The Unteachables Podcast

Welcome to 'The Unteachables Podcast', your go-to resource for practical classroom management strategies and teacher support. I’m your host, Claire English, a passionate secondary teacher and leader turned teacher mentor and author of 'It's Never Just About the Behaviour: A Holistic Approach to Classroom Behaviour Management.' I'm on a mission to help educators like you transform your classrooms, build confidence, and feel empowered.

Why am I here? Not too long ago, I was overwhelmed by low-level classroom disruptions and challenging behaviors. After thousands of hours honing my skills in real classrooms and navigating ups and downs, I’ve become a confident, capable teacher ready to reach every student—even those with the most challenging behaviors. My journey inspired me to support teachers like you in mastering effective classroom strategies that promote compassion, confidence, and calm.

On The Unteachables Podcast, we’ll dive into simple, actionable strategies that you can use to handle classroom disruptions, boost student engagement, and create a positive learning environment.

You'll hear from renowned experts such as:

Bobby Morgan of the Liberation Lab
Marie Gentles, behavior expert behind BBC's 'Don't Exclude Me' and author of 'Gentles Guidance'
Robyn Gobbel, author of 'Raising Kids with Big Baffling Behaviours'
Dr. Lori Desautels, assistant professor and published author
And many more behaviour experts and mentors.
Angela Watson from the Truth for Teachers Podcast.

Whether you’re an early career teacher, a seasoned educator, or a teaching assistant navigating classroom challenges, this podcast is here to help you feel happier, empowered, and ready to make an impact with every student.

Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss an episode packed with classroom tips and inspiring conversations that make a real difference!

#123: How to stand tall and confident in front of your class (even in the midst of some tough as heck behaviours)
May 12, 2025 – 16:21
#122: “Miss, that deserves a detention!!” When students tell you how to do your job.
May 5, 2025 – 13:27
#121: 4 steps to building confidence in your classroom management
Apr 28, 2025 – 19:35
#120: Your teaching IS your classroom management. Here are 3 ways to make it work for you
Apr 22, 2025 – 17:23
#119: Are calm corners worth having in secondary classrooms?
Apr 14, 2025 – 24:21
#118: The number one reason you’re finding behaviour tough right now
Apr 7, 2025 – 15:18
#117: What to prioritise when big behaviours bubble up in the lesson.
Mar 25, 2025 – 08:31
#116: Quick Win Challenge! 5 brilliant behaviour reflection strategies you can start using immediately
Mar 20, 2025 – 08:23
#115: Brain breaks are my secret sauce for student engagement. Here are my 3 I can't live without!
Mar 18, 2025 – 13:29
#114: Quick Win Challenge! Use this technique for smooth, stress-free, and energy-saving transitions.
Mar 13, 2025 – 03:14
#113: 1 powerful shift to make in your behaviour chats to create more change
Mar 11, 2025 – 11:41
#112: Quick Win Challenge! How to get students to care about the consequence (and why their buy-in definitely matters)
Mar 6, 2025 – 07:11
#111: What moving countries with a toddler reinforced about classroom management and behaviour.
Mar 3, 2025 – 14:42
#110: Is a 40-hour work week achievable for teachers? Today's guest Angela Watson says YES!
Feb 24, 2025 – 38:14
#109: Quick Win Challenge! When behaviour happens, stop and ask this one question.
Feb 20, 2025 – 05:46
#108: "Shut up miss, you're a sh!t teacher, your lessons suck!" How to respond when behaviours get really personal.
Feb 17, 2025 – 21:52
#107: Quick Win Challenge! Put it on a Post-it.
Feb 13, 2025 – 05:16
#106: Steal these 10 exit tasks for better engagement, behaviour, and calm end to the lesson.
Feb 10, 2025 – 12:17
#105: Quick Win Challenge! Pick up the phone.
Feb 6, 2025 – 04:15
#104: My 3 non-negotiable exit routines to make the final 15 minutes feel less like crowd control
Feb 3, 2025 – 17:08
#103: Quick Win Challenge! The power of hello.
Jan 30, 2025 – 07:10
#102: How to make this year more positive for ‘that’ student (and of course, for you)
Jan 27, 2025 – 15:42
#101: My 3 non-negotiables for the first week back at school. How to set strong expectations students follow AND still smile before Easter!
Jan 20, 2025 – 23:38
#100: Goodbye, 2024!! Reflections on rest, filling our cups, and how to return to school in 2025 feeling like "you" again.
Dec 17, 2024 – 14:44
#99: The holidays aren't fun for everyone, which is why those behaviours might be on the rise!
Dec 12, 2024 – 06:02
#98: 5 questions to ask your students today to foster an attitude of gratitude!
Dec 10, 2024 – 12:33
#97: Do your classroom celebrations turn to CHAOS?! Here's what to do to get festive without the fear of mayhem.
Dec 5, 2024 – 05:56
#96: 3 classroom games that are fun, easy, and can be used at a pinch to channel that end-of-year energy!!
Dec 3, 2024 – 20:57
#95: BEHAVIOUR BITE: When you chat to students about their behaviour, are you lecturing, or guiding? The difference it makes is HUGE!
Nov 28, 2024 – 05:08
#94: What to do when students are barely showing up to class? Breaking the cycle of non-attendance with compassion, not consequences.
Nov 26, 2024 – 18:56
#93: BEHAVIOUR BITE: What messages might your classroom be sending to your students, and how can you make sure it is working FOR you, not AGAINST you!?
Nov 21, 2024 – 05:31
#92: The (seemingly) simple strategy that has the power to MAKE or BREAK the start of your lesson.
Nov 19, 2024 – 18:59
#91: BEHAVIOUR BITE: Let the visuals do the talking to avoid confrontation, change the tone, and increase buy-in!
Nov 14, 2024 – 06:18
#90: What to do when students come to class late (whilst still keeping things cool, calm, and collected!)
Nov 12, 2024 – 21:32
#89: BEHAVIOUR BITE: On average, teachers pause for... (🤚 Guilty)
Nov 7, 2024 – 05:20
#88: How to nail the first 5 minutes of every lesson by controlling what you CAN control!
Nov 5, 2024 – 19:23
#87: Struggling to have some students even START their work? Here’s what to know (and do)
Oct 28, 2024 – 20:15
#86: BEHAVIOUR BITE: Avoid locking horns.... at ALL costs. Here's how.
Oct 17, 2024 – 05:38
#85: Teach students THIS about behaviour to help them reflect, take accountability, and feel empowered to make lasting positive change.
Oct 14, 2024 – 19:41
#84: BEHAVIOUR BITE: Students will always follow our example, before they follow our instructions.
Oct 10, 2024 – 03:54
#83: How to craft a strong teaching presence that transforms those constant low-level disruptions (almost like flipping a switch, no exaggeration!)
Oct 7, 2024 – 20:45
#82: Discover your teacher type! AND find out what this means for your classroom management.
Sep 30, 2024 – 18:47
#81: 3 common mistakes that fuel low-level disruptions, and the immediate fixes that transform behaviour!
Sep 23, 2024 – 19:43
#80: The low-down on low-level behaviours: Why they are so tricky and why the advice around them sucks!
Sep 16, 2024 – 18:56
#79: 1 simple tool to tackle low-level behaviours, increase engagement, and bust dysregulation.
Sep 9, 2024 – 19:26
#78: Feel like you're constantly repeating instructions? The 3 barriers to students just getting on with it (minus the off-task chatter, blank stares, and million questions)
Sep 2, 2024 – 21:45
#77: 3 common pieces of behaviour advice teachers get that do more harm than good
Aug 26, 2024 – 18:07
#76: What to ACTUALLY say to calm students down. 4 steps to resolving bubbling behaviours quickly, so you can get back to teaching.
Aug 19, 2024 – 18:04
#75: My top 4 classroom management tips for a strong start to the school year (and beyond!)
Aug 12, 2024 – 24:24
#74: The start of school ice breaker activities that need to get in the bin, and what to do instead to build a positive, thriving, class community (no matter what time it is!)
Aug 5, 2024 – 18:11

Recent Reviews

ksn0303

Great tips!

I love the quick, actionable strategies that Claire shares in each episode. Some are good reminders that I’m on the right track while others are new ideas I can’t wait to implement. Thank you for all you do for teachers and students!
Mr. Gilroy

Podcast & Book

Regarding Claire’s book “it’s never just about the behavior” and this podcast, I have infused so much of what she offers into my classroom management toolbox and I have seen such a difference. It aligns with my values, feels natural to implement, and is making a tangible difference in my teaching. I could recommend this professional learning enough. 1/6/25
<Ninja 08>

A must-listen for teachers.

Just started listening to Claire, and I can’t stop binging these episodes. I’ve been teaching for 15 years, I love my job, and I’ve been a team leader for years. But this podcast is helping me develop the language around classroom management to help me refine my skills and show my team how to refine theirs. 💕
teetee7777

Quick tips

Thank you for the bite size pieces of advice and actionable tips!
mama_chris

Grateful for this resource!

I’ve been bingeing episodes after a particularly tough week at school. Feeling really lucky to have found this amazing resource — and it’s free, which works well with my teacher salary. :)
The K-8 Spanish Teacher

Very Relatable, Informative, Practical Classroom Management Training

I did a search in my podcast app for classroom management, and this was one of very few podcasts that came up. I listened to one episode and was immediately hooked and have been devouring them since. As someone who has been working in education for 10 years now, I always felt like classroom management was an enigma; like it was definitely important, something I needed to improve, but yet I didn’t know how. I would look around at other teachers with really strong classroom management and wonder how they got that way. I would think they were just naturally good at it. Thanks to this podcast, I now believe it is something that can be learned. This podcast has not only helped me develop a more holistic mindset about classroom management, but it, along with the book and the course, has given me such a practical toolbox of strategies to improve.
ElJoeman

Episode #58 is brilliant in its simplicity and perspective!

I have long searched for a podcast that examined and analyzed myriad situations that arise in secondary K12 education in the classroom and focused on humane and relationship-building methods to get more student buy in for a more successful classroom. This episode is quite insightful, and analyzes when to use two different personas: the first to show students you are all business about the lesson and its learning. The second teacher persona is when you may demonstrate approachability. Both personas have their time to be used. It seems simple, but I am certain it will help me quite a bit. I look forward to using this idea in class this next school year. I highly recommend this entire run of episodes.
Affkkgrssavbjtesxbu

Actionable, bite-sized PD!

I love this podcast! It combines actionable, logical tools for dealing with challenging behaviors (in humanizing ways) with so much empathy and understanding of what it’s like to be a teacher. I also appreciate that the episodes are short and sweet!
kerr_elson

Very helpful

Reassuring, helpful! She’s in your corner and she gets it. Thank you 🙏🏼
Carrie VT

Useful podcast!

I love how Claire reminds us that we can only control ourselves and our routines. It makes me want to be more intentional and present a better face forward in my classroom.
kgoulding

3yr teacher ready to make some lasting changes

THIS IS ME! This community, this approach, this support, feels catered to me! I am a fun loving, type B teacher, who is constantly teetering on being fun and being chaotic! I found Claire through Instagram over a year ago and have LOVED the validation and helpful tips she constantly shares! This is my third year teaching Life Science to 7th grade students in Idaho. I turn on this podcast during my prep or in the car and it has helped me put into action some very needed classroom management tips. It is also very validating because I hear and see things that sometimes make me second guess my teaching philosophy because it feels “too soft.” I am still learning and hope to someday take Claire’s course to really put everything in action! Until then, I will glean from her podcast and posts to become a better version of teacher self!
marierev

Great and inspiring

I have enjoyed listening to this podcast in the mornings as I get ready to go into work as a first grade teacher. The short episodes always give the bite sized motivation and inspiration I need to keep myself on the right track with my classroom management. I love the inclusive approach to battling behaviors.
TVancamp

Love this podcast

As a new teacher I have been tuning into the Unteachables podcast and it has been so incredibly valuable. I love how practical the advice is. Claire is a enjoyable, friendly, and knowledgeable voice to for this kind of teacher PL.
LuLaRoeTriciaBoatman

The BEST resource for classroom management!

I wish every single teacher had to listen to this podcast. This world would truly be a better place. 🤍
UnexpectedTeacher

Best Development I’ve experienced

Entered the classroom after earning my Master’s in Teaching degree and felt lost. The program barely touched on classroom management, but dang - I could write a great 5 page lesson plan! The Unteachables has been a game changer for me. I’m now in my second year and have been to MANY district offered trainings, but none of them have given me the realistic, actionable pieces that your classes and podcasts continue to offer. Ignore the haters - you’re awesome Claire!