#tmsheff10 . . . musings

Another excellent TeachMeet, made all the more special by it being on ‘home turf’ and another step forward in my Teachmeet experiences. Once again it’s energising to enjoy the passion of innovative educators who care deeply about the learning of their pupils; deeply enough to give up a few precious hours during a busy week to share their excitement with others. It’s sorely tempting at this point to celebrate the wealth of ideas the presenters provided us with by listing them individually; after all they deserve much credit for taking the time to prepare their presos and overcoming any stage fright (although the latter wasn’t the case for all … you know who I’m talking about Dr H.!). But there’s no point when you can watch and enjoy it all on the UStream archive. Or you can check out the summary @catherinelliott is producing.

I could tell you about all the resources our presenters guided us towards, but they’ll surface through the CLC blog shortly. (Or if you’re in a hurry to get stuck into some stuff, a million and one links from @Ideas_Factory should keep you busy for a while!

I could write about one of the most important aspects of the event being how you reinforce the ‘virtual’ connections forged in the Twittersphere with the opportunity to talk with and shake the hands of those you respect and from whom you learn.

I’m tempted to describe how I feel following a TeachMeet, but hey I’ve been there already! And here is some brief feedback from colleagues new to the profession and to TeachMeets.

Perhaps instead I can reflect on how this event was so different from those I’ve experienced before . . . though to be fair, they in turn were all quite, quite different from each other. For me this one was about new faces. New faces ‘on the stage’ and new faces in the audience. Some were faces new to the teaching profession, either undertaking their PGCE or in their NQT year, whilst others, though new to TeachMeets, were further on in their careers. It didn’t matter where on that continuum each person is located, they all shared a common enthusiasm. I’ve mused before on more than one occasion about how we spread that enthusiasm more widely and seek to enthuse an even broader church. #tmsheff10 went some way towards that. Perhaps it was the NQT focus? Perhaps we’re just so far off the beaten track … geographically speaking! I guess it doesn’t really matter how, only that the community becomes richer with each new connection made. So welcome to all who attended their first of what will hopefully be many returns to TeachMeets . . . perhaps as presenters next time?