Playing Teacher

About Playing Teacher

🎙️ 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. 🔥 How teachers and counselors survive systems built to burn them out. And when we’re lucky enough to have her, we’re joined by Beanie—school counselor, educator, and recurring co-host—who brings powerful insight, grounded compassion, and the kind of perspective only someone who's worked both inside and around the classroom can offer. 👥 Guests range from teachers, students, and administrators to learning scientists, former kids (yes, really), and other unexpected voices from the world of education. Whether you're in the classroom, supporting from the sidelines, or just trying to make sense of how we learn and why it matters—this is your hallway pass to the inside.

Publisher

Matthew Cade, Rob Monahan, and Jeannine Brugge

Category

comedy · education · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

6 Sept 2024

Latest episode

6 Jun 2026

Latest episodes

29 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Jun 2026

   Episode 29: Caps, Gowns, and Grown-Up Drama: Graduation Behind the Curtain

   Send us Fan Mail Graduation is supposed to be about the students—but anyone who has worked in a school knows the ceremony often comes with a backstage show of adult politics, bruised egos, seating drama, award rivalries, and exhausted teachers trying to hold it all together. In this episode, Matthew, Brugge, and Doc celebrate Dr. Robert Monahan officially earning his PhD in Education before diving into the strange world of school graduations: kindergarten milestones, sixth-grade sendoffs, sta...

2. 

   4 Jun 2026

   Episode 28: The Best Bagel in Town: A talk with veteran teacher, Michelle Henriquez.

   Send us Fan Mail In Episode 28, we catch up with Ms. Henriquez, though longtime listeners will understand why she will forever be known to us as Slagle — which, yes, rhymes with Bagel. The episode begins with a 20-year-old grudge involving Rob, Matt, and the mysterious school-wide fly infestation that reached its horrifying peak when Slagle discovered a fly floating in her cup of tea. From there, we investigate the truly important matters: her secret brownie recipe, who made the legendary “da...

3. 

   4 Jun 2026

   Episode 27: The Hidden Job Description: School Safety, Student Chaos, and Teacher Survival

   Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Matt, Rob, and Brugge pull back the curtain on one of the least-discussed realities of working in schools: teachers are not only instructors, they are also emergency managers, crowd-control specialists, traffic directors, social workers, field-trip logisticians, and sometimes the last line of defense between students and danger. Using a recent Oklahoma school shooting incident as a serious entry point, the conversation moves through the lived realities of sch...

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

9,528

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 31 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

35

Social presence

0

YouTube

68

Engagement

0