The Positive Education Podcast With Ash Manuel

Episode #48 | Brett Salakas – Raw, Resilience, Recovery, and the Power of Educator Connections​

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In this powerful episode with Brett Salakas, we explore his remarkable journey from personal hardship to becoming one of the world’s most influential educators. Brett shares how authentic connection, purposeful technology, and embracing challenge can unlock true potential — for both students and teachers — while offering deep insights into wellbeing, leadership, and the future of education.

Key takeaways:

  • From Rock Bottom to Global Impact: Brett shares how losing everything — including his home, identity, and confidence — led him to rediscover his love for teaching. Living in a men’s shelter while acting as a school principal, he began tweeting from rock bottom, which became the foundation of the #aussieED movement.
  • The Power of Connection: #aussieED grew from one man tweeting alone to a 20,000-strong weekly education network. Brett shows how authentic connection and shared purpose can transform isolation into global influence.
  • Wellbeing Through Challenge: Using the metaphor of a rugby front rower and a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, Brett powerfully explains how challenge and discomfort are essential to developing true resilience — in both life and learning.
  • Tech as an Enabler of Potential: Brett shares the story of a student with autism who, thanks to voice-to-text tools, moved from struggling to write a sentence to earning a PhD in physics. It’s a clear example of how thoughtful use of tech can unlock potential and wellbeing.
  • World Exclusive Book Reveal: Brett announced his upcoming book, F-AI-ble — a collection of Aesop-style fables that explore complex AI-in-education issues in bite-sized, reflective stories designed for teachers and school leaders.
  • Wellbeing Meets Technology: From sentiment analysis to proactive interventions, Brett shares examples of how tech can support student mental health — but emphasises the importance of balance, context, and ethical use.
  • Global Lessons, Shared Struggles: Despite cultural and system differences, Brett highlights the universality of teaching challenges — and the importance of supporting each other as “brothers and sisters in the same trench.”
  • Call to Action: Brett invites educators doing innovative things to reach out — especially if they’re looking to amplify their impact through partnerships like HP’s Reinvent the Classroom initiative.

    • More About Brett

    Brett Salakas, the HP Education Ambassador, is an international keynote speaker, the best-selling author of ‘A MAMMOTH Lesson’, the founder of #aussieED (formerly the largest online network of teachers in Australia) and the co-founder of the ED Poets Society. He was identified by Linkedin as a TOP VOICE (top 1% worldwide) in K-12 Education. Brett was awarded with the NSWICTE and ISTE ‘Making ‘IT’ Happen award in 2024, was recently identified by the District Administration Leadership Institute as one of the top 100 most influential leaders in education globally (the only Australian named on the list) and was named the Most Influential Educator in Australia for 2024 by The Educator magazine.


    Website:     reinvent.hp.com/RTC-ANZ
    LInkedin: Brett Salakas
    Brett’s Book:     A MAMMOTH Lesson: Teaching in the Digital Age

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    The Positive Education Podcast With Ash ManuelBy Ash Manuel