The Unteachables Podcast

In this episode, I take you on a mini pod journey as I unravel my tips for setting expectations with students. Join me as I explore: - The drawbacks of traditional rules and the power of expectations in fostering collaboration and connection. - Why expectations are more effective in gaining student buy-in and creating a productive learning environment. - Practical strategies for effectively settin...

This episode is a BIG ONE! The incredible Laura co-founder of The Kindness Curriculum visits the podcast to talk all things mindfulness (and beyond!)  Listen in to hear us chat about... Why classroom management is all about regulation, not about just firefighting behaviours. What's the big deal with mindfulness? The complexities and barriers to using mindfulness in the classroom (hint... teac...

"Have you ever experienced the quiet calm that sweeps over the room when you ask your students to copy the work off the board, write down definitions or do a word search? If you teach students with social, emotional and mental health needs, I would almost guarantee the answer to that is yes. When it comes to classroom compliance, this style of pedagogy works. Which is why it is no surprise th...

On this week’s episode I get to have a chat with the incredible Danica, an educational mentor and consultant and the woman behind Little Bloom Consultancy. Through her work, she helps educators and parents transform how they support children’s behaviour and emotional development. Her work is firmly rooted in the values around teaching and respecting the whole human being, empathy, understanding. W...

Are you ready for an open house tour into That'll Teach 'Em?!  13 years ago I stepped into the classroom with no confidence and no clue. I was plonked into a chaotic classroom with 30 ‘unmanageable’ and ‘unteachable’ students And then another, and another, year after year, and I had no option but to learn how to swim. It started with a little doggy paddle, and now I am on a pretty smooth...

On this week's episode I am going to be talking about the entire narrative around behaviour management that is getting teachers stuck in PURE survival mode. It is a trap! And what is the trap? Seeing  behaviour management is solely that. Behaviour management.  Just about responding to and addressing behaviour. It keeps teachers in a viscous never-ending cycle. Particularly with low level beha...

Let’s talk about the fiction vs reality of Matilda’s MISS HONEY!  She has inspired a generation of teachers. For so many she was actually the reason, the catalyst, the inspiration to get into the job of teaching.  She was the saving grace to the kids she taught. She was generous, she was compassionate, she protected her students and their wellbeing from the incredibly punitive and nasty principal...

In this episode, I answer the question, “aren’t we just excusing bad behaviour when we look into why it is happening?” Why bother learning about behaviour?  Afterall, whatever the reason behind it, it doesn’t change the fact that it IS happening and we need to address it all the same as teachers right?  So why spend time learning about it? Doesn’t learning about the why behind behaviour excuse the...

Who relates to finishing explaining a task to students only to have a hand pop up and ask…  ”Sir/Miss, what are we doing?!” If you had a dollar for every time you had just explained a task and you get a question that if they were really listening, they wouldn’t need to ask in the first place, or that was irrelevant, or that forced you to explain what you had just explained, how many dollars would...

DO YOUR BEST, FORGET THE REST! If you’re looking for a permission slip to truly embrace the teacher you are, then look no further than this amazing interview with Ceri Sandford. This passionate woman behind the powerhouse Wine with teacher club and podcast goes deep with me as we discuss some of the challenges of teaching. We discuss some commonly shared feelings amongst teachers such as: Am I the...

Welcome back to season 2 of The Unteachables Podcast - Woooo freaking hoo! And I am back with a brand new co-host, my 2 month old daughter Ava. Despite me training her up for 9 months, she didn’t contribute much, but I might just let her stick around. This episode I go through my journey in teaching, from the rapid growth of my first few years from beginning teacher to middle leadership. To burnin...

Wow, teachers, 2022 has been a BIG year hasn’t it?!  But let me ask you something… how do you really feel about it? Are you measuring yourself backwards and really appreciating how far you have come, OR have you gotten yourself in the habit of measuring yourself forwards to goalposts that are always changing?  This concept is from the book ‘The Gap and The Gain’ by Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Har...

If you could sit across from your first year teacher self, what would you say? Well this episode is me exploring that very question for myself. If you’re a teacher in the making or a teacher still early in their career, I hope my reflections over this episode help bring a little validation, support and clarity. And if you’re an experienced teacher, this episode will be an exercise in reflection, t...

Who feels like they are crawwwwwwling to the holidays? That end of year push can feel impossibly exhausting.  And it’s obvious why it is hard…. We are tired, we are burnt out. Buttttt as you know, being a teacher is pretty multifaceted, there's a lot of reasons why this time of year feels really tough, after all it's not just us at a computer getting through that last bit of work. It is...

I don’t need to sit here and tell you that building a positive relationship with a student is a pretty important part of the work we do.  I am sure you also know that the students who really need that relationship the most to trust you and learn from you, are also sometimes the ones who display the most challenging behaviours! This is why it is SUCH a double edged sword, because you will then NEED...

Mistakes, blunders, slips, errors… all of these are NOT dirty words… ESPECIALLY in teaching.  In fact, I celebrate mistakes, I encourage mistakes, I welcome the vulnerability of teachers standing there and just doing their thing in the classroom KNOWING that mistakes are a part of the learning process. When it comes to classroom management in particular, there are some very common patterns in the...

When I ask teachers what their biggest classroom behaviour challenges are, MOST of the time I will hear….   Low. Level. Behaviours.  *SHUDDER*   For SO many teachers, these behaviours sit in this difficult grey area. They are annoying enough to completely derail a lesson, but not quite severe enough to warrant a big response. They are the behaviours that stop the learning, and make you want to chu...

So many classroom management strategies rely on a foundation of not only relationships and rapport, but solid routines and a whole lot of consistency to be effective. But what if you have absolutely no opportunity to do this because you have either chosen the path of, or are currently in the role of, a casual / supply / substitute teacher (whatever you call it in your patch of the world)!  I know...

I am sure you have heard this being said before, ‘don’t take it personally.. it isn’t about you’... Well, if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of incredibly personal, harsh, nasty student comments, you know that it is something that is so much easier said than done.  This episode will unpack the truth in the ‘don’t take it personally’ advice, but ALSO give you the much needed knowledge and sup...

Teacher well-being, or the lack thereof, is absolutely no joke. Teachers are leaving the profession in droves… and teachers are usually people who don’t join the profession on a whim to begin with, I’d say we usually have a pretty solid ‘why’.  So what is going on here? I have a special guest Jodi also known as @thebusyteachersclub on Instagram, who is in the middle of launching her teacher well-b...

Why are we always comparing ourselves? It is such a trap that we can all fall into as teachers, especially when we are simultaneously battling with imposter syndrome… If you’re a bit of an introvert, if you’re a bit awkward, if it takes you a while to warm up, if you don’t have the strongest ‘teacher voice’, that is OKAY! This episode will bust any preconceptions around what it takes to really lea...

<p> Welcome to Episode 3 of the unteachables podcast! Today one of my best teacher pals Chiara and I dig into some of the top tier memories, biggest struggles, and biggest triumphs of our first years of teaching together. Through our own experiences of our shared chaotic class, we reflect on what it takes to engage the most challenging to engage classes. </p> <p> This episode is...

Today I am going to be talking about something that reallllly grinds my gears… when you have a really challenging class, a student who is displaying some really challenging behaviours, you’re at the very bottom of your goodie bag of teaching strategies, you go and seek some support, and the only thing that you seem to get back is something about needing to foster that relationship. Well.. it certa...

We are humans… who also happen to be teachers… responsible for 30 other humans… That leaves a LOT of room for ‘human moments’ in our day to day work. In today’s inaugural episode,  I am going to dig into some very human moments of my own recently in the classroom, hear from some of you about yours, and of course, give you a few little nuggets of teaching know-how to take away.  This episode covers...

Coming Sunday October 2nd: The Unteachables Podcast! Welcome to The Unteachables Podcast, where your host Claire English is NO stranger to challenging classroom behaviour. And if you’ve found your way here, it’s likely you aren’t either. Teaching the Unteachables is a podcast that is dedicated to making you feel a hell of a lot less alone in these struggles, whilst giving you the knowledge, suppor...