Adolescence, did it really go far enough?

Layla Foord
Mar 29
2 min read

Updated: May 9

I think not. And so I wrote an alternate version with genders flipped. But the same story.

It prompted an idea for a new way to learn.

The Quiet One

Is a short story that mirrors the complexity of adolescence but flips the gender dynamics to provoke new questions and new empathy

A teacher assistant and student companion built to help young people explore that story safely, at their own pace, with support

A fully narrated first chapter in my own cloned voice, recorded using AI

A screenplay version because why not stretch the narrative into a form schools could perform, or teens could adapt

And the invisible scaffolding behind it: context, prompts, emotional safety guardrails, and a structure that can scale

Excuse the rough and ready Loom, but done is better than perfect for the purposes of experimentation and sharing knowledge.

Private GPT demonstrating how AI can be used to learn and teach

Why did I do it?

Because I’ve spent decades working in systems where bold ideas take years to prototype and often die in decks.

Because I’ve watched people talk about “student voice” while offering them none.

Because I’ve seen schools struggle to teach complex social issues in ways that feel real, and I wanted to try something different.

And mostly because I finally had the tools, the clarity, and the nerve to stop waiting for permission.

What if this is what learning could look like?

Not polished platforms.Not pre-approved content.But co-created, emotionally resonant, context-aware experiences that adapt to the moment.

Not one-size-fits-all.Not content for content’s sake.But small, smart provocations designed with structure and safety in mind.

What if:

Learning started from lived emotion, not just syllabus objectives?
Students could explore complex stories with support, not censorship?
Teachers had access to meaningful tools that helped, not distracted?
AI could be the co-facilitator, not the replacement?

Why this matters

Because we don’t need more “edtech.”

We need experiences that teach young people how to think, feel, and reflect. Especially in a world where AI, identity, and emotional complexity are showing up earlier than ever.

We need stories that hold nuance.

Systems that support both students and educators.

And yes, tools that move at the speed of insight, not bureaucracy.

I didn’t build this for market.I built it for what if?

Because I finally could.

And now that I know what’s possible, I’m not going back.

Let’s keep building.

But more than that, let’s design what deserves to exist.

Read The Documents & See the GPT in action

Thankfully, OpenAI stopped me publishing this, they expect much more rigour for safety. So here's the story and narrated first chapter. Don't dwell on it's lack of depth or its inaccuracies, it was merely a thought starter, a 'what if'. I could've done it on Hairy MacClary.

This is the AI cloned version of me automatically reading chapter one, that I wrote with AI help:

TheQuietOne_ChapterOne

0:00