OLP 024: The Florence Pughniverse
[Intro audio: “There is a Dark Place,” by Tom Rosenthal]
Jordan (00:29):
Hi, I’m Jordan.
Lex:
And I’m Lex.
Jordan:
And this is Or, Learn Parkour.
Lex:
It’s a podcast about ADHD and it is hosted by two of us who do have ADHD, but not this week.
Jordan:
We don’t have ADHD this week?
Lex:
No, sorry. Yeah, that was confusing.
Jordan:
I was like, I did not get that memo.
Lex:
Well, this is actually our audition episode for HGTV audio version where you don’t actually get to see any of the houses or anything, and we’re not actually designing houses, but we’re going to design a school. That’s what you told me, right? So I came prepared with all of my color swatches. I came prepared with my research on all of the different types of HGTV shows so we can find our niche. That’s what you meant, right?
Jordan (01:16):
It’s absolutely what I meant. And I would love to hear what you have in mind for niche. ‘Cause I know that there’s already a show hosted by fun, but slightly overwhelming, quote unquote, quirky women from Washington State. So I’m not sure where I fit into this, but I would love to hear what you’re thinking.
Lex:
Yeah, no, I mean, we’re going to design a school for people with ADHD and that part, I was like, that’s fun, that’s cool. You let me know how you do on accessibility and I will pick out some cool tile for the bathrooms.
Jordan:
Yes. Please tell me about what you’ve got in mind for the backsplash.
Lex:
I’m thinking pink tiles in the bathroom. You want those selfies to be, you know, the kids are going to take them. So you might as well make it look good because genuinely, if you want kids to come to your school and they get a choice.
Jordan:
Make them like being there.
Lex:
Make them like being there.
Jordan (02:07):
That makes sense.
Lex:
Yeah. So, I’m thinking of light pink tile, a little bit retro, but not super retro, grout because you know how they used to just use cement and concrete in between tiles. In the sixties and seventies, a lot of tile, they just straight mortared it right to the wall. That’s why a lot of old tiles, you can’t salvage them. You have to actually just use a big drill, Pogo stick thing.
Jordan:
Jack hammer?
Lex:
Yeah.
Jordan:
That’s why we’re a team, baby.
Lex:
The big, big, big boy version of a Pogo stick.
Jordan:
Destruct a Pogo. Yeah.
Lex:
Yeah. Jack hammers always look like they would solve all of my back problems. I know that’s not true. But they do look like they might help a little.
Jordan:
Only one way to find out. Don’t do that.
Lex:
Yeah. Just go ask one of the construction workers that are outside of our house every morning. Apparently, always.
Jordan:
Yeah. Summer’s wrapping up here in Chicago and that means that construction season is reaching its peak before it gets too miserably frozen to do anything.
Lex (03:16):
And of course they won’t finish the jobs that they’ve set out to complete by the time things get cold.
Jordan:
Our sidewalk is going to be almost entirely gravel probably until the end of time.
Lex:
Yeah. You know, when I think about it, in winter that won’t be so bad. So maybe we can just be like, hey, can you not re-pave this right now? ‘Cause gravel, there’s more traction there.
Jordan:
Yeah. I can’t imagine it would be fun to wheel over though.
Lex:
Yeah, but I feel like with the snow packing it down, it would still get a smooth sort of finish eventually. But it would just maybe not be quite as treacherous as-
Jordan:
Just flat ice.
Lex:
Yeah.
Jordan:
Good point. Okay. All right.
Lex:
Which is also arguably tough for wheeling on.
Jordan:
Yup. I would bet. I would bet. So, actually, you’ve sold me on the gravel sidewalk. Should we put that at the school?
Lex (04:02):
Yeah.
Jordan:
That’s not going to go wrong with children.
Lex:
Well, I mean, if you have gravel, no, it’s not going to work with children. As long as they don’t speed or try to do a ton of doughnuts. And then I’ve thought back to my time as teenager and what I liked to do when I saw a gravel road or a gravel expanse before me.
Jordan:
Was it speeding and/or donuts?
Lex:
It may have been, but if my mom is listening, it was not.
Jordan:
Yeah. I don’t know what the statute of limitations is on that, but we’ll just say, might’ve been, for legal reasons.
Lex:
Could’ve. So, anyways, yeah, we’re going to build a school. Jordan will explain what I mean. Jordan will do a good job. I’m going to stop now. I’m just gonna let you do whatever you were going to say ‘cause this is nonsense.
Jordan (04:49):
Okay. So, last episode we talked a little bit about our school experiences and having ADHD that was undiagnosed and that brought up a lot of things that were difficult about school. So this week we decided to dream build.
Lex:
Yeah. We decided to be the problem solvers. We are the idea people. We are the solution that you come to.
Jordan:
We are the innovators.
Lex:
The instigators, the girl bosses, the gatekeepers, the gaslighters.
Jordan:
That’s a good chick song.
Lex:
That’s how good I am at keeping up with pop culture.
Jordan:
Because you know Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss?
Lex:
Yeah. But I didn’t know well enough to remember what it actually was. So, at least I forgot arguably the worst one. You know? Gatekeeping, bad.
Jordan:
Yeah. Gatekeeping, also bad, I think it depends on the circumstance.
Lex:
Yeah, definitely. I guess they’re all sort of circumstantially dependent, but for gaslighting I would argue, never good. Well, it could be tactical against your enemies.
Jordan:
Still not good.
Lex:
Okay. Yeah. That’s why you’re here though, to keep me from getting us into too much trouble.
Jordan:
From gaslighting your enemies?
Lex:
Yeah. But also from giving really bad advice, you know, I probably shouldn’t say, hey, you could use gaslighting as a psychological war tactic to our audience members. Probably not. I mean, in terms of branding, not really our vibe.
Jordan:
No, I don’t want ‘gaslighting is okay sometimes’ to be the thing that people take away from this show.
Lex:
Yeah. No, it’s definitely not. Definitely blanket bad on gaslighting. I’m just saying there’s some people in the world that I personally would not feel too bad about gaslighting. I’m looking at you, Elon.
Jordan:
Oh yeah. He doesn’t count as a person.
Lex:
That’s what I’m saying. So there are times, but that is an extreme circumstance. And in most general circumstances don’t do that, please.
Jordan:
Official Or, Learn Parkour statement.
Lex:
Our official statement on gaslighting. Bad. Don’t.
Jordan:
No, thank you.
Lex:
No, thank you.
Jordan:
All right. And with that in the books let’s move on to our HGTV cast audition in which we will be dream-build designing a school that is great for people with ADHD, unlike most schools.
Lex:
Yeah, it’s like, you know the movie We Bought a Zoo? I’ve never seen it.
Jordan:
Me neither.
Lex:
But you know the movie We Bought a Zoo?
Jordan:
I’m aware.
Lex:
Yes, like, let’s build a school.
Jordan:
We bought a school.
Lex:
We bought a school. We didn’t.
Jordan:
That’d be wild.
Lex:
That would be super a lot. That’d be funny though.
Jordan:
I already started thinking about the logistics.
Lex:
They wouldn’t let us near it.
Jordan:
No, I was also like, I just ate a string cheese for an entire meal. I don’t have the money for a whole school.
Lex:
I mean, yeah. And I think if they had any sort of idea of what we think kids should learn, there would probably be a couple of people really upset. I think a lot of people would be really cool with it.
Jordan:
Exactly. That was what I was going to say, is that there are, wildly, people our age who have children and some of our peers might be more, I don’t know.
Lex:
Are you okay? There was a deep sadness that just came into Jordan’s eyes.
Jordan (08:12):
I was trying to think of a way to justify that. And then I think that I transported back to when I was a substitute teacher and my soul just broke.
Lex:
I’m so sorry, dude. It’s not funny.
Jordan:
It admittedly very much was. I was very briefly a substitute teacher because in my home district, after I graduated college and I lived with my folks for a while, basically they were so low on subs that if you had a bachelor’s degree and didn’t have it on your record that you’ve hit a child or something, you could be a substitute teacher. And so I signed up to do that ‘cause I was like, that’d be cool. I’ve taught in small groups before and it was really fun. I think my favorite experience of substitute teaching was when I had a first grade class and- it might have been second grade, youngsters, in the elementary range- and they had a reading assignment where we read a story about a kid who was talking to their parents about getting some spending money to go do something fun. And the parent said we can’t spend money on that now because we are saving up to buy a car. And there was a mention in this of, the parent was explaining how to buy a car in pretty basic terms, but they mentioned loans. This was the year after I graduated college and this poor sweet child raises her hand and goes, Miss Teacher, how do loans work? And I am fighting for my fucking life in this classroom. Just holding back tears and like, so you, someone gives you some money and then when you pay it back, you have to pay them more money than you borrow. And this kid’s like, I don’t get it. And I’m just like, shit dude, me neither. Love kids. But 27 of them at a time is a lot.
Lex:
I’m just thinking we’re going to design a school, we’re going to build a school. We’re going to buy a school. I don’t think we’d be teaching. I was thinking more of an administrative sort of VP and P sorta deal.
Jordan:
Co-vice presidents.
Lex:
Principal, but you know.
Jordan:
Co-vice principal. Yeah.
Lex:
Or just co-principals.
Jordan:
Vice-principal is a thing.
Lex:
Yeah, no, it’s what I’m saying. If one of us wants to be the principal and the other one the vice-principal or vice versa, you know? ‘Cause they do have different duties.
Jordan:
That’s true. That’s true.
Lex:
I’ll be the vice principal so you don’t have to talk to the kids as much. Don’t worry. But, again, I can’t imagine people would let us get super far, which I think is like, I get it.
Jordan:
But also hear us out.
Lex:
And also, I mean, it is worth mentioning. I’ve been a teacher before and I’ve also been working with kids and teenagers and youths forever. I mean, I started being a camp counselor when I was in middle school.
Jordan:
Yeah. I started being a camp counselor when I was in high school so not long after.
Lex:
Yeah. And then I was a young life leader all through college and then I was in grad school where I was an actual, you know, teacher. So, yeah. A lot of working with youth.
Jordan:
I was going to say, for once we actually kind of know what we’re talking about.
Lex (11:28):
A little bit. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I don’t know shit about kids when it really comes down to it.
Jordan:
Yeah. None of us studied education or anything.
Lex:
No. And also, have you met teenagers? They’re monsters.
Jordan:
There’s a whole My Chemical Romance song about that.
Lex:
There is. And if we do have any audience members who are teenagers, no hate, no hate at all. My cousin is 19, 18, I dunno, he’s old now, 19.
Jordan:
My best friend is a teenager.
Lex:
Yeah. You know, I have teenage friends, but you know, so don’t get me wrong.
Jordan:
That’s not true. My best friend is not a teenager. You’re my best friend.
Lex:
You know, I’m just saying, y’all talk so weird. Y’all talk weird. You’re kind of just mean, blanket mean. So, okay, we go to visit my family, Jordan and I, at the family lake house. And by the family lake house I mean my parents, they just live on a lake and my grandparents built the house. So, it’s not a fancy-people lake house.
Jordan:
It’s not capital T, capital L lake house. It’s just a house that’s on a lake.
Lex:
Yeah. So my parents just live on the lake. So we went there and my cousin, you know, he’s just started college. And if you ever partake in this podcast, I’m so sorry, bud. But so this kid, love him to death, always have. My uncle, his dad, has gone so far as to call us kindred spirits. So that’s where we’re at. We’re several years apart, but we’re good friends. And I’m fresh off a breakup, literally going through a breakup and a couple of days after, Jordan and I, we take shelter at my parent’s house on the lake. And so I’m having a tough time, but I’m happy to see my little cousin back from college. ‘Cause it’s his first year and he’s doing great. It’s awesome.
Jordan:
He brought some friends.
Lex:
And they were really cool. And so I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. It’s so good to catch up with my family. And not everybody’s here, but this is nice. And, you know, this is good. And then, so we’re talking about how, oh, so this cousin is the Spanish speaking cousin and this cousin is the music cousin or whatever. And then I’m like, so hey, what cousin am I? And this kid, this kid looks at me and goes, I don’t know, the lame cousin. And I’m over here like, you didn’t say anything that mean, but bro, I’m injured, bro. I’m injured. Excuse you. Yeah. So did I give him a titty twister? No. I did. It was very mean. It was a very mean-spirited thing, but you know, the older cousin instincts just sort of kicked in.
Jordan:
The punishment did match the crime there.
Lex:
Yeah. But the audacity to look at your adult cousin who is clearly going through a lot.
Jordan:
Extend no love, but tough love.
Lex.
I don’t know. The lame one. So teenagers are monsters.
Jordan:
At least it wasn’t a middle schooler. ‘Cause I feel like the middle schooler insults are much more accurately aimed. There would have been a lot higher effort than the lame cousin, but I feel like it would’ve hit you like a bad horoscope.
Lex:
Yeah. Thankfully none of my nieces and nephews are quite at that age yet. So being that my youngest cousin is now in college, I have a little bit of time, but only a couple of years. I mean, my oldest nephew, he’s ten. So he’s getting there. But he’s so nice. I can’t imagine he’ll be a mean teenager but just in case I guess I’ll buckle up. So let’s make a school for these little rat bastard kids.
Jordan:
Yeah. Get those fuckers in there. Have a good time, damn it.
Lex:
Here’s some fucking balls to sit on instead of seats.
Jordan:
But actually, there is on the same website that I found that flippy key chain for my mom, they have bands that you can put around two legs of your desk and then just sit your feet on it and bounce.
Lex:
That’s incredible.
Jordan:
Yeah. So you’re bouncing, but you’re not hitting the floor or anyone else’s table.
Lex:
And you’re not shaking anything either? Oh, what? Listen, I’m going to speak for all of the other people around me in school, throughout all of school. I’m gonna speak for all of them and say that they would have loved that for me because I am a chronic leg bouncer. I’m a chronic pencil tapper too.
Jordan (15:51):
Yeah. Yeah. So we’ll get some of those for the, I’m going to say for the desks, but do we want desks?
Lex:
I guess, let’s think about this, right? I think that desks are nice because it does add, it depends on what grade you’re in, right? Because when you’re younger it is nice to have a little home base because your desk is where you keep all your stuff. It’s like a personal place, right? So I like the idea of having that individualism promoted, right? Okay, hot take. I do think that school uniforms should be a thing, but the uniform is very loose and it can be changed. You can dress it up however you want to. But I do think the equalizer of what students are able to afford or not afford is really good, actually. A lot of studies have shown that at least having a generic sort of uniform can be really helpful in terms of equalizing kids. But at the same time, maybe not. What if they just all dressed like Cher from Clueless? That’d be so cute. Yellow plaid uniform.
Jordan:
Oh, that’d be very good. Or where she has the sweater vest over the shirt but the shirt’s not tucked in. Yeah. That’d be very good. I was going to say something sensible about turning uniforms and do a group bonding thing, but that’s way cooler.
Lex:
So, I guess I’m on the fence about that one, but we can figure that out later. I just think uniforms are really cute. I know there’s lots of arguments both ways, for and against uniforms in schools.
Jordan (17:26):
Well my thought is, what if you have a base of, you have to wear this color pants or skirt of this material and this kind of shirt and you got everyone together on the first day of school and you tie-dyed all the shirts or painted on them or did something cool. So it was something that everyone had access to. So still equalizing, but then you had your chance with equitable supplies to individualize it. So you get a little bit of equality and a little bit of individualism.
Lex:
Yeah, no, I love that. And I think we can also probably talk to some people about donating different sorts of old sewing and craft supplies, because I can imagine there’d be a lot of people who would have things that they’d want to do, but not necessarily tie-dye. Lots of donated ribbon and fabrics and patches.
Jordan:
I feel like that would work out really well too because ADHD can very much run in families. And so if you have a community of this ADHD school of adults that also have ADHD, there’s going to be some leftover craft supplies from abandoned projects in there.
Lex:
Exactly. I like that idea. I also like the idea of, the school itself will have lots of windows. I think that windows are very underrated by teachers and other people in schools because I think there’s this sort of idea that it’s distracting.
Jordan:
Your kids are going to be distracted either way, might as well let them get some vitamin D too.
Lex:
Yeah. I think it’s also, if your kids are going to get distracted, they’re going to get distracted. And also your kids are fucking humans. This isn’t a fucking prison. This is for them to learn and grow and develop as human beings. Unless you’re Bella Thorne in that one movie she’s allergic to sunlight.
Jordan (19:17):
I forgot about that movie.
Lex:
I watched it. It was very funny. I mean, it was actually really sad.
Jordan:
Was it supposed to be funny?
Lex:
No, it was funny to me just ‘cause I was like, oh, this looks interesting. Well, that’s Bella Thorne. And then within a minute I was sucked in, couldn’t stop watching it. And I was like, this is such a stupid movie. Did I cry anyways? Yeah.
Jordan:
Fair enough. That’s a very honest, well-rounded review.
Lex:
Thank you. So, anyways.
Jordan:
I like that. Lots of windows. I think too, if we’re looking at an upper grade, where normally there are periods, I want to say instead of having periods, why don’t you just have one subject per day or maybe two subjects per day.
Lex:
The thing that I like about periods is that you do get a dose of it each day because it does help to get it in your brain to do a little bit each day. And I think dedicating a whole day to one or two subjects would probably create a lot more of that, you memorize it really fast for the test and then forget sort of, but writ large. But my solution though would be periods, but then the time in between periods is longer and a little bit more flexible.
Jordan:
Okay. Okay. My thought behind longer subjects, I mean, I guess it would suck for a subject you don’t like, and you’re like, god, I’m going to be in math class all day. I hate it here.
Lex:
But also if you miss that one day of school, it is really hard to make up the work.
Jordan:
That is true. And I have more thoughts about that, but having the opportunity to get deeper into something over a longer period of time and getting to actually start your focus on it versus kind of getting into it and only having an hour versus being able to fully get into it and have more time in that subject where you’re already in it instead of so many transition periods.
Lex (21:06):
Yeah. I mean, I think there’s a happy medium between what we’re suggesting. ‘Cause I think you still need to have every subject every day, but I think there’s also probably a lot of room to look at what we teach kids in school. ‘Cause I think there’s also a lot to look at like the European school system where after certain ages they literally test out of certain things and start focusing on their own specific choice in trade and profession. And so things get a lot more tailored and so they do have less courses that they take, but they are a little bit longer and more intensive.
Jordan:
Yeah. I like that. I like that. So maybe it starts off with more periods and then as you have fewer subjects, you have two, three hour blocks or something like that.
Lex (21:44):
Yeah, I mean, I think we should let other places lead by example ‘cause there’s lots of really good examples of how to do school well. Especially in a lot of places outside of the US. So I think that that would be great. And also I would like to say that it’d be cool if the school had a big atrium welcome area where the office is tucked off to the side maybe, but just a big open atrium welcome area where everyone can kinda hang out and sit and chill. I think the lockers should be bigger. Partially for accessibility purposes. And also just kids need a lot of stuff at school, especially if they want to do extracurriculars, a locker is just not enough space. Those things are so small.
Jordan (22:30):
Yeah. You can kind of fit books on it. Maybe more if you get a locker shelf, but you can’t really fit your backpack in there if there’s a class that you don’t need your backpack for.
Lex:
You couldn’t fit your backpack in your locker?
Jordan:
Not when it was full. I had to empty it out and kind of puzzle stuff in there.
Lex:
Wait. Okay. How big were your lockers? Half size?
Jordan
Half size.
Lex:
Okay. So we had full sized ones. So I was like, how did you not have room for your backpack?
Jordan:
No, we had half size lockers.
Lex:
No, we had the full size lockers, but they’re just so skinny. I get it, you don’t want them to be too big ‘cause you don’t want the kids to be easily fittable and so I do get that.
Jordan:
Maybe slightly wider half size lockers.
Lex (23:14):
Yeah. That could be good. We can think on it. The other thing about half size lockers is I don’t like the whole thing where it’s one locker on top of the other. That’s very frustrating for getting in and out of lockers. And I feel like at least with full size lockers, full height lockers the lock’s right in the middle. It’s pretty easily accessible whether you’re standing or seated.
Jordan:
Yeah. No, I think that that’s very smart.
Lex:
But then with the full size locker, if you’re seated, if you have a chair or anything and you can’t really reach the top. What if we just have different types of sizes of lockers?
Jordan:
I was going to say what if it’s like a mosaic situation and they all just are different sizes, but on the same scale, a cool backsplash sometimes.
Lex (24:01):
Yeah. No, that’s super true. Okay. So the lockers will also be a pale pink. Yeah.
Jordan:
Yep. I’m in that.
Lex:
Cool. Or maybe a light blue. Light blue is a very good brain color.
Jordan:
What if it was, to lean into the mosaic thing, it was different shades?
Lex:
Ooh, like in that Nickelodeon show, Victorious.
Jordan:
Did not watch it, but I trust you.
Lex:
I think they got to do stuff to their lockers to make them individualized on the outside and the inside. I think. I’m not positive. I could be way off base, but I know that I watched a show or movie where they got to decorate the outsides of their lockers. And it was really cool. If you know what movie or show that was and if you can confirm that it was Victorious, please let me know. Yeah. Okay. So we’re really, you know, my brother asks me every time I’m around, which isn’t super often, but every time I’m around just, so y’all still have, you know, content you can put out for the podcast and you still have content to put out? And every time I’m like, yeah, no, there’s definitely a lot of stuff to put out. We have a whole list of things. And then we get in here and I’m like, wow, we’re half hour in or whatever and this is what we’re doing. This is what we’re bringing to people. Locker design.
Jordan:
Decor. Which, to be fair, locker decor was a huge deal for me when I had a locker.
Lex:
That’s the thing. A big thing about school is getting to develop as a person and being able to express yourself and express your own individuality and space is a huge part of that.
Jordan:
Yeah. And I think it helps people too to have a space that they feel like they are in control of and feel safe.
Lex:
And also studies have shown that if you’re surrounded by things that are aesthetically pleasing to you it’s going to be that much easier to enjoy your time. And also it’s been proven that that helps with studying and memorizing and learning things. Wild. So let’s talk about older kid classrooms. ‘Cause if older kids have lockers that are individualized, we want the actual classrooms to be big tables with more of a round seating sort of thing, like a college seminar.
Jordan:
I think it would depend on the class. Because there are some classes where you’re doing a lot more individual work and there are some classes where you’re doing more teamwork. Although I will say, to that end, one thing that I was thinking about, and I’ve held this belief since I heard the idea of multiple intelligences, you know, how some people are movement and shape and space smart. And some people are intrapersonally smart. You know what I mean?
Lex (26:44):
Yeah. You know, people have different strengths and stuff.
Jordan:
Yeah. Well, you know, they’ve categorized that to some degree and we had to take tests to figure out what our intelligence type was in school. And then they did nothing with that information. Yeah. I mean, it was just a worksheet that I think one teacher had us take and, you know, probably good information for them if they had to come up with an extra credit project or individualized learning for a student, but it was very rarely acknowledged in the already developed curriculum that people have different types of intelligence. And so I wish that that was an option in a lot of classes. Like, here’s the concept that we’re learning. Here is what you need to know to prove that you learned that concept. Here are five different options based on your intelligence type of how to do a project that shows that.
Lex (27:44):
Yeah. So I guess my next thing would be, do we want to actually split things up? ‘Cause I’m thinking about, for a teacher, that is so much work. Because then you’re not just doing one lesson plan, you’re doing five.
Jordan:
It’s the same lesson plan, I think. It could just be different versions of a project, which would still be a lot of work, to be clear.
Lex:
I’m thinking about all of my friends who are teachers and they’re looking at you.
Jordan:
Oh yeah, like I said, we’re dream-building. This isn’t a fantasy world where teachers are paid fairly and there is more than enough support staff. This is not actual commentary on the structure of the U S education system.
Lex:
Right. That’s fair. I think I was just also like, maybe it would be worthwhile separating teachers out, not necessarily by subject, but by teaching style.
Jordan (28:35):
Yeah. That could always be an option.
Lex:
But then I think about that’s a lot of work and I think about elementary school teachers who do have to learn every subject because they just teach the same kids all day and they just teach them different subjects. So I think about how stressful that is and I’m like, oh geez. So definitely something to keep in mind. We’ve got ideas. So that’s good. Then we’re at least going to fucking acknowledge that there are different types of brains and different ways to learn things and not just separate it into the smart kids, the not smart kids and the average kids, you know,
Jordan:
And the athletic kids. ‘Cause it doesn’t matter if they learn or not because they’re playing football and making the school money. So we’re just going to pass them so they can keep doing that.
Lex (29:22):
We went to very different schools, for sure. For sure we had different experiences about that, growing up. But that is a thing. That is a thing that happens.
Jordan:
Yeah. Anyways, what other ideas do we have for our school? So we’ve got our gravel pathway. We’ve got our very cool lockers and bathroom backsplashes.
Lex:
It’s not even backsplashes, it’s just floor to ceiling all around tile. ‘Cause it’s a bathroom. So everything’s tile. It’s cleaner. And then also just all pink with some cute mirrors and stuff. Yeah. So we’ve got that. Got individualized lockers. We do also have the idea of flexible time and schedules. Ergonomic, friendly for fidget seating. And then maybe, you know, case by case based and based on needs of what sort of seating arrangement works best for everybody. It’s a pretty good start.
Jordan (30:20):
Yeah. And I like our idea of maybe in secondary education it gets honed a little bit so people can spend more time in subjects they care about. I like that.
Lex:
Yeah. And recess always, you don’t necessarily need to have a playground. Recess always. Why does that stop?
Jordan:
I don’t know. I don’t understand why they make gym class a requirement in high school, but take away recess. I will say though, when I was in elementary school, we had two recesses a day. We had a morning recess and an afternoon recess and my little nerd ass would have really appreciated it if we had, ‘cause I think kids need to go outside and play. I think everyone needs to go outside and have time to play. But also it would have been kind of cool if we had one recess where you had to be outside and then, again, in the world where there are more than enough paraeducators and plenty of space and all these things, the second recess was a choose your own activity for fun. So you could go outside and play. You could color if you need time to rest and be by yourself or read a book or play with sand. I don’t know. But I think that would be cool.
Lex:
Recess. The actual literal definition of a recess, respite, a break. Whatever that looks like. I think that everyone still needs recess. Probably also, I don’t know, really good funding. Actually really well funded mental health services and counseling and career services.
Jordan:
And learning how to learn.
Lex:
Yeah. You know, the stuff that schools should probably do.
Jordan:
Yeah, that should be in a school for everyone. Not just ADHD people. So this would be a cool school for everybody.
Lex:
Yeah. This is not ADHD specific. This is just a, hey maybe our brains generally aren’t meant to learn things this way. Maybe let’s think about that.
Jordan:
What if our school helped people learn and be healthy and keep learning and taking care of themselves instead of learning how to sit somewhere and do repetitive tasks for eight hours a day.
Lex:
What would that be like? Interesting. Interesting ideas. Interesting things to think about. Really makes you wonder. So, anyways. Yeah. I know that I could sit and think about this all day. I could come up with a full blueprint for a school, designs and color swatches included.
Jordan:
Oh, I know you could. I’ve seen when you do that and it is stunning and awe inspiring.
Lex:
Thank you. Are you talking about when I play the Sims? Is that what you’re referencing right now? When you talk about me building houses and blueprints and designing things is that what you’re talking about? Are you referring to when I play the Sims?
Jordan:
Yeah.
Lex:
I do appreciate that. I think there’s probably a slight difference between me and people who really design stuff.
Jordan:
You have the eye for it. No matter how you apply it.
Lex:
I got that eye for design. So, again, I could sit here and talk about this all day. So, is there anything else that you would add? Oh, also no one pays for meals.
Jordan (33:37):
I was going to say, I was like, we need to overhaul the meal system, but I was trying to make that concise. ‘Cause I could sit here and talk about that all day. But yeah, no one pays for meals and they also offer breakfast for free. I mean, I know my school kind of did, but not a lot of people did that. And snacks and you’re allowed to eat in class.
Lex:
Within reason. If you want to pull out a bowl of spaghetti in class, I will put my foot down. I will say no. I’m like, no, you’re 12. Stop that, stop that right now. Maybe I’m old, call me old fashioned. You know, maybe I’m just a stick in the mud, but I don’t want your little nugget eating spaghetti and getting it all over the nice, pretty carpet that I picked out. You know what I mean? That I picked out personally.
Jordan:
No, I see where you’re coming from. You take pride in your carpet. I get it.
Lex:
Yeah. I take pride in my carpet. You want to go to our Dopamine Trampoline? Can we talk about something that’s not this?
Jordan:
What’s your Dopamine Trampoline this week?
Lex:
I don’t have one yet. You go first.
Jordan
Okay. Yeah. Should we explain what the Dopamine Trampoline is first? I’ll explain it while you catch your breath there. So, for those of you who are new to our show, welcome and congratulations for making it this far. Our Dopamine Trampoline is our segment we do every episode about what is bringing us dopamine this/every other week. It could be a hyperfixation in the very traditional sense of the word. It could be a former or current special interest. It could be something that you hate, but are kind of obsessed with. Well, yeah, kind of. It could just be something that tickles ya. Yeah. So I will go first and I am very excited to kind of do two birds with one stone with this Dopamine Trampoline. ‘Cause it is also the triumphant return of the ADH dad joke.
Lex:
Oh, see, okay, hold on. Okay. I’m with you. I support you. I’m here, but are you telling me that your Dopamine Trampoline is a bit that we made up for our podcasts?
Jordan:
No. I’m telling you that my Dopamine Trampoline is the experience I just had in the hardware store earlier today where someone else told me an ADH dad joke.
Lex:
Okay. Yep. Okay, I’ll allow it.
Jordan:
Oh, thank you. Kind and generous, benevolent, omniscient judge of the podcast content.
Lex (36:11):
Okay, you know I have no power here. Don’t worry. I know, Gandalf. I know I have no power here. Oh, wait, no, it’s not Gandalf who says that. All the nerds are going to come from me. Oh no. I probably shouldn’t say the nerds are going to come for me on our podcast. But I did also say I’m proud of my carpet. So, this is a good episode.
Jordan:
Co vice podcast principles.
Lex:
Let’s build a school. Every teacher is Ms. Frizzle. It’s just a bunch of different types of Ms. Frizzle.
Jordan:
Yes, that fucking rules. Sorry, mom. I know I’ve said fuck three times now in this episode. [Inaudible] They were on the podcast here.
Lex:
Yeah. No, they were, it was delightful. Love them. But also, I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
Jordan:
Speaking of parents, ADH dad joke.
Lex:
Yeah, get at me. Tell me the story. I’m sorry, it’s a lot of energy that I’ve brought.
Jordan:
It’s all good. This closet just concentrates it somehow.
Lex:
Yeah, we did update a little bit. So hopefully our recording experience is a little bit kinder to our listeners in the audio medium because we do have some nice fancy sound paneling in here. And we also got some little disco ball stream lights.
Jordan:
Lex found them online and they are impeccable. I am truly, truly basking in the glow right now. It’s very good.
Lex:
We’re going to go get manicures later.
Jordan:
Yeah, nineties night. It’s very good. It’s very good. So, now speaking of these sound panels though, actually I had to stop by the hardware store earlier today to get Command strips.
Lex (37:53):
Like that good double-sided sticky.
Jordan:
Yeah. The foam tape stuff to fix them to the walls in an effective, but not permanent fashion. ‘Cause their other recommendation was spray glue.
Lex:
I feel like our landlord would have a lot of questions about that. And I don’t really care what he thinks.
Jordan:
I was going to say there’s a 50% chance he would have strong feelings about it. And there’s a 50% chance he literally could not care less. So who knows.
Lex:
But we didn’t do that so it doesn’t matter.
Jordan:
No, we didn’t. We used Command strips. But anyways, so I was having a hard time finding things. ‘Cause this is a little tiny neighborhood hardware store. It’s a little bit of a maze. And so I asked the person at the front counter and I said, hey, do you have any sort of double-sided tape Command strips? And they said, yeah, what are you hanging? What kind of sticky do you need? And I said, you know, I’m hanging some sound panels and you know, so they’re foam, etc, etc. And as I was checking out, he said to me, I’ve had a lot of people come in, getting stuff to make a home studio. Are you recording music? Or what are you doing? And I was like, oh, actually I have a podcast with my roommate.
Lex:
It’s a really embarrassing thing to say out loud to people. It’s so embarrassing.
Jordan:
Normally it is. But this guy was very, very delightful about it because here’s what happened. I said, you know, I have a podcast with my roommate and he said, oh, what’s your podcast about? And I said, well, we both have ADHD as adults, which is not what most people think of as ADHD. So we talk about our experience and he goes, oh, I heard a joke I have to tell you then if you have ADHD. I think the premise of the joke was that it was redneck humor.
Lex:
Okay. My people.
Jordan:
And he says to me, he says, oh man, I just got bad news. My doctor said I have HD and it’s really bad ‘cause he said I have 80 of them.
Lex (39:47):
You know, it’s really hard when we meet people in real life who would be better at our podcast than us. It literally knocks me down several times. [Inaudible]
Jordan:
Oh, it was delightful. It was a wholesome moment all around. And, Mr. Hardware Store, godspeed. I hope the sun shines blessings upon you.
Lex:
You know, that is delightful. Thank you for sharing. I get why that gave you lots of dopamine. I get that.
Jordan:
I think my favorite part was when I started kind of chuckling, you know, it kind of took me a second to process it and as I start chuckling, he repeats, I have HD and I have 80 of them. So he knows his audience too. It was beautiful.
Lex:
Oh, I’m so glad that you had that experience.
Jordan (40:50):
And I’m so glad that I get to share it with you all now. ‘Cause it was really special.
Lex:
It sounds so special. Wow.
Jordan:
And I’m so excited. ‘Cause I have to go back to the hardware store for more sticky strips soon.
Lex:
That’s true. ‘Cause we’re going to get more of these panels. That’s good.
Jordan:
But yeah, that’s what I got. And as I was leaving too, he said, you can use that on your podcast. So I got permission.
Lex:
You did get the all clear? That was gonna be my next question. So, oh yeah. This person really does sound like they’re more cut out for podcasting than we are. So I guess we’ll call it a day. Cash it in.
Jordan:
I mean, you still have to do your Dopamine Trampoline first. You’re not getting off that easy.
Lex:
That’s true. That’s true.
Jordan:
So, Lex, what is your Dopamine Trampoline this episode? What are you bouncing with?
Lex:
So, I’m going to take us back to a common sort of theme for my Dopamine Trampolines, where I talk about things that I watch on an audio medium, which is very fun for you all, but I don’t care what it’s like for you all because it is what has given me dopamine always.
Jordan (41:57):
Here’s the thing. You might talk about it for 10, 15 minutes. There are whole TV and movie review podcasts. That’s the whole thing.
Lex:
Yeah, but people go there for that, you know. I recognize that there’s people who come to this podcast and they’re like, hey, I have ADHD or I know someone who has ADHD. And so I probably do have some auditory processing problems and you would like to talk to me about a visual medium. Okay. So I’m sure. And I hear you and I am not going to do anything to change it because I’m going to talk about another movie this week and it’s called Fighting with My Family, starring Florence Pugh, and also The Rock is there.
Jordan:
You haven’t talked about this before?
Lex:
Not on the podcast.
Jordan:
Really?
Lex:
I don’t think so. I really don’t think I have.
Jordan:
Honestly, I know you’ve talked about the movie and I don’t trust myself to remember when that was, but I know how much you love that movie. So go ahead. Take it away.
Lex:
Yeah. So, there’s this movie called Fighting with My Family. It does star Florence Pugh, you know, a famous actress. And so it’s a movie that came out in 2019 so this was released the same year that she did Midsummer. So, there’s that. Yeah.
Jordan:
It is a little wild to think about the fact that between the family-friendly comedy with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and the indie art house horror film, the second one’s more popular. But that’s neither here nor there. Tell me more about it though, please.
Lex:
I love Midsummer, I do. And I haven’t talked about it on this podcast because I value you all a little bit more than that but not enough to stop talking about movies entirely. So, Fighting with My Family is a 2019 biographical sports comedy drama film, and it’s written and directed by Stephen Merchant. And it is based on a documentary from 2012 called The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family by Max Fisher. And it is essentially a biopic, as they say, of professional wrestler Paige. And she made her way up through the WWE and also followed the path of her brother Zak Zodiac.
Jordan:
Just such a sick wrestling name.
Lex (44:13):
And so Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden, they star as Paige and Zak Zodiac. And then Vince Vaughn, Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey- is that how you say her last name?
Jordan:
I have no idea.
Lex:
Whatever, they’re all there. And Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson was also a producer on this film. And so it primarily follows the story of this young woman who is a wrestler because her family is full of wrestlers and she’s really good at it. And she gets a chance to go down to Florida, from the UK down to Florida, to train and get a shot at being in the WWE. And she does end up doing it. I think she still stands, the actual Paige, ‘cause it’s a real person.
Jordan:
IRL Paige.
Lex:
Yeah. She is still the youngest woman to ever win the championship fight that she first won when entering the WWE or whatever it was. And so Florence Pugh plays her as she’s going through that training in Florida and it goes through how she breaks into the WWE sort of world. And it’s really, really heartwarming. It’s really funny. It’s sweet. There are some heavier bits just because it’s, you know, a biopic. So it’s about someone’s real, actual life. So there are some real, actual life type of things that happen, which does lend itself to sad sometimes. But generally it is a super uplifting, funny, quirky, feel-good, family sports, comedy, drama, sort of film. It’s great. Yeah, it’s really fun.
Jordan:
It is very fun. You made me watch it with you.
Lex:
I did. And you liked it. It’s really good. And I will, at some point I’m sure, talk about wrestling generally because I do also like wrestling. But it’s a very good film to watch when you’re feeling down and you don’t want something super fluffy and light like a romcom. ‘Cause it doesn’t have that vibe at all. It’s just more about finding your own power and your own voice and your own individuality and owning that and literally kicking ass. So yeah, it’s very cool. And also if you’re like me, you see Florence Pugh and you’re just kind of like, well, whatever she’s doing, I want to know what’s happening. So that is very fun because I feel like it’s a very underrated slash vaguely unheard of Florence Pugh movie in the sort of Florence Pugh realm of fans. In the Pughniverse. Yeah. She was in a Marvel, she was in Black Widow so she’s in the MCU now, which like, okay. But, you know. So to be in this little WWE film biopic about this British wrestler. It’s just really cool and fun. And I like that it’s fun and cute. I like that Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson just has a bunch of cameos because he’s a producer and he wants to. It’s so fun. It’s funny. It’s cute. It’s very heartwarming. The soundtrack is pretty kickass and you know, there’s nothing unexpected that happens. I feel like it’s one of those movies where you’re like, I feel like I know how this is going to end and it will leave me with warm fuzzies and it does.
Jordan:
Yeah, there’s no jump scares or anything.
Lex:
No, nothing like that. Complete opposite of Midsummer. Complete opposite. But also Florence Pugh has a bunch of piercings in her face and long dark hair and did I have some feelings about that? Yes. But that’s not as big of a deal as it is just really, really good and fun. If you like Florence Pugh or wrestling or British comedy or you don’t like any of those things, but you just are like, I don’t even know what to watch, you could watch that. I think it’s on Hulu and Amazon Prime and you can also Torrent it because there’s some strikes happening right now. So you could also just Torrent it, wink. Don’t do that. Wink, wink. So that’s my Dopamine Trampoline. Simple, easy wrestling movie, Florence Pugh.
Jordan:
Wrestling movies and not being a scab while watching them. All right. Hell yeah.
Lex:
Yeah. So, that’s all we got for you all this week. We will, at some point, you know, probably do more structured episodes again. But right now we’re kind of vibing because that’s all we can do and thanks for sticking with us.
Jordan (48:41):
Yeah. And that is to say too, we love to hear from y’all. Whether it’s on Twitter, on our website, ‘cause we have a fun little contact form. Whether you want to shoot us an email, whether you want to just yell really loud and hope we hear it.
Lex:
Yeah. You can reach us.
Jordan:
Yeah. We love to hear from you. So if you, or a loved one, suffer from ADHD and you have a question about it that you would like us to answer or talk about.
Lex:
Or if you just have a straight up episode idea, we’ll drop credit. We’re not stingy.
Jordan:
We cite our sources. Yeah. Let us know. We love to hear from you. Should we do the outro so they know all the places to talk to us?
Lex:
Yeah. At some point we probably should just record this so that y’all can skip through it and we don’t have to do it every time. Unless you don’t skip through it, in which case, wow, you angel, sweet summer child.
Jordan:
I don’t know what to tell you but wow.
Lex:
Thank you. I mean I do like to think that it’s kind of funny at the end if you get through all these little notes.
Jordan:
We try and put some Easter eggs in there for you. Put on a little spicy mustard.
Lex:
A little bit of Dijon. It’s a little French honor.
Jordan:
This has been Or, Learn Parkour from Wholehearted Production Company.
Lex:
Yeah. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, most other places cool people find their podcasts.
Jordan:
Special thanks to Krizia Perito for our wonderful cover art design. You can find her at Petalhop. That’s P-E-T-A-L-H-O-P on Instagram and Etsy and Twitter.
Lex:
Yeah. Thank you to Tom Rosenthal as well for the use of our theme song There is a Dark Place off of the album Keep a Private Room Behind the Shop.
Jordan:
You can follow us on the sosh meeds @OrLearnParkour on Twitter, @wearewpc on instagram and at wearewpc.com.
Lex:
Yeah. And if you want to get to any of those places or any of those people that we just mentioned, you can find links to it in our episode description as well as links to sources and transcripts.
Jordan:
Yeah. If you enjoy this podcast and want to hear more don’t forget to follow, subscribe, etc, etc, to this feed/ page, it’s different across podcatchers, but you know what’s right for you.
Lex:
Yeah. I mean just follow, subscribe, like etc, etc. Do it, do it. And if that’s not enough and you’re feeling more generous, then you could also support us by sharing the show because word of mouth is, you know what they say, the best currency, but that’s not true. You could also give us real money. You can donate to our Ko-fi. You can find a link to it in our Linktree, on our Twitter, Instagram and website.
Jordan:
You sure can. That would be extremely rad of you.
Lex:
It super would. But at the very least you want to just tell people about it. You know, even if you’re like, hey, you want to hear how stupid this podcast is? All press is good press, baby.
Jordan:
Do you want to not learn about parkour? I said that [inaudible]
Lex (51:40):
Parkour. Parkour. Parkour. So, anyways, I’m Lex.
Jordan:
I’m Jordan.
Lex:
This has been Or, Learn Parkour and we’ll catch you sometime, probably in two weeks, who knows.
Jordan (51:56):
See you around, team. [Inaudible]