Forget What You Learned: Reimagining Education for Today's Families

We talk with Matt Perry, a seasoned educator who has a unique approach to teaching history, infusing the use of storytelling, decision-making, and personal connections to really bring it alive for students. It’s not just about dates and ancient wars. Matt uses his time with students to truly see them for who they are, which serves as the basis for developing a true mentor relationship - we dive into how and why this is critical for our kids, and lastly, we look at the outcomes he’s seen for kids who have not always followed the traditional academic path. Join us!

Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

In today’s episode, Cory talks with a really  familiar face. Jenny Meadow is  the Director of Learning and Instruction at Pacific Preparatory School, so she’s honored to call Jenny her colleague. She gives Cory the inside scoop on her journey from the classroom to her current role and her perspective on what makes a good teacher. It’s something we as parents and educators should spend some time thinking about, especially in this tumultuous time. Jenny emphasizes the importance of kindness, fairness, and competence in teachers, as well as the need for critical thinking skills and creating engaging lessons. We dive into the challenges teachers face, including the lack of support and resources, the impact of the political climate, and the increasing pressure on teachers from seemingly endless angles. We also  touch on the potential for change in education, particularly in light of the pandemic, and the importance of simplifying and focusing on what truly matters in both parenting and education. 

Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

On today’s episode, we talk with Jenn Binis, a checker of facts in the noisy space of what’s wrong with our current education system. We dissect the premise that we actually talked about last season on this show - the idea that schools were built on a factory model that is no longer serving not only our kids, but society as a whole. Jenn wants us to look deeper at the actual origins of why we started to educate ALL American kids - spoiler: it wasn’t so they could graduate to an assembly line - it was about educating future voters and cultivating true citizens for the greater good. Not really what we think of now in our currently  hyper individualistic culture.

Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

In today’s episode, our guest, who we like to call Dr. Bibi, truly takes us on a journey from how she’s trying to affect change on an individual level as an educational therapist, to her bird’s eye view of our society’s values around education, mental health, and social justice. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the larger systems at play and questioning the frameworks within which we operate. Dr. Bibi challenges the idea of a one-size-fits-all approach to education and highlights the need for nuance and complexity, something that can feel impossible when we’re looking at systemic change. We dive into capitalism and standardized testing and even the rabbit hole of AI phasing out the need for humans at all. It’s not all doomsday though, we promise. 

 Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

In today’s episode, you’ll hear about an issue facing a growing number of students: educational trauma. With us on the show to address this heavy topic is renowned expert Dr. Lisa Zaretsky, who highlights, in full color, the challenges faced by neurodivergent students and the limitations of the current education system. Dr. Zaretsky explains the concept of educational trauma and how it differs from general struggles in school, as well as the long-lasting impact on self-esteem, behavior, and mental health. We talk about interventions that can actually change the brain and build resilience in ALL children, while helping parents with warning signs to look for and action steps to take. Although it’s not a light listen, it’s one you might not want to miss.

 Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

In today’s episode, we unpack the details and the nuances of a really common struggle in our day to day lives as parents: our kids’ motivation to do tasks like homework, chores, practicing their sport or musical instrument…you know, all the things we find ourselves nagging, bribing or even threatening them about  to just check these tasks off our lists. Jenny Drennan, an Educational Therapist in the LA area, reveals the underlying elements that contribute to our kids level of motivation and we go both granular, and big picture about what might be at play and then also how we not only survive the daily grind, but really allow our relationships with our  kids to thrive, and to help them unlock their own potential, on their terms. 

 Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

Diana Clark, a seasoned expert in mental health and parenting, talks about a concept that we think needs more air time, the 50-year old notion of “Good Enough” parenting. Diana is a fan, and we go in depth about the idea of embracing our own imperfection and allowing our kids to experience discomfort and learn from their mistakes. It means taking our foot off the gas, which goes against the helicopter parenting norm of our generation. To sum up, Diana thinks parents should do A LOT less, and kids should do A LOT more. It all sounded really good in theory, after all, I don’t know about you, but I’m TIRED. Don’t miss our conversation to find out HOW to be a Good Enough parent.

Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

Host Cory Greenberg and producer Staci Stutsman are joined by guest, Alex Asher, CEO of LearnCube, a cutting edge company helping to shape the future of online learning. Alex talks about how the pandemic has pushed the virtual classroom model into new territory and how his company is trying to expand access to digital learning options for students around the world, making the user experience simple yet robust. He'll answer our bigger questions about the direction of alternative models of education, the limitations and promise of new technologies, yes, including AI. 

Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full show notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

Producer Mel Nichols joins the conversation as Cory Greenberg talks with Bristyl Garvin, a mom of six who describes herself as someone who just knows they can do hard things…like envision her dream school and then actually make it happen. Like many parents, Bristyl thought the public education she received as a kid would be just fine for her own family, but when the reality of standardized testing, check-the-minimal-box arts and music, and a one-size-fits-all approach left her 2nd grader hiding in the bathroom before daily reading quizzes, she knew she had to do something. Fast forward a few years and we dig into what makes her school, The Treehouse Academy, an educational utopia. Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com. 

Producer Mel Nichols joins Cory Greenberg for a conversation with Iris Chen, an author and founder of what she calls the “Untigering” movement, which aims to inspire generational and cultural transformation, especially among Asian communities. Iris is also an unschooling mom, which means she allows her children educational freedom, something a lot of families might not understand. As Mel embarks on her own unschooling journey with her kids, she and Iris unpack what it actually means and what it doesn’t, which is an image of kids choosing to play video games all day. Iris talks about her own background being raised with authoritarian parents intensely focused on outward measures of success, and what inspired her to do things differently with her own kids. While unschooling may not be for every family, there are some really important takeaways that all parents should hear.   Brought to you by Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory. 

Full episode notes available at www.forgetwhatyoulearned.com.