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!
The Unteachables Podcast
#105: Quick Win Challenge! Pick up the phone.
In this episode, I explore one of the simplest yet most powerful tools in your emotional piggybank investment toolkit: positive phone calls home. These small acts of connection can have a monumental impact!
IN THIS EPISODE, I DISCUSS:
- Why positive phone calls are a game-changer, including how they build trust and transform relationships with students and their families.
- The impact on students who display challenging behaviours, explaining why these children often miss out on positive recognition and how this small step can change their narrative.
- A simple action plan for making a positive call, with step-by-step guidance and a script to help you get started.
- The ripple effect of connection, describing how a single phone call can spark long-term behaviour change and stronger communication.
Your quick-win challenge this week:
Commit to just one positive call home. It doesn’t need to be elaborate or lengthy, just heartfelt. Use the script provided in this episode to introduce yourself, share specific positives, and open the door for future communication.
Connection is the cornerstone of teaching. Behaviour change will not happen overnight, but every small step matters. Start with one moment of connection, one positive call, and one narrative shift. You’ve got this, wonderful teacher!
Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!
Resources and links:
- Take the "What's Your Teacher Type" Quiz
- Join The Behaviour Club
- My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management
- The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
- Browse all resources on TPT
- Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'
Connect with me:
- Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
- Check out my website
Welcome to your weekly Classroom Management Quick Win Challenge. True classroom management is not how we address behavior when it pops up. Instead, it is a compounding effect of many, many micro decisions we make in our teaching practice before the behavior even pops up. In these Quick Win episodes I'm handing over one actionable, small but mighty tool to help you move the needle every single week to stop crowd controlling and to start calmly classroom managing like a pro. Let's dive into this week's game changing challenge. Hello wonderful teachers, welcome back to your quick win challenge for this week, and this one, pretty simply put, is pick up that phone and make a single call this week.
Speaker 1:Positive phone calls home are pure connection in action. Not only do they foster that positive connection with the student themselves, but these phone calls also develop a crucial relationship and open up meaningful dialogue with parents and carers, especially if that student has had a lot of challenges in your class and you've had to make some really challenging phone calls home that are a bit more awkward. If you think about it, those students who you're working with, who display challenging behaviors, rarely, if ever, would get a phone call home that's positive, and that phone ringing to them would signal another failure. You know, like another teacher calling to say that something went wrong and something's bad. Like another teacher calling to say that something went wrong and something's bad. Having that phone ring and having a teacher on the other end saying something good and recognizing them for more than just the challenge or more than just the behavior and, oh my gosh, took time out of their day to celebrate them that is just connection gold. So here's what I want you to do this week. You don't have to overdo it. Just commit to one call and see how you feel. Just make a call for a student that you've had a lot of challenges with. It might require you to catch the positive, which means going out of your way to really find something positive to make a call about. If that student has exhibited a lot of challenges, go find a positive, and here's a bit of a script you can follow. So introduce yourself.
Speaker 1:Hey, ms Brown, I'm Claire James' English teacher, free for a quick chat. I know that James has had some challenges this year, but I really wanted to touch base about something that I noticed today and that he can go and talk about. The positives you've caught. You can say you know that this year's been a bit of a challenge. You know that getting work out of James has been really tough and he does struggle to stay on task. But what I've seen of his work, the stuff that he did today, I can see how creative he is. I can see how insightful he is and I just can't wait to see more of it.
Speaker 1:You can do anything to catch the positive. Just say something positive to that parent and then ask them to let the child know that you've made contact. Ask them to let that student know. I would love it if you'd let James know his English teacher called. I know that it would give him a little bit boost. I know that it'd be nice for him to hear the good things that I've communicated to you and then open the lines of communication for the future. Do you have any questions for me? I'm always available. If you do, please feel free to contact me, call me, email me. This is going to be brilliant for the relationship with that parent and they're going to have so much more buy-in and be so much more on board when you have to make a call. That is not as nice, that's not as positive.
Speaker 1:If you do take on any of these challenges, I would love to hear about it. Send me a message on Instagram at theunteachables, which is where I hang out most. So go and make the call. It really should only take about three to five minutes, and that one investment could make a huge impact on the student that you're calling about. And remember something that I said a few episodes back behavior change doesn't happen overnight, but every single small action you take, it adds up. It has that compounding effect. So all you need to do is start with one positive thought, one moment of connection and one step toward changing the narrative. You can't control everything, but you can control those things, and I just want you to go in there and feel hopeful that things can change. Okay, enough on that. This is supposed to be a really quick episode, so I'm going to wrap it up and I will see you next week. Take care, teachers.
