The Tattooed Teacher

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Jess Robertson, child and family connection strategist, creator of the Connection Advantage method, speaker and TEDx speaker, to unpack her journey from early childhood educator to working with schools, families and organisations on connection. Jess shares how 25 years of work starting in early childhood taught her that children and teen...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Michael Murphy, PhD candidate researching the purpose of education, university lecturer, podcaster and self-described cultural cartographer, to unpack his journey from marine biology student to mapping how education systems think. Michael shares how he ended up in teaching by accident, how pages of notes became his mantra (help people li...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Nicole Dyson, CEO and founder of Future Anything working with over 100 schools and YouthX (Australia’s only startup accelerator. She is a multi-award-winning educator and entrepreneur and a global authority on project-based learning, entrepreneurial pedagogy and school transformation.. We explore what really matters when you want young p...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Dr Louise White, Postdoctoral Research Fellow and consulting researcher, about what it really means to include autistic students in our schools and why the research keeps pointing back to the same thing: belonging, flexibility, and teachers who are willing to look at the barriers instead of the child. Louise's story is deeply persona...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Dr Hugh Chilton, Head of Teaching and Learning at Wycliffe Christian School, co-founder and Associate Director of the Sydney Character Initiative, and co-chair of Research Invested Schools, about what it really means to form human beings well and why character education needs to sit at the centre of everything schools do. Hugh is a think...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with my good mate Josiah Hein, teacher, content creator, TikTok sensation, and the man behind “Jesus loves you baby”, about what it looks like to build an authentic life in public without losing who you actually are. And yes, this is episode 75. Fortune had it that Josiah landed the milestone. Couldn't have picked a better one. Josiah cam...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Brad Gaynor, an educator, author, executive leadership coach, and current PhD candidate who's spent over three decades in Australian schools, from the classroom to the principal's office. We explore: Why the negative narrative around education sticks, and what educators can do to flip the story themselves Brad's two burnouts,...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Pip Cleaves, Systems and Practice designer, CEO and founder of her own company, and content specialist for Canva. Pip shares her journey through education, her innovative teaching methods, and her insights on integrating AI and neurodiversity into learning, and why authentic, personalised learning has the power to transform student engag...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Dr Damian Bebell, Assistant Research Professor at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and a Senior Research Associate at the Center for the Study of Testing, Evaluation, and Educational Policy, about what twenty years of educational technology research actually tells us about what works in classrooms and what doesn't. Damian h...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Rashan Senanayake, founder of Inspired Education, lecturer and author, about two of the most important conversations happening in education right now: how design thinking actually works in a school context, and what AI should and shouldn't be doing in our classrooms. Rashan works at the intersection of human-centred design and artifi...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher podcast I chat with Aimee Presnall, founder of Well-Nest and host of the Reflections of School Leaders podcast. Aimee shares her journey from classroom teacher to education leader, emphasizing the importance of human-centered leadership, mental health, and sustainable practices in education. Discover insights on leadership challenges, mindset shifts, and pra...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Alicia Cohen, Managing Director and Founder of Amba Press, about what it actually takes to turn an educator's ideas into a published book and why she believes every teacher has a story worth putting out into the world. Alicia has spent 25 years in publishing, working everywhere from the Queen's publisher in the UK to Cambridge Un...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Tenille Reilly, Women in Trades Manager at Busy At Work and member of the National Association of Women in Construction Australia, about what it really takes to get women into trades and keep them there long enough to build something meaningful. Tenille shares how she went from being pushed into hairdressing as her only trade option at s...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Richard Bishop, Director of Alumni and Community Relations at Trinity Grammar School, to unpack his journey from corporate accountant to one of the most committed figures in boys education I know. Richard shares how a conversation in thongs changed the entire direction of his life, and why 26 years later he's still all in on the same...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Glenn Solomons, founder of Cheeky Learning and education consultant, about his journey from architecture student to classroom teacher, and eventually to one of the most interesting questions in professional learning: what actually changes when people walk back into school on Monday? Glenn shares how a creative background in art and desig...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Selena Dhondea-Tenakov, Coordinator of Uni Prep Schools at Edith Cowan University and Sessional Academic in initial teacher education, about what it really takes to bridge the gap between high school and university for the students the system has most often left behind. She currently runs a program across 45 Western Australian high schoo...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Vindhya Barwa, Head of Reputation & Influence at Colony Group and Sessional Academic at UQ teaching Gaming Cultures, about what happens when marketing, storytelling, and education merge and why the games your students are playing are more layered than you realise. Vindhya shares how she found her way into the world of PR campaigns fo...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Holly Wedd, Head Teacher of Mathematics in Coffs Harbour, to unpack how she's gone from never wanting to set foot in a school again to becoming the 2026 Premier's Teaching Scholarship recipient, a 2025 Schools Plus Teaching Fellow, and the holder of a growing list of awards in just eight years of teaching. Holly shares how a math...

On this episode of The Tattooed Teacher Podcast, I chat with Jon Burnett Head of Teaching and Learning Systems and Improvement, to unpack his journey from music graduate to educational leader. Jon shares how stepping into the unknown and often the deep end shaped his career, and why saying “yes” to new challenges helped him grow both as a teacher and a leader.   We explore what really matters in t...

On this episode of The Tattoo Teacher Podcast, I chat with Nick Steffen — EdTech innovator, design teacher, tech coach, stand-up comedian, and one of the most adventurous educators you'll ever meet. Born and raised in Kansas, Nick has built maker programmes from scratch in China, trained engineers in Ohio, and is currently coaching teachers and students in South Korea — with Munich, Germany up...

On this the 60th episode of The Tattoo Teacher Podcast, I chat with Paul Miles, CEO of The BUSY Group, about the gap between traditional education and real-world outcomes and what can be done to help close it. Paul shares how BUSY schools support disengaged students through the mix of education, vocational training, and strong relationships—helping young people finish school and move into work or...

On this episode of The Tattoo Teacher Podcast, Will Berry shares his journey into education and what’s helped himstay in the profession. Along the way, Will shares what keeps early‑career teachers in the profession, the importance of school culture, and why simply checking in can make a difference. We also cover leadership, community, and howeducation might need to shift as the world around it cha...

On this episode of The Tattoo Teacher Podcast, I chat with Matt Jensen. He shares practical insights from his work in digital pedagogy and coaching, focusing on how technology can support—not replace—great teaching. The conversation also dives into AI in education—including the risks of automated “feedback loops,” the importance of using AI as a thinking partner, and practical ways it can save tea...

On this episode of The Tattoo Teacher Podcast, I chat with Danni Foster Brown, an experienced educator, educational leader, and Head of the Virtual Learning Community on the Gold Coast who is redefining what school can look like. Together, we explore educational technology, AI, transdisciplinary learning, virtual schooling, personalised learning, wellbeing, and community, asking the big questions...

On this episode of The Tattoo Teacher Podcast I chat with Ryan Noonan, Leader of Digital Technology and Innovation at Chevalier College (NSW), to explore what meaningful innovation in schools looks like. Ryan’s journey starts in a low-SES community where education wasn’t seen as the obvious path, until sport and coaching sparked a love of teaching and leadership. Together, we unpack the leadership...