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
The 7 Circles of Procrastination: Challenging the Stereotype of the Lazy Student
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Current research on the psychology of procrastination tells us it’s A LOT more complex than just "laziness" ...
Leveraging the work of psychologist, author, and fellow podcaster Dr. Adam Grant, from his recent appearance on an episode of the Huberman Lab podcast, and his latest book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, Jake & Nathan challenge the notion that this behavior in students (and teachers) is somehow related to what we keep calling "laziness."
While chronic procrastinators are the bane of every educator’s existence, there isn’t an easy answer to why students do it. There is definitely a reason, but it’s not that they’re lazy! We break down, step-by-step, a framework for understanding seven (7) different types of procrastination that all educators should know about. Name it to tame it!
You can use this framework to better understand and help your toughest procrastinators (which might be YOU), so make sure to stay 'til the end for the practical application. Next episode, we will be exploring the concept of MOTIVATION. Subscribe so you don’t miss out! We will be following this thread to the end for our fellow educators.
Check out Cal Newport’s Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World for another resource to help you get stuff done. Jake mentions this book in the episode and relied on the creative scheduling and time-blocking approach to write his upcoming book!
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.
Podcasts we love
Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.
My EdTech Life
My EdTech Life
Rebel Teacher Alliance
Rebel Teacher Alliance
Deep Questions with Cal Newport
Cal Newport
