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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents

No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents

Danielle Freilich and Jordana Fruchter

Welcome to No Silly Questions, with your hosts Danielle Freilich and Jordana Fruchter, two New York City educators, school leaders and friends. We were inspired to develop No Silly Questions, after noticing how often our friends were calling us with education-related questions for their kids! Asking us for our insight on everything from the different pedagogical approaches, to developmental milestones in the first few years of life, to navigating how to support their child’s learning needs - you name it! We could see there was a need to provide parents with relatable, research-based answers from true experts in the field. On this podcast, you’ll hear from pediatric neuropsychologists, elected school officials, ed. tech entrepreneurs, play advocates, professors of multiple intelligence theory and more to bridge the gap of information and strengthen your parent tool kit. We want all parents to know that there is no such thing as a silly question.

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Top 10 No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - NSQ Special: What is happening with antisemitism on college campuses? With Rabbi David Wolpe
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01/28/24 • 36 min

Today’s question is truly “not so silly.” In fact, it’s one of the most serious questions we’ve ever asked and answered on this podcast- “what is happening with antisemitism on college campuses?”

Schools are meant to provide an education and a safe space for students to exchange ideas, and expand and challenge their thinking. You’re supposed to learn how to think, not what to think. At least that’s how we would answer our own rapid fire question. For the most part, we see ourselves as objective facilitators and we keep things professional. But this episode is more personal and reflects both our pride in our identity as Jews and also our concern for rising levels of antisemitism on college campuses. A focal point of our mission is to provide information that allows parents to make informed decisions for their children, and we think that having a perspective on the culture on college campuses right now, is relevant to share.
More on Rabbi David Wolpe:
David Wolpe is an American rabbi. He is a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Divinity School and the Max Webb Emeritus Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. He previously taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York, the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, Hunter College, and UCLA. Wolpe was named the most influential Rabbi in America by Newsweek in 2012, and among the 500 most influential Angelinos in 2016 and 2018. Wolpe now serves as the Inaugural rabbinic fellow for the ADL, and a Senior Advisor for the Maimonides Fund.

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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - How do you parent a teen? With Dr. Lisa Damour

How do you parent a teen? With Dr. Lisa Damour

No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents

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07/30/23 • 45 min

In season one we spoke with the toddler whisperer Tovah Klein all about how to navigate tantrums, and today, we’re bringing you the teen whisperer - Dr. Lisa Damour - who has catapulted into the parenting scene to help us understand the emotional lives of teenagers and what those of us with littles - like you and I danielle - have in store!
More about Dr. Lisa Damour:
Dr. Lisa Damour is the author of three New York Times best sellers: Untangled, Under Pressure, and The Emotional Lives of Teenagers. She co-hosts the Ask Lisa podcast, works in collaboration with UNICEF, and is recognized as a thought leader by the American Psychological Association. Dr. Damour is also a regular contributor to The New York Times and CBS News.

Dr. Damour serves as a Senior Advisor to the Schubert Center for Child Studies at Case Western Reserve University and has written numerous academic papers, chapters, and books related to education and child development. She maintains a clinical practice and also speaks to schools, professional organizations, and corporate groups around the world on the topics of child and adolescent development, family mental health, and adult well-being.

Dr. Damour graduated with honors from Yale University and worked for the Yale Child Study Center before earning her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Michigan. She has been a fellow at Yale’s Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy and the University of Michigan’s Power Foundation. She and her husband are the proud parents of two daughters.

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When we were kids, we would often play a game where we tried not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk. Necks crooked down, eyes laser focused on the ground, we hopped around as we sang- and some of us believed-: “Step on the crack, break your mama’s back!”

And then there were the 10-step bedtime routines: “I won’t go to bed unless you read me a bedtime story, tuck in every one of my stuffed animals, give me three kisses on the cheek. Check the closet for the boogy man. So on and so forth.”

But where is the line between play and compulsion? Between routine and obsession?

On today’s episode, we are privileged to welcome esteemed clinician Dr. Rebecca Berry to talk all about obsessive compulsive disorder in childhood, its diagnosis, its treatments, and how it compares to typical childhood behaviors.

More on Dr. Rebecca Berry:
Rebecca Rialon Berry, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety disorders , Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and related conditions. She has intensive training and certification in cognitive-behavior therapy, exposure and response prevention, habit reversal training, and behavioral parent training.

Dr. Berry currently has a specialty private practice in midtown Manhattan and Westchester, NY, where she works extensively with children, adolescents, and adults. She is an affiliate Clinical Associate Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. During her time at NYU Langone Health, Dr. Berry coordinated the Intensive Anxiety and OCD treatment program, and co-founded and directed the Tics, Tourette’s Disorder, and Trichotillomania Program. Before joining the faculty at NYU, Dr. Berry served as a Clinical Assistant Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, where she helped establish the Early Life Stress and Pediatric Anxiety and OCD Program.

Resources:
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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - How can parents build in fun and accessible opportunities for math at home? with Neily Boyd
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08/14/22 • 50 min

You may recognize our guest today Neily Boyd from her popular instagram account CountingWithKids. Neily, a former math director for schools, began making her math resources available to parents on social media- and her popularity exploded during the pandemic. Today, she is giving our listeners a special digest version of how to support mathematics development at home.

More on Neily Boyd:
Neily Boyd has more than a decade of experience as a math educator, working with students and teachers from kindergarten through high school. She held the role Director of Math, serving six elementary and middle schools, during which time she implemented a hands-on mathematics curriculum designed to engage students in academic discussion and conceptual thinking. As a result, the schools showed some of the highest growth in Tennessee.

Seeing a need to help children start kindergarten with better numeracy skills, Boyd launched Counting With Kids in 2019. Since then, her Instagram account has grown to more than 40,000 followers. She supports parents and educators from preschool through elementary ages by providing easy-to-use resources aligned with rigorous best practices. She also continues to host regular online sessions where parents from around the globe seek her advice.

Boyd holds a B.A. from Vanderbilt University and M.Ed from Lipscomb University, and is the parent of a preschooler as well as a second-grader. She is also married to a longtime teacher. They met when Boyd was seeking advice on interviewing for a job in education and a mutual friend said, “I know a guy who’s a teacher. Maybe you should talk to him.”
Resources:
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https://www.instagram.com/nosillyquestionspodcast/

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On today’s episode, we learn about the history of parenting and focus on what has made American childhood unique. With her deep knowledge on this subject matter, Paula gives us a lot to consider as we reflect back and look forward.
More on Paula S. Fass:
Paula S. Fass is a renowned historian of childhood and is the Margaret Byrne Professor of History Emerita at the University of California at Berkeley, where she taught for thirty-six years. She has also been a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Rutgers University.

Trained as a social and cultural historian of the United States at Barnard College and Columbia University, she has over the last two decades been active in developing the field of children's history and worked to make this an interdisciplinary field with a global perspective. She was the President of the Society of the History of Children and Youth, which she helped to found, from 2007-2009.

Paula has written many books related to childhood in America and has contributed to many collections in areas such as education, immigration, globalization, children's history and children's policy. Her most recent book is “The End of American Childhood: A History of Parenting, from Life on the Frontier to the Managed Child," published by Princeton University Press.

Resources:
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https://www.instagram.com/nosillyquestionspodcast/

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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - What do parents need to know about teens and screens? with Dr. Emily Weinstein

What do parents need to know about teens and screens? with Dr. Emily Weinstein

No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents

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07/10/22 • 51 min

Cancel culture, collecting receipts, watermarking nudes, comparison quicksand and digital pacifiers. These are the complex realities that teens face everyday in their online life. This episode will, without a doubt, help every parent better understand what their kids are going through and how to help.
More on Dr. Emily Weinstein:
Dr. Emily Weinstein is a Principal Investigator at Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For the last decade, her work has focused on chasing answers to questions like: How do today’s technologies shape teens’ lives and development? What’s hard for them and why? How can adults better support kids who are growing up with unprecedented connectivity? Emily is one of the leaders of the Digital Dilemmas project and the Reimagining Digital Well-being project. Her new book with her longtime research collaborator Carrie James, is Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing (and Adults Are Missing). The book is coming out this August and we are fortunate to get a preview of the valuable insights she has to share on today’s episode.
Resources:
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https://www.instagram.com/nosillyquestionspodcast/

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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - What does it mean to be intelligent? with Dr. Thomas Hoerr

What does it mean to be intelligent? with Dr. Thomas Hoerr

No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents

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07/03/22 • 38 min

Our guest today helps us understand that there are many other smarts, beyond the classic book smarts and street smarts. And enormous possibility can exist for kids when we recognize their unique aptitudes, in school and at home. We hope today’s episode expands our perception of what it means to be quote- “good at school.”
More on Dr. Thomas Hoerr:
Dr. Thomas Hoerr led schools for 37 years and is currently a Scholar In Residence at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, teaching in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program. His newest book, The Principal As Chief Empathy Officer: Creating A Culture Where Everyone Grows, shows the role of empathy in relationships in leadership. Hoerr believes that we can all grow our empathy. Hoerr currently writes a monthly leadership blog for ASCD and wrote a monthly column, “The Principal Connection,” from 2004 to 2018. Two of his previous books focused on the importance of SEL to students and staff (Taking Social Emotional Learning Schoolwide and The Formative Five: Fostering Grit, Empathy, and Other Success Skills Every Student Needs). Hoerr has written four other books, more than 170 articles, and has presented at schools and conferences around the world on empathy, leadership, multiple intelligences, faculty collegiality, grit, and the Formative Five.
Resources:
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https://www.instagram.com/nosillyquestionspodcast/

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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - How is America’s largest school system educating its youngest learners? With Dr. Kara H. Ahmed
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04/07/24 • 39 min

Preschool - and early childhood learning - plays an essential role in the lives of many parents and children. Working parents rely on preschool, and research shows that a HIGH QUALITY preschool program can have a lasting positive impact on the life of a child. According to the NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION, providing a high quality education for children before they turn 5 yields significant medium and long term benefits for children, including being:

  • Less likely to repeat a grade
  • Less likely to be identified as having special needs
  • More prepared academically for later grades
  • More likely to graduate from high school
  • Higher earners in the workforce

Furthermore, access to effective, diverse programs breaks down barriers that have prevented many children– particularly children of color and children from disadvantaged families– from achieving their full potential.

But how do we ensure that - on a LARGE SCALE - our children are having experiences in early childhood programs that best support their short and long term development. Today, we’ll learn from Dr. Kara Ahmed about how New York City, our country's largest school system, is supporting its youngest learners.
More on Kara:
As Deputy Chancellor of Early Childhood Education, Dr. Kara Ahmed is responsible for ensuring the system is prepared to support all of New York City’s young people from birth to five years of age.

For the past 14 years, Kara was the Principal for the Department of Education’s Living for the Young Family Through Education (LYFE) program, which she transformed into a nationally recognized, city-wide, early childhood education program.Kara began her career as an early childhood educator and then became the Early Childhood Supervisor for New Brunswick Public Schools. There she led all operational and programmatic aspects related to the public school and private provider preschool programs. Kara also led the implementation of preschool inclusion to guarantee children with identified disabilities were naturally integrated into general education preschool classrooms. Kara went on to work with William Patterson University to support the New Jersey DOE’s implementation of preschool across the state, and she taught graduate courses at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Kara has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University. She has a Master of Arts degree in Education Leadership and a Doctor of Education in Education Policy, both from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Resources:
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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - What motivates kids? With Dr. Ellen Braaten

What motivates kids? With Dr. Ellen Braaten

No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents

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05/27/24 • 35 min

“Bright Kids who Couldn’t Care Less” is the title of our guest Ellen Braaten’s most recent book. And it’s a trend she’s found in her renowned private practice as a clinician. So why do some kids care and others don’t? In our conversation with Ellen we get into childhood motivation, how it all works, and what’s a parent to do when their kid is being - what can even feel like a taboo word- “lazy.”

Ellen Braaten, PhD, is an experienced and prominent psychologist, researcher, speaker, and author. She is the Executive Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Kessler Family Chair in Pediatric Neuropsychological Assessment. She also holds an appointment of Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Braaten is widely recognized as an expert in the field of pediatric neuropsychological and psychological assessment, particularly in the areas of assessing learning disabilities and attentional disorders. Dr. Braaten has traveled internationally and is a frequent media contributor to NBC News, WCVB Boston, CBS Boston, and The New York Times. She has authored several books and articles, her most recent one being Bright Kids Who Couldn't Care Less (2023).
Resources:
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No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents - Mother’s Day Special: NSQ Parents Unplugged with Lizzie Assa, Loren Klein, and Lily Walla
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05/12/24 • 40 min

Welcome to an episode of NSQ Parents Unplugged- where we hear from parents and professionals about their experiences with school and the educational choices they're making for their families.

In honor of Mother’s Day, we’re thrilled to be joined by three esteemed guests- Lily Walla, Loren Klein, and Lizza Assa- three amazing mamas who all work in the parenting space - for a special discussion about work and life, the balance of both, and the spaces where they intersect.
More on our guests:
Lili Walla toddler mom and founder of Auggie- platform where empowered parents create personalized registries, shop, and share real recommendations from expecting and beyond.

Loren Klein is a mom of three, teacher, social worker and certified educator of infant massage with over 15 years of experience working with families and children. After graduating from Washington University, she began her career with Teach for America in a middle school classroom. While teaching, Loren earned a master’s in both education and social work at Columbia University. Since then, Loren has facilitated therapeutic programs for children, developed resources and workshops for families, and served as the main communication point for parents of students with disabilities at the New York City Department of Education. Loren is the founder of ZenHippo.

Lizzie Asa , MS. Ed. and the founder of The Workspace for Children. I'm a parenting strategist and independent play expert who believes that play is how children make sense of their world.
Resources:
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https://www.instagram.com/nosillyquestionspodcast/

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FAQ

How many episodes does No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents have?

No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents currently has 63 episodes available.

What topics does No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents cover?

The podcast is about Podcasts and Education.

What is the most popular episode on No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents?

The episode title 'How can we use data to improve our decision making in the early school years? With Emily Oster' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents?

The average episode length on No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents is 43 minutes.

How often are episodes of No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents released?

Episodes of No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents?

The first episode of No Silly Questions- An Education Podcast for Parents was released on Jun 3, 2022.

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