Recent episodes below. For older episodes, visit the TSW! Episodes Library.

#45 (10/19/20) "Are We Having an Educational Existential Crisis?" Laurie & Matt return from their Heart & Soul of a Teacher Journey to visit a dark place where few venture intentionally, but where many often end up. They revisit their regular format to address the question, "Are We Having an Educational Existential Crisis?"

Grappling with the demands of distance learning and the strange alternative universe they seem to visit everyday, where they stare at black boxes and try to coax work out of and build relationships with the teenage humans they believe are behind the dark rectangles, Laurie & Matt let it rip on the mixed-up emotional state they find themselves in. Admittedly thin on practical advice, this episode explores the emotional and psychological grinder that teachers are fed through daily, and the warped reality it is creating. When the people of the future discover and analyze this podcast, it will definitely be definitive of Laurie & Matt's "dark period."

#44 (10/15/20) Teen Parent Therapy: Helicopter or Hands Off Laurie & Matt continue with their bi-weekly Teen Parent Therapy sessions, this time exploring their struggle to find the right balance of being helicopter or hands off parents. They find themselves careening between the two, rarely with thoughtfulness and purpose, and more often reacting to the failings of their current parenting modality.

Remembering that these sessions are not about solutions and advice, but rather about honesty and exploration, Laurie & Matt open up about their missteps and wonder how they could have done things differently, and whether it would have made any difference at all. Laurie admits that hands off is a style she can adopt for only the briefest of moments before the helicopter blades start turning, and Matt opens up about his compelling sense of duty and whether it's insufficient as a primary driver of fatherly actions. So, no answers were found, but the questions asked and the confessions made are sure to resonate with other members of the Teen Parenting Club.