategies and action plans for improved effectiveness in working with culturally diverse students, families and staff. The V is what we will strategically do. (This is your CQ Strategy.)
Every day insists that we do this work sustainably. This is the letter that offers us motivation to endure and persist in this exhausting work we do of shaping the future for a culturally intelligent and loving one. The E is a practice, a discipline of humility where learning and growth never stop. It’s not a one-time workshop… it’s a daily habit of persistence and humility. (This is your CQ Action.)
We’ve been told that our framework translates the four capabilities of CQ ...Drive, Knowledge, Strategy, and Action…into accessible, everyday language for institutional leaders.
What does this look like in practice?
It looks like an educator who stops labeling a child as “disrespectful” and instead asks, “What cultural lens am I using to interpret this behavior?”
It looks like colleagues who, instead of saying, “She’s too different,” learn to adapt their communication styles and strategies to work effectively across those differences.
It looks like educational institutions where students’ voices are not just heard, but centered in decision-making.
In short, LOVE equips leaders to lead with curiosity, persistence, and humility—and to model cultural intelligence in action.
Why is LOVE needed now?
Because without a system, educators often default to deficit thinking. They silence students without realizing it, misjudge colleagues, and unintentionally perpetuate inequities.
With LOVE, educators and leaders are empowered to:
See difference as strength, not deficit.
Recognize and disrupt bias.
Lift up voices and stories.
Build institutions rooted in belonging.
Practice cultural intelligence every single day.
As the saying goes: We don’t rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems. LOVE is that system. It’s how we bring cultural intelligence to life into meeting rooms and boardrooms…turning values into daily behaviors that actually shape how we work, lead and make decisions together.
Any final thoughts?
Yes. LOVE is not just about teaching or leading better… it’s about transforming ourselves. I believe educators and leaders must commit to lifting voices, including their own, in ways that build equity and community.
LOVE reminds us that leadership is not just about what we know, but how we adapt in relationsop with others. When we lift others’ voices every day, we’re not just shaping a way of learning…we’re building a more just and connected world.