The Reason We Learn Podcast

Hosted by Deb Fillman
  • 5.0 (10)
  • EDUCATION

Conversations that challenge the status quo in education. This is where I go beyond the page to talk with thinkers, educators, parents, and advocates who are reimagining what learning could be—outside the bounds of bureaucratic schooling. From homeschooling strategies to policy analysis, each episode aims to inform, empower, and equip parents to take back control of their children’s education. Whether you’re new to alternative education or a seasoned homeschooler, the podcast offers insight, encouragement, and a sharp look at the systems shaping the next generation. thereasonwelearn.substack.com

  1. What is a "Good School" Anyway? A Teacher Explains

    06/06/2025

    What is a "Good School" Anyway? A Teacher Explains

    In this episode, I sit down with veteran educator James Furey to unpack a question many parents and educators grapple with: What makes a school “good”? We explore how standardized test scores, college admissions, and school rankings often fail to capture the true quality of education. James shares insights from his years in the classroom, discussing the impact of school culture, teacher autonomy, and student engagement on learning outcomes. Whether you're a parent evaluating school options or an educator reflecting on your practice, this conversation offers a thought-provoking look at the deeper elements that contribute to a meaningful education. 🎓 Want More Than School Can Offer? Let’s Work Together.If you're ready to give your child a real education—not just schooling—visit CogitoLearningCenter.com to explore how I can help. Whether you need expert tutoring, personalized curriculum guidance, or full enrichment courses, I work directly with families to design a learning path that actually works. 🟢 Start here: CogitoLearningCenter.com 💡 Support This WorkIf you value the conversations and content I share, you can help in a few simple ways: ☕ Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/trwl 💸 Direct Support via PayPal: paypal.me/deborahfillman 📰 Subscribe on Substack: thereasonwelearn.substack.com 🛍️ Shop & Learn with My Affiliates 📚 Heroes of Liberty Books: Get 10% off with my link: heroesofliberty.com/?ref=Zqpq 🧠 The Socratic Experience: Give your child deep, discussion-based learning. Get 10% off here:socraticexperience.com/parent-guide/?utm_source=thereasonwelearn 📲 Follow for More X (Twitter): @owl_elc Instagram: @thereasonwelearn Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 55m
  2. The PURGE: Erasing the Enlightenment One Child at a Time

    02/26/2025

    The PURGE: Erasing the Enlightenment One Child at a Time

    What are your children learning in school about man and what he should do in life? What kind of "self" are they being encouraged to develop? Do you even know? James Lindsay joins me to discuss the Marxian religious questions our children are being taught to ask in school, how the answers are purging enlightenment values from American culture, one lost "self" at a time. An American-born author, mathematician, and professional troublemaker, Dr. James Lindsay has written six books spanning a range of subjects including religion, the philosophy of science and postmodern theory. He is a leading expert on Critical Race Theory, which leads him to reject it completely. He is the founder of New Discourses and currently promoting his new book "Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody," which is currently being translated into more than fifteen languages. Join us for a discussion about what it means for all of us when our children are taught an anti-enlightenment theory of mind? Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 47m
  3. What Really Makes American Schools So Unsafe?

    01/13/2025

    What Really Makes American Schools So Unsafe?

    How often have you heard someone say “We have a mental health problem!” in the aftermath of a school shooting? It’s usually the thing you hear immediately after “We need commonsense gun control,” or "gun-free zones make easy targets." I’m going to guess it’s roughly every time, and it’s even possible you’ve said it yourself. Who could blame you? No one would deny the fact that anyone shooting up a school is mentally disturbed, but is that the whole story? Why schools? Why students and teachers? Why aren’t we asking these questions? My guests for this show, Pamela Garfield Jaeger and Cyndi O'Brien have some thoughts on that subject, as well as some fascinating stories to share about how “mental health” is actually addressed at school, some of which may surprise you. They'll explain how there might be more to the choice of location than the usual narratives would have us believe. Also, if you are currently under the impression we need more mental healthcare at school, or that every child should be evaluated for mental illness by default by school counselors, you’ll want to hear what these ladies have to say.My Guests: Pamela Garfield-Jaeger has worked as an LCSW for over 20 years in a variety of settings and programs. Most recently she worked with teens in school and outpatient settings. She realized that the vast majority of parents are unprepared to engage the Mental Health system from a position on knowledge and understanding. She is here to help educate parents on what to expect and how to interact with a very complicated and insular system. Follow Pam on X @truththerapist, and check out her website, work, public speaking and service offerings here: https://linktr.ee/thetruthfultherapist Cyndi O'Brien is a former K12 education insider. She was an English teacher for 17 years and a school counselor for 3 years. She finally quit because of the corruption. She has been a whistleblower and produces her own videos and podcasts exposing what goes on behind the scenes in K12 education. Cyndi is currently employed as a child trauma therapist while she works toward professional counselor licensure (which should occur in just a couple of months). She also works as a college instructor of both English and Counseling. Follow Cyndi on X @ObrienCynd72601 and on YouTube @k12formerinsider Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 52m
  4. Teaching the Holocaust: American Liberty Depends on It, with Anna Salton Eisen

    08/23/2024

    Teaching the Holocaust: American Liberty Depends on It, with Anna Salton Eisen

    Imagine growing up and not knowing your parents were Holocaust survivors…That was childhood for my guest today, Anna Salton Eisen. Anna is the author of The 23rd Psalm: A Holocaust Memoir, The Twentieth Anniversary Edition (A National Jewish Book Awards Finalist in 2022) and Pillar of Salt: A Daughter’s Life in the Shadow of the Holocaust. She is the daughter of two Holocaust survivors and executive producer of the upcoming documentary film In My Father’s Words based on both of her books. Her writing has been published in The Jerusalem Post and The Forward, among other publications. As the founder of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, site of the antisemitic synagogue hostage crisis in January 2022, Anna has been featured in numerous major news outlets, including CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News. A social worker, Salton Eisen formerly practiced as a therapist, specializing in mental health and trauma. Today, Anna works to bring Holocaust education to everyone who wants and needs it. In this show, we will discuss why and how she’s doing it. Find Anna: Facebook: Anna Salton Eisen, Author X: @AnnaSaltonEisen Instagram: @annasaltoneisen Website, where you can buy the books: https://annasaltoneisen.com/ TIMESTAMPS 01:38 Intro 03:55 Anna's story 09:09 Why we need Holocaust education 17:14 What has changed in education to make so many students hostile to Holocaust education? 26:53 What works WELL for Holocaust education? 44:02 Connecting Jewish history to American history 49:10 Looking ahead, wrapping up SUPORT MY WORK // Donate: Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trwl PayPal: paypal.me/deborahfillman // Join: If you want to join weekly calls with me and my audience, and get access to my curated lists of education enrichment and homeschooling resources, join one or both of my private communities: TRWL @Wokescreen: https://wokescreen.com/thereasonwelearn/ TRWP Parent Support Group: https://wokescreen.com/the-reason-we-parent/ //Work With Me: I offer a wide range of consulting services to parents and parent advocacy organizations. Learn more about my services, and book my time using these links Tutoring & Homeschool Teaching: https://thereasonwelearn.com/online-tutoring-and-homeschool-teaching/ College Counseling and Essay Coaching: https://thereasonwelearn.com/consulting/ Education Consulting & School Search: https://thereasonwelearn.com/1942-2/ Public Speaking: https://thereasonwelearn.com/speaking/ Writing: https://thereasonwelearn.com/writing-2/ //Do Business With My Affiliates Purchase books from Heroes of Liberty with my referral link and get 10% off! https://heroesofliberty.com/?ref=Zqpq... Enroll your child in The Socratic Experience, a virtual school grades 3-12. They provide Socratic discussions of classic texts with a commitment to rationality while supporting students in entrepreneurial and creative projects. My listeners can now get a 10% discount by using the link below! https://socraticexperience.com/parent-guide/?utm_source=thereasonwelearn #teachingtheholocaust #holocaustsurvivor #holocausteducation #holocaustsurvivors #publiceducation #k12education #antisemitism --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/debf/support Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    54 min
  5. School-Based Counseling: Are We Making Things Worse? With Jake Wiskerchen

    08/22/2024

    School-Based Counseling: Are We Making Things Worse? With Jake Wiskerchen

    You may have noticed that Mental Health, sometimes referred to as “wellness” or wellbeing, has, both in terms of funding, and staffing, become job 1 for most schools, and you may even have heard that students “can’t learn” until they’ve been seen, heard, and assessed psychologically. Earlier, I sat down to talk with Jake Wiskerchen, marriage and family therapist, national certified counselor, and founder of Nevada based Zephyr Wellness, to get an update on what’s going on in counseling, especially in schools. I asked Jake because of his broad and deep experience in the field. He has given consultations, talks, seminars, continuing education classes, and staff trainings, to many agencies, groups, organizations, and individuals, including the Nevada Bar Association, Northern Nevada Law Enforcement Academy (POST), Nevada State Civil Attorneys Association, Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce, University of Nevada, Washoe County School District, Nevada School Counselors Association, Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence, Lyon County School District, Pershing County School District, Sixth Judicial District Court, VanNess Group Homes, and CSA/Head Start, and he’s the host of not one, but TWO podcasts: noggin notes and guns and mental health.In this show, you’ll learn why mental health is front and center in education, and why that may be much too much of an otherwise good thing. Follow Jake @jakewisk Podcast host: Guns & Mental Health, Noggin Notes YouTube  @ZephyrWellness  SUPPORT MY WORK // Donate: Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trwl PayPal: paypal.me/deborahfillman // Join: If you want to join weekly calls with me and my audience, and get access to my curated lists of education enrichment and homeschooling resources, join one or both of my private communities: TRWL @Wokescreen: https://wokescreen.com/thereasonwelearn/ TRWP Parent Support Group: https://wokescreen.com/the-reason-we-parent/ //Do Business With My Affiliates Purchase books from Heroes of Liberty with my referral link and get 10% off! https://heroesofliberty.com/?ref=Zqpq... Enroll your child in The Socratic Experience, a virtual school grades 3-12. They provide Socratic discussions of classic texts with a commitment to rationality while supporting students in entrepreneurial and creative projects. My listeners can now get a 10% discount by using the link below! https://socraticexperience.com/parent-guide/?utm_source=thereasonwelearn #schoolcounseling #mentalhealthandwellbeing #mentalhealthatschool #schoolcounselors #sel #mtss --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/debf/support Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 13m
  6. Stolen Youth at Sarah Lawrence: What You Need To Know About Coercive Control, with Joshua Slocum

    08/20/2024

    Stolen Youth at Sarah Lawrence: What You Need To Know About Coercive Control, with Joshua Slocum

    If you haven't yet watched the Hulu miniseries Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence, I highly recommend that you do. I watched it, and invited Josh Slocum, from  @DisaffectedPodcast  here to discuss coercive control -- what it is, and how it works -- because he's a graduate of Sarah Lawrence, and because he is an expert in cluster-B personality disorders, and while not all who are cluster-B engage in coercive control, all those who coercively control are cluster-B. Follow Josh on X @DisaffectedPod Subscribe to his Substack at https://disaffectedpod.substack.com/ Watch the Hulu series: https://press.hulu.com/shows/stolen-youth-inside-the-cult-at-sarah-lawrence/ SUPPORT MY WORK: // Donate: Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trwl PayPal: paypal.me/deborahfillman // Join: If you want to join weekly calls with me and my audience, and get access to my curated lists of education enrichment and homeschooling resources, join one or both of my private communities: TRWL @Wokescreen: https://wokescreen.com/thereasonwelearn/ TRWP Parent Support Group: https://wokescreen.com/the-reason-we-parent/ //Work With Me: I offer a wide range of consulting services to parents and parent advocacy organizations. Learn more about my services, and book my time using these links Tutoring & Homeschool Teaching: https://thereasonwelearn.com/online-tutoring-and-homeschool-teaching/ College Counseling and Essay Coaching: https://thereasonwelearn.com/consulting/ Education Consulting & School Search: https://thereasonwelearn.com/1942-2/ Public Speaking: https://thereasonwelearn.com/speaking/ Writing: https://thereasonwelearn.com/writing-2/ //Do Business With My Affiliates Purchase books from Heroes of Liberty with my referral link and get 10% off! https://heroesofliberty.com/?ref=Zqpq... Enroll your child in The Socratic Experience, a virtual school grades 3-12. They provide Socratic discussions of classic texts with a commitment to rationality while supporting students in entrepreneurial and creative projects. My listeners can now get a 10% discount by using the link below! https://socraticexperience.com/parent-guide/?utm_source=thereasonwelearn #sarahlawrence #hulu #coercivecontrol #clusterb #narcissism #narcissiticabuse #humantrafficking --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/debf/support Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    55 min
  7. Why I Walked Away From Public Schools, With Jon England

    08/18/2024

    Why I Walked Away From Public Schools, With Jon England

    Jon England is the Education Policy Analyst at Libertas Institute. He is a fourteen-year veteran public schools who became frustrated with the lack of innovation, transparency and accountability in the system, and decided to leave the system and join Libertas to work on empowering parents, and defending parental rights. Find Jon on X @Principal_Jon Website: https://libertas.org TIMESTAMPS 03:16 - Welcome Jon! 04:47 - COVID: The Final Straw 09:01 - School vs. Parents 13:12 - The School Trap 20:00 - The Push to College 32:32 - New Models for K12 44:15 - Government Roadblocks to Alternatives 48:55 - Let's Talk About School Choice... 1:00:00 - How to Get More Involved in Making Education Better SUPPORT MY WORK: // Donate: Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trwl PayPal: paypal.me/deborahfillman // Join: If you want to join weekly calls with me and my audience, and get access to my curated lists of education enrichment and homeschooling resources, join one or both of my private communities: TRWL @Wokescreen: https://wokescreen.com/thereasonwelearn/ TRWP Parent Support Group: https://wokescreen.com/the-reason-we-parent/ //Work With Me: I offer a wide range of consulting services to parents and parent advocacy organizations. Learn more about my services, and book my time using these links Tutoring & Homeschool Teaching: https://thereasonwelearn.com/online-tutoring-and-homeschool-teaching/ College Counseling and Essay Coaching: https://thereasonwelearn.com/consulting/ Education Consulting & School Search: https://thereasonwelearn.com/1942-2/ Public Speaking: https://thereasonwelearn.com/speaking/ Writing: https://thereasonwelearn.com/writing-2/ //Do Business With My Affiliates Purchase books from Heroes of Liberty with my referral link and get 10% off! https://heroesofliberty.com/?ref=Zqpq... Enroll your child in The Socratic Experience, a virtual school grades 3-12. They provide Socratic discussions of classic texts with a commitment to rationality while supporting students in entrepreneurial and creative projects. My listeners can now get a 10% discount by using the link below! https://socraticexperience.com/parent-guide/?utm_source=thereasonwelearn #publicschoolsystem #walkaway #publicschool #education #microschool #homeschooling #schoolchoice --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/debf/support Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 12m
  8. What Should Be Taught in Our Schools with William B. Allen

    07/01/2024

    What Should Be Taught in Our Schools with William B. Allen

    Professor William B. Allen is the Emeritus Dean of James Madison College, and Professor Emeritus of Political Philosophy at Michigan State University. I had the privilege of hearing Professor Allen speak at the Alumni Summit on Free Expression hosted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, also known as ACTA, and the Alumni Free Speech Alliance, also known as AFSA. The title of his talk was Criminals Think, but Thinking is not Criminal, and I felt strongly then, as I do today, that my audience, parents and teachers in particular, needed to hear from him directly. Professor Allen's Talk: https://youtu.be/P1nLRW_hXC4?si=PETMTDS6mfqOC_HW Transcript as an Article at The Journal of Free Black Thought: https://freeblackthought.substack.com/p/criminals-think-but-thinking-is-not Professor Allen's book: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001IZ0ZS8/allbooks SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL Your support makes my work possible. If you appreciate this content, please consider supporting me in one of the following ways: Join The Reason We Learn Community @WOKESCREEN : https://wokescreen.com/thereasonwelearn/ Join The Reason We Parent - Parent Support Group: https://wokescreen.com/the-reason-we-parent/ Hire me for consulting, tutoring and public speaking: https://thereasonwelearn.com Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/trwl PayPal: paypal.me/deborahfillman Purchase TRWL Merch: https://store.wokescreen.com/the-reason-we-learn/ Purchase books from Heroes of Liberty with my referral link and get 10% off! https://heroesofliberty.com/?ref=Zqpq... #philosophyofeducation #educationreform #highereducationreform #academicfreedom #raisingreaders --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/debf/support Get full access to The Reason We Learn at thereasonwelearn.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 17m
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Conversations that challenge the status quo in education. This is where I go beyond the page to talk with thinkers, educators, parents, and advocates who are reimagining what learning could be—outside the bounds of bureaucratic schooling. From homeschooling strategies to policy analysis, each episode aims to inform, empower, and equip parents to take back control of their children’s education. Whether you’re new to alternative education or a seasoned homeschooler, the podcast offers insight, encouragement, and a sharp look at the systems shaping the next generation. thereasonwelearn.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Hosted by Deb Fillman
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    70
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Deborah Fillman
  • Show Website
    The Reason We Learn Podcast