In this episode, I explore the concept of schoolwide habits and personality, focusing on how educators can shape these habits to foster a more curious and engaging learning environment. I discuss the importance of personality tests, the role of habits in personality development, and the potential impact of cultivating curiosity on students from kindergarten to 12th grade. I also highlight the example of Hillbrook School and propose strategies for implementing a culture of curiosity and innovation in education.
This is episode 139 of Bill Selak Talks.
29 Aug 2026
Build It and Buy It
In this episode, I rethink the old build-versus-buy decision through a student badging project at Hillbrook. We bought a reliable ProdataKey access-control system, paid for API access, and then used Codex to build the simple, live dashboard our team actually needed—who is in each building, who has not arrived, and where an individual student last badged.
The lesson is a new middle path: buy the sturdy enterprise backend, then build the final 15 percent that makes it useful for your actual colleagues. I talk about APIs and webhooks, why detailed prompts matter, and how school technology leaders can look for everyday friction and create focused tools around systems they already trust. Sometimes the best answer is not build or buy. It is buy, then build.
Bill Selak Talks, Episode 138.
22 Aug 2026
Bill Selak Talks About Curiosity—and What Schools Should Be Best At
In this episode, I follow curiosity from a daytime moon to the classrooms and culture of a school. After hosting a delegation of educators from South Korea at Hillbrook, I kept returning to the same idea: schools are at their best when they help students notice something, ask better questions, and build something that matters.
I share an applied-calculus traffic-safety project sparked by cars speeding past campus, two students building a unified lunch-ordering platform, and the role AI can play when curiosity runs into real-world constraints. I also talk about hiring curious educators and protecting time for inquiry. Curiosity is more than a personality trait—it is a path toward meaningful learning, useful solutions, and a better world.
Bill Selak Talks, Episode 137.
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21,720,345
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 61 / 100
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Quality
72
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
32
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