Be A Funky Teacher Podcast
Real conversations for educators who care deeply about the work.
Classroom stories, practical ideas, teacher well-being, leadership, student voice, and honest reflection from Mr. Funky Teacher, Nicholas Kleve.
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309 episodes
Apr 16, 2026
Learning as a Human Act
In this episode, I talk about how learning is often being treated like a system—something to optimize, speed up, and make more efficient. But I think we have…
Apr 15, 2026
The Purpose of School Revisited
In this episode, I take a step back and revisit a big question—what is school actually for? It’s easy to get caught up in lessons, standards, and assessments,…
Apr 14, 2026
Why Memorization Isn’t the Enemy
This episode explores a shift in education thinking—moving away from memorization—and challenges the idea that memorization is outdated or unnecessary. It reframes memorization as a valuable part of…
Apr 13, 2026
Content Was Never the Point
This episode challenges a long-standing belief in education—that the goal is to cover content. It shifts the focus toward a deeper question: whether content was ever truly the…
Apr 12, 2026
Sunday School for Teachers: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector — Humility in Leadership
In this episode, I reflect on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and what it teaches about humility in leadership. This story challenges me to…
Apr 11, 2026
Saturday Stories — Leadership Kit: Keep Trying — One More Rep
In this Saturday Story, I share a Leadership Kit story focused on effort and what it means to keep trying. This week builds on the idea that effort…
Apr 10, 2026
Speed Is Not Understanding
In this episode, I talk about the push toward speed in learning and why faster is not always better. It can feel productive when things move quickly, but…
Apr 9, 2026
Automation vs. Judgment
In this episode, I talk about the growing shift toward automation and why that raises an important question for us as educators—what still requires human judgment? While automation…
Apr 8, 2026
Tools Are Not Wisdom
In this episode, I talk about something that I think is really important right now—tools are not the same as wisdom. We are surrounded by tools that can…
Apr 7, 2026
What AI Cannot Do
This episode shifts the focus from what AI can do to something just as important—what it cannot do. While AI is fast, efficient, and impressive in many ways,…
Apr 6, 2026
What AI Actually Does Well
This episode explores what AI actually does well in a time when opinions about it are all over the place. Some believe it will change everything, while others…
Apr 5, 2026
Special Message: Happy Easter–He Is Risen!
This special message pauses to recognize Easter and the meaning it holds. After a week of reflection during Holy Week, this moment points to something bigger—hope, renewal, and…