What We Talk About

Camp’s path to NEIA and why he still teaches while leading (modeling the work)

Courage as the catalyst for change in any system, at any scale

Competency-based assessment as a school-wide skill map (transfer across humanities, science, math, Innovation Studio)

“Linear school” in a nonlinear world and how AI can help us blow up the old schedule logic

Walking the fine line: college-prep and “what-comes-next” prep (love this framing)

Keeping innovation alive after year 1: support systems, permission to try (and fail), and tapping teacher passions

Workflow talk: using ChatGPT to organize brainstorms; Google Classroom paired with “Otis” for competencies; protecting life balance

Teach what can’t be AI’d: discourse, idea-to-idea connection, and real human presence in the room

One small “ruckus” for tomorrow: break the pattern with a 10-minute gallery walk or other quick shift that re-energizes learning

Access the Show

All platforms & past episodes: https://coffeeforthebrain.com/podcasts/
Direct Link to This Episode:

Listen & Subscribe:

[Apple Podcasts] | [Spotify] | [YouTube] | [Simplecast]

Resources & Links

• • Tiny Experiments Book

NEIA Profile: John Camp: https://neiacademy.org/team/john-camp/

Camp on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/campsm/

Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death (referenced in the discussion with link to my blog post)

Alpha School: (referenced in AI discussion)

Highlighted Posts (good primers for listeners)

Why human-to-human discourse beats screen-staring (ties to “teach what can’t be AI’d”).

Quick wins to break the invisible rules (small, classroom-level ruckuses).

Episode Quote

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Maya Angelou

and

We don’t just think outside the box, we act outside the box. Camp

and our love for Neil Postman

Teach children something about the art and science of asking questions.
Question-asking is the most significant intellectual tool human beings have.

Support the Show

If this episode helped you, share it with a colleague and leave a review. It helps more educators and leaders find the show.