#398 Ruthless Equity (Ken Williams pt.3)
Teach Me, Teacher
This week, we’re back with Part 3 of my conversation with Ken Williams — and we’re pushing even deeper into what real leadership looks like when the excuses are stripped away. In this installment, we go beyond the question of whether teachers matter and dig into the systems, habits, and mindsets that either amplify teacher expertise or quietly suffocate it. Because here’s the truth far too many leaders avoid: You can’t claim to believe in teachers while building a school that doesn’t trust them. We talk about how some schools unintentionally create environments where demographics...
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#397 How Schools Make Teachers Invisible (Ken Williams pt.2)
Teach Me, Teacher
This week, I sit down with Ken Williams — educator, speaker, author of Ruthless Equity, and founder of Unfold the Soul — to dig into a question that hits the core of what schools are becoming: Do teachers still matter? In far too many places, we’ve slipped into treating demographics like destiny. Schools get so wrapped up in predicting outcomes based on factors kids can’t control that teachers end up feeling obsolete before they even step into the room. When we assume what students can’t do, we quietly remove the people who can change everything: the teachers. If we actually want...
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#396 Do Teachers ACTUALLY Matter? with Ken Williams (pt.1)
Teach Me, Teacher
This week, I sit down with Ken Williams, educator, speaker, and author of Ruthless Equity and founder of Unfold the Soul, to wrestle with one of the toughest questions in education today: Do teachers still matter? In too many schools, leadership decisions, policies, and even cultural norms seem to have already decided what kids can and cannot do — leaving teachers feeling like their impact is secondary. But if we truly believe teachers matter (and we say we do), why don’t our practices reflect that belief? Ken brings his signature honesty and insight as we unpack how schools can reclaim...
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#395 High School Students Need to Be Engaged Too!
Teach Me, Teacher
High school kids are tough to reach… but maybe that’s the fun part. In this episode, we’re talking about engagement that actually works—finding that ONE thing that makes your lessons hit different. Maybe it’s a wild outfit. A totally new lesson design. A classroom setup that surprises them. Something weird, bold, or uniquely you. Because when you make it your own… that’s when kids connect. That’s when it sticks. Listen now on Teach Me, Teacher — where passion meets practice, and every classroom becomes a story worth telling.
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#394 Leading People, Not Buildings (Carrie Jackson pt.2)
Teach Me, Teacher
Hello everyone! This week I’m joined by Carrie Jackson, the incredible principal of Allen High School in Texas — and someone I’ve had the privilege of working alongside in my career. Carrie embodies what it means to lead with humility, compassion, and care. In our conversation, we dig deep into what real leadership looks like — not the kind that leans on authority or power, but the kind that sees people first. We talk about the difference between power and influence, and how the best leaders earn trust and respect not through force, but through consistency, empathy, and a genuine...
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#393 Humility in Leadership with Carrie Jackson (pt.1)
Teach Me, Teacher
Hello everyone! This week I’m joined by Carrie Jackson, the incredible principal of Allen High School in Texas — and someone I’ve had the privilege of working alongside in my career. Carrie embodies what it means to lead with humility, compassion, and care. In our conversation, we dig deep into what real leadership looks like — not the kind that leans on authority or power, but the kind that sees people first. We talk about the difference between power and influence, and how the best leaders earn trust and respect not through force, but through consistency, empathy, and a genuine...
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#392 Applying the Science of Reading (Erica Woolway pt.2)
Teach Me, Teacher
Hello everyone! We have done on the many aspects of reading and writing. We have covered pedagogy, research, cutting edge ideas and a return to form. One of the biggest topics that have graced this show is the topic of The Science of Reading. Heard of it? To dive into the latest research, findings, and thinking around the subject, I have brought on one of the experts in the field, Erica Woolway. Erica Woolway is the President and Chief Academic Officer of Teach Like a Champion. Erica is a former kindergarten teacher and elementary school leader. She is coauthor of Practice Perfect and...
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#391 Guide to the Science of Reading with Erica Woolway (pt.1)
Teach Me, Teacher
Hello everyone! We have done on the many aspects of reading and writing. We have covered pedagogy, research, cutting edge ideas and a return to form. One of the biggest topics that have graced this show is the topic of The Science of Reading. Heard of it? To dive into the latest research, findings, and thinking around the subject, I have brought on one of the experts in the field, Erica Woolway. Erica Woolway is the President and Chief Academic Officer of Teach Like a Champion. Erica is a former kindergarten teacher and elementary school leader. She is coauthor of Practice Perfect...
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PSA
Teach Me, Teacher
In light of the world and the tragedies that have unfolded, Teach Me, Teacher skipped this week. In the meantime, a PSA for the audience.
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#390 Is AI Making Cheating Worse? with Pam Ochoa
Teach Me, Teacher
Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. In this episode, Jacob and Pam address the issues of student cheating and AI. Jacob poses the question of whether cheating is a greater problem today than in the past. Pam shares how she has seen cheating throughout her career and determined that it has always been a large problem. Jacob explains how technology changes seem to instill fear regarding cheating, such as Google, so, AI is...
info_outlineThis week, we’re back with Part 3 of my conversation with Ken Williams — and we’re pushing even deeper into what real leadership looks like when the excuses are stripped away.
If you missed Part 2, make sure you catch up first.
In this installment, we go beyond the question of whether teachers matter and dig into the systems, habits, and mindsets that either amplify teacher expertise or quietly suffocate it. Because here’s the truth far too many leaders avoid:
You can’t claim to believe in teachers while building a school that doesn’t trust them.
We talk about how some schools unintentionally create environments where demographics set the narrative, expectations shrink, and teacher talent is overshadowed by fear, compliance, or “initiatives” that don’t move the needle. And we explore the opposite—what it looks like when leaders actively remove barriers, create clarity, and build cultures where teachers are empowered to be the experts they were hired to be.
This episode gets into:
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Why “context” can’t become a convenient excuse for low accountability
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How leaders can shift from managing teachers to developing them
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What high-functioning schools do differently — no matter the zip code
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The mindsets that help leaders create conditions where every teacher can succeed
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Why student demographics must never determine adult expectations
Ken pulls no punches as we examine what it really takes for leaders to support teachers in any school, with any students, under any circumstances. This is the deeper work — the work that transforms schools from the inside out.
If you’re ready to move past rhetoric and toward real leadership that elevates teacher expertise, this is the episode.
Learn more about Ken’s work at Unfold the Soul and check out his book Ruthless Equity.