TAKE THE QUIZ
QUIZ: WHAT'S YOUR TEACHER PERSONALITY?

THE EMPATHETIC TEACHER

You’re the kind of teacher who leads with your heart. Compassionate, patient, and understanding, you create a classroom where students feel truly seen and heard.

You’ve probably been told you’re “too kind” or “not strict enough,” but you know deep down that your empathy is your strength. You might even struggle to balance your personal values with the school’s behaviour policies. Yet, despite any pressures to adopt a stricter, more punitive approach, you stay true to what feels right to you.

In a nutshell, you're the kind of teacher students will flock to  when they need somebody to chat to. That's pretty darn special, but can also take a heavy emotional toll.

 ______________

YOUR FAMOUS TEACHER PAIRING:

Erin Gruwell

Freedom Writers


You’re like Erin Gruwell from Freedom Writers—a teacher who sees beyond the behavior and deeply connects with their students. You’re the heart of your classroom, always on a mission to support your students in the best way you can. You understand that when students struggle, it’s often due to things outside their control. This compassion drives you to support even the most challenging of behaviors. Just remember to take care of you too! While your empathy is one of your greatest gifts, it can also lead to compassion fatigue if you don’t carve out time to recharge your own energy.

YOUR CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT SUPERPOWERS

  • You build strong, trusting relationships with students, making them feel safe and supported. Because of this, students buy into your approach and respect the boundaries you set.
  • Your patience and understanding—especially with students who struggle—create a space where they feel confident and comfortable being themselves.
  • Whether you realise it or not, your calming presence is a game-changer for managing classroom behaviours. You may have fewer issues simply because your students feel less stress and more stability in your environment.

 

THE STRUGGLES YOU MIGHT EXPERIENCE

  • Setting emotional boundaries can be tough when you care so much. You often find yourself thinking about your students' well-being even when you’re off the clock.
  • You’re the teacher students turn to when they need someone to trust. While it’s amazing that you’re that person for them, it can also put you at risk of secondary trauma. Recognizing the signs and seeking support for yourself is key.
  • You might find balancing your empathetic, compassionate and approachable side with the need to hold firm boundaries can be tricky. 

YOUR TOP TIP

Holding boundaries is just another way of showing you care, even though it might not always feel like it. You don’t even need to say anything! You can use your non-verbal communication as a way to craft your teaching person to be one that is more credible when needed, without losing your beautiful nature in the process. Holding yourself with credibility looks like practicing stillness, standing up tall and straight, pausing, and using your proximity and gaze to de-escalate challenging behaviours. 

YOUR TOP TIP

Holding boundaries is just another way of showing you care, even though it might not always feel like it. You don’t even need to say anything! You can use your non-verbal communication as a way to craft your teaching person to be one that is more credible when needed, without losing your beautiful nature in the process. Holding yourself with credibility looks like practicing stillness, standing up tall and straight, pausing, and using your proximity and gaze to de-escalate challenging behaviours. 

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR YOU AS AN EMPATHETIC TEACHER


Set some clear boundaries between your work time and your home time. Your kind and giving nature can sometimes be taken advantage of, and lead to extra work being piled on. This makes it incredibly important for you to actively protect your well-being. Create a small daily routine to help you decompress after the day and remind yourself to switch off from the emotional weight of the classroom.

SOME TAILORED SUPPORT FOR THE EMPATHETIC TYPE:

THE UNTEACHABLES PODCAST EPISODE #10:

Cruel to be kind? Striking the balance between addressing behaviours and maintaining relationships.

Listen now
THE UNTEACHABLES PODCAST EPISODE #59:

Struggle with boundaries as a teacher? This one sentence will change absolutely everything about how you see them, and hold them.

Listen now
 YOUR MANTRA:

"I deserve a flipping break!"

LOOKING FOR DEEPER SUPPORT?

THE LOW LEVEL BEHAVIOUR BOOTCAMP

Strengthen Your Teaching Presence, Tackle Low-Level Behaviours.

My wonderful empathetic teacher, this is all about turning the strengths you already have into your classroom management superpower. The best thing? It works with your personality, not against it. Through nailing your non-verbals, you will be able to work on your credible side, without sacrificing your relationships or approachability.

MORE INFO & ENROL

HI, TEACHER FRIEND! I'M CLAIRE.

 

Yes, I am an experienced Secondary English teacher, leader, mentor, author, and all the things in classroom management.

But real life me is also a toddler Mumma, a true-crime buff, an ocean lover, a potato fiend, and a wife.

I am more than a teacher, and so are you. That's why I created this quiz. You deserve SO more than cookie cutter strategies that don't work for you, that don't respect the wonderful individual you are, that don't mesh with your unique set of strengths. 

So yes, if you work with me in any capacity you will get the training and mentorship that I pour my whole heart into, and pride myself on being the flipping best out there. But it is so much more than that. It must be.

It starts by you being supported, validated and understood as the incredible, passionate, whole human being that you are. 

Blimey, this work is tough. But together, we are tougher. I am so happy that you're here.