Cowboy Hat, Overalls, and the Future Education Actually Needs | Harl Roehm

Описание: A CTE teacher from Tennessee bought a $25 computer at a yard sale, tore it apart, and discovered his life's work—and now he's on a mission to help students own AI, not be owned by it.

In this episode, Harl Roehm, a 28-year veteran educator, CTE teacher, and self-described "fifth-generation farm kid from Mississippi", joins Brett and Rebecca to talk about AI integration, student agency, and why education needs moonshot thinking. Harl teaches AP Computer Science, Python, JavaScript, and dual-enrollment Cybersecurity at Collierville High School in Tennessee.

What You'll Learn:

→ The $25 computer story that launched Harl's 28-year career in computer science education
→ How Harl uses AI-generated music (Suno) to teach students to spot AI tendencies
→ Why AI should bridge connection gaps, not replace human judgment
→ Student agency over AI dependency: Teaching kids that "AI is not a substitute for thinking"
→ Moonshot thinking in education: Why tweaking won't work—we need to start over
→ Advice for administrators, teachers, and students on moving forward with AI integration

0:00 - Welcome + Introductions
2:00 - Harl's Background: Farm Life, Military Dreams, and Finding Education
4:00 - The $25 Computer Story: How A+ Certification Changed Everything
6:00 - 28 Years Teaching 29 Subjects: From Math to CTE
7:00 - AI Songs in the Classroom: Using Suno to Build Critical Thinking
9:00 - How Students Guess Which Songs Are AI (and Win Reese's Cups)
11:00 - Using AI to Build Connection and Navigate Social Cues
14:00 - "AI Is Not a Substitute for Thinking": Teaching Student Agency
17:00 - Dan Fitzpatrick Study: Outsource the Doing, Not the Thinking
19:00 - What Harl Is Most Curious About Right Now
21:00 - Why Education Hasn't Kept Up with Technology
22:00 - Moonshot Thinking: From 30 MPG to 300 MPG
23:00 - The Uber Eats Generation
25:00 - Advice to Administrators: Stop Micromanaging
28:00 - Running Schools Like a Business
30:00 - Advice to Teachers
32:00 - Cell Phone Restrictions: Training, Not Banning
34:00 - Protecting Student PII
37:00 - Loving Something Enough to Make It Better
39:00 - The Henry Ford Assembly Line Analogy
42:00 - "I've Never Seen AI Work as a Plumber"
44:00 - Fear Is a Mental Construct
47:00 - What Does Success Look Like in 20 Years?
50:00 - Rethinking Science Education
51:00 - Baby Steps and the Taco Bell Hot Sauce Agent
54:00 - AI to Summarize Podcasts and Stay Current
55:00 - Why Harl Chose Gemini Pro
57:00 - AI Is Here: You Can't Will It Out of Existence
59:00 - Social Media Bans Debate
1:01:00 - Harl's Question: How Do You Scale Your Mission?
1:05:00 - AI Literacy Should Be Mandatory
1:06:00 - Australia's Social Media Ban Debate
1:11:00 - AI Counselors and Healthcare
1:14:00 - Rebecca: "We Are Here" (Horton Hears a Who)
1:16:00 - Brett on Voice Memo Teaching
1:18:00 - Why Outside Voices Matter
1:20:00 - Ocean's 11: Giving Flowers to Unsung Heroes
1:27:00 - Harl's Final Message
1:28:00 - How to Reach Harl: redneckEdTech.com

Join the conversation: What's one small way you could start using AI in your classroom tomorrow?

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Connect with Harl Roehm: redneckEdTech.com

Make every day a jumbo cannoli-worthy day.