Millennial Mom Thoughts

Jordan Spicklemire and Helen Plevka-Jones

Two millennial moms...sharing some thoughts. As parents and as education professionals, we discuss our past, present, and future relationships with changing technologies. We're interested in how it impacts ourselves, our students, and our kiddos, and we're learning how to advocate for the issues we care most about.

  1. Aug 13

    EPISODE 49: Supporting Distraction-Free Schools

    Just in time for back-to-school, Jordan shares all about the Distraction-Free Schools Policy Project (DFSPP) that she has become involved with over the past year. DFSPP is a joint initiative between the Becca Schmill Foundation and Smartphone Free Childhood US that advocates for a better, safer educational experience for every child through legislation with 3 model bills: Phone-Free Schools, Social Media-Free Schools, and Intentional School Technology Use. In addition to being the Illinois DFSPP co-lead, Jordan is now joining the national leadership team to help support and strengthen existing and new state teams. We then talk about the differences between the Senate’s Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the House’s Kids Internet and Digital Safety (KIDS) Act. We share our excitement about two upcoming book releases: Natasha Singer’s Coding Kids and Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath’s re-release of The Digital Delusion. Jordan gives the tech-related updates for her school district in Morton, including a bell-to-bell cellphone policy and the removal of direct student access to YouTube on school iPads, and she overviews the recent board meeting discussion about whether 1:1 devices should continue in grades K-2. Jordan ends by reading a few recent article titles from her ever-growing Google doc resource that has been shared across the country. Find Helen on Substack at⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms. Check out the following articles and resources mentioned throughout our conversation: A state-by-state breakdown: PhoneFreeSchoolsReport.org A major win for child safety: “Meta fined $567m” An intriguing conversation: “DSFPP & SBS Present: Skills Before Screens” A powerful read and watch: “Why Did We Let Big Tech Take Over Education?” An upcoming webinar: “Big Tech’s Battle to Remake Education” And for more, check out Jordan’s always growing, always helpful (and hopeful! And disheartening! And empowering!!) doc of Links and Resources.

  2. Aug 7

    EPISODE 48: What if it’s not the phones? Ok, but it is.

    We kick off our episode with a brand new segment we’re calling “Gratitude,” complete with Helen’s on-the-fly segment theme song! Helen is fresh off the first day of her new job as the Clinical Coordinator for English Education, and Jordan has shared another newsletter for her reConnect Morton community group. For this episode, we’re talking all about a recent piece published in The Atlantic, “What if It’s Not the Phones? An evolutionary psychologist is challenging the popular understanding of kids and technology.” The article discusses Peter Gray’s (a founder of Let Grow) stance that smartphones and social media did not lead to the mental health crisis they’re facing; he thinks Common Core is to blame. Jordan shares her frustrations with Gray’s position on internet exploration for children, given that he is such a champion for childhood independence and play. Gray refers to social media age minimums as a “violation of human rights,” and we talk through how as a society, we age-gate many things such as drinking, driving, and voting. We add yet another new segment called “words I didn’t know before but now I do” after Jordan comes across a word in the article she didn’t know. Find Helen on Substack at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  3. Aug 1

    EPISODE 47: Happy 1st birthday, Millennial Mom Thoughts!

    Put your party hat on because we are celebrating the 1st birthday of our podcast! It’s hard to believe we’ve shared a year of so many different Millennial Mom Thoughts with our listeners. After Jordan shares about her recent trip to visit family in Indiana, Helen delights us with her impressive sound effects. We then talk about how Meta recently reversed a decision to give users a feature allowing anyone to alter public Instagram account photos with an AI image generator. This leads to a conversation about a situation Jordan encountered where a friend uploaded a photo of her son into an AI image generator app. Jordan shares how she handled it and why these are discussions we all need to have. After a birthday party celebration, Helen realizes she has discovered a new passion: creating stickers! Helen then details her teaching experiences with the Upward Bound Summer Institute. A new Common Sense Media report details how Google’s AI search poses an “unacceptable risk” to students, which sparks a discussion about how AI is impacting education and how we navigate that as educators and parents (including reading Fairplay’s call for a pause on AI in schools and considering Schools Beyond Screen’s email template to district leadership). We then reflect on the many conversations we’ve had over the past year and how much fun we are having making this podcast. We’re looking forward to another year of great conversations, new guests, and plenty more laughs!  Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms. View the recording of the Skills Before Screens webinar.

  4. Jul 23

    EPISODE 46: A Conversation with Kevin Stinehart

    We are thrilled to share our conversation with Kevin Stinehart, a fellow millennial who is a leading voice on what modern childhood is missing. Helen first shares with us her incredible running accomplishment: taking third place at the Cry Me A River Trail Half Marathon! And Jordan drops a small hint about a future project she’s working on. We then get to talk to Kevin about his amazing work and what is like to be featured in the global phenomenon book, The Anxious Generation. Although becoming an educator wasn’t his original plan, he has been recognized as Teacher of the Year in his school district and is now a doctoral candidate at Clemson University. We discuss the transformative Play Club initiative he began at his school in 2019, including both the local impact on his students and the global interest in its successes. In a recent essay on Substack, Kevin discusses what happens when we don’t allow kids to be kids and instead use devices to quiet or distract them. Kevin shares some of the amazing stories from his school Play Club that allows students the opportunities to play without adults leading the activities or interfering, even when conflict arises. Helen and Jordan have so many more questions than we have time for, so we hope to bring Kevin back for a part two! Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  5. Jul 16

    EPISODE 45: Toys Over Tablets

    Spoiler alert: There will be a few Toy Story 5 spoilers in this episode! We are discussing the summer blockbuster and the messages it sent (and didn’t send) to viewers. But first, Jordan shares a huge childhood independence experience for her six-year-old, and Helen discusses her daughter’s first week back at daycare. We also share about a recent IRL summer library storytime we attended together. Jordan published her first Substack essay sharing how she initially debated seeing Toy Story 5 with her family but wanted the experience of going to the theater together with friends. Helen asked Jordan how the film met her expectations on a scale of 0-10, and Jordan details why she gave it a 4. Frustrations are shared about how the film claims to (initially) portray the Lilypad tablet as the villain and yet Disney is ultimately a business, so the Lilypad tablet, made by Leapfrog, is currently available to buy. Another major sticking point is that when the tablet ultimately remains in childhood, it also remains in the bedroom. We then dig into the concerns about trusted messenger organizations, like Common Sense Media, that take money from and/or partner with social media and big tech companies. We end with Helen sharing the unique spelling of her favorite doll’s name. And sharing some fun sound effects. Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  6. Jul 9

    EPISODE 44: The Amazing Generation

    Did you miss us?! Get excited because we are back! We kick off Season 3 sharing what we have been up to so far this summer: visits to the zoo, beach, Magic House, and aquarium, eating vacation ice cream, sleeping in hotels, watching fireworks, and having plenty of outdoor play! Helen shares a very exciting big life update a.k.a. a new job! She will be the Clinical Coordinator for the English Education program at Illinois State University. We then dive into our amazing experience of hosting our first-ever summer book club where we read The Amazing Generation by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price. For 5 weeks, we met with local kids, ages 9-12, engaging in conversation and doing activities based on the book. While we each deeply enjoyed the experience, we are most glad that it sparked conversations with the families of the 11 girls who joined us each week. Jordan shares a recent investigative report on Snapchat done by Parents Together Action and Heat Initiative. The report details the experience of multiple 13-year-old test accounts for 1 week on the platform. A shocking finding from the report was that in 12 hours, 739 videos unsafe were recommended. The other social media topic we discuss is the Instagram teen account feature that allows minors to send nude images. These online spaces are not safe for children. Find Helen on Substack at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Resonances⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Join Jordan in ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠reConnect Morton⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ through Four Norms.

  7. May 27

    EPISODE 43: That’s a wrap on the 2025-26 school year!

    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.

  8. May 24

    EPISODE 42: What is MADTech?

    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.

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About

Two millennial moms...sharing some thoughts. As parents and as education professionals, we discuss our past, present, and future relationships with changing technologies. We're interested in how it impacts ourselves, our students, and our kiddos, and we're learning how to advocate for the issues we care most about.

Information

  • Creator
    Jordan Spicklemire and Helen Plevka-Jones
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jordan Spicklemire and Helen Plevka-Jones
  • Show Website
    Millennial Mom Thoughts

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