What Teachers Have to Say
What Teachers Have to Say is a podcast about teaching, AI in education, instructional practice, and teacher identity. Hosted by Jacob Carr and Nathan Collins, it centers real classroom experience, system pressures, and how AI is reshaping learning.
No performative edu‑influencer culture. No toxic positivity. Just honest conversations about what’s actually happening in schools.
What This Podcast Covers
- AI in education and classroom use
- Teaching strategies and instructional design (EduProtocols)
- Teacher burnout and system design
- Student skill development and transfer
- EdTech tools and practical workflows
Who This Podcast Is For
- K–12 teachers
- Instructional coaches and leaders
- Pre‑service teachers
- Educators exploring AI and EdTech
- Anyone tired of surface‑level PD
Who We Are
Jacob (Jake) Carr
EdTech Coach for a County Office of Education, author, and speaker on AI in education. 15+ years across K–12 (grades 1–12) in diverse settings. Brings a philosophical lens, connects classroom practice to systems, and pushes conversations deeper before landing on something usable.
Nathan Collins
High school English teacher, dual‑enrollment instructor, and Personalized Learning Teacher in a rural hybrid model. Grounds the show in current classroom reality, student data, and practical constraints. A measured counterbalance to big ideas.
What We Explore
AI in Education — A structural shift, not a novelty. Learning, assessment, and independence in an AI‑rich world.
Burnout as a System Problem — Not a personal failure. We name the incentives that reward unsustainable work.
Instructional Routines That Work — Repeatable structures that lower planning load and raise thinking, repetition, and collaboration.
Skills That Transfer — Thinking, communication, adaptability. Not just content.
The Format
Long‑Form — Monthly flagship episodes with deep dives, interviews, and debates.
Short‑Form — Field notes, solo reflections, headlines, and listener voicemails between major episodes.
Your Voice Matters
Leave a SpeakPipe voicemail with a question, win, or rant. We feature listener voices in episodes.
Beyond the Podcast
The companion newsletter goes deeper: AI in education, teaching strategies, and teacher identity. Free, weekly, and practical.
FAQ
What is it about? Teaching, AI in education, and real classroom conditions.
Who hosts it? Jacob Carr and Nathan Collins.
Is it AI‑focused? Yes, always tied to real practice.
How often? Monthly flagship + shorter episodes between.
Where to listen? Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.
Subscribe and Follow
- Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Newsletter
Stay curious. Keep thinking. Keep showing up.
What Teachers Have to Say
Check the Weirdness: Teaching AI Literacy with Matt Miller
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Jake and Matt Miller from Ditch That Textbook dive into the power of AI’s imperfections as a teaching tool. They explore how the quirks and mistakes in AI-generated content, like extra fingers or misshapen images, can sharpen students’ critical thinking, media literacy, and observation skills. Instead of fearing AI’s flaws, teachers can turn them into opportunities for deeper learning and classroom engagement.
Matt shares how he uses AI-generated images in his Spanish classroom to help students develop AI literacy and train their ability to "check the weirdness." Jake builds on this idea, discussing how engaging with AI critically can strengthen students' ability to discern fact from fiction. This episode is all about flipping the script: AI isn’t a threat to critical thinking: it’s a tool to refine it.
- AI-generated errors can be powerful tools for teaching observation skills.
- Encouraging students to "check the weirdness" fosters critical thinking.
- AI literacy is essential in today's classrooms.
- Engaging with AI helps students become more skeptical and analytical.
- Classroom discussions on AI weirdness can lead to broader conversations about media literacy.
- Discerning fact from fiction is a critical skill in the digital age.
- Educators should embrace AI as a learning tool, not fear its impact.
- "Check the weirdness!"
- "AI is highly fallible."
- "Training our BS detector."
- "AI’s mistakes are teaching gold."
- Matt Miller’s Website
- AI for Educators by Matt Miller
- Leave us a voice message on SpeakPipe
- Follow What Teachers Have to Say on your favorite podcast platform
Have you tried using AI-generated weirdness in your classroom? How are you helping students think critically about AI? Share your story! Leave us a message on SpeakPipe or connect with us on social media. Your insights might be featured in a future episode!
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review—it helps us reach more educators and keep the conversation going.
Got a question? We'd love to answer it! Leave us a voicemail on SpeakPipe: https://www.speakpipe.com/whatteachershavetosay
Want more EduProtocols from Jake? Check out his book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more.
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