Shows
Playing TeacherEpisode 15: Why We Left Teaching (and Where We Hid While We Stayed)Send us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, Robert, Matthew, and Brugge dive deep into the bittersweet—and sometimes hilarious—world of teachers leaving their jobs and the hidden realities behind the classroom door.They talk about:The emotional chaos of packing up years of teaching memories into giant bagsThe secret hideouts teachers swear by to survive the school day (side lab supremacy, anyone?)Epic hide-and-seek strategies for teachers and kids alikeThe real reasons teachers call out sick (spoiler: it’s not always illness)Professional development’s most uncomfortable moments—including yoga sessions g...2025-07-0357 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 14: Field Trip Fails, Emergency Room Runs, and Outback SteakhouseSend us a textIn this unforgettable episode of Playing Teacher, Rob, Brugge, and Matthew take us behind the scenes of one of the most chaotic rituals in education: the school field trip.It all begins with a subway disaster—Matthew describes watching a class trip unravel on public transit, complete with unsupervised elementary students and overwhelmed teachers. That story kicks off a deep (and hilarious) dive into the real logistics, emotional toll, and occasional absurdity of planning field trips as educators.Brugge brings the heat with a list of...2025-06-221h 09Playing TeacherEpisode 13: The Secret Game of Calling Out...Rules, Risks & RidiculousnessSend us a textIn Episode 13 of Playing Teacher, we pull back the curtain on one of the most absurd realities of working in education: calling out sick. From planning sub folders while mid-fever to writing emergency plans in a NyQuil haze, we explore the ridiculous, guilt-ridden, and occasionally hilarious world of teacher absences.We talk about:The unspoken Olympics-level effort required just to stay homeWhy "mental health day" is code for “I’ve snapped but still care enough to write 6 pages of sub plans”The emotional toll of guilt vs. the physic...2025-06-081h 01Playing TeacherEpisode 12: Teacher Headlines, DOE Dreams & The 50-Minute FlopSend us a text📘 Episode Description:In this episode of the Playing Teacher Podcast, we debut a brand-new segment: 🎤 Teacher Headlines with Janine Brugge, where we explore what’s really going on in the world of education—both the serious and the absurd.This week, we take a hard look at the NYC Department of Education’s failed initiative known as “Inquiry” or the “50-minute” plan—an attempt to create time for professional development and student support that went sideways due to a critical failure: n...2025-05-3158 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 11: Field Day, Minecraft Battle & UpstandersSend us a textIn this episode of the Playing Teacher Podcast, we delve into the vibrant world of education, sharing personal anecdotes and professional insights that resonate with educators, students, and lifelong learners alike.🎯 Episode Highlights:Field Day Reflections: We reminisce about their own Field Day experiences, discussing the joys and challenges of organizing such events, and the lasting impact they have on students.Minecraft in Education: Explore how Brugge's team navigated a citywide Minecraft competition, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, creativity, and resilience in educational gaming env...2025-05-2445 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 10: Pacing, Pop Culture, and the 30-Second ReprimandSend us a text🎙️ Playing Teacher Ep. 10 – Pacing, Pop Culture, and the 30-Second ReprimandDescription:In this episode of Playing Teacher, Matt recounts a jaw-dropping moment when he was called out in front of students for returning to class 30 seconds late after using the bathroom—yes, 30 seconds. Jeannine and Robert reflect on how often teachers are denied even the most basic human grace. This leads into a dynamic, often hilarious discussion on classroom pacing, student rapport, and when to stick to the script—or throw it out.💡 Robe...2025-05-151h 00Playing TeacherEpisode 9: Carrots, Sticks, and the Art of Motivation in the ClassroomSend us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, we unpack one of the most familiar — and controversial — strategies in elementary education: rewards and incentives. From treasure boxes and pizza parties to Dojo points and public praise, we examine how these practices shape student motivation, behavior, and identity in the classroom. Are we inspiring effort — or cultivating compliance? Are extrinsic rewards helpful stepping stones or long-term obstacles to deeper learning and self-regulation?Whether you're a teacher filling sticker charts or a parent wondering about prize-based learning, this episode offers practical insights and philosophical food fo...2025-05-121h 11Playing TeacherEpisode 7: Remember When… (Memorable Moments & Movie Magic)Send us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, we talk about the moments that stick—the scenes from our lives as educators that play in our minds like movies. You know the ones: the hallway showdown, the field trip fiasco, the spontaneous dance party, the kid who said something so profound you wrote it on a post-it and never threw it away.We reflect on how these memorable teaching moments—big or small, funny or moving—aren’t just one-off stories. They’re what give the work meaning. And much like scenes from iconic fil...2025-04-121h 00Playing TeacherEpisode 8: Teaching and Learning During COVID in NYCSend us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, we rewind to one of the most surreal, exhausting, and defining chapters in modern education: COVID in New York City. Teaching during the pandemic wasn’t just about pivoting to Zoom—it was about surviving, adapting, and finding humanity in the chaos.We talk candidly about what it meant to be an educator when the world shut down: the scrambled emails, the lost students, the tech failures, the eerie silence of empty classrooms. But we also talk about the grit, the creativity, and...2025-04-1053 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 6: I Did It My Way: Authenticity in a System That Doesn’t Always Want ItSend us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, we talk about something every educator feels at some point—what it means to be yourself in a school system that often prefers you to color inside the lines. Whether it’s pushing against outdated norms, teaching in ways that aren’t “in the handbook,” or simply showing up as your full, weird, passionate self, going against the grain can make you stand out… and not always in the way people like.We unpack the moments when being authentic can make you...2025-04-1038 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 5: Are We Okay? (Spoiler: Probably Not)Send us a textTeaching, Sanity, and the Fine Line Between Passion and BurnoutIn this episode of Playing Teacher, we ask the question that lingers behind every empty coffee cup, every hallway meltdown, and every wildly creative bulletin board at 2AM: Are we okay?Spoiler alert: probably not.We take a lighthearted but honest look at the emotional rollercoaster that is life in the classroom. We talk about the toll teaching can take on your mental health—not in a clinical, diagnostic way, but in the way teachers ac...2025-04-0958 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 4: Roll Film: Cinema, Memory, and Metaphor in the ClassroomSend us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, we pull back the curtain on a not-so-secret weapon in our teaching toolbox: cinema. Whether we were screening something in our makeshift movie theater during lunch or showing a film to an entire class, movies weren’t just a break—they were world-builders.But this episode isn’t about the obvious curriculum tie-ins (you won’t hear us talking about “let’s watch October Sky during the space unit”). Instead, we explore how film can plant vivid experiences in kids’ minds—scenes, emotions, and stories that b...2025-04-0957 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 3: The Hook: The Art of CaptivationSend us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, we dive into The Hook—that elusive, electric moment when a teacher pulls students in and makes them want to learn. It’s the magic trick, the spark, the wink across the room that says, “This is going to be good.” But here’s the thing: it’s not in the lesson plan template, and it sure doesn’t show up on most rubrics.Too often dismissed as fluff or misunderstood by administrators and even some teachers, The Hook is actually one of the most powerful tools...2025-04-0942 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 2: Preps and Lunches (and Superpong)Send us a textIn this episode of Playing Teacher, Matt, Rob, and Brugge crack open one of the most sacred and underrated parts of the school day: preps and lunches. More than just breaks, these windows of time were life-saving lifelines in the relentless hustle of NYC public school teaching. We reflect on how these moments offered space to breathe, plan, decompress—or just stare into the void with a slice of pizza in hand.But it wasn’t all quiet recovery. Sometimes, it was survival through play. Enter Superpong—a game...2025-04-0936 minPlaying TeacherEpisode 1: The "Expert" TeacherSend us a text“Ok, if it’s so easy you teach my class..please show me the way.” Ah, the fantasy of every teacher. Imagine a scenario where you’re told to change roles and write up your supervisor who wants to show you how it’s done…you know because they were once an “expert teacher.” But what if it bombs? Matt and Rob relive this once in a teacher’s lifetime experiment and discuss better alternatives to how teachers are evaluated. More importantly, who is qualified to make these evaluations?Support the show2024-09-061h 31