The Hardest Part of Teaching Isn't Workload with Grant Wootten (#356)

What if the biggest problem in schools isn't teachers resisting change, it's that they're never given enough safety to try it?In this episode, Ben and Steve are joined by Grant Wootten, founder of Edusfere, to unpack why so much of a teacher's best work disappears the moment they leave a classroom and what it would take to stop the cycle.Grant spent a decade teaching in Southeast Asia, first with a nonprofit in rural Thailand and then at an international school in Bangkok, before founding Edusfere: a platform built to capture and preserve the instructional knowledge teachers create every day. He's recently relocated to the UK to lead Edusfere's expansion into the UK market.We cover:- Why teachers become "islands" and how decades of instructional knowledge gets lost every time someone leaves the profession- The real reason schools resist change and why psychological safety, not disruption, has to come first- What Grant believes is genuinely the hardest part of being a teacher today- Why EdTech should meet teachers where they already are instead of chasing flashy new features- A live debate: should the teacher or the learner sit at the centre of EdTech design?- Whether human-to-human "formation" is automatically better than a machine's and a story that complicates the answer- Why fear of conflict is quietly holding back adoption in education- How to bring your most resistant, most experienced teachers along for the rideWhy listen?If you've ever watched brilliant teaching disappear into a filing cabinet or a departing colleague's laptop, this conversation names the problem precisely and makes the case that fixing it isn't about ripping up what works, but about giving teachers the safety net to build on it. Expect a genuinely sharp disagreement about whether AI or humans should sit at the centre of education, and a story from Ben that will make you think twice about assuming human-led always beats machine-led.Chapters00:00 Highlights01:30 Welcome back and the Wolfpack community update03:25 Meet Grant Wootten: from Thai classrooms to EdTech founder05:25 What is Edusfere and why target the UK market07:53 Teachers are islands: the knowledge that gets lost every year08:48 Ben's story: planning in silos at school10:26 The hardest part of being a teacher today15:51 Creating psychological safety before disruption23:51 The role of EdTech in driving culture change29:27 Should the teacher not the learner be at the centre?33:26 Is human formation always a force for good?38:36 Why we're afraid of conflict, and what it costs education41:42 Bringing veteran, resistant teachers along46:36 Three quick-fire questions with GrantFind out more about Edusfere Thanks so much for joining us again for another episode - we appreciate you.Ben & Steve xCheck out all about EdufuturistsWant to sponsor future episodes or get involved with the Edufuturists work? Get in touch Grab your copy of the new Pick 'n' Mix Education bookJoin the Wolfpack Community