Rockstar Teachers Podcast

Brian Williams

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How To
Updated Monthly

Tips, Tactics and Strategies from the nations most inspiring, creative and innovative educators & industry professionals to create positive, kind and empathetic school cultures. Each episode will leave you walking away with actionable steps you can take to immediately improve your school or classroom culture, decrease bullying and create a positive atmosphere.

Mar 31

EP. 014 | The Kindness Gamification Playbook With Gary Engels

Meet Your Host: Brian Williams Powered by: Think Kindness | SchoolCulture.org In this episode, host Brian Williams sits down with his longtime friend and fellow martial artist Gary Engels — founder of Leadership Academy in Woodruff, WI — to explore the power of Legacy Loops, a gamified habit-tracking app designed to build character, consistency, and confidence in students. From a daughter's Duolingo streak to 19,000 acts of kindness collected in two weeks, this episode is packed with actionable inspiration for educators ready to ignite lasting change in their classrooms. Gary Engels is the founder of Leadership Academy Martial Arts in Woodruff, Wisconsin — a school he built from the ground up over 20 years to serve 200+ students in a town of only 3,000 people. He is a Royce Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and 4th-degree Taekwondo Black Belt under Master Tom Callos. Gary gave a TEDx Talk on project-based leadership training and created Legacy Missions — a youth leadership platform built around micro-missions, streaks, and milestone achievements. Meet Gary: garyengels.com legacy-missions.com

23 min
Mar 25

EP. 013 | Why Teachers Are First Responders (& Should Make $300K) With Duncan Kirkwood

Powered By Think Kindness In this powerful conversation, host Brian Williams sits down with Duncan Kirkwood the Director of the Center for Resiliency at Villa Maria College. Duncan shares his journey from serving as a Master Resilience Trainer in the Army National Guard to becoming a nationally recognized speaker who empowers educators and students across the country. The discussion tackles the sobering reality that in 2012, more soldiers died by suicide than in combat, sparking Duncan's mission to teach mental toughness beyond the military. Duncan brings a military-tested resilience framework to schools, offering educators a powerful reframe: teachers are first responders whose work saves lives. Connect with Duncan: Website: DuncanKirkwood.comInstagram: @DuncanKirkwoodTikTok: @DuncanKirkwoodLinkedIn: Duncan KirkwoodSnapchat: @DuncanKirkwood Resources Mentioned Duncan's Book: Rerouting: Resilience Tools and Tactics by Duncan Kirkwood - Available on Amazon Music: "Goodbye Yesterday" by Elevation Rhythm ft. Gracie Binion - Duncan's personal hype song, a Christian rock/gospel anthem about living in the light of a new day. Released May 2024 from the album Victory Lap.

37 min
Feb 10

EP. 12 | Mastering Difficult Conversations in Education with Brenda Neckvatal

POWERED BY: Think Kindness / SchoolCulture.org In this powerful episode of the Rockstar Teacher Podcast, host Brian Williams sits down with leadership expert and three-time bestselling author Brenda Neckvatal to tackle one of the most challenging aspects of education: dealing with difficult people. Whether it's challenging students, demanding parents, or complicated coworker dynamics, Brenda delivers battle-tested strategies that educators can implement immediately. Brenda shares real-world stories from her 30+ years of experience working with Fortune 500 companies and over 1,000 leaders, revealing the difference between treating symptoms versus addressing root causes of conflict. From her famous "Help me understand" technique to the empowering "I'm the prize" mindset shift, this episode is packed with actionable wisdom that will transform how you approach difficult conversations and challenging personalities in your school environment. Learn why being "nice" might be sabotaging your boundaries, discover the power of commanding under pressure without wielding a heavy hand, and understand why you need to stop owning other people's baggage. This isn't just another inspirational talk—it's a practical toolkit for reclaiming control when difficult people threaten your success and well-being. Connect with Brenda: Website: https://brendaneckvatal.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neckvatal/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendaneckvatal/Books available at: https://brendaneckvatal.com (also on Amazon) Music Mentioned "Holy Ghost" by Sons of Sundays A high-energy Christian worship song with raw, authentic sound that Brenda credits as her current motivational anthem. The song features an old-fashioned feel recorded with a live, wooden ballroom aesthetic. Listen on major streaming platforms or download at: https://open.spotify.com/track/6iz66XKAS4xVSDAHRa77Bj?si=79a81142376446ba

41 min
02/04/2022

EP. 10 | Social Media and Tactics To Be Pro-Active

Let me guess - you've had more referrals to the office centered around 'Social Media' than anything else? Am I Right? Well today we get to interview Kim Karr - she started #ICANHELP in 2011 after seeing the destructive power of online negativity firsthand. An anonymous user created a simple, yet destructive Facebook page targeting a teacher at her school. Over the next two weeks, one thousand students followed the page, with many commenting and fueling the fire. One student finally stepped up and reported the page, ending the school-wide drama. Kim took action to ensure nothing like that would ever happen at her school again. She developed an online safety and positivity program and trained students to become Digital First Responders. A year later, a similar page popped up and targeted the same teacher, only this time, the students were ready. Not only did no one follow the page, but over thirty students took action and left positive comments supporting the teacher. The page was taken down within 24 hours, a positive ending made possible through student education and empowerment. Since Kim and her Co-Founder Matt Soeth officially launched the nonprofit in 2013, #ICANHELP has trained thousands of students to be Digital First Responders. We’re on a mission to empower students from around the world to use digital for good. CONNECT WITH KIM: Website Instagram Facebook CONNECT WITH THINK KINDNESS Website Instagram Facebook

38 min
12/24/2021

EP. 09 | Creating A Positive School Culture That Lasts For Years

With the new year - comes new opportunities. . . and Covid has also presented even more new opportunities create amazing, outstanding and long lasting positive student culture. In today's episode we bring on Jimmy Gleich, an award winning leadership advisor, teacher and is also the Vice-President of Think Kindness. WHAT YOU'LL GET OUT OF TODAY'S EPISODE Actionable Culture Building Ideas for your schoolTips and Tricks to get students and staff on boardDifferent approaches to evaluate your school culture. CONNECT WITH US: Website // ThinkKindness.org Instagram: @ThinkKindness Twitter: @thinkkindness

44 min
05/20/2021

EP: 08 | Building Amazing Student & Staff Culture

Meet Joe. He is a family man who learned about learning by being curious. Since childhood, he has always been motivated by challenging himself. Heck, he was 1 of 10 kids. . . one could say he was born into a challenge! But he discovered his love of learning in an outside-the-box way. School for him was too impersonal, routine, and disconnected from reality. He would run home after school and spend hours in his backyard canyon creating forts, designing go-karts, and taking thins apart. He discovered that learning is personal to the learner. He has been a part of ten different educational spaces - with roles from Instructional Assistant to Campus Principal - he has developed a deep passion for changing the way we "Do School" and ultimately Learning. States & School Districts can't 'buy' culture. Joe has mastered the art of creating amazing and dynamic school cultures and now, is working at Thrively to take his passions to the next level. CONNECT WITH JOE: Twitter LinkedIN: CHECK OUT THRIVELY

43 min
08/28/2020

EP. 07 How to inspire resilient students during covid-19

Many people are nervous about the uncertainty and adversity Covid-19 brings to the classroom. However, after interviewing JC Pohl of Teen Truth, you quickly realize that this pandemic also creates a "once in a life-time opportunity to teach resiliency amongst students" as JC put it. JC is has worked with over 1,200 schools across the United States. He is an award winning documentary producer, renown speaker, coach and author. He has worked with students, administrations and entire districts develop strategies to create positive school culture from the inside out. On today's episode we get to peak inside JC's mind for a dose of inspiration, reality check and motivation. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE FREE E-BOOK | Culture By Design School culture is the collective manifestation of the attitudes, outlooks, and behaviors of the entire student, administrative, and faculty body. It’s what gives a school its own unique feeling as you walk through the halls. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE SELF-DRIVEN CHILD A few years ago, Bill Stixrud and Ned Johnson started noticing the same problem from different angles: Even high-performing kids were coming to them acutely stressed and lacking motivation. Many complained they had no control over their lives. Some stumbled in high school or hit college and unraveled. Bill is a clinical neuropsychologist who helps kids gripped by anxiety or struggling to learn. Ned is a motivational coach who runs an elite tutoring service. Together they discovered that the best antidote to stress is to give kids more of a sense of control over their lives. But this doesn't mean giving up your authority as a parent. In this groundbreaking book they reveal how you can actively help your child to sculpt a brain that is resilient, and ready to take on new challenges. CLICK HERE MADE TO STICK In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that stick and explain ways to make ideas stickier, such as applying the human scale principle, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating curiosity gaps. Along the way, we discover that sticky messages of all kinds—from the infamous “kidney theft ring” hoax to a coach’s lessons on sportsmanship to a vision for a new product at Sony—draw their power from the same six traits. CLICK HERE

39 min
07/23/2020

How To Build A Resilient Staff Culture

If you took a polled your staff with the question, "Do you think next year will be easy?" . . . I would be willing to bet the resounding answer would be 'No'. The reasons would vary. From current economic status of the families, virtual learning, kids getting sick to the uncertainty of what the next week or month holds. Then if you asked the question, "Do you think we can still create a world-class teaching environment, regardless of the circumstances?". . . well, those answers may not all be the same. The goal of a leader is to prepare, inspire and support your team to weather any storm - even COVID-19. We all realize the uncertain times we are about to embark on, but how do you create a team that is confident, excited and prepared for any adversity that comes their way? That is what we explore in today's podcast. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE #1 Kindness Speech (link) ABOUT THINK KINDNESS Think Kindness (link) is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspire measurable acts of kindness in schools and communities around the world. Each year, the organization hosts a national kindness school tour, where schools take on a challenge to change the world, in just 15 Days!

24 min

Love the style and approach

03/31/2020

aprilinclass

Such a great approach and style to deliver amazing ideas for the classroom.

Tips, Tactics and Strategies from the nations most inspiring, creative and innovative educators & industry professionals to create positive, kind and empathetic school cultures. Each episode will leave you walking away with actionable steps you can take to immediately improve your school or classroom culture, decrease bullying and create a positive atmosphere.

Creator

Brian Williams
Years Active

2020 - 2026
Episodes

14
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© 2026 Rockstar Teachers Podcast
Show Website

Rockstar Teachers Podcast