We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vicki Davis. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vicki below.
Vicki, appreciate you joining us today. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?
The most vital transformation we need in education today isn’t about curriculum, technology, or assessment – although certainly we can improve there. It is about reclaiming the soul of learning itself: the relationship between the teacher and the student.
After 23 years in the classroom, my conviction about what matters most in education has only deepened with time. As a teacher of AP Computer Science Principles (celebrating a 100% pass rate last year with my remarkable students), digital film, and various computer science courses, I’ve witnessed firsthand the synergy that occurs when students are truly seen and when the healthy, positive relationship between students and teachers is nurtured.
The greatest awards I’ve received throughout my career – while top podcast host in education and top teacher blogger were awesome, it is the STAR teacher awards (which a remarkable student awarded me again this year) that mean the most. That is because a student decided I made an impact in their life. This year, Luke, my STAR student, talked about me and said that one reason I was a great teacher was because of how I showed him the power of story – both in technology and in making movies – and he wanted to spend the rest of his life telling stories that matter.
Wow, talk about a story to shake your soul – Luke’s story is one of those.
So I want to tell you a story of what needs to happen in education. Story is a uniquely human characteristic. We have the story of our lives, our decisions, and what happened when the Internet emerged. We have stories of how we made hard choices and why we enjoy technology or whatever subject we teach.
When I teach, I don’t “program” students to regurgitate content. I don’t put information in and want them to pour it out. I want to pour in a magic mix of excellent, accurate content knowledge with a unique message every student needs – the knowledge that they are uniquely suited for purpose and full of potential. The knowledge that they are remarkable and amazing and have skills no one else has. The ability to make a difference by determining that they will be kind and helpful in every field they enter. The understanding that ethical decisions need to be made in every area of society and the wherewithal to stand up and speak truth when they see a need or a concern.
I don’t want kids just to have knowledge, but to have confidence. For example, my students did presentations this week on new technologies, and one young lady gave an amazing presentation, although she was difficult to hear. I had a conversation with her privately about the power of her voice and that she has a voice that deserves to be heard. I heard her in the hall later talking to a friend – I heard her! She spoke up and I heard her. She has been so quiet-spoken in the past, but now I heard her. That is because I saw her and I saw her potential, and we spoke, and she heard me, and now she has heard the clarion call within herself reverberating that she is a young woman with a voice that deserves to be heard.
This is what we’re missing.
I experienced this transformative power of recognition firsthand with my English teacher, Betsy Caldwell, during my junior and senior years. Though I already loved writing, Mrs. Caldwell saw something more in me—a gift worth nurturing. She nominated me for Georgia’s Governor’s Honors program, a summer immersion that changed the trajectory of my life. That summer, surrounded by kindred spirits, I wrote poetry, crafted prose, and studied Southern authors. I was simultaneously challenged and inspired, my passion for words ignited into a flame that still burns brightly today.
The five books I’ve written, countless blog posts, podcasts, and now radio and TV shows all trace back to that pivotal moment when Mrs. Caldwell noticed something in me worth celebrating. Her simple act of recognition—of seeing potential perhaps even I couldn’t fully perceive—rippled outward through decades of creative expression.
Mrs. Caldwell heard my voice and told me I had a voice worth hearing. She saw me, she heard me, and she spoke to me and I heard her!
Do you see what happens?
The life change of the story and magic of truly great teaching?
When we keep shoving new initiatives and changing staff and changing everything all of the time, we are creating a bubbling cauldron of chaos when, in fact, if we could spend the bulk of money hiring great teachers and paying them well, we would see a change in education. We spend money on what we value. If we value kids, we inherit a better future. This is the odd thing – we think our kids will inherit from us and in some ways, they will, but the whole world inherits the future from today’s students in the classroom, so we had better invest well.
So I teach about AI. I work with students on properly using AI. But this human relational dimension of great teaching cannot be outsourced to algorithms or AI. AI sees what is – it cannot see what is not yet but could be.
AI can’t see the potential that isn’t evident there and tell someone they have a voice worth hearing – if they do, it will just sound like even more of that “you’re always so great and you’re always right” mumbo jumbo that AI dishes out to us to keep us writing and training it in its ever eager hunger for more data so it can imitate us even better.
You can imitate me all day long, but good luck teaching AI to spot the talent in a kid like I can. Even if it could, the relationship aspect can’t happen.
Collective intelligence and interpersonal skills (as Adam Grant shares in “Hidden Potential”) is a big part of what I teach.
We stand at a crossroads in education. One path leads toward mechanized learning, where efficiency replaces connection and metrics overshadow meaning. The other path—the one I invite you to walk with me—leads toward a renaissance of relationship, where teaching becomes not just a profession but a calling, and where learning becomes not just achievement but transformation.
My prayer as an educator is simple but profound: May we recognize that when we truly see our students—when we champion their unique gifts, nurture their developing voices, and believe in possibilities they cannot yet imagine for themselves—we aren’t just teaching subjects; we’re shaping the very future we all will share. And there is no investment more sacred, no calling more noble, than that. I hope you will hear me and now you will hear the clarion call within yourself to do what you can to let your voice be heard that teachers and the healthy, positive teacher student relationship is important and worth supporting with our words, actions, and financial resources.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My heart beats strongest within the four walls of my classroom, where for 23 years I’ve witnessed the miracle of young minds awakening to their potential. This sacred space—where students create, discover, and transform—grounds everything I do as an educator, writer, speaker, and media creator.
In 2005, I created the Cool Cat Teacher Blog for a beautifully simple reason—to learn alongside my students.
My educational journey has been shaped by a profound conviction: every child is a masterpiece with divine purpose. This belief was forged not just in professional training but at my own kitchen table, where two of my three children navigated learning differences that conventional education struggled to address. (Most of education calls these learning disabilities which I believe is a misnomer. My children are able to learn, they just learn differently.) I’ve witnessed firsthand how a child can elevate percentiles on standardized by 30+ points when given the right tools and unwavering belief but also know that the measure of success of a child is not a test, it is how they learn to interact with other human beings.
What began in 2005 as a blog to learn how to blog has blossomed into the Cool Cat Teacher platform—reaching millions of educators across six continents through:
The 10-Minute Teacher Podcast: Approaching 900 episodes with over 7 million downloads, frequently trending in the top 10 K12 podcasts on iTunes
Cool Cat Teacher Talk: My newest venture launched September 2024, broadcasting on FM radio and television across America. Each hour-long episode weaves research, classroom stories, and expert interviews into an exploration of critical educational topics—from AI integration to student engagement—creating content that will illuminate pathways forward today and for years to come. This is on:
WDJY FM 99.1 Atlanta (Wednesdays at 4pm)
Fairfax Public Access, Channel 10 (Washington DC area)
Pacific Coast TV (San Francisco)
PAC 8 Community Media (New Mexico, Mondays at 9pm)
NYC’s LMC Media Channel 77
While external recognitions affirm the impact of the joyful work I’ve gotten to do—2021 Top Global “Edruptor” (ISC Research), Top 40 EdTech Influencer (2022), BAMMY Award for Best Education Talk Show Host, ISTE Online Learning Award—the honor closest to my heart is being named STAR Teacher at my school. This recognition comes directly from students who felt their lives changed through our shared journey of discovery.
My passion for connecting classrooms globally has led to the creation of over 30 collaborative projects, including the Flat Classroom Project featured in Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat and Don Tapscott’s Grown Up Digital. This work has taken me from Moscow to Beijing, Dubai to Mumbai—delivering over 100 keynotes and workshops while bringing students along to present their innovations to the world. As I’ve judged for the $1 million Global Teacher Prize since its 2015 inception,I’ve seen that great teaching is about relationship.
My classroom is called “Masterpiece Theater,” as I believe each student is a masterpiece full of purpose. My students make VR rollercoasters, develop AR experiences, program NFC tags, use game based learning to learn Python, build websites, use AI, and craft original digital stories that reveal their unique genius to the world.
While I embrace cutting-edge technology, my philosophy remains anchored in these principles:
I innovate “like a turtle”—consistently, gradually, intentionally—proving transformation doesn’t require massive budgets
I remain in the classroom daily, testing what works with real students facing real challenges
I view every struggle as a doorway to discovery, informed by watching my own children overcome learning barriers
I celebrate the nobility of teaching as a sacred calling that shapes not just minds but futures
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When I started teaching in 2002 I had a hosting company and fixed computers in addition to my teaching work. When the blog took off in 2005, I realized that I needed to make sure my hosting clients were well cared for and took steps to offload that business. It was a small transaction but freed me up big time to focus on what was working for me — speaking, teaching, and writing books.
Sometimes you have to say no to good things to say yes to great things.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I always view people as people. It can be harder now than when I started in the early days of Twitter and Facebook because of the bots, but it is still about connecting with people, meeting needs, and speaking truth about the awesomeness of teaching that connects me to others.
Also, remember that your social media platform is about consistency. The more you consistently post helpful things that people engage with, the more people who will see your content. Consistency leads to success and success leads to more success when it comes to social media.
Also, be careful about not having a knee jerk response to how people feel about various platforms. “Everybody is leaving here” or “everyone is going there” is fine but don’t delete your profiles. Have the same profile name everywhere and keep it, even if you take a break from it a little while.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.coolcatteacher.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coolcatteacher
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coolcatteacher
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coolcatteacher/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/coolcatteacher
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/coolcatteacher
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1CbwslaXSlpgIsAvtmNWtw
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/10-minute-teacher-podcast-with-cool-cat-teacher/id1201263130
Image Credits
Photo credit: Brian Kelley