🧵(1) Reflections from my talks yesterday:

The 'Thriving as an ECT' talk is very different when half the room aren't ECTs! However, every non-ECT really contributed. I'll be using some of the wisdom shared when I next deliver it. Here's a couple of bits... (2) Social media is a curse for ECTs. A point that resonated with me. We encourage networking in a cohort, & a community of practice to be developed, which are good things. However, when people are posting about promotions it can feel like being left behind.

Sunday Thread (1)
Dealing with parents can be challenging, & @MBDscience makes a great point - ECTs aren't explicitly taught what to do. Left to sink or swim isn't a great place to leave folk, so here's my advice on parental engagement:

https://twitter.com/MBDscience/status/1421606928250245123

(2) Parents (Ps) can have their own hang-ups from negative experiences at school. It is our job to repair this damage if we want to have effective relationships with them. Start by putting then on the same level as you.

1/n *Thread*
The British are a funny bunch. I live in an area that voted overwhelmingly for Brexit. An area that bought into the ideology of ‘making Britain great again’ & have heard how we* made it through two world wars. (*most of us didn’t...) 2/n I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard we will make Brexit a success through “the spirit of the blitz”. Yet, last night two key workers (Teacher & Midwife) had to play Ready Steady Cook whilst out shopping, because of the selfishness of others.

Thread: Warm/Strict is now being debated as not the right choice of words. People who wouldn’t describe themselves as this are dictating what I should now describe my practice as because “strict” has negative connotations! I *am* warm/strict - warm is first for a reason! 🙄 (1) Warm:Strict means I’m consistent. Students know where they stand with me. Maslow trumps everything - Narky kid P1? “Have you slept? Had breakfast?” - Have give cereal bars & a quick 5 min outside my room to scoff it. They know I’m there to look out for them.

*THREAD*: 1
I rarely talk about details of my military service, to the point where I know my OH will read this & say “I never knew that”. I really feel that with the sectarian nature between some in the Twitter-sphere that we need some perspective. 2: I’m skipping over the nuanced history here, but this is what I changed my outlook on life as someone who was a very angry young man.
Yugoslavia was an amazing country. Populated by 3 ethnic groups. They all lived together, side by side, & many inter-married.