Podcasts about pta

Evan married somebody, two somebodies actually and he got out of the way when they kissed to make the photos better. Kevin is already behind on PTA stuff and no one knows whether a tank weighs more with helium than without. Also Evan arrives early for a flight, unreasonably early, but the fish tacos were good. If you want to send us your Dumb Parenting Submission, you can email us at DumbDadPod@gmail.com or send it by postal mail to The Dumb Dads, 17216 Saticoy St #678, Van Nuys, CA 91406. For more Dumb Dad Pod, follow us on social – https://bit.ly/3t6tE9M We've got DUMB DAD MERCH! - ⁠https://thedumbdads.com/⁠ And we're on ⁠CAMEO⁠! We'd love to send a message to a dad (or anybody) in your life who needs a Dumb Dad pick-me-up! Thanks to Chris Verdú for our show music! Check out ⁠Verdú⁠ on SoundCloud!And thanks to editor, ⁠ Annie Laferriere.⁠ Check her out on instagram! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 80 - Matt Turner Matt Turner @matt.turner1517 is a man who believes in and walks the walk of pouring into his family and community. An accomplished powerlifter, he can also be found volunteering in the local school, leading @mossmanknightswatch, as well as being the PTA president. Always sharing his knowledge, we sat down with Matt to talk about why it's important to be involved in one's community. Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Instagram Follow us on YouTube Join our Facebook Community

Back-to-school season has a way of making everything feel like a yes. PTA? Sure. Volunteer? Okay. Take on another project at work because nobody else raised their hand? Fine. But suddenly your calendar is packed, you're exhausted, and the things that actually matter to you are getting whatever energy is left. In this episode, I'm talking about how to recognize when you're overcommitted, why high-achieving women are particularly vulnerable to taking on too much, and the two shifts that can help you start creating a life that feels full without constantly feeling drained by it. Because the goal isn't an empty calendar. It's a calendar filled with the things you actually want your life to be about. In this episode, we unpack:The 3 signs you're overcommitted Why a packed calendar isn't necessarily the problem The hidden cost of always being the one who says yes How to get ruthless about what actually matters Why a thrilling vision makes saying no so much easier Work with me:Join Ambitious & Balanced: www.rebeccaolsoncoaching.com/ambitiousandbalanced Book a Work-Life Balance Strategy Call: www.rebeccaolsoncoaching.com/ambitiousandbalanced-call Download the Free Daily Kickstart: www.ambitiousandbalanced.com/daily-kickstarthttps://2

Send me a message If all your lead gen happens online through ads and social media, you're leaving money on the table as a real estate agent. Not because online doesn't work. It's incomplete.There's a whole other lever most agents never pull, and it costs you nothing but a little bit of your time and comfort zone.I'm talking about actually getting out into your community and being a normal human being. Your kids' jiu-jitsu practice. The farmers market. HOA meetings. Places you'd never think of as "lead gen," because they're not. That's exactly why they work.This episode breaks down why in-person relationship building is the medium to long term unlock most agents skip completely, and 20+ specific places to start.In this episode:Why online lead gen alone only captures part of the business you could haveThe exact mindset shift: you're not pitching, you're just being a person people likeWhy what you do for a living naturally comes up in conversation, so you never have to force itThe story of a local agent who built his entire reputation just by being a great neighbor, and still gets listings from it 5 years later20+ real places and events to start showing up: rec leagues, HOA meetings, farmers markets, PTA, dog parks, and moreWhy this isn't a short-term fix, and why that's exactly the pointGo get involved. Meet one more person a day. Give it six months, twelve months, and watch what happens.

VOV1 - Ấn Độ và Khối Liên minh thuế quan miền Nam châu Phi (SACU) đã ký các điều khoản tham chiếu, chính thức khởi động lại tiến trình đàm phán về một thỏa thuận thương mại ưu đãi (PTA). Đây được xem là bước đi quan trọng trong nỗ lực mở rộng thị trường xuất khẩu của Ấn Độ tại châu Phi.Liên minh thuế quan miền Nam châu Phi (SACU)  gồm 5 quốc gia là Nam Phi, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho và Eswatini. Theo các nguồn tin từ Ấn Độ, đàm phán chính thức dự kiến bắt đầu trong vòng một tháng sau khi các điều khoản tham chiếu được ký ‎và quá trình có thể hoàn tất trong vòng một năm.Đây là sự nối lại các cuộc đàm phán thương mại giữa Ấn Độ và SACU, vốn bắt đầu từ năm 2002. Sau 5 vòng đàm phán được tổ chức đến năm 2010 nhưng không đạt được thỏa thuận, tiến trình này bị đình trệ. Tháng 7/2020, hai bên nhất trí thúc đẩy nối lại đàm phán, song sau đó không tổ chức thêm các cuộc họp. Tiến trình được khởi động trở lại trong năm 2025, khi Ấn Độ và SACU nối lại thảo luận về các điều khoản tham chiếu và phương thức đàm phán. Trong năm 2026, Bộ Thương mại Ấn Độ tiếp tục xử lý các vấn đề còn tồn tại trong dự thảo, trước khi hai bên chính thức ký các điều khoản tham chiếu ngày 12/8, mở đường cho đàm phán thỏa thuận thương mại ưu đãi.Dự kiến, trong đàm phán, Ấn Độ và Liên minh thuế quan miền Nam châu Phi sẽ tập trung vào một Thỏa thuận thương mại ưu đãi (PTA), thay vì một hiệp định thương mại tự do toàn diện. Mục tiêu thường chỉ giảm thuế đối với một danh sách nhất định các mặt hàng, qua đó giúp doanh nghiệp tiếp cận thị trường thuận lợi hơn nhưng không yêu cầu mở cửa rộng trên toàn bộ lĩnh vực hàng hóa, dịch vụ và đầu tư.Ấn Độ dự kiến đề nghị Liên minh thuế quan miền Nam châu Phi giảm thuế đối với một số nhóm hàng xuất khẩu chủ lực như ô tô và linh kiện ô tô, dược phẩm, máy móc công nghiệp, thiết bị điện, hóa chất và hàng dệt may. Trong năm tài chính 2025-2026, kim ngạch xuất khẩu của Ấn Độ sang Liên minh thuế quan miền Nam châu Phi đạt khoảng 7,5 tỷ USD, trong khi nhập khẩu từ khối này đạt 9,2 tỷ USD.Việc thúc đẩy thỏa thuận cũng diễn ra trong bối cảnh Nam Phi đang xem xét tăng thuế nhập khẩu ô tô từ Ấn Độ và Trung Quốc lên mức 50%, so với khoảng 25% hiện nay, nhằm bảo vệ ngành sản xuất ô tô trong nước. Nếu được áp dụng, động thái này có thể ảnh hưởng đáng kể tới các nhà sản xuất ô tô Ấn Độ đang xuất khẩu sang thị trường Nam Phi.Bên cạnh mở rộng xuất khẩu, Ấn Độ cũng muốn tăng khả năng tiếp cận nguồn khoáng sản quan trọng từ các nước miền Nam châu Phi, trong đó có kim loại nhóm bạch kim, mangan và đồng. Đây là những nguyên liệu có vai trò quan trọng đối với sản xuất công nghiệp, pin và các công nghệ năng lượng sạch.Nếu thành công, thỏa thuận sẽ giúp các doanh nghiệp Ấn Độ tiếp cận thuận lợi hơn thị trường khoảng 65 triệu dân của Liên minh thuế quan miền Nam châu Phi, đồng thời tạo thêm cơ hội để các nước châu Phi tăng xuất khẩu sang một trong những nền kinh tế lớn tăng trưởng nhanh của thế giới. Đây cũng có thể trở thành thỏa thuận thương mại lớn đầu tiên của Ấn Độ với một khối kinh tế khu vực tại châu Phi./.Đình Nam/VOV Ấn ĐộẢnh minh họa AI

Summer is almost over, which means we're going BACK to school - Judge John Hodgman style. We're clearing the docket of all your pressing (and not so pressing) back-to-school-related disputes: from extracurriculars to PTA conflicts, and most importantly, how to keep class supplies IN the classroom. Follow along as Judge John and Bailiff Jesse Thorn rule on cases like: should you force your daughter to take part in debate club, because she loves to debate…with you? Can PTA social gatherings be at a family-friendly brewery, or should they stick to alcohol-free (ish) locations like your local park? Is it cool to be friends with your lunch lady? And for all the teachers out there: how do you keep pencils from disappearing from your classroom? PLUS: What. Is. The Herd??? Sharpen your pencils, because there WILL be a pop quiz afterwards, on this week's episode of Judge John Hodgman! We need YOUR disputes to make this show! So please send us your weirdest problems, your niche drama, and your pettiest disputes for our judgment! Submit them at: maximumfun.org/jjho ---Judge John Hodgman is member-supported! Become a member to unlock special bonus episodes and more. Memberships start at just $5 a month. Just tap here!

Film and TV correspondent Tamar Munch reviews new local drama Ms X (ThreeNow) in which a suburban mum tries to frighten her unfaithful husband straight but gets into trouble with the law, drug lords and the ruthless PTA. Monsters of God (HBO) is a documentary exploring the shadowy world of exotic reptile smuggling and Sterling Point (Prime Video) is a new YA drama about twins who are gifted an island by their estranged grandfather.

Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 Los Angeles porno epic, BOOGIE NIGHTS, is our feature presentation this week! We talk about Mark Whalberg's acting, Burt Reynolds being a pain in the ass on set, PTA getting it greenlit after his debut movie bombed, John C. Riley, the darkness of the film, and much more! We also pick our Top 7 1990s Defining Actors in this week's Silver Screen 7!   Join our Patreon ($2.99/month) here linktr.ee/brokenvcr to watch the episodes LIVE in video form day/weeks early. Find us on Instagram @thebrokenvcr and follow us on LetterBoxd! Become a regular here at THE BROKEN VCR! 

This week on the Talk Without Rhythm Podcast I have a double-feature of D-Day by way of PTA as I discuss Daniel Day-Lewis' collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson in 2007's There Will Be Blood and 2017's Phantom Thread. [00:00] INTRO [02:00] Projection Booth Podcast Promo [03:10] RANDOM CONVERSATION [09:51] There Will Be Blood (2007) [51:45] Phantom Thread (2017) [01:21:28] FEEDBACK [01:24:24] ENDING MUSIC: Violin Concerto in D Major Op.77: 3. Vivace Non Troppo by Johannes Brahms Buy There Will Be Blood (2007) Buy Phantom Thread (2017) Support TWoRP Contact Us talkwithoutrhythm@gmail.com 

On this episode of Remainders we start our Paul Thomas Anderson double feature with Magnolia. PTA's early epic of intertwined lives and coincidences vs fate and the sins of the father. A pivotal movie during the Suncoast days, we check out how this ranks among PTA's career 25 years on.Other topics include ranking PTA, Tom Cruise and his auteur phase vs his movie star status, other PTA regulars as we get ready for Boogie Nights on our 100th episode, Christopher Nolan and The Odyssey, Bonnie Tyler and Holding Out for a Hero, and whether Short Circuit 2 has the best final chase scene ever.Songs of the WeekLetters by Eric VorelLa polizia sta a guardare by Stelvio CiprianiRemainders Jukebox PlaylistWebsiteFacebookInstagramYouTubeTwitter

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, August 5, 2026, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd talks with educator Whitney Boyd and Luna, singer/songwriter Heath Church. Fact: Missouri ranks near the bottom nationwide for teacher pay, consistently appearing in the 49th or 50th position. American teachers are increasingly stepping away from their jobs because of the educational systems and structures that prevent them from engaging in good teaching, which involves professional judgment, attunement to students' multidimensional needs, and a connection to one's purpose and values. The barriers to good teaching include overwork and underpay, in a profession that is increasingly undervalued—but that is not the whole story. The results of a massive survey, America's Teachers on Teaching in an Era of Change, indicate a strong correlation between teachers' job satisfaction and feeling that their voices are heard. Ninety-eight percent of the 20,000 respondents believe that teaching is more than a profession; it is how they make a difference in the world. The survey also suggested that new teachers, in particular, have comparatively higher needs for both content and social support. A frequently cited challenge for teachers was finding time to collaborate with colleagues, and rural and small-town teachers feel significantly more isolated and in need of support, connection, and collaboration. While self-care strategies such as mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion have been shown to support individual well-being, they are insufficient to support teachers who believe that their institutions are not in alignment with their values. These educators need the support and connection of an authentic learning community to give meaning, purpose, and direction to their work. Such communities are of particular importance for reengaging those suffering from demoralization, helping them regain their self-efficacy, which can lead to increased job satisfaction and commitment to students and the profession. There is power and hope when we work together. (What Teachers Really Need to Thrive, Greater Good Magazine, July 15, 2024, Margaret Golden, Ed.D, www.greatergood.berkeley.edu) Margaret Golden, Ed.D., is the director of learning communities at the Greater Good Science Center. She is the coauthor of Teach Our Children Well: Essential Strategies for the Urban Classroom and editor of Teaching and Learning from the Inside Out: Revitalizing Ourselves and Our Institutions. Teacher funding comes from crowdfunding platforms, non-profit organizations, and state or federal grants. On average, U.S. educators spend roughly $895 annually out of pocket for classroom supplies, making external grants and community donation programs vital resources to offset these costs. Crowdfunding and Donation Platforms • DonorsChoose: Use the DonorsChoose platform to post specific project requests and connect with individual donors. • AdoptAClassroom.org: Register on AdoptAClassroom to secure flexible funds, corporate sponsorships, and supply packages for your room. • Community options: Most users on Reddit agree that sharing Amazon wishlists on social media, checking local Buy Nothing groups, and utilizing PTA resources are effective supplementary tactics. Local and Regional Grants • State catalogs: Search localized opportunities like The Grant Portal to find active funding listings specific to Missouri educators. • Union support: Check the Missouri NEA for regional tuition assistance, humanitarian aid, and small project grants. Professional and Federal Programs • Fellowships: Apply for self-designed professional development funding through Fund for Teachers when applications open. • Government grants: Look into federal opportunities such as the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program via the U.S. Department of Education. HEATH CHURCH is a singer-songwriter from the Midwest whose music is best described as dreamy indie-folk. His inspirations range from folk music legends including Johnny Cash, Blaze Foley, and John Prine to more recent indie artists such as Elliott Smith, Odie Leigh, Eels, and The Japanese House. Warm acoustic guitar tracks with layered vocals and undeniably catchy lyrics are all part of Heath Church's signature sound which has been described as “Midwestern Heartbreak”. Since he first began his journey with songwriting over a decade ago, he has released multiple EPs & singles and has played over a hundred shows. Heath Church now shares his life experiences on stages across the country. When I play a song for you, I want to create an experience that sticks with you. I want to take you to a place in your mind where you feel accepted and understood in a unique way that you haven't before. That's what music does. It understands us. I think everyone needs a chance to feel understood. -Heath Church https://www.facebook.com/share/1BYd2k8NmE/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/5THqQuSbp7IuOk5zQbnDeW...

"I've been at the bottom of the mountain and I've looked up and it looked like the top was a million miles away and it felt like I couldn't do it a hundred times over. And I've taken that step and sometimes I don't look up, I just keep stepping, and eventually I look back and I've gained a little ground." — Nikki Mammano Nikki Mammano's debut memoir Breaking Good is exactly what it sounds like — a play on Breaking Bad, but in reverse. Raised in the greater New York metro area, Nikki went to Hawaii at twenty for a fresh start and college. Instead, she fell into meth addiction and the criminal underworld of Waikiki. What followed was prison, homelessness, and prostitution — before a discovery in a motel room changed everything. Now a mother of two adult daughters in Montclair, New Jersey, Nikki has spent three decades rebuilding her life and decided it was time to tell the story. Mike and Nikki talk about why addiction is the disease of trauma and disconnection, the moment she found out she was pregnant, what it's like to reveal your past to a PTA community, and why your story is never over — no matter how far gone you think you are. Key Takeaways: 1. Addiction is the disease of trauma and disconnection. Nikki didn't wake up wanting to be a drug dealer. Childhood trauma that started young — and betrayal by nearly everyone around her — set the wheels in motion long before Hawaii. 2. Getting clean isn't the same as getting healed. Nikki went to rehab and a halfway house before Hawaii and had a year of sobriety. But without doing the deeper work of understanding why she used, she relapsed the first night she arrived at a party in Waikiki. 3. Your story is not over. The prologue opens in a motel room where Nikki is at rock bottom — homeless, addicted, working as a prostitute. Then she discovers she's pregnant. That moment of choice became the beginning of her way back. 4. Vulnerability is freedom. Writing the most authentic, unsanitized version of her story was the most vulnerable Nikki has ever been. But by refusing to alter or hide anything, she found a radical acceptance and freedom she'd never experienced before. 5. Redemption is ongoing work. Breaking good isn't a one-time event. It's how Nikki shows up every day — as a friend, a community member, a parent, and now as an author helping others who've been through what she's been through. 6. Take the risk. Nikki's community, her daughters, and her readers have met her story with open arms. The fear of judgment was real, but the connection on the other side has been life-changing. Buy Breaking Good: Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Good-Memoir-Nikki-Mammano/dp/B0FP5JX13F/ Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/breaking-good-a-memoir-nikki-mammano/76dd5cc34382c172 Connect with Nikki: Website: https://www.nikkimammano.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikki_mammano/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nikkimammano Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikki.mammano.3 Connect with Mike: Website: https://uncorkingastory.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncorkingastory Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sign up to stay in the know for everything PTA related: https://the-pt-assistants.kit.com/b1f41f6a09 What happens when the healthcare knowledge you've built your career on can't protect the people you love most? In this episode, Laura shares what happened when her brother-in-law was critically injured in a car accident — and what it actually felt like to be a PTA in the waiting room. Ken adds his own experience navigating care as a new parent. Together they unpack the emotional challenge of separating clinician from family member, how to advocate without becoming "the challenging family member," what the No Surprises Act means for out-of-network hospital billing, and why the hardest boundary is sometimes the one you set on yourself. Your clinical knowledge is a tool. But knowing how to use it when it's personal — that's a different skill entirely.

Healthcare Workforce at the Brink: Baby Boomers Turn 80 andWhat It Means for Physical Therapy in Michigan Host Andy Wicks discusses Michigan's rapidly aging population—baby boomers turning 80, nearly 19.25% of residents over 65, and a nearly 30% rise in that group through 2023—and the resulting healthcare workforce shortfall. Guest Aleysha Czartoszewski, Career Pathways Coordinator at the Michigan Health Council, explains the Council's workforcefocus and her three-part series “Healthcare Workforce at the Brink,” highlighting simultaneous increased care demand and retirements. They note uneven provider distribution with rural North Michigan and the UP facing access gaps, limited local PT/PTA education options, and barriers like housing and paydifferences. The conversation covers efforts such as loan-repayment incentives, promoting geriatrics and prevention to help people age in place, improving student career exposure and clearer pathways, retaining staff after COVID-related burnout, and strengthening care coordination and patientnavigation; resources are available at mhc.org. 00:00 Michigan Is Aging Fast01:05 Meet Michigan Health Council02:11 Baby Boomers Turn 8003:30 Urban vs Rural Shortages05:34 Education Gaps and Incentives09:40 Making Geriatrics Appealing15:10 Pipeline Retention Coordination22:10 Health Literacy and Navigation26:15 Michigan Workforce Numbers28:35 Soapbox Career Exposure32:58 Resources and Wrap UpMichigan PTs and PTAs! Fill out this form and save for your records for PDR credit toward license renewal just for listening to this episode!A link to a directory of all PT and PTA programs, viewable by state.The Career Pathway Tool via Michigan Health Council.

Proč ptáci zbytečně hynou. Ptačí pasti a co s nimi (4:40) – Procházka srpnovou oblohou - se zatměním (18:52) – Čtyři nové druhy aneb Jak se žije žirafám (repríza, 25:01)Všechny díly podcastu Planetárium můžete pohodlně poslouchat v mobilní aplikaci mujRozhlas pro Android a iOS nebo na webu mujRozhlas.cz.

There came a time in Paul Thomas Anderson's career when he decided he wanted to try to be funny again. So he called up Joaquin Phoenix, gave him Irish sideburns, and told him to do his version of The Dude from The Big Lebowski. And so INHERENT VICE was born, and it was branded with a fresh Tomatometer score, and PTA got to be silly again, forsaking narrative clarity in the process. Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to follow Doc Sportello's investigation and lament the waste of an interesting supporting cast!TIMELINE00:01:24 Inherent Vice00:12:08 Contrarians Corner- Wanna know how we really feel about INHERENT VICE? Check out the Real Talk (RT) episode, on your feed RIGHT NOW! (or pretty soon — Spotify can be a pain when it comes to refreshing the feed)- Interested in more Contrarians goodness? Join THE CONTRARIANS SUPPLEMENTS on our Patreon Page! Deleted clips, extended plugs, bonus episodes free from the Tomatometer shackles… It's everything a Contrarians devotee would want!- Our YouTube page is live! Get some visual Contrarians delight with our Contrarians Warm-Ups and other fun videos!- Contrarians Merch is finally here! Check out our RED BUBBLE MERCH PAGE and buy yourself something nice that's emblazoned with one of our four different designs!- THE FESTIVE YEARS have been letting us use their music for years now and they are amazing. You can check out their work on Spotify, on Facebook or on their very own website.- Our buddy Cory Ahre is being kind enough to lend a hand with the editing of some of our videos. If you like his style, wait until you see what he does over on his YouTube Channel.- THE LATE NIGHT GRIN isn't just a show about wrestling: it's a brand, a lifestyle. And they're very supportive of our Contrarian endeavors, so we'd like to return the favor. Check out their YouTube Channel! You might even spot Alex there from time to time.- Hans Rothgiesser, the man behind our logo, can be reached at @mildemoniospe on Instagram or you can email him at mildemonios@hotmail.com in case you ever need a logo (or comics) produced. And you can listen to him talk about economy on his new TV show, VALOR AGREGADO. Aaaaand you can also check out all the stuff he's written on his own website. He has a new book: a sort of Economics For Dummies called MARGINAL. Ask him about it!

We love PTA here at Contrarians HQ. This has been documented all throughout our podcasting journey. We may disagree on specific ranking placement for most of his movies, but we agree that they're all great… until now? Will INHERENT VICE split Alex and Julio apart? And let's not forget this is still part of our Bedroom to Box Office Summer Event, so who's the secret adult movie star? The answers lie within this Real Talk segment!TIMELINE00:01:26 Motto panukeiku!00:02:25 Real Talk00:54:54 The Future & Patreon Stuff- Interested in more Contrarians goodness? Join THE CONTRARIANS SUPPLEMENTS on our Patreon Page! Deleted clips, extended plugs, bonus episodes free from the Tomatometer shackles… It's everything a Contrarians devotee would want!- Our YouTube page is live! Get some visual Contrarians delight with our Contrarians Warm-Ups and other fun videos!- Contrarians Merch is finally here! Check out our RED BUBBLE MERCH PAGE and buy yourself something nice that's emblazoned with one of our four different designs!- THE FESTIVE YEARS have been letting us use their music for years now and they are amazing. You can check out their work on Spotify, on Facebook or on their very own website.- Our buddy Cory Ahre is being kind enough to lend a hand with the editing of some of our videos. If you like his style, wait until you see what he does over on his YouTube Channel.- THE LATE NIGHT GRIN isn't just a show about wrestling: it's a brand, a lifestyle. And they're very supportive of our Contrarian endeavors, so we'd like to return the favor. Check out their YouTube Channel! You might even spot Alex there from time to time.- Hans Rothgiesser, the man behind our logo, can be reached at @mildemoniospe on Instagram or you can email him at mildemonios@hotmail.com in case you ever need a logo (or comics) produced. And you can listen to him talk about economy on his new TV show, VALOR AGREGADO. Aaaaand you can also check out all the stuff he's written on his own website. He has a new book: a sort of Economics For Dummies called MARGINAL. Ask him about it!Up next, our FIRF journey takes us to Cary Fukunaga's directorial debut, the immigrant thriller SIN NOMBRE! Then the Bedroom to Box Office saga culminates as we tackle Orson Welles' long-lost Netflix-rescued film THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND! In the meantime, let us know what you thought of Inherent Vice: Is it Temu Lebowski? Can you confidently say you can follow the plot on a first-time watch? How does it compare to the book? E-mail us at wearethecontrarians@gmail.com or share your thoughts with us on Threads or BlueSky!

Sylvia Turner, affectionately known to generations of Lafayette families as “Ms. T,” joins Discover Lafayette to reflect upon a remarkable life of teaching, music, faith, and service to others. For more than five decades, beginning in 1972, Sylvia taught children and adults to swim in the backyard pool of her Lafayette home. But anyone fortunate enough to have taken lessons from Ms. T knows she taught much more than swimming. She taught safety. She taught respect. She taught children to encourage one another, to follow rules, to appreciate their parents, and perhaps most importantly, to believe they could do things that initially frightened them. “One of my greatest compliments was when people would say, ‘You don't just teach swimming, do you?'” Sylvia recalls. “I said, ‘No, I don't. I teach everything I can while I can.'” Two Lives: Ms. T and Sylvia the Singer Many Lafayette residents knew Sylvia exclusively as Ms. T, the swim teacher who could spend long summer days in the pool working with one class after another. Others knew an entirely different Sylvia Turner, a classically trained singer whose musical life was intertwined with that of her late husband, John Turner. Sylvia grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, and came to Lafayette with John, who taught voice at UL for 34 years. Sylvia later received an opera scholarship, and the couple performed opera together as well as singing at university commencement ceremonies. She also became a fixture at the Order of Troubadours ball, serving as the opening soloist for “Make Believe” for 40 years. The separation between her two worlds occasionally created funny moments. Sylvia remembers singing at a commencement ceremony when a family approached her afterward, looking puzzled. “Ms. T, is that you? Did you sing?” “Yes,” she answered. “In the singing world, a lot of people didn't know that I taught swimming,” Sylvia says. “And then in the swimming world, a lot of people didn't know that I sang.” Sylvia Turner is an active member of Chorale Acadienne. She is pictured fourth from left in the photo. A Fear of Water Leads to a Lifetime in the Pool It is fitting that Sylvia ultimately devoted so much of her life to teaching people to be comfortable in the water, because she did not learn to swim herself until she was 11 years old. Her mother, Lucille, had nearly drowned at age 18. The experience was so traumatic that Sylvia grew up repeatedly hearing, “Don't go near the water.” Eventually, her mother enrolled her in Red Cross swimming lessons at a park pool. Sylvia loved the water immediately. At the end of the lessons, the instructor announced a swim meet. Sylvia entered, won a red ribbon for second place, and, as she puts it, “I was hooked.” Her mother began allowing her to spend time at the pool, where Sylvia became fascinated by a group of young men who were accomplished divers. She simply asked them if they would teach her. They did. Before long, Sylvia was diving from the three-meter board and later competed as a diver when she was 13 and 14 years old. Eventually, voice training began competing with diving for her attention, but her love of the water never disappeared. The Pool That Started It All Sylvia's path to becoming one of Lafayette's best-known swim instructors began with a frustrating afternoon at Riverside pool. Sylvia and her husband, John, were living in River's Bend with their three children when, on a beautiful sunny day, the lifeguard announced everyone had to leave the pool because he needed to take a test and there was no one qualified to substitute for him. Sylvia was not pleased. “I went home and I said to my husband, ‘You know, if I had a lifesaving badge, I could have gotten up on the stand and we could have kept the pool open.'” John's response was simple: go get it. Sylvia and a friend took a lifesaving class at Girard Park. At the conclusion of the course, the instructor assigned Sylvia two women from a mothers' swimming program to teach. “My ladies did beautifully,” she remembers. “And so I was further hooked.” As Sylvia and John prepared to build their new home, she began thinking about adding a swimming pool. The price gave her pause, particularly when they realized it would effectively double their house payment. Sylvia had an answer. “Oh, John, if I paid for it, could we do it?” How would she pay for it? “I could teach.” And that is exactly what she did. Sylvia began teaching swimming lessons in 1972. Her first student was a young man she met through the grocery store who was preparing to get married. His future wife could swim, he could not, and he did not want to be the person sitting on the beach while everyone else enjoyed the water. Sylvia taught him to swim. Years later, he returned with his children. It was the beginning of generations of Lafayette families learning from Ms, T. Safety Came First Before any child entered Sylvia's pool, there were rules. “Children like to know boundaries,” she says. Students first sat on the deck while Sylvia sat at their eye level and talked about safety. Then she walked them around the pool. Nothing was taken for granted. She showed them the skimmers. She explained the drain. She taught them what the various parts of the pool did and addressed fears children might be reluctant to express. That lesson came partly from the children themselves. One little boy looked across the pool at the dark opening of a skimmer and asked Sylvia, “Is that where you keep Jaws?” From that point forward, Sylvia opened the skimmers so the children could look inside. “I learned the children are great teachers,” she says. “I learned a lot from children.” Only after the rules and pool orientation were complete did everyone get into the water. Teaching Children to Respect One Another Ms. T in a photo taken by Jan Swift when she taught Kelly Swift, Jan’s daughter, to swim and dive….circa 2009. Sylvia's lessons were intentionally positive. “I had the children applaud each other all the time,” she says. “We applauded for everything. We didn't just applaud for excellence. We applauded for effort.” Criticism was not allowed unless it was constructive. Older swimmers were taught how to watch one another perform a stroke and offer feedback, beginning with something the swimmer had done well. Sylvia traces much of that philosophy to her mother, who was an exceptionally positive person, and to the instructor who taught Sylvia lifesaving at Girard Park. “She made you feel like you were the most special person in the world.” Sylvia wanted children in her pool to feel the same way. One experience still moves her. A little girl had missed the first day of lessons and joined the class on the second day. When it was her turn to get onto the diving board, she hesitated. Finally, she turned to Sylvia and asked, “Do they have to watch?” Before Sylvia could say anything, every child waiting nearby turned his or her back. “I can't tell that story without getting emotional,” Sylvia says. The children understood that their classmate needed to try something difficult without an audience. “A lot of times we have to do things without people watching.” “Are You the Boss of This Pool?” Boundaries mattered because safety mattered. During one family swim, a visiting child began running around the pool and jumping too close to other swimmers. Sylvia called him over and explained that the pool had rules. The boy looked at her and asked, “Are you the boss of this pool?” “Yes, I am.” “Oh.” That was the end of the problem. “Children want to know who's in charge,” Sylvia says. “And they want somebody to be in charge.” Those lessons stayed with her students long after class ended. One mother called Sylvia after taking her children to another pool. Her four-year-old son Nicholas noticed another little boy breaking pool safety rules and corrected him. The boy replied that his daddy owned the pool and he could do anything he wanted. He added that he took swimming lessons. Nicholas had an answer: “Well, obviously you don't take from Ms. T because you don't know the rules.” Relaxation and Rhythm For Sylvia, learning to swim rested on two fundamental principles. “The two most important things in swimming are relaxation and rhythm.” Relaxation came first. A tense body does not float well. Students learned to float before progressing incrementally through kicking, strokes, diving and more advanced skills. “You do it by stages,” Sylvia says. “And that's how you learn anything really, by little increments.” The same principle applied to diving. Sylvia never forced a frightened child from the diving board. Students progressed from a knee dive close to the water, to a falling dive, then standing, springing, and eventually diving from the board. Her goal was not simply for a child to acquire a skill. The child needed confidence in that skill. “If you have a skill without confidence, it's not really productive.” Teaching Adults and Overcoming Fear Although Ms, T is best remembered for teaching children, Sylvia loved teaching adults, particularly because, as she says, “They always have baggage.” Some carried a fear of water for decades. She taught men, women and couples, including two women who were 71 years old. But no adult student meant more to Sylvia than her own mother. Lucille's near drowning at age 18 had shaped Sylvia's childhood and her mother's lifelong relationship with water. Then, on her 70th birthday, Lucille surprised Sylvia by announcing a goal for the coming year. “I've decided I'm going to learn to swim.” Sylvia was stunned. Her mother continued: “I've decided that if anybody can teach me, it's you.” Sylvia responded, “Well, you'll never have to give me another compliment in your whole life.” Lucille was unable to make the trip to Lafayette that year, but the following year she came and took lessons from her daughter. By the end of the week, she could swim across the pool without assistance. Sylvia later asked whether she had finally lost her fear. Her mother answered, “I don't know, but I loved being in the water.” Sylvia thought that was enough. Of all the adults she taught, she describes teaching her mother as perhaps the most gratifying experience of all. Generations of Lafayette Families Sylvia never kept count of how many people she taught during her decades in the pool, particularly because so many students returned year after year and eventually brought another generation back with them. Her classes grew largely through word of mouth. Her youngest daughter attended Broadmoor Elementary, where Sylvia was heavily involved in the PTA. The principal, himself the father of seven children whom Sylvia eventually taught along with his wife, allowed her to distribute information about her lessons through the school. “And then word spread.” For younger children, particularly three and four year olds, Sylvia limited classes to six students and had another adult in the water with her. Older, accomplished swimmers could be taught in somewhat larger groups. Sylvia also encouraged parents to observe lessons so they understood what their children were learning and could reinforce those lessons away from the pool. The lessons often carried into everyday family life: respect your parents, appreciate what they do for you, respect other people, encourage others, follow the rules, and understand that safety is never something to take casually. The Teacher Who Never Taught School When asked how she defines herself after a lifetime encompassing swimming, opera, church music, family and community, Sylvia returns to teaching. “Every teacher I ever had told me that I was destined to be a teacher.” Yet she never became a traditional classroom teacher. “I taught Sunday school. I taught junior choir. I taught swimming. I'm an inveterate teacher.” She also remains a singer, grounded in the classical and religious music that has been part of her life since childhood. Sylvia grew up in the church. Her mother sang in the choir, her father was a deacon, and Sylvia herself began singing in choir at age 12. Faith remained a constant through the joyful times and the difficult ones. And that may help explain the extraordinary positivity so many people associate with Ms. T. Asked how she manages to remain positive, Sylvia acknowledges that it requires intention. “You have to work at it, I think, because it's easy to be negative.” Even in the hardest times, she says, there is something to hold onto. “Even in those darkest days, you have to find something. And gratitude is part of it.” Sylvia looks back on her life with gratitude for the people, experiences and opportunities she has been given, while acknowledging that her life has included hardship like anyone else's. “I've had some hard knocks, as everybody does during my life. I'm here to say that I overcame them.” Then she adds the foundation beneath it all: “With the help of my Lord.” For generations of Lafayette families, Ms. T will always be the woman who taught their children to swim. But her legacy reaches well beyond the pool. She taught children to be safe without being afraid, to respect rules and one another, to applaud effort rather than simply excellence, and to gain confidence one small step at a time. And she taught it all while making each child feel that, at that moment, they mattered.

"Aim it at her tits, kid..." In the latest episode of AT THE MOVIES IN THE 90s, your host Mark McManus and brand new host Emma Arneil dig deep into Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling 1997 exploration of the 70s porn industry, Boogie Nights. One of the most celebrated films of the decades, putting PTA and Mark Wahlberg on the map, plus revitalising the career of Burt Reynolds, this serves as a searing Altman-esque look at the dark side of an already seedy industry. Decades on, does it have the same power? And is that final moment still able to take your eye out? We find out! Host / Editor Mark McManus Co-Host Emma Arneil Producer A. J. Black Find the podcast on Linktr.ee: https://linktr.ee/atthemoviesinthe90s Support the Film Stories podcast network on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/simonbrew⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: @filmstories Facebook/Instagram/Threads: Film Stories Website: www.filmstories.co.uk Title music: 'I Am Changing' by Isaac Elliott (c) epidemicsound.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ms. X A suburban mum and her high school friend plot to frighten her unfaithful husband straight, but their scheme spirals into murder, trapping her between law enforcement, drug lords, and ruthless PTA mums (Three, Three Now). Born To Bowl From executive producer Ben Stiller comes a humorous and heartfelt docuseries following five professional bowlers as they chase glory, respect, and much-needed prize money. It reveals a quirky sport shaped by personality as much as skill (Neon). LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We invited a panel of three unschooling parents to join us to talk about what happens when unschooling kids choose school. Ari, Terri, and Kinsey are all members of the Living Joyfully Network and they all have children who have chosen to try school. They shared about what led to the decision, how the expectations of school affected them and their families, what they and their kids learned from their experiences, and how their foundation of unschooling helped them along the way. It was really interesting to hear about their unique paths and we hope you find our conversation helpful on your unschooling journey! Watch the video of our conversation on YouTube. THINGS WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE We invite you to join us in the Living Joyfully Network, a warm and welcoming online community of like-hearted parents. It's a non-judgmental space where you can steep in these unconventional ideas around parenting, relationships, and learning, and explore what they might look like day-to-day in your uniquely wonderful family. We offer a free month trial so you can see if it's a good fit for you. Click here to join us. Sign up to our mailing list on Substack to receive our email newsletters as well as new articles about learning, parenting, and so much more! Check out our website, livingjoyfully.ca for more information about exploring unschooling and navigating relationships. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT ERIKA: Hello, everyone. I’m Erika Ellis from Living Joyfully, and I’m joined by my co-hosts, Anna Brown and Pam Laricchia, as well as our special guests today, Ari, Terri, and Kinsey. Hi, everyone. So, I am really excited for this conversation. We invited Ari, Terri, and Kinsey, who are all Living Joyfully Network members, to join us today to talk about what happens when unschooling kids choose to go to school. There are lots of reasons why kids might be interested in trying school. And if they do, it can be a different experience than we might expect, because they’re making that choice themselves. But since people are different, and so are schools, we’ve seen a really wide range of experiences. And so thank you all for joining us to share a bit about your family’s experience. To get us started, can you briefly introduce yourself and share just a bit about your family? And maybe we could start with Ari. ARI: Sure. Hi, I’m Ari. I have three daughters. They are 10, 5, and 7. And we live in Portland, Oregon. We’ve been unschooling for about four years now. And this past year, my 10-year-old decided to go to school. She attended our local public school for fourth grade. ERIKA: Okay. And Terri? TERRI: We live in Swan River, Manitoba, quite a small town. There are four of us, me and my husband, and our two kids, a boy and a girl, Felix and Stella. And Stella decided to go into school this last year, into grade four as well. We live out in the country. It’s nice and quiet out here. And we have various interests that we have going on. ERIKA: Thank you. And Kinsey? KINSEY: Awesome. Hey, yes, I’m Kinsey. I live in Lubbock, Texas. And I have two children, Riley, who’s 15, and Emmy, who’s 12. Emmy chose to try school in 2024, and was there for a little while. So yeah, we had some experience there at our local public school. PAM: Nice. That’s very awesome. Okay, so now let’s get into a little bit more of the details. We’re very excited to hear everyone’s stories. We would love to know how did your child’s choice to go to school come about? And then how did it play out for your family? Certainly like at the beginning, as you guys were adjusting and getting this kind of settled. And would you like to start, Terri? TERRI: Sure, sure. I’m guessing like maybe two years ago, it was coming up to when we could have enrolled her for grade three. And Stella had started asking about school, saying she really wanted to go. And we were, I guess at that point, we homeschooled from when she was young, from the very beginning, and then slowly relaxed into unschooling. So we’d maybe be unschooling for about a year at that point. It felt like we had made this choice to not do school, me and my husband anyway, to not do school. So, it was very tough to wrap our heads around, could she go to school? My husband was very against it. He doesn’t mind me saying he’s like, I said no, he said outright no to her. Outright no to me. He said, we’ve chosen this lifestyle. And this just goes against everything we believe in about the school system. And so that was fair. That was his perspective. And I had that thought as well. But I was kind of keeping it to myself, because I could also see with my child that she’s very, when she knows something or wants something, she knows it through and through, no one will shake her, right? And she’s very strong that way. And I could see that if we held with that no, and held with what we believed was right over what she wanted, that it would be really, really bad for our relationship. And so, my husband and I talked about it. And I just kind of brought that to him that she’s just going to dig her heels in and want it more. And then if one day we let her, maybe she won’t feel comfortable to come to us if it’s not right. So, we’ve had those conversations. Like I said, it took like a year, because that was grade three. And then finally, when it came back around to springtime, we had all talked about it and said, you know, yes, let’s try this out. Let’s try for grade four, there’s really only two schools you can choose from here, either French immersion or English speaking. We could have done French immersion, that was an option. But she was very much against that. So, we enrolled her and also really did lots of work, reassuring her that there would be no, I told you so, you can come home anytime. You can tell us if it’s difficult, but that it was a lot of work. It was a year of work getting to that place. And yeah, it worked out in the end. So, that’s how we came to it. PAM: Very cool. Very cool. Kinsey, what was your experience? KINSEY: Let’s see, school is something that Emmy has mentioned over the years, at times, just something that she wanted to try. I think it’s part of just culture, it’s everywhere. People online talk about experiences at school, good and bad. I think it was kind of like a social experiment for her. Just to see what it was like. So, before we moved here back, we live with my parents in my childhood home, in my hometown. And so she went to the public school that I grew up going to. And still with a lot of staff and stuff that I remember from when I was there, or knew from there, or that knew my parents, that worked with my parents at the school. So, we had a lot of resources, which was great, really helpful. She went up there and was really excited. She was really excited to try it and did okay for the first couple weeks. And then it was like, okay, I’ve seen what this is like and I’m finished with this. But she did not stop going to school, then she would actually stay on and for the rest of the semester, which was pretty challenging for her. Are we going in depth of school experiences right now or how it played out? PAM: Right now, this is just the choice to go to school. Let’s just focus on that piece. KINSEY: Just trying it, I think just trying it. And at the time too, her dad was encouraging her to go. PAM: Makes sense, makes sense. And Ari? ARI: My daughter would mention school a little bit in the few months before she made her decisive statement that she was going. But usually, it would come up like, hey, I think I want to try school. And we would say, okay, and then it would fall away for weeks or months. And then there was one time she had been spending a lot of time during the summer with our neighbor and her good buddy, who goes to school. And the two girls were together one day and they both came up. And my daughter was like, I’m going to school this year, or I want to go to school this year. And something about it was like, this is for real. And so I thought maybe this is actually going to happen. We were three or four weeks from the start of school. So it all felt kind of sudden and there might be a lot to prepare for. But we embraced it. We were like, okay, this is your choice. And so I just enrolled her. And that was pretty straightforward. I think she had, she knew quite a few friends through her soccer team. And that was a big draw. She wanted to spend more time with them. I would say that, in that nine year old year, there were signs of kind of itching for more with life. A little bit less satisfied with our co-op, our little homeschool playgroup type things. And I could see she was just kind of reaching for more. And so I viewed this as an extension of that. So, she started school and really enjoyed it. So that’s where we were. ANNA: Okay, so I’m going to ask about expectations. I feel like school adds some expectations, because they have a way of doing things that’s very different from the way that we all would have been doing it in your families. So how did you handle that change of expectations? And how did your child, did they roll with it? Did they have questions about it? Was it hard to kind of balance those two? And I think, Kinsey, I’ll start with you for this one. KINSEY: Okay, let’s see, expectations. Clearly the schedule part of it was super new and different. So those kinds of expectations, the absences, you know, being there, attendance, there was an expectation that took me a while to embrace. I know how it works. It still took a little bit to maybe get used to those expectations being a part of our life. And the communication expected between me and the school about what was going on with my child. If she wanted to miss a day, is it going to be an excused absence or not, and stuff like that. And keeping track. Thankfully, our school here doesn’t assign homework. That would have been quite difficult, I think, even worse. When Emmy was excited to go to school and motivated, I was excited for her to go to school and motivated to help her with that, because she wanted to be there and wanted to go. Even getting up and getting prepared and getting her stuff that she needed, and making connections even before and all that stuff. It was really fine. It was when she was finished with the experience and couldn’t stop. Just because of what was going on in our family at the time. We were going through a divorce at the time. So that really complicated things. And so she wasn’t able to just come right out. At the beginning of her trying it, that was the expectation. And that was the plan for her to just be able to try it. And then when/if the expectations were too much of a mismatch, or she got her curiosity filled, she got the information she needed to know, or whatever experience, she could come out. And just because of the divorce and the impending case, it wasn’t that easy. And so for the rest of the semester, it was quite challenging to be with the outside expectations that we no longer wanted to be a part of. So that’s just a little bit more complicated and our specific situation. But she pushed through. And I hated it. Honestly. But yeah, there were expectations. It was really interesting. Oh yeah, I forget that I need to tell people what’s going on in our family, I don’t know why she’s not there, and she’s not going to be there. And if she’s going to be back tomorrow or not. And to report everything to that authority figure. It can be challenging, for me anyway. ANNA: Yeah. KINSEY: And once when I was there as well. I had a great school experience. I really did great at school. I was there at that school my whole 12 years. It was fine. It’s going back again, on this side, was interesting. ANNA: I bet. Oh, my goodness. All right, Terri, how about you? TERRI: Stella was all ready to meet all the expectations at the start. Because in something I forgot to mention earlier, when she was talking about wanting to go to school, we’re trying to figure out what she was looking for. Is it the friends? Is it structure? No, she just wanted that school experience. So, she was making her lunch the night before and setting her clothes out and getting to bed on time, which is well on time. She'd say, Okay, I need to be in bed between nine and 10. So, she would set her time and she was there. And then you come up with, a month in or so, some uncomfortable situations. Which kind of leads into what’s expected of me. She had a stuffy nose one morning, and she didn’t want to go to school. And I knew the night before she’d been up to about like 11 or 12. And so my mind went straight to that. She’s not sick enough to stay home. She stayed up too late. She should still go to school. That’s what my parents would have told me. And so there was a lot of work in just a space of 20 minutes one morning, where I was battling back and forth in my head. Make her go to school. No, don’t. But she doesn’t need to be going to school, but she should go to school. No, she doesn’t feel well. And finally, I just called it in. I said, she won’t be in she’s not feeling well. That’s it. And that became my go to anytime that she was just not feeling like going. Sorry, she won’t be in and she’s not feeling well. And that’s it. And what happened? Nothing bad happened. I was kind of like, Oh, someone’s going to call me, someone’s going to find out. I’m going to be caught. So, that was a big expectation that I had to work through. Both of us. She’s always been kind of skeptical about anything or everyone to make sure if people are telling the truth. Well, not necessarily in a whole, but I think with teachers and adults at school, she’s slowly began to see, they’re saying one thing, but doing another, or they’re saying it here, but it doesn’t apply here, or it applies to kids, but it doesn’t apply to them. So she saw this gap. And over those months, anytime she came up to an expectation that was uncomfortable, she’d be a little anxious about it. But then we move through it. And she’d be like, Oh, yeah, right. I think it really broke her trust in just any adults, right? In people who aren’t in our important relationships. And, yeah, I think that was a lot. That was a big part of the journey for all of us, I think. And then she did, she did come out of school in March. I would say, all the way up to Christmas, she was pretty happy. And then by January, she started not to go. She was staying home more often, taking long weekends. Saying it was boring, or coming home with more stories like, Oh, the teacher said this, and I don’t agree with that. And, and then by March, she just didn’t go back after a weekend. She’s like, I don’t want to go back. ANNA: All right, Ari, what about you? And was it? Yeah, what did those expectations bring to the family? And really, even to the other members of the family, too? ARI: Yeah, I think this is so interesting, because we’re all talking about our expectations. And that was the biggest challenge. In our families, my expectation was that my daughter wouldn’t like it, or that it would be this environment that I had built up as this coercive, limiting world for her. And the reality wasn't. It was a widening world for her. It was opening things up. So, I gradually let go of what school meant to me, as an unschooling parent, and just let her have her experience with it. So, that was a journey for me. I would say the expectations from school on to my daughter were similar to what Terri and Kinsey were talking about. The schedule, the showing up, we did have homework, a light homework assignment once a week. And my daughter took all those in stride. Like Terri’s daughter, she would make a lunch, she would get herself up, she would walk herself to school. After a couple weeks, she started doing that and walked herself home. So it was pretty cool to see, I could really celebrate that, this initiated independence. It’s not like, you must do this, because we’re parents trying to help you be independent. It was just, I’m at a phase of life where I kind of want to take on more responsibility for myself. So that was fun to watch. I had another thought, but I can’t think of it right now. ANNA: That’s okay. It may come to you. ERIKA: So, our next question is how you found that your unschooling principals helped you as you were supporting your child in their school experience? And maybe we could start with Terri. TERRI: Yeah, sure. Definitely the idea of holding it lightly, right from the very beginning. Making that decision, just really reminding myself constantly that it’s not a big deal. They can go, they cannot go. We can try to meet some of the expectations school puts on us, and we can let some slide. There’s so much choice. So holding things lightly, all the way through. That was a big one for me. And then also, open and curious, whenever we did meet one of those uncomfortable moments, she would come home from school and tell me something that happened. And you want to jump in and you want to fix it. And you want to suggest all sorts of things, all sorts of great ideas. And I really worked at just being, just shutting up, just being quiet. I let her say all of the things, maybe ask some more questions to help her tell me more. And then either I might make a suggestion, or I might ask her if she wants advice. And sometimes she just needed to let it all out. And then I just kept picking up little nuggets of information, right? And it just was more information for the next thing we ran into. So I think those are really, really helpful. Those are the two best ones. Erika: Yes. How about Ari? ARI: Yeah, I totally agree. Holding it lightly, letting it be their journey, following their lead, kind of matching their energy, showing interest when they’re interested and listening, so much listening. Which I felt was a gift because you hear stories about kids coming home from school and not wanting to share anything with their parents. But that wasn’t my experience. My daughter would share what she learned, share what she did at recess. It just took a couple little questions sometimes for me. And she likes talking about it. So that was really nice. I thought of what I was going to say, which was I love what Kinsey mentioned about matching expectations or something about, there’s a mismatch between the expectations on you and kind of what you’re willing to bring. That’s what I was always looking for. And I think that’s what they are good at. They know that if there’s an outside expectation on them, they have a choice whether they want to stay in the situation and meet those because it’s worth it to them or go a different path. And so I liked looking for that and watching to see if my kids are paying attention to that as well. I also wanted to mention my daughter’s teacher, who was pretty spectacular. I felt like she met my daughter and all the kids on a person level. It was like she saw them as people to interact with, not just pupils to be an authority for. And I think that made a big difference for my daughter’s experience. My daughter liked interacting with her teacher. They would have conversations, they would joke. And that’s the kind of relationship with adults that she’s used to. So that was powerful. But there are also times when the teacher has to be a teacher or there’s expectations on them. And I remember with the report card once, I shared in the network, how my daughter received a report that was, my goal for her is to do her best even on tasks that she’s not very interested in. And it was like, huh, okay. Why? Because that’s an expectation that people should just do things that authority tells them to do. Is that really what we’re trying to instill in our young people? So, that’s just an interesting moment. And we talked about that. We still support you just following your interests. Now I’ve taken us out of the question. Where were we? ERIKA: Unschooling principles. ARI: Yeah, I guess they all fit. Open and curious. Everybody’s voice is important. And your own opinion, your own initiative is the most important. ERIKA: And how about Kinsey? KINSEY: So I think the most important principle for me was open and curious for sure. But also always making sure I was seeing things through Emmy’s eyes. Because school can be such a loaded experience. I think there can be a lot of outside pressure. We had so many people who were really, really, really happy that Emmy was going to school. So, I wanted to be really attentive and make sure that I was really seeing things from her perspective and hearing her and believing about what her experience was. And she had a great experience. The teacher, she had no problems at all with teachers. The teachers really loved her. She didn’t have problems with the work or anything like that. It was, again, I think it was just really a social experience for her, an experiment. And so and then when she was in a situation that she couldn’t easily get out of, it really became my focus to see things from her eyes and be her advocate in the best ways that I could. And keeping all my other unschooling principles. I don’t even really think about things as principles, I guess, it’s just kind of a way of being, a way of life. Tracking with her experience, prioritizing what that is, and the information that we’re getting from that, and responding in the most supportive ways that we can. Within the situation, the scenario that you’re in. I think that’s what I would say, just the ways of unschooling, the ways of being were helpful. Yeah, holding it lightly. Plenty of time, there’s plenty of time. It’s just all so helpful. It’s all so helpful. In what could have been a really highly pressurized or complicated experiment. ANNA: Yeah, it sounds like you were able to keep your connection, even though it did get harder because of just the outside context pieces. KINSEY: That was the most important thing. PAM: Yeah. And I think like the thread through all of your perspectives on it feels different. Like you’re saying it is, it’s just a way of being. And that I feel like at the beginning, those were the expectations you guys were wrestling with a bit. You didn’t want to take on that authority figure, and take on those expectations wholeheartedly from school and then put them on your child. But that you were processing through all the things with them and helping them explore the things, the challenges there and the expectations they wanted to choose to take. Like you were saying Ari, sometimes it’s hard, or it may be an unexpected thing. But in the bigger picture, I want to meet it or to be able to process those things without just being told, you got to do this thing. This is how it is like that. That is huge. I think it's a very different way for them to experience it, even Kinsey, when she did have to stay longer, your extra effort to see through her eyes and to be specifically advocating for her as much as possible. Those are very different experiences for kids, I think. So, I wanted to just dive into this last piece, this last question, because we could come up with all the questions that we wanted. But it would be very interesting for us to hear what else you or your kids would like to share about their school experience. I think it’ll be fun to see what stuck out for you and for them. So would you like to start Ari? ARI: Sure. I might come up with more ideas after I hear Terri and Kinsey's. The one kind of big picture thought I keep having is that the school is very central to our neighborhood. A lot of events happen there. The PTA is very well resourced and very active. There are community events which are centered around the school. It’s probably part of my daughter’s draw to school because that’s where the center of social activity is. And it’s in some ways beautiful and in some ways kind of troubling for me because I can consider the alternative. What if our community built that energy just around ourselves, just around our kids and didn’t tie it to this brick and mortar building where we put kids for six hours a day. I see why my daughter loves to go to school. She loves gym, and music, and library, and recess. And doing projects with her friends. And that’s all possible without the coercion, without required attendance. It requires some structure and a lot of effort, but I think our community could do that without the school. So anyway, this is my own kind of mind wandering. I think there are some wonderful aspects to what a school can be. And it shows just what human potential is to me and what a community could be. That’s my initial thought. PAM: How about you, Terri? TERRI: Wow, yeah, I love that idea. I never thought of it that way, Ari. That’s really cool. So, my mind is spinning there. But yeah, well, first of all, I asked Stella this question. I said, Is there anything you want to share? At first, she wasn’t sure what my question really meant. And I said, well, if there was another family that the child wanted to go to school, and they’ve never been to school, if there was another child who wanted to go to school that has never been before, what would you tell them? And she said, that recess isn’t all it's cracked up to be. People say recess is their favorite part. She’s like, it’s not that great. She did say that, the first few minutes, you’ll have lots of kids who might want to play with you, and then you might end up alone. And I think maybe what she didn’t outright say, I think sometimes being alone was not as fun. But then sometimes she was alone, and was okay being alone. And she’d have an adult, a teacher come up to her and say, Why are you sitting alone? Are you sad? And she’d be like, I’m just sitting alone, leave me. So, that was something she wanted me to share. The whole experience leading up to it was a lot more daunting than the actual experience. In the end, I think I had a lot of work to do, because I worked in this school. My boss was the principal who when my child was four, I said, I think I’m going to homeschool. And he says, that’s a bad idea. I had lots of stuff in my head, thinking about all the thoughts that other people might have with me, choosing to do this, maybe her leaving all that. But in the end, it was okay. Because generally, people are pretty nice. And her teacher was lovely. Very lovely. She was sad to see her go. But yeah, it was a good experience. And I think Stella, now she’s talked about going back sometime, she says maybe grade six. Here, elementary goes up to five, and then they go to junior high six to eight, she said, maybe I’ll go back in grade six. She also said by the time she left, she was bored, that things were easy, or they weren’t interesting. And she was bored. So maybe she’s thinking, by grade six, things will be more complicated and interesting. Who knows, I guess we’ll see. PAM: And Kinsey? KINSEY: So, I’ll talk about Emmy’s experiences that she shared with me when we were talking about this podcast and reflecting about being at school. One thing that she mentioned was that she was really anxious, and what’s interesting, you would not think she was having this experience of school because of the feedback I was getting back from the teachers. But she was really anxious at school all the time. And she was, I think she was guarded, looking, scanning, maybe. And afraid that she was going to get in trouble. And it’s not because she engages in behaviors that would bring on discipline or whatever. But I think it’s just the energy and the atmosphere there. The children are always getting in trouble. There’s a punishment reward system, of course, as most schools have lots of children being yelled at by adults. And there’s a kind of an adversarial, I mean, it’s interesting. There can be a sense of community in the school, maybe it’s around sports teams or the band, or just the school, whatever it is. But then within that, there is a line between adults and children. And it’s very felt. Which probably, now that I’m really thinking about it, was unsettling for her because she’s never lived with that. I mean, we’ve been unschooling since 2018. She was three years old when we came home from preschool. We’ve been in this very partnered relationship her whole life. And other adult child relationships that we’ve fostered and found in our life. So, to be in this place where that’s just not the energy at all, or the way that things are set up. I’m sure that was really unsettling for her, but she said she was really anxious, worried she was going to get in trouble all the time. She said she had felt lots of pressure about her grades, which I found was interesting, too. Because it wasn’t from me. It wasn’t from anybody outside. It was from within herself, which was so interesting to me again, because we haven’t had that. That hasn’t been a thing for us in our lives or for her before that. But I think again, it’s the culture of the environment, of the school environment. The expectations, people are getting in trouble for not meeting expectations. It’s a lot of pressure all of the time, compounded pressure all the time. So, let’s say she was exhausted. She was really burnt out. She got sick a lot. So, we started racking up lots of absences. Terri, like you were saying, so then I’m spending these mornings, half awake, going, Oh, gosh, do I? Is it okay for her to stay home? Or should I go ahead and say you’re going, why am I? Why am I even having this conversation with myself right now? This is ridiculous. But it’s part of the system, right? It’s just it’s part of it. And then after you get so many absences, you get a letter. You have too many absences. We got a letter at the end of the semester. So, that was another stressful thing. I was like, Oh, my gosh, what does this mean? What does this mean for next semester? But anyway, she was really exhausted. She was not sleeping well. Something she learned about school was, this was what she said, she just doesn’t have time for it. She’s busy. She doesn’t have time for school, it takes too much time. And she wasn’t able to spend time with her friends, her pre going to school friends. Her homeschool friends, her online friends, or she really cut into that time. And I think that was really hard for her. So, then what she would end up doing, well, at first, she was going to bed early, it wasn’t that big of a deal, it’s okay, or whatever, worth it, maybe to try. And then after it wasn’t worth it anymore. She really, really needed to be able to spend time with her friends. And she would do that. And she would stay up. So she would stay up at night to do that. She would not get the hours of sleep that she needed to go to school or to to feel good at school. I mean, so she was just exhausted. At this point, she does not have any plans of trying school again, that I know of, I mean, maybe online or college or something like that. We’ve talked about stuff like that, but not going to the local public school. And I just have to wonder, and really, I feel like actually, I don’t really have to wonder that much. I think because she entered into it with it being this open opportunity. And then that was taken. That agency was taken. And then she was having to continue to go for longer. I just don’t know if she would chance it again. And then not being able to come out at her choosing when she knew. So that was it. I mean, it was rough. There were some really fun things about it. But altogether, it was very rough. And she’s not interested anymore. TERRI: Yeah, and that sounds like Stella. ANNA: Yeah, for sure. So just because we didn’t really cover this specifically. Stella did decide to come out, Terri, your daughter, and then Ari, your daughter is still enjoying it. Ready to go back, I guess it's summer break now, though, maybe, and she’ll be going in soon for the fall. ARI: Yes, she’ll be starting fifth grade in the fall. I definitely think about, how do I keep the options open? Of course, she can always stop. But because the social life is so important to her, I think it would be very hard for her to choose to go away from school, even if there were other aspects that she didn't like. Like the forced learning, the forced homework stuff, if that got to be hard, would she, it might be a challenge for her to weigh those two things. And so sometimes I think about keeping up my capacity, the kind of friendships I have with the unschooling community, so that if she were to choose to come out, it would be an attractive option. Anyway, that’s another thing that I consider sometimes. But yeah, she’s going to school in fifth grade. And she’s also had some influence on her younger sisters. So, they would also like to try school soon. PAM: Yeah, that’s what I was going to say, if anybody would like to speak to that, because your kids who chose to go to school or try school have siblings as well. And just how that unfolded having one sibling going to school, like managing the schedules, too. And as you said, Ari, a little bit of it is just the excitement of it, or that she would like them to be there too? ARI: I think it’s a whole combination of those things. There’s this joy that she had that she wanted her sisters to experience too. She did talk about it, we could see each other in the hallways, we could be at recess together, you would have this teacher that there’s this knowingness. And at first, I had more resistance to her sisters being influenced by that than I did with her initial decision to go to school, because I could tell her decision was from herself. And her sisters were being influenced by her. And at first I was resistant to that. I wanted to provide information to my other daughters about listening to what they wanted. There’s plenty of time. Don’t have to do it now. I wanted to share with them a little bit about what I think happens in school. So we talked about it. But ultimately, I had to let go of wanting zero influence from my oldest because that’s how our family is part of their life, right? So, they get to decide how much to listen to her and to try something that she’s suggesting, and learn from that experience. So, we’re embracing it again. ANNA: It’s going to be really fun to see how that plays out. But I think for all of them, it may be a lesson in people are different. To find that something that works so well for one may not for the other or it may be that it works in a different way and is still beautiful. But I think that’s going to be really interesting. I am curious about that. So Terri, how did their brother feel about it? Or did that ever bring up topics of conversation? TERRI: Oh, for sure. We ask every once in a while, like, Oh, are you ever interested? And the answer is always no. And always a hard no. So it could change and grow over time. But I know he said, and I asked if I could share this. And he said, Okay. So, his main reason is that he wouldn't go to school, is that there might be some things he wants to do, but there might be things he doesn’t want to do. And he doesn’t want to be told he has to do the things that he doesn’t want to do. Right? It’s agency, he loses his agency. He’s eight. And it’s true. I mean, you don’t have a whole lot. Some of it’s really great, fun stuff. But you still have to do it in a certain order, you still have to do it for a certain amount of time. That’s his main reason. I asked him if there’s a difference from when she’s at school to when she’s home now, and he wasn’t really able to say. From our perspective, kind of observing, I think they’re playing a lot together, with their online friends, they’ll all be in a call together, and they’ll play online. Right now they’re out on the trampoline together, I feel like, when she went away, it did create a bit of a separation. And then when she came home, she kind of wanted to do her own thing. If she goes back again, that can always be different too, as they grow. But yeah, it’s something I noticed. ANNA: Did Riley have anything to say, Kinsey? Or did she just think, that’s Emmy, Emmy doing Emmy. KINSEY: Emmy’s doing Emmy things. Riley has absolutely no desire whatsoever in going to school. And she didn’t have any feelings about Emmy going to school either. It was hard with the schedule expectations. When it was okay for Riley to stay up late and be playing, or video games, laughing with my mom late at night, when I was trying to help Emmy wind down and try to get her enough sleep for school the next day. Just trying to be aware of all of that. But it was a little bit tricky sometimes. Just didn’t feel good. TERRI: Yeah, I agree. We got into that too. Their rooms are next to each other and going in at night and say, could you just play quietly? It’s after 9. I would say after nine, can you make sure headphones are on and speak in a low voice just just to help your sister out. So, sometimes it got uncomfortable. You’re just like, be quiet, be quiet, reminding to be quiet. But, no, I don’t want to, I don’t want to do this to you. But I also want your sister to sleep. KINSEY: You end up kind of having to be an enforcer. And that’s not where I want to be at all. It is not at all the position that I want to be in. And that actually can really bother people. And did bother people that I was not interested in forcing anyone to do anything. ANNA: Yeah, because they all have ideas, right? I’m just going to pull out a couple things. And then we’ll just talk about what came up. I thought it was so interesting, because we’ve seen this a lot, Terri, that you mentioned, the lead up is so much more stressful than the actual event of going to school. Because I think we see that over and over again, with people who unschool their kids, there’s a lot of worry about what’s going to happen, what’s it going to be like, and really across the board, kids that have stayed or not stayed. So, while it’s not that it’s always the perfect match, the fears that we had ahead of time really don’t play out. So I thought that was really interesting. And then Kinsey, that piece you were talking about with adults and kids, I was thinking just of all the adults in Emmy’s life, she has so many beautiful adults in her life that just celebrate her and delight in her and how that delta must have felt really intense. And I think in other situations, it may not, but I think that is, I think, a hard part about it, that kids and adults, we kind of set up this adversarial relationship that doesn’t need to be. And we see in our lives how it doesn’t have to be that way. But it is a part of that environment. And then just quickly, Ari, that idea of community, I’m working with someone who has this vision of creating a community village. That is to me kind of the dream, because it is bringing adults and kids together to just learn and explore and have resources together. And I think, oh my gosh, if this actually works, it would be amazing. Because we do like community. It is fun to share resources. It is fun to have those different opportunities. But why do we have to be at a place where we have to give away so much agency and where we have to really segregate kids is so hard. But I love your point that for your daughter, it’s worth it, right? She’s getting out of it what she needs to get out of it right now. And it may always be that way for her. I think it’s just, it’s a good testament to sometimes we do need to experiment. It’s their own life. They need to see what works for them, because there is no one right answer. A lot of things bubbled up when you were talking. PAM: That’s what I did. I did really appreciate the point of this. Okay, I’ll finish my sentence. The point of how the lead up can be so much more challenging than the actual experience. And we see that so often, when parents are almost feeling like they need to adopt the school authority before the child even starts, because now I have to make sure they’re up to grade level or whatever, whatever. And we encourage them so often, that there are kids in school right now at every level in any topic. So number one, is that you don't have to use your authority and change your relationship completely with your child, so that they can become what you imagine to be a good student before they even go to school. You've been unschooling for years and then school comes in. And then now there’s just so much processing to do. And you guys all spoke about how that was yours, and your work to do. And I think you all expressed that beautifully, which leads into the other piece that I was just so happy for you all to come and talk about your experience, because it doesn’t need to change your relationship at all. As we talked about the unschooling principles that can weave right through your days, and that the focus is still on the child, and their choices, and how they’re helping them process how they’re experiencing things. We talked so much about giving them space, without needing to jump into fix, you really need to give them the space to do their processing, right? And, and then sometimes asking, do you even want me to say anything? Would you like my experience? Would you like to hear what I’m thinking about it? You don’t have to lose that relationship that you have with all your children, just because one or more choose to go to school. Fundamentally, it’s still an exploration. And yeah, you mentioned being open and curious multiple times, I think that really is so huge, because that reminds us to see things through their eyes, to see how the experience is feeling for them, to see them choose the hard things. So often, people say you can’t give kids a choice to go to school, they’d never go to school. They’d never do hard things, so much of the societal narrative around kids only doing things when they’re forced to do things is just bunk. Because when you give the kids a space to actually think about what they want to do and make choices, and see how they unfold and continue to make choices, you see them in action, their choices make so much sense, even if we would not make the same choices ourselves, the choices they’re making in that moment, make sense. And just see them doing so much competent processing and choice making, right? Think of all the experience that they get just with that, in figuring out what they want to do day to day. Anyway, thank you so much. ERIKA: I think it’s so interesting. And I love how we got to hear such different experiences. And it reminds me of people are different again, every child is so different. And all the teachers are different. And it’s kind of the luck of the draw with that sometimes and what is the school environment like? And so I just think it’s super unique. And so that’s really fun to hear about. And then also, I just wanted to mention how I know sometimes when a child wants to go to school, it really can trigger an unschooling parent big time thinking I must be doing something wrong. If they’re asking to go there, I’ve been doing all the deschooling, convincing myself about how damaging it was in various ways. And just really questioning the importance of that. So, I know it’s such a journey for parents to go on in this case. We want to be able to support them in going, without us going back to our previous mindset, which I think is so hard. And so yeah, I feel like I’ve heard some parents say, we’re not unschoolers anymore, because our kids are in school, or, have that kind of feeling. And that’s why I feel like we always like to keep talking about unschooling as more of that focus on relationships, these kinds of things of giving our kids autonomy and all of that. And so you don’t lose that just because they’re back in school. And so I think that’s really cool. And if anyone has anything else that came up? TERRI: I will echo what Pam said of this fear that they’re not going to be ready. How many years did we not work on specific math things or specific writing things or printing or handwriting, and I’m thinking what will it be like? But she seemed to excel every time I talked to her teacher, she’s like, oh, she’s so wonderful. She asks questions, and she’s involved and is very good. I mean, that could be just her too. But our children are just built for learning, right? They’re built for learning, and they go to school, well, supposedly to learn. So, they’re coming in and the teachers are ready to teach. It doesn’t matter where the kid is. Because again, like Pam said, there are 10 different levels in a class of 15. Every child is different, even if they went to school from age five, or they’re just starting now. And yeah, if I can just underline that, don’t worry about it. I worried about it too. I just wasted energy worrying about that. ANNA: Yeah, I think it’s the choice thing. Because I think when someone’s choosing to be there, I think the teachers just love that because these teachers are beautiful people, right? They are there because they love kids, because they want to create a great environment. And so to have a child who wants to be there and is excited to be there and wants to hear what they have to say, that’s going to just set them so far ahead. Even if they don’t know every single thing that someone else next to them knows, I think that energy of that choice makes such a difference. KINSEY: Okay, that really brought something to mind. She did mention a lot at the time. And we’ve talked about it since then, too, but it was so frustrating to her being in a classroom setting when it was so clear that children didn’t want to be there. If it’s something interesting that they were doing that she really wanted to participate in, or wanted the teacher to be able to explain how to do it because she wanted to do it. And then there were classroom management things going on. It was really, really frustrating for her. And she would get really frustrated at the other students and couldn’t understand. But it’s a totally different story, you’re coming from a completely different place. And she’s even seen that in homeschool classes. She went to a zoology class for a semester, I don’t even think she went the whole semester, she was kind of bored with the classroom set lecture style setting. There was, again, another thing she wanted to just try. And, but it was the same. You could tell that there were children there who really probably weren’t interested in being there. They were there because they were being put there. And it was frustrating. It was really frustrating for her. So she likes being a part of things and group stuff and class stuff when the others are there and choosing to be there. They want to be there. And they want to learn and because that synergy feels good, you know. PAM: And I will say we saw that too in rec classes, like with Michael’s karate. There were some kids who were there because their parents wanted them to be there, for whatever reason, so it wasn’t their choice. And I remember him having the same kinds of reactions and being so happy to be asked to move up to the adult class a year earlier than typical, because it’s a choice. So everybody there wants to be there and everybody’s into it. Fundamentally being able to choose where you go makes such a difference. Just look at kids at school and think these are kids. That’s why society in general thinks kids don’t want to learn. You have to make them do things. But that’s just because that’s the situation you’ve put them in and they are reacting to the situation. That isn’t them naturally as a human being, as a child, that is a young human being in that environment. Yeah, so interesting. ERIKA: It’s really sad to think, most kids don’t have that experience of getting to follow their own interests with other people who also want to follow that interest. It’s such a different environment. ARI: So, just on that choice piece. There’s also a choice of what to make of the metrics. There’s metrics everywhere. Like my daughter took, I think, three practice tests, three progress tests, and then the state assessment at the end of the year. And she got four report cards. They’re always telling her stuff about herself. But we talked about how you have a choice of how to interpret that, which was not my experience. For 22 years of my life, I thought this authority knows me better than I know myself. So, I like viewing the assessments very differently, too. It’s huge. ERIKA: I feel like that just creates a whole different experience, so much more empowering for your kids. Thank you all so much for joining us. This was amazing. And we hope everyone at home enjoyed the conversation. And we invite you to join all of us in the Living Joyfully Network. It’s a warm and welcoming online community of hearted parents, a nonjudgmental space where you can explore what the ideas might look like day to day in your unique family, and be a part of conversations that are just like this. Your first month is free. So you can get a sense of whether it’s a good fit for you. And we would be really excited to welcome you to learn more. And to join us, you can follow the link in the show notes or just go to livingjoyfully.ca and choose network at the top of the page. Thank you so much and wishing everyone a wonderful day. ALL: Thank you. Bye!

What happens when the person hired to fix government education discovers it can't be fixed — because it's doing exactly what it was designed to do? In this episode of Refining Rhetoric, host Robert Bortins sits down with Diane Douglas, Arizona's former Superintendent of Public Instruction (2015–2019), to talk about her fight against Common Core, the truth behind so-called "empowerment scholarship accounts," and why she believes the only real fix for American education starts with getting the government out of it entirely. Diane walks through the three "epiphany moments" that pulled her out of government schooling and into the fight — from discovering outcome-based education to sitting through a PTA meeting where the numbers simply didn't add up. She takes listeners inside the state board of education that holds more real power than any elected superintendent, explains why she pushed (unsuccessfully) to bring Hillsdale's classical Barney Charter curriculum into Arizona schools, and unpacks the chilling term she kept hearing used for children: "human capital." She also issues a warning for parents who think school-choice funding is a clean win — it's still government money, with government strings attached. Diane now serves on the Educational Advisory Board for Public School Exit, helping families find a way out of a system she says isn't broken, but working exactly as intended. This conversation is a wake-up call for anyone who still believes the system just needs "more good people" to fix it from the inside.  Learn more about Diane's work: https://www.publicschoolexit.com/

Revisiting the most lauded film of 2025, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another (or for the too busy to say things fully: PTA's OBAA).Joe loved it, saw it twice. Adam was chillier… has he chilled? And what Christopher Nolan got to do with it? Expect to hear all about expectation and a run down of PTA's oeuvre (love that word.) This is the last in this current solo series, and it's the best one.Got a film you forgot you forgot? Join our growing Discord community and tell us all about it: https://discord.gg/b3CUUdPRf7Or send us an email at moviesyouforgotyouforgot@gmail.com with your thoughts, episode suggestions, or just some light praise.You can also follow Adam @errorofways on Letterboxd; he rates and reviews the films he watches. Also, be a pal: tell your chums, rate us, review us, shout our name into the void - whatever helps spread the word.

Mats Steen spent most of his short life indoors in Oslo. To his parents he looked like a young man with no one. When he died, hundreds of people reached out to say they had known him for years, inside World of Warcraft, as a character named Ibelin. His parents had no idea.That story sits at the center of this episode, and so does the question underneath it: how much of what games actually do is invisible to the people measuring them?Recorded on a rooftop in New York at Games for Change 2026, this episode brings together three people running the organization. Susanna Pollack on twenty-plus years of arguing that games carry purpose beyond entertainment. Then Dr. Rachel Kowert and Arana Shapiro on brand-new research that says the panic about kids and gaming is not coming from the evidence.GuestsSusanna Pollack, President, Games for ChangeDr. Rachel Kowert, Research Director, Games for ChangeArana Shapiro, Chief Program/Operating Officer, Games for ChangeInterviews by Lewis Ward.Chapters00:00:00  Cold open: the story of Mats Steen00:00:42  Games for Change 202600:04:38  Susanna Pollack, and this year's awards00:06:30  What Games for Change actually is00:09:05  Rebuilding the festival: workshops and the Playtest Lab00:12:23  The argument the industry keeps failing to make00:14:37  Games are one of the few places failing is fine00:15:41  The education spine, and kids in 92 countries00:18:25  Raising Good Gamers: the 2019 origin00:22:11  Going global, and working with the UN00:27:54  What's coming next00:28:57  Dr. Rachel Kowert and Arana Shapiro00:30:00  The white paper, and 200,000 articles00:31:43  Why bad news about games travels further00:32:52  Stop counting hours, start asking why00:33:55  Most media is passive. Games are not.00:35:17  SPACE: the five moves00:36:25  60% of kids want their parents to play00:36:57  What Raising Good Gamers ships00:41:53  Self-determination theory and the Proteus effect00:43:41  Academy, Intel, and the DiscordWhat you'll take awayThere is more positive coverage of games than negative. The negative just gets shared further, which leaves parents inside what Dr. Kowert calls a biased information ecosystem.A game does not need to be designed for impact to have it. Joy, stress relief, connection, and a space where age, gender and location stop deciding anything.Games are one of very few activities where failing is acceptable and repeatable. That is how mastering a system quietly builds resilience.The parental concerns have not changed in fifty years. What changes is the question: not how many hours, but what purpose the play is serving.SPACE, the framework: Start with curiosity. Play together. Adjust for context. Cultivate digital citizenship. Establish boundaries together.60% of kids want their parents to play with them. What stops most parents is assuming they'll be bad at it.Mentioned in this episodeRaising Good Gamers, and the white paper by Dr. Rachel Kowert. Free, along with a conversation guide and a family gaming code of conduct template. Workshops rolling out through the PTA, Boys and Girls Club, and libraries.The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, the Netflix documentary about Mats Steen. A feature film is in development.The Games for Change Student Challenge, 10+ years, participants from 92 countries.2026 award winners: South of Midnight (Compulsion Games), the Vanguard Award to Jenn Panattoni, and the Giving Award to SpecialEffect for their adaptive controller work.The Proteus effect, first described by Nick Yee, who joined us back in February.Katie Salen, professor of informatics at UC Irvine, co-creator of Raising Good Gamers.Disclosure: the FTI Consulting media analysis underpinning the white paper was commissioned by Tencent.Where to go nextAcademy — free, built in short packs you can finish on a commute. academy.playerdriven.ioIntel — our prediction game. Call what the industry does next and see if you were right. intel.playerdriven.ioDiscord — where this conversation actually continues.The Operator's Briefing — Tuesdays, if you'd rather it come to you.

A cozy PTA mystery. www.ghostsintheburbs.com

Hour 3 - Scheim gives us The News for the morning. A bear that got stuck on a telephone pole, a hero who saved a woman's life and a new inductee into the PTA. The crew debate expectations for the Red Sox now that the win streak is over.

A cozy PTA mystery. www.ghostsintheburbs.com  

On this episode of Next Level: Good Vibes Only, Jessica and Darren Salquist break down a simple truth: the trail always teaches you something. Fresh off finishing a Ragnar Ultra trail race, through overnight miles, rain, and more than a few changes of wet clothes, they unpack what a hard challenge reveals about who you really are.Starting from a quote by Eric Thomas, they explore how the mind is your strongest muscle, how gratitude becomes a tool that carries you through the toughest moments, and why what you can't control matters less than how you prepare for it. Drawing on Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and Phil Stutz's idea of Part X, Jessica and Darren share how discomfort, when you lean into it, becomes the very thing that grows you. As Darren puts it, it's a feeling you can't buy at Amazon or grab off the shelf at Costco. You earn it.Stick around to the end for five reflection questions you can carry into your own next challenge, whether that's a race, a goal, or simply a hard season of life. This one pairs beautifully with the companion meditation, Becoming Through the Challenge.Follow Darren Salquist, Life Changer, Self-Mastery + Heroic Performance Coach, PTA, and Personal TrainerIG: @salquid ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/salquid/⁠⁠Linkedin ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-salquist-3836b770/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/darren.salquist?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Follow Jessica Salquist, Life Changer, Nationally Board Certified Reflexologist, Heroic Performance Coach, and Executive LeaderIG: @reflexologyjedi ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reflexologyjedi/⁠⁠Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-salquist-46b07772/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/salquistjessica?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Find us both on IG @nextlevelreflexologycoaching ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nextlevelreflexologycoaching⁠⁠Wellness + Coaching — Next Level Coaching and ReflexologyWebsite: ⁠⁠www.nextleveltransformationalcoaching.com⁠⁠ Check out Heroic.us to enroll in a coaching program and be part of an amazing community.Buy the book Arete here: ⁠⁠https://a.co/d/ctXhK7A⁠⁠ (on Amazon)

Continuing our series on the films of Paul Thomas Anderson, we take a look at Magnolia (1999). Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, and Jason Robards, the film weaves together multiple interconnected stories dealing with regret, family trauma and forgiveness. Enjoy our discussion of one of PTA's masterpieces! Our Magnolia discussion begins at about 47:22.   Cinema Spectator is a movie podcast hosted by Isaac Ransom, Juzo Greenwood, and Cameron Tuttle. The show is executive-produced by Darrin O'Neill and recorded and produced in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. You can support the show at patreon.com/ecfsproductions. Follow us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @cinemaspectatorpodcast. Isaac and Cameron began recording podcasts with their first project, Everything Comes from Something (2018), and are now focusing on new weekly content for Cinema Spectator. Cameron Tuttle is a full-time professional cinematographer who majored in film at SFSU and collaborates on corporate, private, and creative productions. Cameron is the expert. Isaac Ransom works full-time as a marketing leader with creative experience in brand, advertising, product, music, and film. Isaac is the casual. Juzo is a producer, director, and avid film enthusiast who knows everything about cinema. The podcast is a passion project by three longtime friends; we hope you enjoy it! Thank you for your time, generosity, and support.

On this guided meditation from Next Level: Good Vibes Only, Darren Salquist walks you through a 10-minute practice designed to meet you in the middle of your own challenge, whether you're training for an event, recovering after one, or simply moving through a hard stretch of life.Through gentle breathwork and visualization, you'll return to the beginning of your own trail, honor the body that has carried you farther than you imagined, and recognize the quiet strength you built one breath and one step at a time. Along the way you'll offer gratitude to those who walked beside you and settle into affirmations of courage, resilience, and progress.Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down, and let this practice remind you that the finish line is never really the end. It is simply another beginning.Take a breath. Slow down. And honor the version of you that kept going.Follow Darren Salquist, Life Changer, Self-Mastery + Heroic Performance Coach, PTA, and Personal TrainerIG: @salquid ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/salquid/⁠⁠Linkedin ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-salquist-3836b770/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/darren.salquist?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Follow Jessica Salquist, Life Changer, Nationally Board Certified Reflexologist, Heroic Performance Coach, and Executive LeaderIG: @reflexologyjedi ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reflexologyjedi/⁠⁠Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-salquist-46b07772/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/salquistjessica?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Find us both on IG @nextlevelreflexologycoaching ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nextlevelreflexologycoaching⁠⁠Wellness + Coaching — Next Level Coaching and ReflexologyWebsite: ⁠⁠www.nextleveltransformationalcoaching.com⁠⁠ Check out Heroic.us to enroll in a coaching program and be part of an amazing community.Buy the book Arete here: ⁠⁠https://a.co/d/ctXhK7A⁠⁠ (on Amazon)

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino joins The Karol Markowicz Show for a candid conversation about standing as one of the city’s most prominent Republican voices, winning over voters in a heavily Democratic district, and why she believes New York City is at a critical turning point. Paladino discusses her opposition to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda, her concerns over the direction of the Democratic Party, the future of New York politics, sanctuary city policies, and her fight to protect free speech amid a legal battle with the City Council. She also shares how her background as a small business owner, PTA parent, and community activist shaped her approach to public service. Karol and Vickie also reflect on why so many families have left New York, whether the city can return to what it once was, and the importance of staying optimistic, building trust, and taking on challenges one step at a time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of the PTA Elevation Podcast, host Dr. Briana Drapp, PT, DPT, PTA, CSCS goes over the important things to know about Data Scales and Measurements when studying for the NPTE. At the end of this episode, Briana provides and reviews a sample question that helps students get a feel for how this subject will be asked on the NPTE - PTA. Tune in to learn more!Come to the MASTERCLASS on July 19th at 1pm EST: https://ptaelevation.com/masterclassCheck out our FREE stuff!: https://ptaelevation.com/freebiesWebsite: https://www.ptaelevation.com/Join our FB group for FREE resources to help you study for the exam!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/382310196801103/If you're interested in our prep course, check it out here: https://ptaelevation.com/the-600-plus-systemFollow us on our other platforms! https://www.ptaelevation.com/linktree

Aliu Adewale: When Everything Is a "Must-Have," Nothing Is—Prioritization for Real-World Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   "Every yes to something unimportant is a no to what matters." - Aliu Adewale   Aliu's current challenge isn't from his day job—it's from a volunteer project for his local Parent-Teacher Association. The group wants to build a centralized app for school announcements, PTA updates, volunteer coordination, event reminders. The first meeting produced 250 ideas, all of them framed as must-haves, all of them needed before school resumes. The window: three months. Vasco names two traps that most Scrum Masters fall into. First, MoSCoW and similar frameworks aren't prioritization—they're categorization. The moment everything ends up in the "must" bucket, you're still stuck. Second, prioritizing a feature list assumes features are independent. They almost never are: a login blocks a dozen things downstream; front-end depends on back-end; dependencies decide the order more than desirability does. Aliu's experiment with the PTA group is a focusing constraint: stop asking "what do we need this year?" and start asking "what do we need in the first three months when school resumes?" The 50-item must-have list collapsed to five or six features. Vasco pushes it further with his own favorite question: "What's preventing us from releasing tomorrow?" That's the question that exposes what really matters—and it almost never returns a list of features.   Self-reflection Question: If your team had to release tomorrow, which of your "must-haves" would you actually need?   [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Have you ever recorded minutes for a meeting? Whether you were taking notes at work or for a volunteer organization, such as the PTA at your child's school, taking minutes and reporting on them at a follow-up meeting is an important responsibility.What ideas were discussed?How were those ideas followed up on?Who, including yourself, agreed to complete certain tasks before the next meeting? And were those tasks completed on time, and correctly?Recording minutes looks pretty mundane from the outside, but this person ultimately holds colleagues accountable to their responsibilities.If someone was taking minutes on your life, what would those minutes say about you?Romans 14:12 says, “So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.”In this verse, Paul isn't talking about salvation; when you've given your heart to the Lord, He offers forgiveness and salvation freely. We can't earn or lose God's promise of eternal life for us. Salvation is a gift.Paul is talking about the judgment seat of Christ—a moment at the end of time when we will be accountable to Jesus for our actions. Did we create lasting value? Did we serve Him and others well? Were we ultimately responsible during our lifetime?As believers, our goal should be to leave lasting value, to impact others for eternity, and ultimately to take responsibility for the legacy we are leaving in the name of Jesus.A godly man is responsible.Let's pray.Lord, along with the gift of salvation comes the incredible responsibility of sharing the Good News with others. Thank you for loving us enough to sacrifice yourself for us, and for the gift of salvation. Help us each to be responsible for sharing that gift with others. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Justin and Chuck dive into Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, examining how the film evolves from its politically charged opening into a multifaceted blend of dark comedy, suspense, and heartfelt drama. They break down the standout performances, unforgettable set pieces, and the offbeat humor that make PTA's latest feel unlike anything else in his filmography. The conversation also explores the film's themes of family, loyalty, and identity, with a particular focus on its emotionally charged father-daughter relationship. Along the way, they discuss PTA's fearless tonal shifts, sharp satire, and why the film's surprising emotional payoff makes it one of the year's most rewarding cinematic experiences. Hosted by Justin Morgan Co-hosted by Charles Phillips Mixing and Music by Scratchin' Menace Follow us on Facebook and Bluesky for updates. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and all major platforms. Please subscribe, rate, and review. We appreciate the support!

This week the Bad Dads take a midweek spin of the Amazon Prime roulette wheel and land on The Bad Education Movie, the 2015 big-screen send-off for Jack Whitehall's BBC Three sitcom. Sidey is not thrilled. Reegs has seen some of it before. Cris has only caught the ending. Dan is mostly wondering how all this happened.What We CoveredAmazon Prime roulette: With no planned theme and a hectic week, the Dads pick numbers, scroll through Prime, and end up with The Bad Education Movie.Sidey vs Jack Whitehall: Sidey clarifies that Jack Whitehall may be lovely in real life, but the posh, fumbling, “I've said a swear word” comic persona absolutely grates.The sitcom-to-film set-up: A BBC Three comedy becomes a feature-length send-off, following teacher Alfie Wickers and his suspiciously adult-looking class.Amsterdam chaos: Mushrooms, the Anne Frank museum, a stolen model, E.T. bicycle imagery, and an early sign of the film's comic level.Classroom carnage: Harry Enfield appears, the PTA are unimpressed, and a hamster gag goes full Richard Gere.Cornwall instead of Vegas: The school trip ends up around the Eden Project rather than the intended big blow-out, with Cornish stereotypes and a fake liberation movement driving the plot.Running gags: Fencing, the unfinished C-L-A tattoo, the tourist helicopter, gentrification, Tarquin, and the Cornish Liberation Army all get set up and paid off — just not, in the Dads' view, amusingly.Gross-out humour: The relic/foreskin/pork-scratching gag, the Cornish strip club, zip-lining nudity, and repeated close-ups of Jack Whitehall's anatomy take the film firmly into loud juvenile territory.The cast: The Dads note a surprisingly large cast, including Harry Enfield, Iain Glen, Matthew Horne and Clarke Peters, while repeatedly asking why some of them are in this.The broader Whitehall question: The episode detours into Jack Whitehall's mainstream TV appeal, his safe-bet presenting persona, American audiences, and Michael Whitehall's industry background.Key Quotes / Moments“There's only so good that somebody can make you look.”“This was chosen in a sort of lottery-type fashion.”“I'm sure he's very nice… but I don't find him funny.”“This makes Brothers Grimsby look quite nuanced.”“All the jokes that they set up, they do pay off. They're just not funny.”“Top five worst things I've watched for the pod.”“Strong avoid for me.”VerdictA strong avoid. Sidey finds the film loud, juvenile, exhausting and almost entirely unfunny, placing it among the worst things watched for the podcast. Dan agrees with a strong avoid, Reegs recognises the sitcom background but does not rescue it, and Cris' “strong recommend?” is pure mischief.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at baddadsjsy@gmail.com or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads

In this episode of Communicable, Thomas Tängdén and Rekha Pai Mangalore return for part 2 of the ‘We will make you love PK/PD' series. In this round, they are joined by Iris Minichmayr (Austria) and Phil Selby (Australia) for a deep dive into how PK/PD data and principles can be used as integral clinical tools to support dosing decisions. They break down technical concepts of pharmacometrics such as population PK models, Monte Carlo simulations, probability of target attainment (PTA), and cumulative fraction of response (CFR), helping to make these approaches more accessible to everyday clinical practice.This episode was edited by Kathryn Hostettler. The executive producer of Communicable is Angela Huttner.Further readingTängdén T, et al. Personalised patient management and infection prevention: current evidence and future perspectives. In: ESCMID Global 2025. Available on ESCMID Media: https://media.escmid.org/videos/01K7HWCJAHZ464H3XXK97SZ842

Brad shares two studies He presented at the American Dairy Science Association annual meeting. First, he examines records from more than 150,000 lactations to compare genetic predictions for somatic cell score and clinical mastitis. The results suggest that PTA for somatic cell score is more useful for predicting and ranking cows by observed somatic cell count than PTA for mastitis.He also discusses a study comparing Holstein and crossbred heifers for feed intake, methane emissions, rumination, and feeding behavior. Although methane produced per kilogram of feed was similar across breed groups, smaller crossbred heifers consumed four to five pounds less dry matter per day. The findings highlight how genetics, breed, sensors, and precision feeding data could help producers improve herd health and heifer management.Questions, comments, scathing rebuttals? -> themoosroom@umn.edu or call 612-624-3610 and leave us a message!Linkedin -> The Moos RoomTwitter -> @UMNmoosroom and @UMNFarmSafetyFacebook -> @UMNDairyYouTube -> UMN Beef and Dairy and UMN Farm Safety and HealthInstagram -> @UMNWCROCDairyExtension WebsiteAgriAmerica Podcast Directory 

On this episode of Next Level: Good Vibes Only, Jessica and Darren Salquist explore a powerful idea that challenges one of our most deeply held beliefs: your personality is not permanent. Drawing inspiration from the work of Benjamin Hardy and Joe Dispenza, they unpack how our future selves can become a guiding force in the decisions we make today. So many of us live from stories we've repeated about our past—stories that shape our habits, behaviors, and identity. But what if, instead of letting the past define us, we intentionally create the person we want to become? Jessica and Darren discuss the connection between personality, identity, emotional patterns, and daily choices, sharing practical examples of how small decisions compound over time to shape our future reality. From overcoming familiar habits and emotional addictions to building new neural pathways through intentional action, this conversation is packed with insights on personal transformation, self-awareness, and growth. You'll learn why your future may depend more on your identity than your goals, how to stop living from old stories, and how to start making choices your future self will thank you for. If you've ever said, “That's just who I am,” this episode may inspire you to rethink what's possible.The question isn't who you are today. The question is: who are you becoming? Follow Darren Salquist, Life Changer, Self-Mastery + Heroic Performance Coach, PTA, and Personal TrainerIG: @salquid ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/salquid/⁠⁠Linkedin ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-salquist-3836b770/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/darren.salquist?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Follow Jessica Salquist, Life Changer, Nationally Board Certified Reflexologist, Heroic Performance Coach, and Executive LeaderIG: @reflexologyjedi ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reflexologyjedi/⁠⁠Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-salquist-46b07772/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/salquistjessica?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Find us both on IG @nextlevelreflexologycoaching ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nextlevelreflexologycoaching⁠⁠Wellness + Coaching — Next Level Coaching and ReflexologyWebsite: ⁠⁠www.nextleveltransformationalcoaching.com⁠⁠ Check out Heroic.us to enroll in a coaching program and be part of an amazing community.Buy the book Arete here: ⁠⁠https://a.co/d/ctXhK7A⁠⁠ (on Amazon)

On this guided meditation of Next Level: Good Vibes Only, Jessica Salquist guides you through a powerful meditation designed to help you release old patterns, reconnect with your highest potential, and begin embodying the person you are becoming. Inspired by the teachings of Joe Dispenza and Benjamin Hardy, this practice explores the connection between identity, emotion, and intentional transformation.Through breathwork, visualization, and reflection, you'll be invited to observe the stories, habits, and emotional patterns that may no longer serve you—and gently loosen your attachment to them. From there, you'll connect with the future version of yourself: the version that leads with confidence, purpose, peace, courage, and clarity.This meditation serves as a reminder that your personality is not fixed, your identity is not finished, and meaningful change begins with the thoughts, emotions, and actions you practice every day. Whether you're working toward a personal goal, creating healthier habits, or simply seeking a deeper connection with yourself, this guided meditation offers a space to pause, reset, and intentionally move forward.Take a breath. Release what no longer serves you. Step into the future version of yourself—and begin becoming them today.Follow Darren Salquist, Life Changer, Self-Mastery + Heroic Performance Coach, PTA, and Personal TrainerIG: @salquid ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/salquid/⁠⁠Linkedin ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-salquist-3836b770/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/darren.salquist?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Follow Jessica Salquist, Life Changer, Nationally Board Certified Reflexologist, Heroic Performance Coach, and Executive LeaderIG: @reflexologyjedi ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reflexologyjedi/⁠⁠Linkedin: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-salquist-46b07772/⁠⁠FB: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/salquistjessica?mibextid=LQQJ4d⁠⁠Find us both on IG @nextlevelreflexologycoaching ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/nextlevelreflexologycoaching⁠⁠Wellness + Coaching — Next Level Coaching and ReflexologyWebsite: ⁠⁠www.nextleveltransformationalcoaching.com⁠⁠ Check out Heroic.us to enroll in a coaching program and be part of an amazing community.Buy the book Arete here: ⁠⁠https://a.co/d/ctXhK7A⁠⁠ (on Amazon)

In this episode of the Time for Teachership Podcast, Lindsay Lyons talks with Christina Hidek, founder of PTO Answers and author of The Principal's Parent Group Playbook, about how schools are overlooking one of their greatest assets: parent groups. Christina shares why PTOs and PTAs are often misunderstood, under-leveraged, and poorly supported—and how school leaders and teachers can transform family engagement by building true partnerships with parent organizations. If you've ever felt frustrated by family involvement, struggled to connect with your PTO, or wondered how to move beyond fundraisers and carnival themes, this episode is your roadmap to a healthier, more impactful school-family collaboration. You'll walk away with practical strategies for shared goal setting, communication, leadership mindset shifts, and ways to align parent groups with your school's strategic plan.   Key Topics Covered Why parent groups are the "third pillar" of school leadership The mindset shifts families and educators both need The difference between a PTO and a PTA (and why it matters) How to align PTO work with your school's strategic plan Why many parent groups struggle with institutional knowledge loss What principals and teachers can do to cultivate healthy partnerships How PTOs can go far beyond parties, fundraisers, and event planning Real examples of PTOs funding meaningful school initiatives like STEM programs Practical next steps for parents, teachers, and school leaders   Get Your Episode Freebie & More Resources On My Website: https://www.lindsaybethlyons.com/blog/262   Connect with guest Christina Hidek Website: https://ptoanswers.com/ 

Eon Huntley is a retail worker, union activist, former PTA president and democratic socialist. He is running against a pro-corporate incumbent in Assembly District 56 (Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights) on Zohran Mamdani's affordability agenda. Huntley's friend and ally Jabari Brisport is running hard for his fourth term in the New York State Senate in an overlapping Central Brooklyn district. We caught up with both of them on Tuesday for a live interview from their shared campaign headquarters on Tompkins Avenue in the heart of Bed-Stuy.

Eon Huntley is a retail worker, union activist, former PTA president and democratic socialist. He is running against a pro-corporate incumbent in Assembly District 56 (Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights) on Zohran Mamdani's affordability agenda. Huntley's friend and ally Jabari Brisport is running hard for his fourth term in the New York State Senate in an overlapping Central Brooklyn district. We caught up with both of them on Tuesday for a live interview from their shared campaign headquarters on Tompkins Avenue in the heart of Bed-Stuy. Susan Schnall and Trevor Howard are both members of Veterans For Peace who are calling on present-day U.S. soldiers and national guardsman to be ready to disobey unlawful orders from the Trump regime.

The Marc Cox Morning Show sounds the alarm every parent in America needs to hear. Defending Education Director of Research Rhyen Staley drops a bombshell report exposing the National PTA for what it really is — not bake sales and classroom tables, but a far-left political machine in bed with teachers unions, pushing Critical Consciousness, DEI officers in middle schools, anti-Semitic conference speakers, and the idea that your five-year-old is racist. And it's not just happening in liberal cities — they've successfully infiltrated conservative school districts too. The solution? Show up. Take over your local PTA. Get on the committees. Have your kids' backs. Because silence is acceptance, and the radical Left is counting on you to stay home. The Marc Cox Morning Show — fighting for your kids when the system won't. Hashtags: #MarcCoxMorningShow #DanBuck #KimStOnge #RhyenStaley #DefendingEducation #NationalPTA #CriticalConsciousness #CriticalRaceTheory #WokeSchools #ParentsRights #SchoolChoice #DEI #TeachersUnions #ProtectOurKids #ConservativeRadio #PatriotRadio #MorningShow #TGIF

Before you get heart eyes over that Disney resort Suzie from the PTA raved about, make sure it didn't make the skip list. In this episode you'll hear why you shouldn't stay at some of the most raved about resorts. Thank you for listening!Spend your Wednesdays with Tammy, Ana, and Alex as they spill the tea over planning elevated Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, or Adventures by Disney vacations.We are concierge travel agents with Fantastical Vacations. For help with your next Disney vacation, as well as Universal, cruise lines, all-inclusive resorts and more, you can email us at theteaatthed@gmail.comFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theteaatthed/As well as:Alex: https://www.instagram.com/happilyeverafteralexandra/Ana: https://www.instagram.com/twinmomonmainstreet/Tammy: https://www.instagram.com/howfarillgotravel/For suggestions for future episodes, comments, or questions, you can email us at Theteaatthed@gmail.com

Genesis 1:31 reveals a powerful truth about God's character: He is a God of order, purpose, and intentional design. In this devotional, Deidre Braley explores what it means to be created in the image of God and how His orderly nature is reflected throughout creation. From the boundaries He established in the natural world to the systems that allow life to flourish, God demonstrates that order is not restrictive—it is life-giving. As believers, we are called to reflect His character by bringing peace, clarity, and purpose into the spaces we influence. Highlights God’s creation reveals His nature as a God of order and purpose. Being made in God’s image means reflecting His character in everyday life. Order creates space for people, relationships, and communities to thrive. Stewarding our homes and possessions can be an act of worship. Healthy systems and organization help good work flourish. Peacemaking reflects God’s heart and brings stability to relationships. Christians are called to bring clarity and hope into chaotic situations. Small acts of intentionality can create lasting impact in our daily lives. Join the Conversation Where do you sense God calling you to bring greater order, peace, or purpose into your life? Have you experienced how creating healthy rhythms and boundaries has helped you grow spiritually? Continue the conversation with the Crosswalk community here: https://forums.crosswalk.com/ Do you want to listen ad-free? When you join Crosswalk Plus, you gain access to exclusive, in-depth Bible study guides, devotionals, sound biblical advice, and daily encouragement from trusted pastors and authors—resources designed to strengthen your faith and equip you to live it out boldly. PLUS ad free podcasts! Sign Up Today! Full Transcript Below: What it Means to Be Made in the Image of an Orderly God By Deidre Braley Bible Reading: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. - Genesis 1:31 NIV Marie Kondo is known as one of the world’s most beloved tidying experts, and one day she convinced me that the path to inner peace would be to pull all of the clothes out of my closet and throw them on my bed to be analyzed, one by one. I had just watched the first episode of her show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo on Netflix, in which she teaches her proteges to ask this question: When I touch this item, does it spark joy? If the answer is yes, then the item gets to stay. If the answer is no, the directive is to thank the item for its service and then bid it adieu. Even if this sounds a little woo-woo, I have to say that after I had removed a great many joyless items from my wardrobe and reorganized the rest of my clothes back into the closet, I felt an internal sigh of relief. I did feel more joyful. I felt as though a burden had lifted, as though a weight I’d been unwittingly carrying around for years was suddenly gone. In 1872, John Wesley preached, “Cleanliness is, indeed, next to godliness,” and though he was talking specifically about the way a person dressed and cared for their appearance, I think he was pressing on a deeper spiritual truth, too. Cleanliness is the visual representation of order, and our Creator is, as evidenced by creation, a God of order. If you look carefully at the creation story, you will notice that God did not just bring all things into being—he also gave them each a designated spot, a boundary for existence, a specific space in which to thrive. He separated the light from the darkness, giving both their time to reign, as day and night. He gave each plant one specific fruit to bear. He told the sea how far it could go and then said, “No more.” Biblical scholar Rachel Smith describes God’s work in a way that Marie Kondo would approve of: “It (the world) was designed to run well and to be a well-ordered environment for its occupants. This is the sense of good in the creation account. Everything God created He declared good because it acted within its purpose and provided benefits” (Rest Assured: What the Creation Story Was Intended to Reveal About Trusting God, pg. 62-63). Intersecting Faith & Life: What does it mean to bear God’s image? It means to care about the things he cares about, and to reflect his character out into the world. And one of the things that God cares about is order, which creates space for life to thrive. When we enter into chaos and bring disorder back into equilibrium, we are doing the work of God. Here are some practical areas where we might do that today. In our physical spaces Declutter one area of your home. Choose a junk drawer, a closet, or a bedroom. Remove everything, and only put back what serves a purpose or, per the advice of Marie Kondo, brings joy. Give each item a designated space, and then, if you can, bring a little extra beauty to that area. Organize by color. Add flowers. Freshen with a scented sachet. Is there a time of day that feels particularly chaotic? Create a ritual to help it go more smoothly. If morning times are hectic, for example, pre-set your coffee pot the night before. Lay out your clothes. Wake up ten minutes earlier. Light a candle while you eat breakfast. See how these adjustments bring a sense of peace to what used to feel overwhelming. In our workplaces Administration may not be glamorous, but it is essential for bringing order. If you have the gift of administration—that is, organizing information, communication, and actions into systems that run smoothly—put it into practice in your workplace. Good structures help good work to thrive. Be a problem solver. If you see that something is not working and have an idea for how to fix it, say something. Be someone who steps into situations and brings clarity and excellence. In our communities Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). In our communities, bringing order looks like bringing peace—to relationships, to organizations, to broken systems. When we step into disordered situations or strained relationships in our neighborhoods or even global communities, we are reflecting God’s image by bringing equilibrium. This could look as simple as serving on the PTA and being a voice of calm and reason when the meetings get heated, or it could look like serving in outreach ministries to provide for the real, everyday needs of neighbors. Further Reading: Genesis 1:1-31 Rest Assured: What the Creation Story Was Intended to Reveal About Trusting God by Rachel Booth Smith Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

Have you ever recorded minutes for a meeting? Whether you were taking notes at work or for a volunteer organization, such as the PTA at your child's school, taking minutes and reporting on them at a follow-up meeting is an important responsibility.What ideas were discussed?How were those ideas followed up on?Who, including yourself, agreed to complete certain tasks before the next meeting? And were those tasks completed on time, and correctly? Recording minutes looks pretty mundane from the outside, but this person ultimately holds colleagues accountable to their responsibilities.If someone was taking minutes on your life, what would those minutes say about you?Romans 14:12 says, “So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.”In this verse, Paul isn't talking about salvation; when you've given your heart to the Lord, He offers forgiveness and salvation freely. We can't earn or lose God's promise of eternal life for us. Salvation is a gift.Paul is talking about the judgment seat of Christ—a moment at the end of time when we will be accountable to Jesus for our actions. Did we create lasting value? Did we serve Him and others well? Were we ultimately responsible during our lifetime?As believers, our goal should be to leave lasting value, to impact others for eternity, and ultimately to take responsibility for the legacy we are leaving in the name of Jesus.A godly man is responsible.Let's pray.Lord, along with the gift of salvation comes the incredible responsibility of sharing the Good News with others. Thank you for loving us enough to sacrifice yourself for us, and for the gift of salvation. Help us each to be responsible for sharing that gift with others. We love you. In Jesus' name, amen. Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

On February 16th, 2011, police officers arrived at an elementary school in Irvine, California, demanding to speak with PTA president and school volunteer Kelli Peters after receiving an anonymous tip claiming she had been driving erratically around the school and had drugs in her car. Officers searched Kelli's vehicle and discovered marijuana, a pipe, and prescription pills inside. Kelli insisted they weren't hers and pleaded with the officers, who agreed the circumstances seemed suspicious. But no one could have prepared for the truth that would eventually come to light.This episode is sponsored by:Casper: save up to 30% on mattresses and up to 35% on everything else when you go to Casper.com. Hiya Health: receive 50% off your first order. To claim this deal you must go to hiyahealth.com/TCKR.Nutrafol: for a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month's subscription and freeshipping when you visit Nutrafol.com and enter promo code KENDALLRAE.Skims: shop Everyday Cotton, and all of my favorite bras and underwear at http://www.skims.com/ #skimspartnerKindred Bravely: get  20% off your first order when you go to KindredBravely.com/TCKR.Check out my foundation: Higher Hope Foundation: https://www.higherhope.org/Watch my documentaries:530 Days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjUWkmOjNLkApartment 801: https://bit.ly/2RJ9XXr True Crime with Kendall Rae podcast:Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3rks84oSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3jC66prShop my Merch! https://kendallrae.shopCheck out my other podcasts:Mile Higher (True Crime) @milehigherpodYouTube: https://bit.ly/2ROzJcwInstagram: http://instagram.com/milehigherpodThe Sesh (Current events, a little true crime, pop culture, and commentary) https://bit.ly/3Mtoz4X @the_seshpodcastInstagram: https://bit.ly/3a9t6Xr*Follow My Social!* @KendallRaeOnytInstagram: http://instagram.com/kendallraeonytFacebook: https://bit.ly/3kar4NKTrue Crime TikTok: https://bit.ly/3VDbc77Personal TikTok: https://bit.ly/41hmRKgREQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://zfrmz.com/yg9cuiWjUe2QY3hSC2V0Form for people directly related/close to the victim: https://zfrmz.com/HGu2hZso42aHxARt1i67Join my discord to chat with other viewers about this video, it's free! https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCNC O N T A C T:For Business Inquiries - kendallrae@night.coSend me mail: Kendall Rae 8547 E Arapahoe Rd Ste J #233 Greenwood Village, CO 80112

What are the best movies from six of the greatest directors ever? Lance Taylor and Tyler Johns go filmmaker by filmmaker through the careers of Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Paul Thomas Anderson, Stanley Kubrick, and Christopher Nolan to choose the films that best define each director. From Tarantino's pop-culture-changing Pulp Fiction to Scorsese's gangster classic Goodfellas, Fincher's dark thriller Seven, PTA's powerhouse drama There Will Be Blood, Kubrick's horror landmark The Shining, and Nolan's massive historical epic Oppenheimer, this episode is a full movie-lover deep dive. The guys also discuss the difference between a director's “best” movie and their personal favorite, why some films age better than others, and how certain movies reshape an entire genre. Before the main topic, Lance and Tyler review recent viewings including Who Will Stop the Rain?, Marathon Man, Billy Idol Should Be Dead, Hooper, Widow's Bay, Mortal Kombat 2, and Batman Beyond. #BestFilms #BestMovies #LegendaryDirectors #QuentinTarantino #MartinScorsese #ChristopherNolan #StanleyKubrick #DavidFincher #PaulThomasAnderson #PulpFiction #Goodfellas #Oppenheimer #TheShining #TheNextReel #moviereview SUBSCRIBE: @NextRoundLive - / @nextroundlive FOLLOW TNR ON SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/7zlofzLZht7dYxjNcBNpWN FOLLOW TNR ON APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-round/id1797862560 WEBSITE: https://nextroundlive.com/ MOBILE APP: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/the-next-round/id1580807480 SHOP THE NEXT ROUND STORE: https://nextround.store/ Like TNR on Facebook: / nextroundlive Follow TNR on Twitter: / nextroundlive Follow TNR on Instagram: / nextroundlive Follow everyone from the show on Twitter: Jim Dunaway: / jimdunaway Ryan Brown: / ryanbrownlive Lance Taylor: / thelancetaylor Scott Forester: / scottforestertv Tyler Johns: /TylerJohnsTNR Sponsor the show: sales@nextroundlive.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Comedian and podcast host Tom Kelly continues his Massapequa School Board interview series with current board member and candidate Cheryl Lepre. - Recorded at Paradise Studios in Massapequa, Long Island, this long-form conversation covers: - The "Save the Chief" lawsuit Taxpayer money and school budgets COVID and mask policy fallout Anonymous Facebook politics Transgender locker room controversy Universal Pre-K Education, AI & vocational training Why Massapequa has become a national political flashpoint And whether local politics has become too mean This episode focuses heavily on tone, community identity, and what Cheryl Lepre believes keeps Massapequa schools successful. - ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 1:19 – "Anyone who runs for school board is either crazy or a career politician" 1:41 – Cheryl explains her 7 years on the school board 1:58 – Why she continues to run for reelection 2:15 – PTA volunteer work & helping Boy Scouts become Eagle Scouts 2:43 – Tom asks if national politics have taken over local school boards