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(Un)educated

My Life as a Teacher, and Why You Should Never Become One

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(Un)educated

By: Francis Foster
Narrated by: Francis Foster
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'Francis is doing for teaching what This is Going to Hurt did for medicine. Brutal, honest and laugh-out-loud funny.' Jimmy Carr

'A great subject covered by a guy unafraid to tell it like it is' Geoff Norcott

The class weren't laughing with me, they were laughing at me and there is no lonelier place for a comedian or teacher to be in. The lesson was over and everyone knew it. I looked down and realised that my flies were undone.

This is the reality of teaching.

Welcome to the reality of what it's really like to be a teacher - the pure, unvarnished truth of what it means to stand in front of a group of thirty kids and try and get them to do some work. It's not the inspirational vision you see in government ads; rather it's breaking up fights between warring East End grandmas, figuring out which student defecated in the sink, and dealing with prepubescent sociopaths intent on annihilating lessons week after week.

In brutal, hilarious and gory detail, comedian Francis Foster lifts the lid on the indignities, humiliations, rare triumphs and devastating blows he experienced as a teacher in some of the most notorious schools around the country. But so much more than a teacher's memoir, (Un)educated shines a light on the problems in the UK education system in uncompromising fashion, exposing how the most vulnerable children in society are being failed. And if you're not listening? Well, turns out it's not only your own time you're wasting.©2026 Francis Foster (P)2026 Little, Brown Book Group Limited Education Educators Neurodiversity Professionals & Academics Funny Witty Emotionally Gripping Inspiring Thought-Provoking
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All stars
Most relevant
I’ve been looking forward to this since Francis was on Geoff Norcott’s podcast. Absolutely brilliant!

Worth the wait

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Francis manages to write this book in a manner that speaks to any PGCE/potential teacher. Despite every challenge, tribulations and ill-behaved child, he captures the essence of the joy of teaching (if you can handle the hell that follows)

Unfortunately Inspirational

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As a Triggernometry fan for years, I found this a fascinating insight into Francis' backstory.

Entertaining and well narrated

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For a brief period of my life, during a transition to a new career that took longer than it probably should, I was reduced to working in a private school for a bit. The observations here matched with my own experiences and helped me see that period of my life much more clearly than I thought it would. Never saw Mr Foster live on stage - know him only via his appearances on Triggernometry podcast and his infamous honking of “when I was a teacher…”, so can’t confirm how he is as a comedian, but I did laugh heartily while listening to his recollections - especially the brownie story. I think we all make such a difference to many young people’s lives we encounter than we maybe realise, regardless whether or not we work in schools or not. My own personal encounter with the British school system ended after 1.5 years, but I would lie if I were to say some stories and encounters gathered there were not to stay with me for life - and I this is echoing the overall sentiment of the book. Highly recommend this book for some light-hearted laughs and a bit of deeper reflection about the educational systems as a whole. Perfect summer read/listen! 😊

Great little memoir and some good laughs along the way

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I like Francis on TRIGGERnometry so thought I would give his book a go. This is a fantastic book and I really enjoyed listening to his experiences as a teacher! Brilliantly funny and genuinely moving. Highly recommend!

Brilliant!

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