Summary Garth and Jason explore digital wellness, the arrival of generative AI in schools, and why values will guide educators further than rules. Drawing on research from Harvard's Project Zero and the work of Beck Tench, they set the table for next week's conversation. Full show notes Ted Lasso arrived in Richmond to coach a game he did not know. Many educators feel the same way about AI right now. In this episode of Beard's Book Club, Garth and Jason return to Behind Their Screens and the participatory research of Harvard's Center for Digital Thriving, where teens were invited to describe their digital lives in their own words. What emerged was not a story of reckless kids and clueless adults. It was a story of young people navigating hard dilemmas about friendship and identity, often more thoughtfully than we assume. That same posture of curiosity, they argue, is what schools need as generative AI reshapes teaching and learning. Policy is struggling to keep pace. Teachers are being asked to make decisions without clear guidance. It is worth considering whether the answer lies less in tighter rules and more in shared principles, a moral compass that helps educators and students act wisely when the playbook runs out. Garth and Jason explore three forms of agency (personal, collective, and proxy), the value of transparency and experimentation in classrooms, and a story of students who led the way in building community around their digital spaces. Not because technology is the enemy, but because people still matter most. Next week, Beck Tench joins us. Keep Leading the Lasso Way. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and introducing Beck Tench 04:07 Mental health and digital wellness 05:03 Beck Tench and Harvard's Center for Digital Thriving 06:20 Why participatory research matters 07:18 What teens wish adults understood about technology 08:09 Behind Their Screens and today's AI challenges 09:23 The deep care behind the research 11:16 A new Harvard report on AI, inspired by Ted Lasso 12:41 Coaching a game you don't know 13:37 Principles and values over strict rules 14:30 Educators, AI, and the policy gap 15:53 Agency for teachers and students 17:21 Transparency and experimentation in schools 19:04 Values as a moral compass for AI decisions 20:30 Listening to student experience 21:50 Three forms of agency: personal, collective, proxy 22:47 Students building community in digital spaces 24:55 Closing thoughts and next week with Beck Tench Soundbites "Teens describe hard dilemmas about friendship and identity." "Ted is brought in to coach a game he doesn't know." "It's not about wins and losses, but making men the best they can be." Tags digital wellness, AI in education, teen technology, participatory research, values based leadership, Harvard Project Zero, Beck Tench, generative AI, educational leadership, student agency
