Shows
Empowered Through CompassionNed Johnson and Bringing Compassionate into Schools and Test PrepA re-uploaded version.
Welcome to this new episode. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ned Johnson, a wonderful educator, author, and speaker. He is an expert in helping teens and tweens navigate the transition to adulthood, by bringing them the tools they need to be both successful and happy.
Ned has found that some of the leading causes of poor test performance is the stress and pressure that youths feel to get good grades, and perform well. What is the solution? Can the solution really be as simple as helping youth feel connected, getting t...
2025-02-111h 00Empowered Through CompassionNed Johnson Fixed AudioA re-uploaded version.
Welcome to this new episode. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ned Johnson, a wonderful educator, author, and speaker. He is an expert in helping teens and tweens navigate the transition to adulthood, by bringing them the tools they need to be both successful and happy.
Ned has found that some of the leading causes of poor test performance is the stress and pressure that youths feel to get good grades, and perform well. What is the solution? Can the solution really be as simple as helping youth feel connected, getting t...
2025-02-081h 00
The Siege of New HampshireExtra: Nuclear RealityWith renewed concerns of possible nuclear exchanges (Ukraine/Russia, Iran/Israel) Mic, Brian, and Jeff explore some of the reality behind nuclear blasts and more importantly, fallout. These were fairly topical among Americans during the Cold War, but with the fall of the Soviet Union, nuclear realities have slipped out of the mainstream American consciousness.
The catalyst for this episode was a book by journalist Annie Jacobsen, that highlighted how precarious things still are. Below are links to items mentioned in this episode.
Links:
Annie Jacobsen's book: Nuclear War, A Scenario -- (amazon...
2024-12-2044 min
Stress-Free IEP®Ned Johnson - Stress Free IEP™ with Frances ShefterIn this episode of Stress-Free IEP™, Frances Shefter speaks with Ned Johnson, President and Tutor Geek of PrepMatters, a premier provider of academic tutoring services, test prep and educational planning for students in greater DC to online worldwide.
* Visit Prep Matters: https://prepmatters.com/
* Visit The Self Driven Child website: https://theselfdrivenchild.com/
* Free gift: Top 10 Tips for Talking With Your Kids (Insights from What Do You Say) https://prepmatters.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/What-Do-You-Say-10-Tips-Handout.pdf
* Free gift: Top Tips for Parents (Insights from The Self Driven Child) http...
2023-03-1046 min
Calm and Connected PodcastThe Self-Driven ChildIn this episode, Ned and I discuss the “parent as consultant” way of approaching raising children. It’s important to not solve all your kids' problems, they need to build those skills themselves to face issues in a constructive and thoughtful way. We also discuss stress and how we all need to learn how to deal with it. As a parent, guardian or teacher, we all need to model self-care to manage our stress levels so our children can watch, learn and mimic that behavior.The topics we cover in this episode are:Why it’...
2023-03-0230 min
Compassion Parenting PodcastBalancing Stress & Motivation in High AchieversNed Johnson is an author, speaker, and founder of PrepMatters, an educational company providing academic tutoring, educational planning, and standardized test preparation. A professional “tutor-geek” since 1993 and battle-tested veteran of test prep, stress regulation and student performance, Ned has spent nearly 50,000 one-on-one hours helping students conquer an alphabet of standardized tests, learn to manage their anxiety, and develop their own motivation to succeedWith Dr. William Stixrud, Ned co-authored The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives and also What Do You Say? How To Talk With Kids To Buil...
2022-09-1447 min
Compassion Parenting PodcastBalancing Stress & Motivation in High AchieversNed Johnson is an author, speaker, and founder of PrepMatters, an educational company providing academic tutoring, educational planning, and standardized test preparation. A professional “tutor-geek” since 1993 and battle-tested veteran of test prep, stress regulation and student performance, Ned has spent nearly 50,000 one-on-one hours helping students conquer an alphabet of standardized tests, learn to manage their anxiety, and develop their own motivation to succeedWith Dr. William Stixrud, Ned co-authored The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives and also What Do You Say? How To Talk With Kids To Build Moti...
2022-09-1447 min
PrepTalksKatey McPherson, Addressing Student Anxiety (024)On May’s episode of PrepTalks, Ned speaks with Katey McPherson, an Arizona-based educational advocate with more than 25 years of experience as a teacher, guidance counselor, and school administrator. They talk about strategies for addressing the anxiety that so many of our middle and high school students suffer from, including the importance of parents and school staff providing a non-anxious presence (or NAP). They also dive into the need to cultivate resilience rather than taking it for granted, and how showing vulnerability and validating our teens’ and tweens’ emotions is critical for building authentic connections. Likewise, Ned and Katey discus...
2022-05-1142 minPrepTalksNefertiti Austin, Motherhood So White (023)On April’s episode of PrepTalks, Ned speaks with Nefertiti Austin, author of Motherhood So White: A Memoir of Race, Gender, and Parenting in America. Ned and Nefertiti talk about her journey, as a single African American woman, to adopt a Black son out of the foster care system. Along the way, she found out how deeply American culture sees motherhood through a white lens, discovered how to navigate the bureaucracies and cultural assumptions around adoption, and learned a great deal about intergenerational healing from trauma.Follow Ned at @nedjohnson and Nefertiti at @NefertitiAustin on Twitter.
2022-04-1229 minPrepTalksChris Balme, Finding the Magic in Middle School (022)On the March episode of PrepTalks, Ned chats with Chris Balme, co-founder of Argonaut, a live, online program that brings together small groups of middle schoolers to discover their strengths, explore their identity, and find ways to contribute to the world. Chris was previously co-founder and Head of The Millennium School, an independent, progressive laboratory middle school in San Francisco. His new book, Finding the Magic in Middle School, will be published later in 2022. They talk about a period of life that is often very challenging for adolescents but that holds all sorts of potential for growth, as well as...
2022-03-0841 minPrepTalksEli Lebowitz, Breaking Free of Childhood Anxiety and OCD (021)On February’s PrepTalks, Ned talks with Dr. Eli Lebowitz, Director of the Program for Anxiety Disorders at the Yale Child Study Center and founder of the SPACE program, a parent-based treatment program for children and adolescents with anxiety, OCD, and related problems. They chat about Eli’s 2021 book, Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents, which is geared towards helping parents learn how to implement the SPACE program and become a valuable resource for their children.Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson.
2022-02-0859 minPrepTalksMichele Borba, Thrivers (020)On January’s episode of PrepTalks, Ned talks with Michele Borba, expert parenting consultant and the author of 25 books, most recently, Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine (coming out in paperback in March). They dive into Michele’s research into the seven traits — confidence, empathy, self-control, integrity, curiosity, perseverance, and optimism — that allow kids to roll with the punches, navigate our challenging times, and succeed in life. They also discuss the important point that these traits can be taught to children and young adults, and indeed, that it’s essential that parents and educators do teach t...
2022-01-1159 minPrepTalksDr. Aviva Legatt, Get Real and Get In (019)PrepTalks finishes 2021 with a great conversation between Ned and Aviva Legatt talking about the principles behind her new book, Get Real and Get In: How to Get Into the College of Your Dreams by Being Your Authentic Self. Wishing all our listeners Happy Holidays & the best for the new year!
2021-12-1441 minPrepTalksMadeline Levine, Ready or Not (018)On November’s episode of PrepTalks, Ned talks with Dr. Madeline Levine, author of several books, most recently, Ready or Not: Preparing Our Kids to Thrive in an Uncertain and Rapidly Changing World. Ned and Madeline discuss how parents who define success in terms of good grades, test scores, and admissions to elite colleges, and who are determined to shelter children from discomfort and anxiety, are setting future generations up to fail spectacularly. At the same time, they dive into the skills that children will need to remain resilient, confident, and optimistic through rapidly changing and challenging times....
2021-11-0957 minPrepTalksNed Johnson, What Do You Say? (017)We’ve got a special episode of PrepTalks this month! I’m in the hot seat today, as Katy Dunn, Director of Educational Planning at PrepMatters, interviews me about my new book, “What Do You Say?,” co-authored with Dr. William Stixrud. In “What Do You Say?,” Bill and I offer all sorts of practical advice for parents communicate more effectively with their kids, as we look to help parents raise motivated, resilient children.Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson and Katy at @moxadoodle
2021-10-1245 minPrepTalksMichaeleen Doucleff, Hunt, Gather, Parent (016)On September’s PrepTalks, Ned chats with NPR reporter Michaeleen Doucleff about her recent New York Times bestseller, Hunt, Gather, Parent: What Ancient Cultures Can Teach Us About the Lost Art of Raising Happy, Helpful Little Humans.They discuss what Michaeleen learned by taking her three-year-old daughter to learn parenting strategies from three indigenous communities: the Maya in Yucatán, the Inuit above the Arctic Circle, and the Hadzabe in Tanzania. She talks about finding parenting relationships based on cooperation rather than control, trust instead of fear, and personalized guidance rather than standardized expectations.Follow Ned...
2021-09-141h 03
Tests and the Rest: College Admissions PodcastHelping Teens Find Motivation And InsightMost parents and educators seek to become the wind filling their children's proverbial sails, but unwittingly become hurricanes driving them way off course. Amy and Mike invited authors William Stixrud, Ph.D. and Ned Johnson to share insights into helping teens find motivation and insight. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why do adults nag teens, and what should they be doing instead? How true is the claim that many parents don't care about what their kids do so long as they always do their best? What does it mean to be...
2021-08-1725 minPrepTalksBecky Munsterer Sabky, Valedictorians at the Gate (015)On the new PrepTalks, Ned Johnson chats with Becky Munsterer Sabky about her brand-new book, Valedictorians at the Gate, an indispensable guide for parents & students applying to college – and staying sane in the process.
2021-08-1039 min
The Peaceful Parenting Podcast008: Raising A Self-Driven Child with Ned JohnsonIn this week’s episode, I sit down with Ned Johnson, author, speaker, and founder of PrepMatters, an educational company providing academic tutoring, educational planning, and standardized test preparation. Ned’s books have helped me through so many parts of my parenting journey and I share some of the stories in this conversation. Listen in as we talk about: Why parents are so afraid to give their kids more control What a self driven child is How giving kids control helps them to be self motivated Tips for parents to manage t...
2021-07-281h 04PrepTalksJenn the Tutor, Test-Optional, Test-Free, and College Access (014)Trying to figure out what “test-optional” and “test-free” really mean and why they’re important? Concerned about the pervasive structural inequity in standardized testing and college admissions more broadly? On this month’s PrepTalks, Ned dives into these questions with Jenn Jesse (aka Jenn The Tutor), a passionate and experienced teacher and advocate for making higher education accessible to those who might not otherwise see themselves as college material.Jenn is very active on Twitter as @jennthetutor, and you can follow her there or check out her website. You’ll also find Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson.
2021-06-0848 minPrepTalksDebbie Reber, Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional WorldThis month, PrepTalks welcomes Debbie Reber, founder of TiLT Parenting and author of Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World. Ned & Debbie chat about her work to empower parents who are raising “differently wired” kids – children whose neurodifferences might include ADHD, learning differences, giftedness, anxiety, and/or autism spectrum disorder, as well as those with no formal diagnosis but who continue to negotiate a world that wasn’t designed to accommodate their unique gifts. They talk about both her vision for supporting differently wired kids from a place of choice, growth, & joy and the specific tools that par...
2021-05-1154 minPrepTalksKatie Hurley, A Year of Positive Thinking for Teens (008)In January’s episode of PrepTalks, Ned talks with Katie Hurley, a child & adolescent psychotherapist and the author of several books, most recently, A Year of Positive Thinking for Teens. They chat about the tools teens can develop to boost self-esteem, build confidence, manage expectations productively, and grow a healthy mindset on the road to adulthood.Katie’s website is https://practicalkatie.com/. Follow Katie on Twitter & Instagram at @katiefhurley and follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson.
2021-01-1248 minPrepTalksPhyllis Fagell, Middle School Mattters (007)In December’s PrepTalks, Ned sits down with Phyllis Fagell, school counselor, therapist, Washington Post contributor, and author of Middle School Matters. Ned and Phyllis talk about how the middle school years offers parents the low-stakes, high-reward opportunity to build confidence, character, and resilience and to teach kids the critical skills they’ll need to thrive in the years to come. Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson and Phyllis at @pfagell.
2020-12-081h 04
I Wish They Knew(Ep. 14 ) Ned Johnson: Struggling towards successWhether it's how kids fare at school or the way adults perform at work, we've developed a disabling attitude towards achievement.
Today's wish comes from Ned Johnson, the founder of PrepMatters, an international test prep company. Ned hosts the PrepTalks podcast and is the co-author of “Conquering the SAT: How Parents Can Help Teens Overcome the Pressure and Succeed” & “The Self-Driven Child." On Episode 14, Ned shares why we should change our outlook on struggle and success.
Watch full conversation // More about Ned: PrepMatters | The Self-Driven Child
2020-11-1011 minPrepTalksBlake Boles, Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School? (006)On this month’s PrepTalks, Ned sits down with Blake Boles, Founder and Director of Unschool Adventures and author of Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School? They talk about how mainstream schooling isn’t for everyone and why parents and educators should support young people in exploring alternative paths grounded in self-directed, experiential learning.Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson and Blake at @blakeboles.
2020-11-101h 04PrepTalksAkil Bello, Equity, Justice, and Standardized Testing (005)“A core problem with the SAT right now is the belief in the test and what it measures. The SAT has jumped the shark as a useful tool.” On PrepTalks, Ned Johnson dives deep into questions of equity, justice, and standardized testing with Akil Bello, Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement at FairTest. Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson and Akil at @akilbello.Read more about FairTest, the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, at https://www.fairtest.org/.
2020-10-1358 minPrepTalksPaul Tough, The Years That Matter Most (004)On PrepTalks, Ned Johnson chats with Paul Tough, author of The Years That Matter Most: How Colleges Makes or Breaks Us. In their conversation, Ned and Paul dig into how while higher education is a public good, the system (especially of selective colleges) is designed to help the most privileged members of society get even further ahead. Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson and Paul at @paultough.
2020-09-291h 06PrepTalksJessica & Tim Lahey, Back to School in a Pandemic (003)On PrepTalks, Ned chats with parenting expert Jessica Lahey, author of The Gift of Failure: How The Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed) and Tim Lahey, infectious disease physician and Director of Clinical Ethics at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Ned, Jess, and Tim discuss how parents can balance empathy, resilience, risk management, and maintaining a sense of control while our kids go back to school during COVID-19.Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson, Jessica at @jesslahey, and Tim at @TimLaheyMD.Read Jessica and Tim’s article in The Wa...
2020-09-291h 12PrepTalksJeff Selingo, Who Gets In and Why? (001)On this debut episode of PrepTalks, Ned Johnson chats with Jeff Selingo, author of the just-published Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions. The New York Times best-selling author spent a year embedded in admissions offices, and through the stories of college staff, students, counselors, & marketers, opens an unprecedented window on the whole admissions ecosystem. A must-listen for anyone with kids applying to college or in US higher education!Follow Ned on Twitter at @nedjohnson and Jeff at @jselingo.
2020-09-141h 00
Before, During & AfterEpisode 40: PrepTalks - Amanda Ripley "The Unthinkable: Lessons from Survivors"Today we're sharing a previously released PrepTalk with Amanda Ripley, who's a journalist and senior fellow at the Emerson Collective. She combines the inspiring stories of disaster survivors with research into how the brain works when confronted with unusual events to provide advice on how emergency managers can help indivduals become more decisive in an emergency.
2019-06-1118 min