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🎙️ What is a teacher, really? And what’s it actually like inside a New York City school? Welcome to Playing Teacher, where veteran educators Matt and Rob—with over 40 years of combined experience teaching in NYC—pull back the curtain on the myths, realities, and moments that make education unforgettable (for better or worse). From the mysterious teacher’s lounge to the myth of “summer off,” they explore what really happens when the classroom door closes. This isn’t a shiny brochure version o ...
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Episode 10: Pacing, Pop Culture, and the 30-Second Reprimand
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Send us a text 🎙️ Playing Teacher Ep. 10 – Pacing, Pop Culture, and the 30-Second Reprimand Description: 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 teacher…
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Episode 9: Carrots, Sticks, and the Art of Motivation in the Classroom
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Send us a text In 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 inspi…
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Episode 7: Remember When… (Memorable Moments & Movie Magic)
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Send us a text In 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 r…
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Episode 6: I Did It My Way: Authenticity in a System That Doesn’t Always Want It
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Send us a text In 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, passion…
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Episode 8: Teaching and Learning During COVID in NYC
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Send us a text In 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 edu…
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Episode 2: Preps and Lunches (and Superpong)
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Send us a text In 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…
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Episode 3: The Hook: The Art of Captivation
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Send us a text In 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…
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Episode 4: Roll Film: Cinema, Memory, and Metaphor in the Classroom
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Send us a text In 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 cu…
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Episode 5: Are We Okay? (Spoiler: Probably Not)
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Send us a text Teaching, Sanity, and the Fine Line Between Passion and Burnout In 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 …
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Send 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…
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