76: The Critical Thinking Crisis Started in Schools with Dr. Jennifer Weber

What if the mental health crisis starts with how we learned to read? Dr. Jennifer Weber reveals the shocking connections between educational practices and our collective inability to process information or sit with discomfort.

In conversation, Amanda and Jennifer discuss:

* Why teaching kids to guess instead of read has massively contributed to how we show up online

* The death of internal dialogue—and what it means for self-reflection

* Why most adults only know 5 emotion words (hint: it's about reading comprehension)

* The simple "pause" that breaks algorithmic conditioning

* How classroom reinforcement schedules mirror social media engagement

* Why patience is a critical thinking skill, not just a virtue

* The connection between reading fiction and emotional intelligence

* What parents can actually do at home (spoiler: it starts with curiosity)

* Why banning AI won't work—and what we should teach instead

This episode bridges the gap between education policy and personal mental health in ways that will change how you think about both thinking and feeling. Perfect for parents, educators, and anyone trying to understand why everything feels so overwhelming right now

Dr. Jennifer Weber is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and educator who co-founded KIT Educational Consulting. Her work focuses on how reinforcement systems shape not only classroom behavior, but also how we think, process information, and navigate our digital world. Her substack is incredible!

We are really working on trying to the grow the podcast so we can get advertisers, if you’d like to support the show one of the best things you can do is leave us a review and share the pod! THANK YOU! We have some incredible BONUS episodes on our SUBSTACK! nuanceneeded.substack.com

To learn more about therapy reach out to Therapy for Women Center, therapyforwomencenter.com. We have therapists licensed in 42 states across the country and have offices if you are local to the Philadelphia area.

Want to join the conversation? Or offer us a correction? You can email us podcast@therapyforwomencenter.com or LEAVE US A MESSAGE at 813-444-8683. We’d love to hear what you think!