In this episode, Dr. Erin Bailey sits down with Mary Pope Osborne — author of the beloved Magic Tree House series — to explore how a life of adventure, imagination, and a love of words led to one of the most iconic children's book series of all time. Mary shares the origin of Jack and Annie's tree house, her dedication to literacy access through the Magic Tree House Classroom Adventures program and Gift of Books initiative, and why reading builds far more than academic skills — it builds resilience, empathy, and the imagination to envision a different life. She also previews her newest History Heroes series, featuring real-world figures like Mary Anning and Thomas Edison. A beautiful reminder that reading is a doorway to anywhere.About Mary Pope Osborne:Mary Pope Osborne is an ardent advocate and supporter of children’s literacy, and the award-winning author of more than 100 books for children and young adults, including novels, retellings of mythology and folklore, picture books, biographies, and mysteries. From 1993–1997, Mary served as president of the Authors Guild, the country’s leading organization for published authors. She has traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad, visiting schools and speaking on issues related to children’s literacy.Mary spoke at the UN regarding the importance of worldwide literacy and was profiled on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams for her continued efforts. Mary's personal contributions through her Gift of Books Program have placed over 1.2 million books in the hands of underserved children in Title 1 schools across the country.The creator of the Magic Tree House series, Mary is also co-author of the companion Magic Tree House Fact Trackers series with her husband, WILL OSBORNE, and her sister, NATALIE POPE BOYCE. Mary is active on Instagram, YouTube, and X and loves to connect with readers, former readers, teachers, and parents. She resides in Great Barrington, Massachusetts with Will and their two rescue dogs, Captain Wilson and a Yorkie named Penny.Classroom Adventures Program: Mary Pope Osborne's Classroom Adventures ProgramMary Pope Osborne (@mary_pope_osborne) • Instagram photos and videosHow I Write a Magic Tree House Book (Sea Otter Sunrise)Mary Pope Osborne (@MaryPopeOsborne) / XMagic Tree House | Facebook

This episode is a part of a special series of interviews conducted at the INCH360 Cybersecurity Conference in Spokane, Washington. Visit their website to learn more about INCH360 and their mission. Host Jethro D. Jones interviews AI researcher Kurtis Shelton.  Kurtis shares insights on the offensive and defensive sides of AI in cybersecurity, discusses prompt injection and model vulnerabilities, and explains how machine learning is transforming security practices. The conversation highlights the importance of critical thinking, continuous learning, and the evolving landscape of AI-driven threats and defenses.

In this episode, Danielle Neufer discusses teacher burnout, “well work,” and the need to sustain educators through the school year. She emphasizes self-regulation, classroom safety, and the importance of school systems that support teacher well-being.

In this episode of "Morning Motivation for Educators," Danielle Neufer shares strategies for managing stress and reigniting passion for teaching. She introduces "recharge rooms" for fun and connection, emphasizing self-care and community. Danielle calls on educators to prioritize joy, reinforcing that their well-being benefits their students.

“Accommodation” is a loaded word. On one hand, we want to provide reasonable accommodations in K-12 so kids can access their education.But determining what is “reasonable” accommodation or modification can be messy.Both parents and educators can unintentionally “overaccommodate” in the moment without realizing it, which over time can impede a child’s ability to work through daily challenges and solve problems on their own. This can be in the context of adding too many “cookie-cutter” accommodations on a 504 Plan or IEP, or it can be unofficial accommodations in the way we interact with kids. My colleagues who work on college campuses are seeing the impact of this “overhelping” in K-12. And it’s not just kids with neurodevelopmental disorders. It’s the neurotypical kids too. That’s why I invited my colleague, Jill Fahy, back to De Facto Leaders to talk about the state of college readiness, the upstream impacts of what’s happening in K-12 on success both during and after college. Jill Fahy, Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders & Sciences, serves as the Director of STEP, a transitional education program for EIU students with autism. STEP programming supports the development of executive functions, social communication, self-appraisal, and self-regulatory skills to facilitate students' management of their academic and university living demands. Ms. Fahy specializes in the assessment of executive dysfunction, particularly as it is associated with concomitant disorders of language, cognition, or social/pragmatics. She is a widely-known lecturer in the area of executive functions, speaking nationally and internationally on aspects of evaluation and treatment of executive dysfunction, and the role of language in executive functions. Ms. Fahy is co-author of The Source for Development of Executive Functions, 2nd edition, and various articles on self-talk and executive functions.  Ms. Fahy teaches graduate courses in Aphasia/Right Hemisphere Dysfunction,  Cognitive-Communication and Executive Function Disorders, and Medical Grand Rounds. She previously taught undergraduate courses in Neurology and Advanced Clinical Practicum and Diagnostics. Prior to teaching at EIU, Ms. Fahy worked for several years as a medical SLP providing services for patients with acquired neurological deficits resulting from stroke and TBI, including those in acute care, inpatient and day rehabilitation, and home health. In this conversation, we discuss:✅ The difference between accommodations and modifications, what “overhelping” looks like, and why it impedes development of important metacognitive skills.✅ The state of college student mental health, and how it relates to the opportunities students have to practice self-regulation and experiencing failure.✅ Skills many college students are lacking, including managing due dates, extended writing assignments, study skills, working through conflict, and managing their daily life.✅ How and when to start fading supports, and how to recognize if you’ve been “overaccommodating” for a studentYou can connect with Jill at jkfahy@eiu.edu or on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-fahy-250478b/Learn more about the Students with Autism Transitional Education Program (STEP) Program at Eastern Illinois University here: https://www.eiu.edu/step/Be sure to listen to my first interview with Jill on De Facto Leaders here: Executive Functioning for College Students: Beyond Checklists and Planners (with Jill Fahy)Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-122-executive-functioning-for-college-students-beyond-checklists-and-planners-with-jill-fahy/You can also listen to my commentary on her first interview in this episode: Balancing Language, Academic Content Areas, and Executive Functioning (featuring Jill Fahy)Link here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/ep-232-balancing-language-academic-content-areas-and-executive-functioning-featuring-jill-fahy/In this episode, I mentioned Language Therapy Advance Foundations, my program that gives speech pathologists a scalable framework for building language skills needed to thrive in school, social situations, and daily life. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarenspeech.com/languagetherapyI also mentioned School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers design scalable executive functioning interventions to ensure students get the scaffolding they need across the school day. You can learn more about the program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership