By Danielle Freilich and Jordana Fruchter
Welcome to No Silly Questions, with your hosts Danielle Freilich and Jordana Fruchter, two New York City educators, school leaders and friends. We were inspired to develop No Silly Questions, after
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The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.
Did you know that if you look at high-school GPA’s, the top 10% is 2/3rds female and the bottom 10% is 2/3rds male? That there are twice as many women flying fighter planes as there are men teaching kindergarten? For years there has been a focus on opening access and opportunities for girls, but now experts are saying our boys are in trouble. Our guest today, Richard Reeves, paints a picture for us on the state of boys and what we can do.
More on Richard Reeves:
Richard Reeves is president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, which he founded in 2023 to raise awareness of the problems of boys and men and advocate for effective solutions. His 2022 book, Of Boys and Men was described as a “landmark” in The New York Times and named a book of the year by both The Economist and The New Yorker. Richard is also non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, where he previously directed the Future of the Middle-Class Initiative and the Center on Children and Families. His research focuses on boys and men, inequality, and social mobility.
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Artificial Intelligence - just the sound of it transports us to a sci-fi movie. But of course, this is no longer a fiction or a future possibility. We see AI already revolutionizing countless sectors and industries, and it’s coming for education- its impact is imminent, if not already in motion. We’re dying to know if this is a story with a happy ending or if we’re in the horror genre. So stick around for our episode with expert Claire Goldsmith to form a conclusion yourselves.
More on Claire Goldsmith;
Claire is a consultant and advisor in educational innovation and strategic planning across schools, non-profits, and technology companies. As executive director of the Malone Schools Online Network (MSON) from 2016-2022, she strategically expanded and strengthened the national independent school online learning consortium, led professional development for teachers nationwide, and created innovative new programming.
Claire helped develop MSON while serving in the leadership of Stanford Online High School, ultimately as its director of admission and external relations. Previously, Claire taught French and English and coached debate at the Harvard-Westlake School in LA.
Claire is the Board Chair of the Enrollment Management Association. She is also Vice President of the Board of trustees of LA’s Wilshire Boulevard Temple, which runs Brawerman Elementary School, a member of the Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Equity Committee of the Winsor School in Boston, her alma mater, a member of the Advisory Council of Geffen Academy of UCLA and Stanford Online High School, and a member of the Institute for Educational Advancement’s Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship Committee.
Claire graduated from Harvard College with a degree in history and literature and from the Stanford Graduate School of Education with a master's degree in policy, organization, and leadership studies. She completed graduate work on a Harvard fellowship at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris and was a fellow with Education Pioneers. Her writing has appeared in national publications such as Chalkbeat and The Wall Street Journal, and she has shared expertise on artificial intelligence at national conferences and through webinars, such as with Common Sense Media.
Resources:
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When a parent walks into a toy store, they are looking for toys that will endure and keep their children engaged. And, yet how many times have we walked out with a light-up, siren-blaring hunk of plastic. If you’re a new parent, we bet you’ve heard of Lovevery, the child development company conceived by our guest today Jessica Rolph. With playkits and subscriptions that arrive at your door, it's the modern way to shop for toys - and as educators, we love most that it holds research as its north star.
More on Jessica Rolph:
Jessica Rolph is an American entrepreneur and businesswoman, passionate about the importance of early life . She is the CEO and co-founder of Lovevery, co-founder and former chief operating officer of Happy Family, and co-founder of the Climate Collaborative. In 2020, Jessica was listed as one of Entrepreneur magazine's 100 Powerful Women and she was also featured in 2021 as one of Inc.'s100 Female Founders.
Resources:
www.lovevery.com
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In these highly tense and polarized times of geopolitical and domestic turmoil, and with the presidential election a few months away, you better believe we’ve wanted to do an episode for you on civics education. And while it’s our first on the topic, it won’t be our last. Safe spaces, trigger warnings, viewpoint diversity or lack thereof, performance activism, and teacher bias, these are just some of the areas we get into with our guest today, Jon Zajdel, a civics teacher who lives this everyday firsthand.
More on Jonathan Zajdel:
Jon Zajdel is a secondary social studies teacher and swim coach in Fairfield County. Jon primarily teaches Advanced Placement American Government and Politics and civics. Zajdel has also taught the middle and elementary levels. Jon earned his MAT in secondary education from Sacred Heart University and his BA in political science from Ithaca College. Jon is an AFT union member and his views are his alone and not representative of his district affiliation.
“Bright Kids who Couldn’t Care Less” is the title of our guest Ellen Braaten’s most recent book. And it’s a trend she’s found in her renowned private practice as a clinician. So why do some kids care and others don’t? In our conversation with Ellen we get into childhood motivation, how it all works, and what’s a parent to do when their kid is being - what can even feel like a taboo word- “lazy.”
Ellen Braaten, PhD, is an experienced and prominent psychologist, researcher, speaker, and author. She is the Executive Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Kessler Family Chair in Pediatric Neuropsychological Assessment. She also holds an appointment of Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Braaten is widely recognized as an expert in the field of pediatric neuropsychological and psychological assessment, particularly in the areas of assessing learning disabilities and attentional disorders. Dr. Braaten has traveled internationally and is a frequent media contributor to NBC News, WCVB Boston, CBS Boston, and The New York Times. She has authored several books and articles, her most recent one being Bright Kids Who Couldn't Care Less (2023).
Resources:
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The 'awayness' of sleepaway camp is, as our guest today shares, precisely what makes it so valuable - today more than ever. But how specifically is it a ripe opportunity for growth? Is sleepaway camp for everyone? Our guest Dr. Tracy Benner - who we're calling the Camp Dr. Becky- tells us everything we need to know as we consider this decision for our children. We loved this conversation, reminiscing on our own camp experiences and preparing thoughtfully for the future- and hope you will too.
More on Dr. Tracy Brenner:
Dr. Tracy Brenner received her doctorate in Clinical School Psychology from Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt hospital in NYC. Dr. Tracy launched her professional career as the high school psychologist at The Churchill School and Center, an independent school in New York City, and is currently in private practice in New York and Connecticut, providing individual therapy to adolescents and adults as well as parenting support. In her role as “The Camp Counselor,” Dr. Tracy works with camps, camp parents and campers to promote mental health in the camp context. She also serves as a consultant to The Maine Camp Experience, an organization representing 39 sleep away camps in Maine.
Welcome to an episode of NSQ Parents Unplugged- where we hear from parents and professionals about their experiences with school and the educational choices they're making for their families.
In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re thrilled to be joined by three esteemed guests- Lily Walla, Loren Klein, and Lizza Assa- three amazing mamas who all work in the parenting space - for a special discussion about work and life, the balance of both, and the spaces where they intersect.
More on our guests:
Lili Walla toddler mom and founder of Auggie- platform where empowered parents create personalized registries, shop, and share real recommendations from expecting and beyond.
Loren Klein is a mom of three, teacher, social worker and certified educator of infant massage with over 15 years of experience working with families and children. After graduating from Washington University, she began her career with Teach for America in a middle school classroom. While teaching, Loren earned a master’s in both education and social work at Columbia University. Since then, Loren has facilitated therapeutic programs for children, developed resources and workshops for families, and served as the main communication point for parents of students with disabilities at the New York City Department of Education. Loren is the founder of ZenHippo.
Lizzie Asa , MS. Ed. and the founder of The Workspace for Children. I'm a parenting strategist and independent play expert who believes that play is how children make sense of their world.
Resources:
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I truly believe that my 10th grade teacher, Dr.Joshua Gaylord, changed the trajectory of my academic future. He taught writing class and it’s a skill I use and rely on every single day, from writing a work email, to a birthday card, to even this introduction. We all rely on our ability to write - so, it’s understandable that we would want our kids to develop enormous confidence in this discipline. But unfortunately, nation-wide data suggets that writing is in fact our children’s weakest skill.
What is the most effective way to teach it, backed by science? And what’s a parent’s role at home? If you’ve ever wondered what comes next after those handwriting workbooks, this episode with writing expert- Dr. Leslie Laud is for you.
More on Dr. Leslie Laud:
Dr. Leslie Laud holds a doctorate from Columbia University with a focus on writing instruction. She leads professional development for teachers and supports school leaders with taking on evidence-based practice for writing. She presents at national conferences, publishes in peer reviewed journals and still teaches children how to write.
Resources:
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As our 15 year college reunions approach, we can still vividly remember how much we dreaded studying for the SATs and the stress we felt waiting for our college acceptances. But will this be the same for our kids? Today, we bring on Michael B. Horn to help us understand what’s changed since our day- what’s stayed the same- and how we can get better at “Choosing College” - which is in fact the name of his book!
More on MICHAEL B. HORN:
Michael B. Horn is the author of several books, including Choosing College: How to Make Better Learning Decisions Throughout Your Life and the recently released From Reopen to Reinvent: (Re)creating School for Every Child. Michael is the co-founder of and a distinguished fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, a non-profit think tank and an adjunct lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He cohosts the top education podcasts Future U and Class Disrupted, is a regular contributor to Forbes.com and the New York Sun, and writes the Substack newsletter The Future of Education. Michael also serves as an executive editor at Education Next, and his work has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, and NBC.
Preschool - and early childhood learning - plays an essential role in the lives of many parents and children. Working parents rely on preschool, and research shows that a HIGH QUALITY preschool program can have a lasting positive impact on the life of a child. According to the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, providing a high quality education for children before they turn 5 yields significant medium and long term benefits for children, including being:
Furthermore, access to effective, diverse programs breaks down barriers that have prevented many children– particularly children of color and children from disadvantaged families– from achieving their full potential.
But how do we ensure that - on a LARGE SCALE - our children are having experiences in early childhood programs that best support their short and long term development. Today, we’ll learn from Dr. Kara Ahmed about how New York City, our country's largest school system, is supporting its youngest learners.
More on Kara:
As Deputy Chancellor of Early Childhood Education, Dr. Kara Ahmed is responsible for ensuring the system is prepared to support all of New York City’s young people from birth to five years of age.
For the past 14 years, Kara was the Principal for the Department of Education’s Living for the Young Family Through Education (LYFE) program, which she transformed into a nationally recognized, city-wide, early childhood education program.Kara began her career as an early childhood educator and then became the Early Childhood Supervisor for New Brunswick Public Schools. There she led all operational and programmatic aspects related to the public school and private provider preschool programs. Kara also led the implementation of preschool inclusion to guarantee children with identified disabilities were naturally integrated into general education preschool classrooms. Kara went on to work with William Patterson University to support the New Jersey DOE’s implementation of preschool across the state, and she taught graduate courses at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Kara has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University. She has a Master of Arts degree in Education Leadership and a Doctor of Education in Education Policy, both from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Resources:
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https://www.instagram.com/nosillyquestionspodcast/
The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.
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