It’s hard to believe, but the 2025-26 school year has come to a close for Helen and Jordan! We start off sharing two examples of how Facebook “works” as more evidence that once you post something, it isn’t totally within your control what happens next. We read a short, beautiful Substack essay written by Shawn Smucker titled, “Please Use AI.” Speaking of Substack, Jordan apparently doesn’t know how to use it. Jordan then issues a warning for schools not to use AI to read student names at graduation ceremonies after a recent blunder at Glendale Community College in Arizona. We speak about the importance and significance of a student hearing their name spoken out loud. Helen puts it out into the world her intention to create a chain letter with her graduate school friends in order to keep up with them in a fun and meaningful way. We are excited for our upcoming summer book club where we will read The Amazing Generation with 10 students ages 9-12. We then reflect over all that we have worked on and accomplished over the past school year. Jordan shares how her journey started by reading The Anxious Generation and bringing a chapter of Wait Until 8th to Morton, which has now grown into something bigger and has created connections with people all over the country. Is this our last episode of Season 2?! Stay tuned!

Read Smucker's poem, "⁠Please Use AI" on his Substack, The Courage To Live It.

Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

We open with a very special guest, a.k.a. Jordan’s son Camden, dropping some animal facts for our listeners. We also introduce a new potential segment we will call “stuff Brian yells in the car while listening to our podcast” that leads to Jordan retelling her marriage proposal story. We give an update to the recent Canvas data breach, and it seems, for now, the stolen data is not being released. A recently essay published on Substack by Trevor Aleo, “Down with EdTech! Long Live MADTech!” gives a valuable perspective about ways technology can be used in the classroom by turning students into creators. Aleo, a fellow millennial, gives us the definition for MADTech meaning Media, Arts, and Design Technology, which is different than EdTech (a.k.a. educationial technology). With MADTech, students create artifacts rather than data. Jordan shares some examples from her time as a school counselor, witnessing ways technology can be used appropriately with students in the classroom. This current wave of pulling back on technology in schools does not mean an entire removal of technology in schools, and Aleo’s essay is a great example of how teachers can use technology intentionally. Helen then talks through what it would mean as a classroom teacher to not use devices in the classroom for reading texts.

Read Aleo's essay, "Down with EdTech! Long Live MADTech!" on his Substack, Becoming Literary.

Morton families, last chance to sign your 9-12 year-olds up for our ⁠⁠Amazing Generation Summer Book Club⁠⁠.

Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

We recorded this episode on Mother’s Day and of course had to talk about what we did to celebrate our special day. After enjoying a delicious Dilly Bar, Helen shares how she enjoyed pancakes after sleeping in, and Jordan had a fun afternoon at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. We then celebrate Helen’s recently published article, “Becoming a Mother Runner,” in Mother’s Day Magazine. Jordan shares about the success of her first play+read event held in the park. There were many kids and families who enjoyed picking out free books. Jordan then shares about the latest school board meeting, where she provided public comment. The meeting had a long discussion about technology and personal devices. After discussing the district’s proposal to remove students’ direct access to YouTube for the next school year, Jordan shares how a recent Wall Street Journal article revealed one seventh grader watching more than 13,000 YouTube videos at school on his school device over a 3-month period. We talk about the difficulties of balancing advocacy and parenting and the importance of self-care. Helen brings up the recent data breach for Canvas, a widely used learning management system, which impacted students, professors, and teachers across the country. We close with Jordan’s recent interview for CNHI about parenting and screens.

Read Helen's essay "Becoming a Mother Runner" in Mother's Day Magazine and Jordan's feature in "Kids & Screens" from CHNI.

Morton families, sign your 9-12 year-olds up for our ⁠Amazing Generation Summer Book Club⁠.

Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.