She did everything right. Surrounded her kids with books from birth. Read aloud every night. Was even an elementary school librarian. Her first daughter tested at 12th-grade reading level in kindergarten. Her second daughter? Barely hanging on.

In this episode, Janssen Bradshaw—founder of Everyday Reading and co-founder of Savvy Learning—shares how her two daughters had completely opposite reading experiences, even though they grew up in the same book-filled home. She opens up about the moment she realized something was wrong, the simple intervention that changed everything, and why flexibility in education is the greatest gift you can give your kids.

Therapists say their #1 clients are homeschool moms. Dalena Wallace understands why - and she's found a better way.

After 13 years of homeschooling six kids, Dalena admits she's "not gifted at teaching." But instead of burning out, she built something different: a hybrid approach that brings tutors, co-ops, and community into her kids' education. In this episode, she shares why letting go of the "super mom" expectation changed everything - and how other homeschool families can do the same.

Chapters:

(00:00) - Therapists' #1 Clients Are Homeschool Moms(00:45) - Meet Dalena: 6 Kids, 13 Years Homeschooling(05:17) - "I'm Not Gifted at Teaching"(14:43) - The Hybrid Model Changed Everything(21:09) - Why She Sent Two Kids to Private School(25:50) - Pulled Her Daughter Out After 6 Weeks(36:03) - Her Dream: A School in Every Neighborhood(45:38) - Find the People, Not the Curriculum(51:28) - "Weepy Wednesday" and Homeschool Burnout

Most parents pull their kids out of music lessons the moment the "practice battles" start. It feels like a waste of money to pay for lessons when the kid isn't doing the work at home. But Deborah Pratt, founder of Southern Oregon School of Music, argues that this efficiency mindset is actually robbing children of the real ROI.In this episode, she shares the story of a student who spent 8 years "mediocrely" playing piano, guitar, and ukulele—only to discover at age 16 that he was a born bass player. Had he quit during the "low practice" years, he never would have found it. Deb reveals why the *environment* of music (the community, the brain development, the weekly touchpoint) matters more than the daily grind, and why the "Corpus Callosum" might be the best reason to keep paying for lessons even when your kid won't practice.

---

**00:00** - Welcome & Deborah's Journey to Music Education

**02:06** - Southern Oregon School of Music's Grand Reopening

**03:21** - Why Parents Put Kids in Music (The Research)

**04:18** - The Trumpet Regret: When Quitting Is the Wrong Answer

**08:55** - Never Quit at the Frustration Point

**12:35** - Music & Brain Development: The Corpus Callosum

**26:31** - Piano as the Foundation Instrument

**34:01** - The Piano-to-Bass Discovery Journey

**38:20** - The Social Glue: Community Creates Persistence

**42:45** - Trial Lessons & Finding the Right Teacher

---

## GUEST

**Deborah Pratt**Founder & Director, Southern Oregon School of MusicDeborah is a music educator with a Master's degree in Music Education and a bachelor's degree in Vocal Music Education. She spent nine years as a college instructor before founding and growing a Kinder Music program into a thriving music school with 172 students across multiple age groups and instruments. Her approach prioritizes persistence, community, and the neurological benefits of music education.

You don’t need a bell schedule to keep your kids on track—you need Jean Lee’s “plan everything, pause for magic” rhythm. Neuroscientist and Academy of Chaos founder Jean Lee never planned to homeschool—now she’s the mentor every family corners at soccer practice. In this conversation with Ela Richmond, Jean shares how she maps an entire year in Homeschool Planet in one weekend, keeps even her four-year-old accountable, and still slams the brakes to chase June berries or inspect insects.

If you’re a working parent, raising twice-exceptional kids, or just trying to stop the daily workbook wars, this episode is your blueprint for flexible structure.

Chapters:00:00 – Plan, then slam the brakes

00:35 – Why every parent finds Jean at soccer practice

04:05 – Flexible structure vs. deschooling myths

10:12 – Homeschool Planet and year-round pacing

16:45 – Teaching independence (even for four-year-olds)

24:30 – Parenting philosophy inside the “Academy of Chaos”

30:05 – Dopamine-proof screen time strategy

36:20 – Tech, AI, and executive function

43:00 – Curriculum isn’t a workbook

50:10 – Jean’s resource library + how to connect

Parents worry about smartphones destroying their kids' mental health. But research shows something very different is actually causing anxiety and depression in teens.

In this episode, biopsychologist Dr. Peter Gray reveals what 83% of anxious teens actually cite as their primary source of stress—and it's not what you think. He breaks down decades of research, challenges the popular narrative about social media, and explains why we keep blaming new media instead of looking at the real problem.

Chapters:

(00:00) - The 83% Stat: What Kids Blame for Anxiety(01:45) - Introduction to Peter Gray(03:30) - The Anxiety Crisis Started in 1950 (Not 2010)(12:15) - How School Changed: The Great Freedom Decline(22:45) - Why Kids Got Better in the 1990s(33:00) - The Social Media Myth Debunked(43:15) - Parenting Became a Job (Here's How to Stop)(52:30) - School: The Direct Cause of Teen Anxiety(59:45) - Self-Directed Education Works (Here's Why)(67:20) - Practical Advice for Giving Kids Back Freedom

You think your child is ignoring you when you yell. But Dr. Amy Moore reveals the shocking neuroscience: their brain literally can't process language during fight-or-flight.

It's not defiance. It's auditory exclusion—an evolutionary survival mechanism.

Dr. Amy Moore is the host of [Brainy Moms Podcast](https://www.thebrainymoms.com/) and specializes in cognitive psychology and ADHD education. Her research spans 5,000+ ADHD brains.

Timestamps:

0:00 — Cold Open: "They Can't Hear You"

0:22 — Introduction & Dr. Amy's Background

2:59 — Why Dr. Amy Became an ADHD Specialist

3:29 — Personal Diagnosis Story

6:31 — Step One: Ruling Out Basic Needs

7:15 — The Attention Myth (Brain shifts focus 4x/second)

8:10 — Why ADHD Brains Get Distracted

9:08 — Fight-or-Flight & Amygdala Hijack

10:23 — What "Defiance" Really Is

15:00 — Auditory Exclusion When Yelling

18:12 — Mirror Neurons & Emotional Contagion

22:00 — Islands of Competence Framework

35:00 — The Bucket Theory

37:14 — Real-World Proof: From "Can't Spell" to College A's

40:33 — Research Findings: Working Memory, Not Attention

42:00 — Closing & Resources

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Teaching is relational work. When we turn what a child naturally loves into a graded assignment, we destroy the very motivation that made it beautiful in the first place.

Join Brenna Clarke Gray, an educator and researcher who studies how technology and systems shape learning, as she explains why grading something your child loves might be the quickest way to kill their intrinsic motivation.

Brenna hosts the podcast **Community of Praxis**, which explores big ideas in education through a care-centered, student-focused lens while acknowledging real structural limitations like time, funding, and precarity. As a mother of two, she advocates for protecting childhood, limiting data harvesting, and teaching kids to think critically about technology rather than simply using it.

Resources:

- Brenna's website: https://brennaclarkegray.ca/

- Community of Praxis Podcast: https://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Scholarly-Podcasts/Community-of-Praxis

---

00:00 - Welcome & Guest Introduction

00:31 - How Brenna Got Fascinated by Teaching

02:46 - Faculty Support and the Hidden Problem with Education

05:26 - Why Teaching and Learning is Relational Work

08:20 - We Measure Compliance Instead of Learning

10:41 - Universal Design for Learning: Multiple Pathways

15:46 - The Content Overload Problem

18:36 - The Pandemic's Missed Opportunity

21:05 - How External Standards Shape Student Behavior

24:35 - The Intrinsic Motivation Paradox

30:10 - Boredom as the Fuel for Lifelong Learning

34:30 - The Moment You Kill Your Kid's Love of Learning

37:00 - Home Culture and Technology Boundaries

41:20 - Intentional Limits on Screen Time & Data Privacy

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Former public school teacher Ken Danford made a radical decision 30 years ago: quit the classroom and help teenagers leave school entirely—proving that unschooling and self-directed learning produce thriving, successful adults. Through North Star, his pioneering model for teen liberation from traditional education, Danford has guided hundreds of young people toward lives of autonomy, purpose, and genuine learning freedom.

Resources Mentioned:

- North Star: [https://northstarteens.org](https://northstarteens.org/)

- Liberated Learners Network: [https://liberatedlearners.net](https://liberatedlearners.net/)

- Ken's book *Learning Is Natural, School Is Optional*: [https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Natural-School-Optional-approach/dp/1733549005](https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Natural-School-Optional-approach/dp/1733549005?crid=Y8O3F37Y5PBJ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.e7A8n8GIMXgJQ3tOfubE0PUfQxKPssSoUYqw9FVHsIw-7y_6IbT_7ldJEjzhXEWGP6sFQIYAjbsa_tquRHf0uOFtEcgIh52bO8SfvqrhvO0MsHpJ6q2waqwyu9ulK2xqHZ-yF8Gll5CzLlrEsHxF-wZqCpy7cYA2OcfdSrpn_FuMjk_PN31Df9tkyBbyURhPeKSOTWfrFvpX4RJ8vzKUt_v65PuiPaZkhIABHdZ42Bk.OofPP94bYEH3M-AOMO3OQq7I697tqRXdhYSkxiFvsOg&dib_tag=se&keywords=school+is+optional+learning+is+natural&qid=1761600436&s=books&sprefix=schoool+is+optional+learning+is+natu%2Cstripbooks%2C204&sr=1-1)

- OpenEd: [https://openedschool.com](https://openedschool.com/)

Chapters:

(00:00) - The Book That Made Ken Quit Teaching

(01:45) - North Star’s “Not a School” Community Model

(03:50) - Building a Hub for Unschooled Teens

(05:40) - “You Can Stop Going” and Teen Reactions

(07:20) - Radical Autonomy, Self-Chosen Structure

(13:00) - Weekly Advisories and Real Accountability

(19:30) - Who Shows Up at North Star (and Why)

(26:20) - The Scarcity Myth and College Pressure

(34:10) - Life After North Star + DIY Alternatives

(43:50) - Rapid-Fire Encouragement for Parents

Want even more? Sign up for the OpenEd Daily newsletter at https://opened.co for practical tips and insights about more open and innovative approaches to education.

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In 2025, we're still medicating boys at alarming rates just to make them fit a learning model designed for compliance, not curiosity. Ben Somers was put on 70mg of Concerta at age 11—not because he needed it, but because the system did. Now he's building the alternative.

Highlights:

- Why a quarter of boys in Ben's school were medicated to comply

- The shocking business insight: what actually makes kids want to learn (it's not curriculum)

- How kids labeled "unmotivated" transform instantly in the right environment

- The Montessori principle applied to digital spaces and modern homeschooling

- Why parents should think of themselves as education designers, not teachers

About Ben Somers:

Ben dropped out of high school and later worked at Synthesis School (the SpaceX school) before founding Recess, a platform where kids choose their own classes and make friends who share their interests. He's now building tools to turn screens from "bad" to "great" for families.

Resources:

- Learn more about Recess: ⁠http://recess.gg⁠

Timestamped Outline

- [00:01] Why Ben Got Into Education - Personal school struggles and medication experience

- [04:39] Working at Synthesis School - Learning from Josh and Crispin

- [08:15] The Two Core Insights - Friends and choice as retention drivers

- [13:25] The Roblox Connection - Why kids love choice-based platforms

- [14:40] How Recess Works Today - Kid-driven class selection and friend-making

-[19:15] Surprising Discoveries - Kids' motivation in the right circumstances

- [21:11] The Unschooling Debate - Balance between freedom and necessary skills

- [28:00] Screens and Digital Environments - Curating safe, productive digital spaces

- [34:23] Education as Design - Parents becoming education designers

- [42:33] High-Status Homeschooling - The shift in San Francisco

- [44:52] Ideal Future of Education - Flexible campuses with interactive learning

- [47:20] Top Education Books - Socratic dialogues and Seymour Papert

- [49:26] The Kansas Learning Lab - Coworking spaces for kids

Kerry Owen had a dream about thousands of hungry children—and instead of ignoring it, she built a global charity that's fed countless kids worldwide, but this isn't just a charity story, it's about raising children with purpose and discovering that when we help people, we're actually the ones who benefit most.

• How dreams became instructions for life's work

• Why mission-driven kids beat achievement-driven kids

• The practical ways families can start serving together

• How open education enables real-world service learning

Kerry's Book: The Gift of Charity Wrapped in a Korowai of Love (Amazon, Cedar Fort Publishers, Deseret Books)

Kerry's Current Work: Reach Out Today charity in Utah

Timestamped Chapters

00:00 - The Gift of Charity: A Mother's Mission

03:29 - From Romania to Reality: A Teen's First Project

04:55 - When Nobody Cared: Learning Hard Lessons

07:46 - Dreams That Won't Let Go: Thousands of Hungry Children

15:43 - Building Community Partnerships: The Salvation Army Connection

20:55 - Raising Mission-Driven Kids: Why Character Beats Curriculum

28:42 - The Transformation Power of Service: Youth Finding Purpose

35:12 - Making Service Accessible: Practical Ways Families Can Start

46:17 - Open Education Meets Open Hearts: Flexible Schooling for Service

54:27 - The Ripple Effect: How One Family's Mission Inspires Others

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