Playing Teacher

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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 or misunderstood by administrators and even some teachers, The Hook is actually one of the most powerful tools in a great educator’s arsenal. It’s where the art of teaching lives—and where performance, storytelling, and human connection meet academic content.

With Matt’s background in acting and performance and Rob’s deep roots in science and game-based learning, we explore how great teachers captivate curiosity, build anticipation, and transform classrooms into stages where every kid wants a front-row seat.

This one’s for the teachers who know that sometimes, the best way to teach a standard is to make it feel like a story worth showing up for.

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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, plan, decompress—or just stare into the void with a slice of pizza in hand.

But it wasn’t all quiet recovery. Sometimes, it was survival through play. Enter Superpong—a game we invented during our lunch breaks that blended absurdity, competition, and much-needed laughter. Part coping mechanism, part creative rebellion, Superpong became our ritual, our reset, and occasionally… our battleground.

Tune in for stories from the teacher trenches, the weird things that keep you sane, and the essential truth that sometimes the best professional development happens with a paddle in your hand and a chicken patty on your tray.

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“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 alternatives to how teachers are evaluated.  More importantly, who is qualified to make these evaluations?

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