Matthew Cade, Rob Monahan, and Jeannine Brugge

Playing Teacher

Education EN ↓ 29 episodes

🎙️ 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 of school. It’s the real deal:  🧠 Learning vs. schooling.  ❤️ What kids actually carry with them.  🔥...

Author

Matthew Cade, Rob Monahan, and Jeannine Brugge

Category

Education

Podcast website

www.playingteacher.com

Latest episode

Jun 6, 2026

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Episodes

Episode 3: The Hook: The Art of Captivation 09.04.2025

Send us Fan Mail 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 on most rubrics. Too often dismissed as fluff...

Episode 4: Roll Film: Cinema, Memory, and Metaphor in the Classroom 09.04.2025

Send us Fan Mail 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 curriculum tie-ins (you won’t hear us talking a...

Episode 5: Are We Okay? (Spoiler: Probably Not) 09.04.2025

Send us Fan Mail 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 rollercoaster that is life in the classroom. We...

Episode 1: The "Expert" Teacher 06.09.2024

Send us Fan Mail “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 alter...

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