Ep 93: Reading for Pleasure, Fining Bad Behaviour & 2025 Goals

0:00 Hello everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Teaching Repeat. My name is Dylan. And my name is Hayden. How are you doing, Hayden? Tired. I'm so tired. Very, very tired. I was actually just looking at us here thinking we look terrible. Good job it's a podcast and only if you're on Spotify could you look at the state of us or watch one of. Our wheels don't. Don't guys stop looking. Stop. But why are you so tired? Well, I think it's pretty obvious, isn't it, Dylan? We've got little children, yes. And it's been Christmas, yes. So it has been absolutely exhausting. I know you were saying earlier about your social battery is exhausted. I feel exactly the same. There's just something about going to your parents for Christmas and then somewhere else for Boxing Day, somewhere else the day after, You know, I think you even saw your friends. I didn't go that far. That's too much.

0:41 I'm not seeing friends and it's just absolutely exhausting being sociable. It sounds horrible, doesn't it? But it is. It's so knackering. My favourite part of that was where you pointed at me and said I'm not seeing friends whilst we sat here together in the podcast. Lovely. I didn't see you and I'm not seeing you right now. It's the podcast. You're not here. It's it's like, it's absolutely knackering. It's really weird though, because again, I don't know anyone out there with young, young children. I didn't know how it would go. Rory's fourteen months, nearly 15 months. And last year for Christmas, he was honestly a sack of potatoes. He he may as well have been one of the dolls or something, Like I meant nothing to him. And this year I was like, I wonder if he's obviously way more sentient now and kind of knows what's going on and can get around. And I wondered if he'd be excited. And he was so excited for his gifts and stuff. He was, he was like pointing like really wanted to open stuff and genuinely.

1:31 Did he like unwrapping? Yeah, he. Did he did unwrap stuff and like he came down and we, we got him a little chair and he sat in it and he was like laying down smiling. He was loving it. But so I was really happy about that. But the, the weird thing was we see, we saw our grandpa, his grandparents a lot. So my parents, Lauren's parents, and they kind of take over with Rory because that's their chance to give all the attention at once. It's all grandparents there for and at the time I was like oh this is cool I can just sit back and relax. But you don't realise how mentally exhausting like being around groups of people for like 3 days in a row is. And I completely crashed yesterday which was on the first day. We didn't do anything and I'm just so physically and mentally exhausted and it feels like I'm not done much and I feel quite bad saying it.

2:12 Do you know what I mean? Because I didn't. I really enjoyed it. It was nice being around family and friends and stuff, but obviously you weren't around friends. But I just felt, I don't know, it was really weird. Like I was completely done in yeah. Yeah, well, don't worry, you can go back to school soon, go out to work and have a break from all this exhaustion. Put your feet up over Christmas guys, your teachers get too much time off. So Oh my God, I need like another. Week. Yeah, too much time off. You're right. Absolutely right. It's exhausting. All this time off. Cut that from the podcast. Don't click that. I'll be using it. Yeah, someone, someone from the Daily Mail picked that up. Weak woke lefty teacher says they've got too much time off. OK. Oh, some sort of snow. What about?

2:52 What about river then? Yeah, it was so nice. She had such a good time. Last year's Christmas. I probably talked about it on the podcast. Last year was a complete disaster, complete disaster. Again, she was weeks old, and we just tried to do too much last year. It just didn't work. She spent the whole day screaming. Whereas this year, she absolutely loved it. She loved attention. She loved getting gifts. Well, I say she loved getting gifts. She absolutely loved the wrapping paper, the bits of card, the random bits of packaging. Like she loved those probably more than the gifts. Like the gifts got a little nod and she was like, whoa, yeah, what about this bit of card? Like, I can Chuck that, though, can't I? And go and get it. Like that's fun. So that was pretty funny just seeing her like how they they just don't care.

3:33 They don't see like value in things, do they? They don't look at that and go, oh, that's the expensive bit. So I'll enjoy it. They just think, well, that's fun. I don't care that that's also fun. That plastic dog that I got. But I tell you what, that bit of packaging came in is also really fun. Do you find that they that they like the best thing in the world is the most recent thing they've opened as well? Like we sat there and we opened loads of stuff and over Christmas Roy was spoiled and it was so nice and we're really grateful to everyone. And then like our friend Christmas we did yesterday. There's a bunch of kids now in our friends group, so we just did a Secret Santa for the kids. So we got drawn another child and someone bought for Rory just so the kids had something to open without having to buy for like 10 kids. And so Rory for his one, obviously, 'cause we're all mates as well. The parents, Yeah, like the gift Rory got was a golf set, like during them, one of them plastic golf sets. And it's perfect, like, perfect for my son. And he could do some golf within 20 minutes. The adults have broken the golf set because we tried to do some no kitchen.

4:30 But let's not forget about that. Most of the golf sets still intact. But Rory won't go anywhere now without dragging this golf set around with him. And he wants the golf set constantly. And it's like, it's really nice. It's a really nice gift, which is this little plastic like stick. Basically he's got. I'm like, oh, Rory, do you want any of the of the previous the truck things that we've got here, which is like big old truck thing. You can sit in your car. No, I want to hit the golf stick against my head repeatedly. Until you give him a new gift, that is the only thing he'll he'll enjoy. I just I just had visions there and if you and your mates doing secrets and through the kids and just like the office, you, you, you got someone like an iPod. You're like, Oh, golf set. What did you, what did you open your one? Open your one over there? Oh, who got them that iPod set?

5:13 Wow. I could show you how old you are. No one gets an iPod anymore, and if an iPod exists. IPods. Can you buy an iPod nowadays? Probably not. Buy a phone. God, that's terrible, isn't? It anyway, I've got a question to ask you. Did you over the Christmas festive period try and play a board game with your family? Sort of. Right. Go on. It wasn't a ball game. We played a game. Right. And how did it go? It was. Actually really fun. Did it go right? Yeah. I can't do it anymore. Why? I just can't. It's a running joke of my family. That do you mean you can't? Have you tried to explain the rules of a board game to more than six people sat around the Christmas table? Oh, did you listen to the other five times I asked you? And I'm just there like, please don't use my teacher voice. Please don't use my teacher voice. I'm like, what's the rule again? Like mate, you're worse than my 9 year olds. I can't do.

5:56 It I literally saw memes about that on Instagram of like the one one person in the family who just wishes everyone else listened to the rules and they're just sat there like hating life. I just, I'm like, Oh my God, they'll ask me. OK, Dylan, you're the teacher. You read the rules and you can explain the rules to us. OK, So I take it really seriously. I'm reading the rules. OK, I'm going to put this into like, there's like four or five sides of rules here. I'm just going to put it into a really nice compound message. I'm going to tell them. What? Can you spell that again? No, not really. What about this? I'm getting there. I've got there, yet I'm not doing it. Oh, God, That's the board games. Nope. Unless they're really simple. Nope. You missed the trick. That's what we did. Simple. We played a game, literally the best game we played, extremely simple, bunch of play dough and the game was you get 5 minutes. Can you eat the play dough?

6:36 You can eat the most play dough without firing up river one. No, it was like, plus you get 5 minutes and it's like a random picture generated on your phone and it's you just got you just it's the best person to like the best model of that thing when it's the window. Judge, was that who? Judges, we just picked between us, you all vote like who made the best things. It was the first one was like a duck. It was always making a duck out of place. It's just funny because obviously people, some people rush because they're trying to beat the timer and it looks hilariously bad. Some people go too slow. That's me or every time not finished. It's just pretty funny game. Easy to, easy to do, no rules. Yeah. Well done. Yeah, thanks. Well, when I'll catch up, we're gonna do a lot of talking today about reflecting on the year. This is the last episode of 2024. We're gonna talk about our goals for next year. There is something in the news.

7:19 I think we might spark a nice discussion after this little Jingle. We're going to play and then we're going to finish up with you've got a nice little royal oh of. Course I have, that's the best bit. That's the best bit. We're going to talk about some teacher nightmares, so let's play the Jingle and jump into this Tony Blair Institute in the news. What's going on? Let's find out, shall we? I've been reliably informed that it's not an institute, it's not the Tony Blair Institute. Actually, you know, there's a Tony Blair think tank. Sorry, sorry for that. Anyway, in the news, I, I really can't wait to hear what you think about this. Go on. So in the news there's, there's this article that's been published by the Guardian and they're talking about some findings from a think tank led by Tony Blair basically. And it's about education because, you know, Tony Blair is bigger than education.

8:05 How to solve it and how to crack down on it. And it's to do behaviour because behaviour in schools, I think we all accept it at least feels like it's got a lot worse. And there's a lot of reasons for that. But anyway, one of the solutions given by this think tank is so ministers should give teachers the power to fine parents if they do not engage with the school to tackle epidemic of bad behaviour. Oh so educators should have the same legal powers they have over non attendance? So you know you get fined for not attending? School. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they're saying we should expand that to compel parents to turn up to meetings with the school, agree an action plan for their child if they're really misbehaving, just basically spread that out a bit more to not just attendance.

8:47 But the argument here is, cool, OK, well, you're attending, but you're not paying any effort. You might as well not be in there. You're just disrupting other people. If anything, you being in school is actually worse for the other children and you're still not getting anything out of it because you are not trying your hardest. Your behaviour is terrible. So they should be put onto the parents then and fines should be kind of expanded to cover that as well. What's what's your initial? Take my gut reaction is is that I don't like it. I don't. Maybe we'll take a minute to explore why, but I did. That doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right. Yes, I do think there is a problem. I do think behaviour is getting worse. I think that maybe something drastic needs to happen, which is probably what they're going down here like that route of like we need drastic action to to fix this.

9:30 But I don't know why is it, Is it always money? Why is it? Yeah, I don't know. There's something, there's something about finding people in general that I've always found weird in culture. Like I've always maybe all my, my lefty wokey mates. I've always said like, oh, it does just affect poor people though really, Of course, doesn't it? It's like rich people don't care about fines, do they? I'm sick and tired of hearing fining as being the answer to everything. I was like are you insane? Do you know the reason we're in this mess is because probably a big part of it is the socio economic injustice in this country that we've got right now where the complete wealth inequality that we've got years and years of austerity. I'm not funding things is adequately and not having children develop in ways they should. They're ripping out of Surestar to support families who need it at the earliest points of the child's like lifetime where most we all agree most of this child's outcomes are already decided in the first few years. Oh, it's all right.

10:21 When they're 13 and misbehaving in school, we'll just find them some more because they're own fault. Yeah, that would stop. Them are we insane? It's not going to do anything. And you're completely right about finding, finding is it's completely, whatever you think about it. If a poor family on Universal Credit are getting fined the same amount as a rich family whose charged just a little nightmare as well, that's obviously going to completely like massively affect that poorer family much more in terms of just how much of their income they're being fined. What's £80? It's the same when rich families go on go on holiday 4 * a year. Or are we going to be fined again? OK. Yeah, makes no difference to me. Or like you've parked on those WS again in your Lamborghini. That Yeah, I don't care. It's a Lamborghini. I'll take the French and find to park where I want.

11:03 Thank you. And half the time I won't even get fined because no one will catch me. It's worth it. It's you. You. They they're more able to take the risks. Like it doesn't matter to them. Yeah. I'm just sick and tired of finding being any, like, ever being used as a way to try and control people. Because finding only tries to control poor people. That's the only way. Finding is only adequate if it's related to how much you earn. Yeah. So if if it's like OK, I think in some countries speeding tickets are like a percentage of. Your our country is to a certain level. Oh, really? Yeah, yeah, there are certain degrees of speeding tickets, like there's like the first level of ticket that's like standard for everyone. But after that, like if you're if you're speeding, fine is like really particularly bad. It is like a weak income. Wow, so you know a lot about speeding tickets? I don't know why I know anything about that. But yeah, look, but I think that's right. And I saw someone tried to defend it and say that's not right.

11:50 It just should be the the money you get is the punishment. No, I'm not getting. Completely wrong. No, the point of a fine, it's supposed to be a deterrent, right? And if it's not a deterrent because you've got loads of money, then it's that is pointless. It's not even court. It's not even doing anything. Exactly. So go even going back to it though, like I felt it was a bit click bait anyway, like giving teachers the power just like they have that I don't even have the power to fine for attendance. What you're talking about your head teacher does. I have nothing to do with it really. Like literally nothing to I don't think any teacher in this country is actually being like getting out that little fine book and issuing that fine to that parent. No, no, no teachers doing that anyway. It's just such an easy way for me to appease, like they're trying to appease the right People like to say that they're doing something. Yeah, we're going to find these people. Like you're just dog whistling. To those people who think everything is the individual's fault all of the time.

12:34 You're on bloody benefits and your kids are nightmare at school. Yeah, you should be fined. It's like, are you serious about actually tackling this problem or are you just trying to put up a facade? But yeah, we're the government and we're doing something. Absolutely. There's there's a certain group of let's say 60 plus white male, let's say sort of right wing and it just radish. There's a certain group of people that that would appeal to. I can't think of a single word. I can't summarise them. I don't know. I did. There's, you know. No. Anyway, whatever that group is. But it's true. They're the ones that, yeah, even put up on your bootstraps. Look, we're not saying it's a problem, but if you it's, it's like when we talked about the whole episode, we have to do with attendance. If you're really serious about fixing this issue, this is not going to do.

13:16 It goes deeper. That's that's true, isn't it? Go back and listen to that one. Don't know when it was about attendance. Find it good. Luckily, all three figures aided. It could be. It could be anywhere. I know, right? We're approaching episode 100. But yeah, anyway, a big part of this was, and the way this think tank kind of framed this was it would help retention and recruitment in teaching because it would give teachers the power to call things out earlier and sort it out because behaviour is a big issue with retention. Basically it's like, yeah, this would help that because it would help solve behaviour, therefore help with retention and recruitment. And I was like simultaneously it also said that it would be giving teachers more safeguarding responsibility and and able to call stuff out. It's like, oh, that's a weird framing. They've cracked it.

13:57 We've got much more responsibility again. Can you believe that? Do you know what teachers need more than anything Haidam? It's another role in their job that they have to complete and compile them and file and do and go for more. Responsible, more responsibility. I'll tell you what. Imagine Tony Blair. I don't know why. It's just Tony Blair now. Him sat there. Tony Blair. There's his think tank. It's just himself. Just Tony Blair. Just talking to someone, writing two buttons. The classic meme. 2 buttons. One says more money, more funding, less responsibility. The other one is more power. Teachers. What the teachers really want. I think it's more power. I think teachers want more power. That's it. They love teachers. Probably. And by power we mean workload. More stuff to do, yeah. Yeah, I don't know, a bit dumb, doesn't it? It's just. It's just.

14:37 I was talking about this the other day with Joe. Over Christmas. You talked. You've talked to people who aren't in your bubble, don't you? It's a big thing about Christmas. Your entire family, Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, people who aren't in teaching, but the, the, the interesting thing about teaching is everyone's been through the education system. So and, and I think it's a classic thing to say, oh, these days everything's worse. You are back in that day, everything's getting worse. Can you believe these kids these days? And I just remember talking, I was talking to a family, I was like, if we just actually think about it for a minute, especially in education for children specifically, things have got so much better, so much better. And like this was in the same conversation, by the way, where a family member was saying, oh, Can you believe kids? Are these there, blah, blah, blah. But in the same conversation, we talked about how they used to get whipped by the headteacher in headteachers office and thrown like board, like board was thrown at the head. And I was like, you just listen to what we're saying for a minute.

15:28 Like the biggest part of my job now as a teacher is safeguarding. I think that's why the event you've asked any teacher, what's the number one responsibility you've got to teachers to keeping children safe. That's the number one thing we're we're coming from a point where 4050 years ago teachers were allowed to hit literally not make themselves so so it beats them. It's like, Can you imagine these days like you have a bored rubber and whack it your head and then like reporting it yourself on my concern or. Something like writing it. Yeah. Yeah, yourself. The point is it's completely transformed as a job where children have got more safeguarding than ever, which is absolutely right. But where is the bulk of that responsibility and workload landed on? It's the teacher whose honestly whose job was just to teach mouse or just to teach English. And I'm not saying it shouldn't be the responsibility of the teacher to look for safeguarding and stuff, it absolutely should be.

16:16 But let's not pretend that A, it's as easy a job as it ever been or B, that it's getting worse for children. It's like, no, it's getting much better for children all the time. And the job is much harder than ever for a teacher. So if you're, if you're still trapped in the 70s of thinking, oh, bloody teachers come in. I remember my teachers smoking at the front and throwing and throwing a board at me and I just went home at 3:15 with all the kids and, and it's a completely different job now. And I think lots of people still have that in their head when they look at teachers. I've literally heard stories from teachers who still teach, but that taught 20-30 years ago who were like, yeah, at lunchtime. We used to just go down the pub. It was like a pub day once a week. We'd go and literally have like, alcohol. Yeah, I was like, that sounds mad. Yeah, And it just winds me up when, when, especially when teachers themselves will comment on stuff we post online and be like, it's always been hard, OK.

17:00 Yeah. Like, listen, I'm sure 30 years ago you had moments where you thought this is stressful, and I'm sure it was. Please don't compare it like it's. It's just apples and pears, isn't it? It's completely different. It's not the same job. It's not the same. I'm not even saying that from a as if like I will work 30 years ago. I'm saying that genuinely from having spoke to so many teachers who actually do just agree and say like, Oh yeah, this job is nothing like it was 20 years ago. Well, and the point was, having talked to these family members within 5 minutes of talking about it all, all of them are like, oh, yeah, I guess that's right. Yeah. Yeah. They just because people don't think about it more than 5 minutes because they don't have to. They're not involved in the education world. They just have their experiences. Yeah. And then they go, oh, yeah. No, I guess to be fair, yeah, I guess children are a lot safer now and teachers do have a lot more to do. Did.

17:43 You not have anyone in your family sort of age, 6012, white male who said I'll bring back the board brothers? Because I feel like if I had that conversation, there'll be at least someone in my family that'll be like, I'll bring it back. They'd ignore everything I said, yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, what do you do with those people? I don't. Know I usually you know what I've you know me. We're very similar in terms of we start a freaking podcast to do this, but like we'll argue with people and debate. I'll get really vexed and annoyed. I am starting starting. It's particularly with family now to just not care anymore. Yeah. Like I can't even be bothered to have the debate to the point where I'll even just like yeah, yeah, yeah. Like it almost sounds like I'm agreeing because I just I just think I just what's the plan not to be bothered? You change know that you're you know you're age 60 plus you're a white male and.

18:29 It means quite of a word for these people. I just, I don't know, it's just a group, isn't it? And I'm like, I'm just, I'm never going to change your mind. I'm you've reached a level of obnoxiousness if that's a word, and it's like it's I'm nothing. Do you said question here and then people listening who are like, yeah, do you feel like you're that the other way? What you can't change? My mind just like, well, I think this, yeah, if someone came along and really tried to say to you, look, well, no, no, I think fines are good because, yeah, I know they impact these people more, but that's the majority of the population. And yeah, it shouldn't impact them. There's always going to be some. What would you do instead? I mean, they've got to find people. How else are you going to fix this? What's the deterrent that you put rich blah, blah blah. Do do you feel like you're equally like, well, I've made-up my mind or? I don't think so.

19:10 I think, I think, I think it's the scale, isn't it? Maybe some things are a bit closer to that thing where I'm where I'm really, really confident in my arguments where I'm like, there's nothing that can that can argue this. But other things I think I'm quite open. Like I have a base opinion and maybe I'll spend 10 minutes thinking about it, but then someone else who's thought is written an essay about it could come along and I would absolutely respect their opinion. And they're like, well, you clearly know more. I think that's the difference, isn't it? When when it sounds, it does sound a bit obnoxious. But when you and I, as teachers who've done the job for 10 years, talk about what it's like to be a teacher, and someone who hasn't been in school for 45 years tries to reply as if they know as much as we do about the school, that's where I struggle with it because I'm just like, OK, how do you politely just say to someone you are just wrong, though?

19:55 But it's not it's not an opinion anymore. It's it's just wrong that kids aren't safer than it's just. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, particularly when it's just everyone's entitled to their. Opinion, but not really. When it's just wrong though, yeah, it's. Not really in the people if you're if you're forming your opinion from one source of media, that's what that's what I find it tricky. People that read loads and genuinely consume a lot of perspectives and things, I think have a really good, valid opinion, even though, even if they've not been in school for a long time. It's the people that it's like they only read one newspaper and watch one channel and they occasionally see an article about this thing and then they have a really strong opinion about how teachers should be doing their jobs. And I'm like, you don't really know any of the nuances though. You don't have anything about it really other than the propaganda that you have like sold. So I just find it tricky to have those conversations with people because I get so emotional. I just have to.

20:39 I think I've started to switch off as well. I mean, the podcast has helped in terms of this. Is this can be your advice to say or do you think it's completely? Separate no, I think it has helped a little bit, especially knowing that a lot of people, which I'm quite surprised that still like the bulk of people who message us and comment our stuff do generally agree. Oh, which is quite nice. And I feel like online that's not a thing. Like online all you do is get hate. Like genuinely look at anything else. You look open the comments on any video ever and the first top comment will be someone just disagreeing with whatever the video is. It's just, it's just the way we are. And I feel like we we do get that, but it's not as much as I thought. It's it's honestly 95% plus is positive. Which is cool. Genuinely. So yeah, it's nice. It's nice to feel like, do you know what this sounds so GB newsy what I'm about to say, because I've thought about saying this a few times in like, do you know when you're trying to get stuff across quick? Like if people come across the podcast online and stuff, I'm like, maybe maybe our listeners could help us. Like what would you, how would you summarise this podcast in like a sentence?

21:33 So people are like, Oh, I'll listen to that because so far it's just like primary school teachers, like I find it really hard to get across the fact we're quite laid back. We, we try and have a joke, but we talk about really serious stuff. I, I find that hard to get across to people who quickly on social media. Anyway, I thought to myself, Gemma, we, we say what people are thinking. And I was like, oh. God, oh God, oh. God, don't say that 'cause that's like the most Nigel Farage thing I've ever. He says what we're all thinking. I was like all. But that is what people tell us. People. Mesh doesn't go that's exactly what I was thinking and I'm scared to say that in my school because of XYZ. And how do I get that across without signing like a, a like right wing, like, yeah, we say, Oh yeah, then get it, buddy. Get. It and this podcast is sponsored by Reform. I'm not, I'm not doing it. They'll sue us. Don't even do that.

22:14 Yeah, honestly go. But yeah anyway, interesting. I I'm fed up of fines being a thing when when it comes to children's behaviours and stuff because I think money is the root cause and funding is the root cause of half of these problems. And I think it's so easy for people in charge to point the blame at individuals when they spent the last 15 years ripping apart any support they've got whatsoever. And I just don't really get what. I don't get what it would do anyway, like. It's meant to force to force. Parents to do something, that's what it's meant to be. Yeah, but they don't do you know what the problem is? They don't know what to do, I imagine, right. In most cases, right. They don't know what to do otherwise they do it. Yeah. It's it's just this horrible assumption, I think that the, the, the parents, they, they don't care or, or they do get, they just don't care enough. It's like, oh, if I had a bit of money, though, I would start caring about doing the right thing for my kids. And you know what?

23:00 That's really rude. Yeah. So as if, like you think every kid that's badly behaved has parents that just don't care about their behaviour. Probably not true. Really. Is it like, I don't know. I'm yeah, some cases, I'm sure, but there's gonna be tonnes of cases. But that's not the not the case. And taking money away from them isn't gonna do. Anything is this has has fines solved the the education? Sorry I can't even get my words out I'm so annoyed. Have fines solved the attendance crisis? No, that's. Not remotely, of course not, because it's not. That's not why kids aren't coming into school so mum can afford groceries that week, no. In America. I don't know. Anyway, very interesting. I'd love to hear what you guys think about how to try and solve the behavioural problem because I do think behaviour is a huge problem. I think it's a massive driver of why teachers are leaving the job in droves.

23:46 I think it's a huge issue that needs tackling. I think this is just a plaster on a open wound that barely covers it. It's like, it's like a plaster on an open wound but it's in the wrong place in your body. It's like, oh God, I've got a huge gash on my elbow. Do you want a plaster for your head? Not really really help. I love it. Should we talk about some more fun stuff? OK Hayden, so reflecting on 2024, we put together a list of our best of. So we've got a few categories, starting off with our best children's book of 2024. Doesn't have to be one that's been actually released this year, but our experience of reading it for the first time or coming across it. What's been your favourite children's book of 2024? It's an easy one, Dylan.

24:27 It's an easy one because I enjoyed this so much. It was the Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho Yen. It's I mean, you're going to know I love this. It's post apocalyptic. Oh right, one of those I loved post pocket I don't feel like. There's many children's books. Yeah, I know, I know. Right. And when I was reading it, I was like, oh, is this appropriate for kids? That was my first thought. And I was reading. I was like, yeah, it is actually. Because, like it, it's just, do you want me to tell you, like, a summary of the story? Yeah. So it follows a young boy who lives in a tower with his mum. His mum. Wait a minute, this boy's in the tower. Boy, isn't that the title is just so cryptic and and basically there's like the world is invaded by these like aliens. I think they're aliens. I don't really know, but they seem to have come from that space, paying attention to it. And I don't really, they say don't explore it, but they're like these strange plants that eat buildings and they decimate, they decimate London like the whole, the whole city just gets like just destroyed by these plants.

25:17 And he's in this like last remaining tower essentially. And it follows his story and his journey of survival with a, with a few other people in the tower who like, obviously there's nothing works anymore. They run out of water, run out of food and they have to try and escape. It's a really gripping narrative and I don't know, there's just it explores lots of themes as well, like his mum is suffering from mental health issues and that's like a like a secondary theme running for this book of this boy who has to fend for himself as independence. And it's just one of those things where I was like, when the kids are reading this, I love a book where some kids might relate to it, even even unlike a really deep person. Like my tower has been invaded by aliens. Oh my God, finally a book for me. Literally. But there's just something about like, I don't know, books that explore those bigger issues like mental health or or people who don't just have that perfect family life.

26:01 You know, there's so many kids don't don't grow up in that, that what's what's the nuclear family like? They don't grow up like that any like anymore. As if they ever. Did no. But what's great about modern literature, I think, is that you get a vast. Amount exactly whereas I feel like you didn't use our traditional stories are all very like oh it's. In the English countryside and we're going to explore the fields and Oh my gosh, we got lost in the Meadow. It's called the Meadow and the Hare. But mummy and daddy came and saved me and it's whereas this one's just not. It's just like, no, they're just a poor family. They live in a tower. His mum doesn't look after him. He's a boy. He's literally by himself. Shut up. It's a really, really good book. I I don't want to give away too much of the story, but I would urge people to read it could. I think, I think you've hit the nail on the head in terms of I think sometimes children are in situations at home where they don't even necessarily know what situation they're in. Does that make any sense?

26:48 Yeah, absolutely. There'll be a lot of children who have parents with mental health issues where the parents are doing the absolute best they can, trying to shield their children from all those issues and dramas and stuff, but it's still obviously in the background going to be shaping their life. And then the children will read a book like this. But it's like my mum. And and kind of relate to that character. Oh, yeah. I don't, I don't, I don't understand those struggles a little bit. And I was OK. This guy overcame them because of. So yeah, I do, especially for the age group because I'm year 6 and I don't think I'd recommend reading that lower. OK, yeah, I think it was quite mature. But I can see my year 6 is coping with it. And those kids at that point, it's like, that's when they start to notice differences, isn't it? That's when they start to go hang on a minute, my friends. My friend's life is very different to mine, actually. Like, what is normal? Am I normal? Is this right?

27:28 Like, you start to develop those anxieties. So I just think reading different perspectives is always great. Brilliant. Yeah. What about you, my one again? It's fun enough. It's the most recent book that I've read. It's The Wild Robot. It's been recently adapted into a DreamWorks film. It's on the Amazon Prime, I think. And that kind of piqued my interest because it got adapted from a children's book. And I said, OK, it's getting a lot of good reviews. So I haven't watched the film yet. I thought I'd read the book 1st. And it's an unbelievable book. Like it's so good. And I can see why people really, really like connected with it a little bit. Two things I wanted to say about it, really. The first one was, it got me excited. This is just like a practical thing really, because I'm gonna read it to my class in the new year, right? Because the chapters are honest.

28:10 They're all 1-2 or three pages long. Wow. The chapters are really short, quick. Something happens and it leads on to something else that's about to happen. Something happens, leads on to something else and it's the perfect book to read to your class because if you have two minutes or 10 minutes, you can read a chunk and stop And and you're not like halfway through a chapter. There's nothing more annoying than when there's like 20 page chapters. You're halfway through this really intense tech chat and you're just actually to have time. Kids, we've got to stop right now. This is really bite sized. It's really easy to read it. It like the story moves quickly because it's in those short chapters and basically it follows this robot living in this world, it's kind of futuristic world. Eventually you find out that there are robots everywhere. Post apocalyptic, No, not quite.

28:52 But the basically this robot, it's being transported on a cargo ship in in a crate. There's a big crash. All the robots like 495 out of 500 of them just get lost in the ocean. 5 crates are travelling towards the island. That's how it starts. And one by one, the crates get demolished. Like a wave hits them, a rock hits them, and there's just one left in the end. And this group of otters come up and accidentally activate this robot on this island. And this island is just full of wildlife. This is unbelievable descriptions of animals, of plants and wildlife. It's so, so good. And this robot basically awakens and learns the ways of the animals, learns their languages and adopts this goose. So basically the whole, the whole story is the accidentally kills a family of geese, right?

29:38 Climbing on the wall, there's a storm comes in and this family of geese die. And he finds an egg. And he protects this, She protects this egg. Ross, who's the robot and becomes the egg's mother, right? And the whole story is the goose grows up, goes on a migration this kind of, again, there's these things children can relate to really in terms of like, again, like a broken family. Like I'm not a traditional family. It's a robot. And and the goose. My dad's a robot, my mum's a goose. It's that thing that gets always. It's classic, isn't it? It's like I can relate to that to be honest with you. But you know these these moments of like the goose grows up and realises its mum is not the same as the mum can't fly or or. It's the metaphor, isn't it? Exactly. And then eventually the goose goes on a migration. Robots left there.

30:22 And as a parent, now that we're parents, you watch and you're like, Oh my, this is like the whole metaphor of like growing up. Basically the other perspective. And by the end I'm no spoilers or anything but like the the ending I can imagine especially in a film version Tear jacker. Yeah, yeah, tear jacker. Did it make you feel a bit welled up? Yeah, a little bit. You can kind of imagine what where it might be going and stuff. But the last third of the book, I couldn't put it down. Like it was so intense. I was like, Oh my God, I need something happens next. And that's what I want for my kids. A really good quality story. Amazing description all about wildlife. The way the author talks about these different animals and stuff is so good. What age range would you say? I would say you, I honestly think you could read that as a class, but you read it to like your year twos, your year three. What would? You say it's the best for. I'd say, I'd say best for year 3 for because because again, towards the end, not net, there's a little bit of violence, like tiny bit of violence. There's like kind of jeopardy almost at the end, but I think it's enough for any child to kind of handle. There's no goal or anything like that. It's not too mature.

31:16 It's not too mature at all. No, it's just like there's a there's a bit of danger towards the end. Willy Gal of it. Yeah, it's it's so good. So like read it. Like I'd recommend adults to read it as well as well as children. Yeah, I think it genuinely sounds really good. Good. OK next one it's kind of linked what's I'm going to start with mine if you don't mind. Favourite adults book? Now I I'm a bit interested to hear what you say about reading as an adult. I I try and read as much as possible. I I tend to enjoy non fiction books more. OK. So for me personally, if I think about the books I've read in 2024, 2 stand out for me and they're both to do with like professions and almost like explaining, do you know what? We want this. We talk about teaching and we're like, oh, the insides of teaching. I found I only read it this year. It's an older book by Adam Kay, who's an ex Doctor Who's become like a comedian and a writer and stuff since called This is going to Her.

32:06 And it's basically his published Diaries of his time training as a doctor, becoming a doctor, going through all that. It's amazing because it's hilarious. It's like it's tear jerking again. You realise you, you're, you're reading it. And it helped me as a teacher realise, oh, I'm not just a victim of this society. Everything's broken. OK, I understand that now. OK, Doctors, nurses, healthcare, you read it and you're like, how do you function? Like it being broken is normal for them? Can we talk about toxic schools and stuff? And some schools are good, some schools are bad. It's normal for a doctor. Completely broken. It's completely broken. And they're directly like dealing with people who are dying. Yeah, people who need help and they can't mentally taxing to the. Highest.

32:49 Levels I I, I don't know how he's come out of it with such a hilarious like, maybe that's coping. Mechanism. Yeah, literally. I'd recommend that for anyone. And the other one really quick is from Rory Stewart, who is again part of the arrested Politics podcast. We've spoken about a few times. He's an ex Tory MP, was a Tory MP through the whole of the coalition government. Austerity honestly should be like my arch nemesis, like someone like, oh I hate you for doing that. But he, again, just lifts the curtain on the entire system, how it's completely broken, horrible people who are completely incompetent rise to the top because just say the right thing, do the right thing, Don't care about outcomes for people at all. Like all the worst things you think of for certain politicians. He's like, yeah, that's absolutely right. That's absolutely right.

33:29 He talks about Liz Trust was his boss for a bit. He said she was the most incompetent boss he has ever had. Couldn't believe that she was in charge of just this small thing and she ended up being Prime Minister. He was like, and and again, I try and fight the fight and he does as well. Certain say, like some people are, they're in it for the right reasons, but some people aren't and those people do better and those people just cut. Because they just play the. Game. They just play the game. That's all that matters. To them, that is it. And I was like, wow, like it really lifts the lid on it. And honestly, you finished that again and you're like, there is no hope. There is no hope. The wrong people will prosper in this system and that's not going to change. And. What a good book to read I. Know it was. It was really interesting. Yeah. What about you? Did you read any? Well, I don't know. I don't know how.

34:10 This is something where I don't know if I want to say this. I've not read a book for me as an adult in 2024. I've not read one. I've not read a single book. I've read a few kids. Books week left. Woke teacher admits not reading. How can they be for our next generation? I can't even bloody read a book. The weak won't. Lefty beta male can't even read beta male. Is that I can't read? Yeah, that's it. I just haven't read a book. Maybe we can talk about it because I feel a bit. Married said that I'm jokes aside, yeah, yeah, I'm glad you said that because that would be who you're listening. I go. I also don't I. Just don't read. I just don't read. Why? Like I do enjoy the odd kids book, but but with the intention of yes, because I'm going to read it to my class. It's got like a function. I don't just sort of read it does that. Change at all when you read like the boy in the tower, do you think, oh, this? A little bit a little bit like I I did, I did then start looking on Kindle.

34:55 I was like, oh, other books are recommended that are quite similar. I might start reading one. I did open one. I read like the first chapter and I do intend on maybe getting around to it, but I just kind of haven't. Why then? Why? Because as as a teacher, how do you stand in front of your class and inspire your kids to read? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, genuine question, I know. When you struggle to do it yourself, do do you struggle with that? I struggle with that massively. Yeah, I really do, because I've never enjoyed reading for personal pleasure. So what about when someone says like the, this is the classic buzzword. I, you know, I, I like reading some books, but I don't like this when people are like, oh, reading for enjoyment and they kind of just say it and it's like, well, I can't force someone to enjoy. Yeah. Yeah, I was that kid. I absolutely hated reading.

35:36 I I got good at it when I was a kid. I got good enough like to, to be, you know, to do what I needed to do a comprehension test. Yeah, do a convention test and pass it. But do you know what? I'm going to break it down a little bit. I love reading with the kids. I'm not just saying I'm not pretending to like find a thing. I absolutely, it's like one of my favourite things. You just. Said you don't like reading, so I know. I know I love reading with the kids so much. I don't know what it is, but that is like, it's not even the same thing to me. That is me entertaining children with some with someone else's words. It's like watching a video, but me sat at home with spare time. I never, ever, ever think I'm just going to read a book. And I try to appear to my with my life where I've been like, come on, you need to get into reading like it's an adult thing. Grow up and you're a. Teacher, you know the importance. I know the importance of reading like I know it's a good thing to do, it's relaxing and all the perks of reading. But why?

36:23 Why do so? Why do we get the kids to read? Why are we so obsessed with the kids reading? It's because when they're older, they need to function in society to read. To enjoy reading, sure, but also to understand stuff. For example, when I'm reading, I'm understanding the insurance and outs then of the healthcare system, of the political system, and that's helping widen my understanding of something and grow in that kind of area. When you were in school and you were learning how to read and and reading books and stuff, when you got older, did you, did you ever, ever in your life enjoy it at all or was it always a means to an end? Fiction always a means to an end. So you would read it because you had to. Yeah, honestly, I don't think I've read a fiction book in my in my entire life for for pleasure. But you enjoy films you enjoy.

37:12 Yeah, I love other media. I love, I love, you know, I love watching videos, but I but you know, I've read a few non fiction books over the years because I've enjoyed like learning something from them. In the same way I'll enjoy watching YouTube. I'll I'll watch a 30 minute YouTube video about some random thing that I've never that I'll learn about this thing. But oh, that's how that's how pens are made in a factory. Brilliant. Glad I know that now, you know, for some reason, but when it comes to fishing, yeah, I just don't enjoy it unless there's a mean to an end, unless it's, oh, I can read this to my kids now. Like, I thoroughly enjoyed the Boy in the Tower. I I, I sat there reading for hours on end because I really enjoyed it. And I thought, oh, that's great. I'll never do that again. Though for some reason, I don't know, there's a little block. I actually after reading that, I was like, come on, I've always wanted to read the Silmarillium because I love Lord of the Rings. I love that whole fantasy like. Isn't that a children?

37:53 'S book The Silmarillium, yeah. Younger, I know, I know, the further back you go children's book become. Yeah, it's written like it's horrible. It's heavy read. Yeah, like I read the like maybe like 30-40 pages of it and I thought, and I just kind of got bored. I just got to know. I thought I'd, you know what I'd rather do? I'd rather go on YouTube and watch an hour video that summarises this whole book in a visual way. And I've always been like that. I've always someone's like that, you know that book you've read The Wild Robot. Yeah. To me, I'm like, there's a film of it, OK, I'll watch that because I'll, you know what? I'll get the same information, same metaphor. I understand everything from that book. I'll get it from that film. But there is something, there is something to be said because I still, I always have that gut instinct when I see those two things. My gut instinct still today is always, oh, I'll read that first. For example, Game of Thrones.

38:34 Yeah, I saw the first season that come out and I saw it was getting amazing reviews. And I was like, no, OK, I need to not watch it before I've read all the books. And then I read all the books and then I watched it. And the same with the Wild Robot. I saw there's a book, the Wild Robot, there's a, there's a show and it's getting films right. And it's getting really rave reviews. My gut instinct is always, oh, I, I need to read it first because there's just certain stuff you don't get from a film and, and a film is an adaptation of a book and you're kind of skipping a step there. I, I, I, I read it and I can guarantee if I watch the film, it'll be completely different to this whole world that I've imagined in my head. And I have ownership over that world almost like I, I can, I, I know what that robot's home looked like that they built. I know what Mr Beaver looks like who helped them. And he's got this character in my head. And, and that will be morphed as soon as I see the film. And for me, the enjoyment of reading is the imagination. Do you do you struggle with the imagination or is it literally just the mechanics of reading just bore you? I think it's not the imagination at all. I think I'm quite an imaginative amazing. I mean, I don't understand why you don't like, I know that's what I mean.

39:37 I've always been very creative. I really do like I love getting I love getting lost in my imagination, inventing all sorts of worlds. Like I literally right now I'm trying to write like a kids TV series from a friend of mine just for fun, because I love it, love getting lost in this and and that could even maybe become a book. And it sounds so ironic, like hypocritical rather me saying like, Oh, I could maybe write a kids book about this idea that I've got and having not not reading for pleasure myself. I don't know. I don't, I think I've always had a brain block. I don't really understand it. All I know is that there is like a, it's a very one, there's one mindset on reading. And I do feel like I'm totally out of the grain with that. Like when I did teach training, I remember so vividly being sat there in the hall of like 200 people and they were saying like, they look OK, put your hands up. If you've read more than 10 books this year, every single hand except mine went up.

40:23 And I was like. I mean, there's a lot of social pressure, probably. I bet a lot of them. Haven't maybe, but I bet a lot of them had as well. And then they were saying like OK you're basically said like they didn't actually say his words but they hinted at it. You're not going to be a very good primary school teacher unless you have read like 50 kids books at least. And I was thinking, I'm never going to read 50 kids books. I mean, I probably ironically have over 10 years now, I have actually ironically read loads of books with the kids and loads of things for lessons and like, you know, snippets of books, chapters, but all sorts of things. But never, never. Just my own pleasure. But I do think the framing of that is awful in terms of I don't like it when someone's like you won't be a good teacher if and something that's just like almost optional, like of course you can be a good teach without it.

41:05 However, I would I would flip it and say if you're well read, you will. You will be a better teacher. In English you'll be more natural. You'll be, yeah, you'll have more stuff to draw from when you're modelling writing. Of course you're going to be better at doing that. If you've read 50 books where writing of of like description is like, if you're trying to get a description out and put it out of your head, it's going to be formulaic, robotic, like me. That's how I feel when I do it sometimes. If you've read 15 kids books that year, for example, I, I could honestly at this point, OK, I'm going to, I'm going to describe these animals now, OK, I'm going to describe this Bieber. I'm keeping a Mr Bieber from the show. I, I now, because of this, because I've read that book and I've built that picture in my mind. I've got that hook. Not only am I, is my is my description going to be better? But I can also take from the book itself and remember these quotes of that, how it described the waves crashing against the side and outside of the Cliff and how the robot clinging onto the side and as the as the storm like raged on. I've got these hooks now and I think what it helps me to realise is if I'm a teacher and I and I see the benefit of that, I now understand the benefit of it with the children because the children are 1/4 of my age, don't have anywhere near the life experience as I do.

42:14 And I'm sat there going okay guys, can you invent this creature and describe it, please? Yeah, yeah, yeah, what on earth? Of course it's gonna. Be and I completely agree. Like I don't I don't. I actually think the best teaching I ever do in English is when we look at a book or a chunk of extractive text and we go, how did the author describe that? Should we copy it, guys? Yeah, yeah. Cool, cool. Let's try and let's try and write like that author. And you do that 15 times to different authors. And then you go, oh, by the way goes you're you've got loads of ways of writing now. Now, can you zoom in an independent bit of writing about this thing? Like, I think that's the best way of teaching writing. I don't, I'm not going to pretend that's not. But just, you know, it all boils back down to though. But for some reason I just don't personally sat at home. I just don't enjoy picking up a book and reading it. What?

42:55 Would you say to a teacher who said, guys, I just don't enjoy learning all this maths, why should I have to learn how to do these fractions so well? I don't care. I'd like listen, OK, I'll do it. When it comes to it, when it comes to the maths, they're saying, OK, I'll learn how to do it and I'll teach them it quick. But I don't care about the links and stuff between all these mathematical concepts and I don't care about the year free curriculum. I don't care. I don't know what they've learned beforehand. Look, I'm just going to teach them to round. I don't care. I don't care about counting intents as maths, these we'd be like, oh, but you kind of have to. Yeah, I just don't think that's a comparison. Why? I don't think it's a good comparison because I think all of those things that you said there, if you translated that to English, I think I'd do all those things. In in what way? It's like, I don't think any of those things are related to going home and then like picking up a maths book and learning.

43:35 About but I I think. Something unrelated like adults books, right? But but we we're also agreeing that the way you should teach English is different to how you should teach maths. So you should teach maths in a way where you have these links and stuff and you have this broad understanding of the curriculum in the same way you should teach English. And if you have these these links between different authors and this Broadway of understanding how to describe something, Yeah, I think you get that from putting the, you know, the the exposure to different authors and. Different. Yeah, it's true. I think I'm. Saying you're better. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree. I'm a better teacher now because over 10 years I have actually now read tonnes of children's books. I do think that does make me better, but I. Just think it's OK to say you're a better teacher if you do something. Likely to be. I don't even want to say better. I think you're likely to be better. I reckon there are some teachers that have read five times as many books as me who still I reckon I might teach English better than. Them sure, sure, OK, it's all probabilities and stuff. But I think I'm OK in saying that like I don't like saying you.

44:27 This is basically what what what you've just said is what I'm about to say. You will be better if you want to be a good teacher, unless I think that's stupid. I think that's not helpful, but I think it's OK to say that if you're well read, you will. You will likely be a better English teacher. Yeah, I think that's fine. Yeah. That's that's a completely acceptable statement in my opinion. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. I'm glad. I'm glad you brought that because I think I don't necessarily love reading. And I think you're just honestly, out of 10, I'm probably a three. You're probably a one. Yeah. So we're both really low on that scale. But do you know when we had that training recently and the person came in to teach us basically talking about writing in English and from a text and how to be inspired by a text to help with your writing and stuff. The reason I was blown away is the sheer ability of that person to hear an objective in English and understand something and go, oh, OK, I think this, this and this book would really be good for that.

45:16 Because in halfway through, halfway through that book, this person really explores tension. And halfway through that and halfway through this book, we've got 2 characters really disagreeing on something. And that conversation might be something your children can come from. And I was like, wow, you're unbelievable because you and I don't expect every teacher to be able to do that. But what that highlighted for me was how being well read and is massively. Better she was maximising that probability of the statement that we're saying this teacher because she's read every book ever for kids and and has also is also impassionate and interested in them. Max like honestly is a better English teacher than I could ever be. Yes, yes, yes, yes. It is as simple as that. But I think what I'm saying is what that's told me is there's a big gap between me and her, and I can fill that gap through reading.

46:00 When am I going to have the time to read all these books? That's a completely different conversation. I understand. I'm not saying. But there is a tangible link between reading more and being more likely to be good at teaching English. Absolutely, right? Absolutely. Let's move on to. Just last thing before we do, I think, just want to finish by saying I think English, I really have come to this conclusion over the years, is so much harder to teach than any other subject that I almost don't think it, that it has. It's justified being on the same level as, oh, we have this subject, this subject and this subject, yeah, we've got maths, we've got geography, we've got English. I'm like, no, no, no, you can't even call it something. English is so much more complex and hard to be good at teaching than those other things. Like totally different level. You could break it down. You've got maths, we've got we've got geography and we've got writing and we've got reading and we've got spell phonics and we've got spelling and we've got GPS, right?

46:49 It's just, it's yeah, you're absolutely right. Yeah, It's seven things in one. It's ridiculously hard, right? Continuing best of 2024, best podcast moment. I'm gonna jump straight in because I know what it is for me. It was getting on a call with Alistair Campbell. Oh my gosh, I loved it. I love chatting with him. His his job is to talk politics, talk, you know, current affairs. He's literally the Co host of the number one podcast in the country. It was like I finally got the Co host I wanted. It was it was amazing. I finally got someone. That was the joke, wasn't it? I wasn't there. I was on a school trip this one time. Yeah, I mean, I love that chat. And he's so knowledgeable that you could talk about anything and he'd be like, yeah, this, this and this. I just loved it. I was just in my element. Yeah.

47:30 Go back and listen episode something that's. Going to be a well prepared Aiden. Yeah, Alistair Campbell would have known exactly which episode it was. He would, he would have. I'm just not on his level of I don't read enough titles. I don't read enough titles to podcast my favourite podcast moment. I mean, it's a bit of cop out really, but it is just an amalgamation of moments over the year of seeing people interacting with us, commenting, getting in touch with us specifically, I guess about when we talk about the, quote, controversial topics, the stuff where we feel like, yeah, we are saying what needs to be said about like, you know, when people and sometimes people call us out and say we don't agree with you. But when we're talking about teacher martyrs and we're saying, hey, actually you're the problem to some people. And it's like, oh, well, you know, you're going against your own kind. So yeah, do you know what's teachers? Some of you are the problem, some of you are and we're calling out teacher martyrdom is not helping the profession. And when people then comment and and message us and be like, thank you so much, like I need it. I thought I was alone.

48:23 I needed to hear that someone else is going through this In my school, everyone's a teacher martyr and I feel like I'm just rubbish at this job. And actually it's quite refreshing to hear that this is not the case and there's loads of people around the country. Maybe I need to move schools. Maybe my school is toxic when we talk about those things where if you were caught in the star from talking about it, you actually might get in trouble. You might be nervous about it because you work in a toxic school and we're just sat here talking about it because because we can. People interacting with that and feeling justified in the way they feel make just makes me feel good. But it makes me want to keep doing this and it makes me want to keep talking about stuff where I'm like, is it a risk to talk about it for us personally? Maybe don't care though because it's helping loads, loads of teachers helping loads. Other people like, not think that they're terrible at this job because they work in a rubbish school, because.

49:05 They decided to put their child to bed instead of go to a dish. Yeah, yeah, like that. Yeah, exactly. You know, we talk about Ryan up Dylan and I'll do it again later. We just, we just, we'll just we see every week teachers in toxic situations where they genuinely don't know, like if they're right or wrong. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, all the people interacting with us. That's that's my favourite moments. I guess I added on to that is when, when people message to say their life has actively changed or improved because of something they listened on our podcast. I can't get my head around it. The one that always sticks to me is the, the, the mum who messaged us and said thank you so much. You gave me the confidence to, to, you know, put in my part time request. You explained that it's a right we all have. I wouldn't have never have done it before because I was worried that I would be seen as a weaker teacher.

49:47 I wanted a part time blah, blah, blah. And now I get an extra day for my kid and I, I just, Oh my God, I can't explain to you guys. Like that was enough to make me do this podcast for another year, honestly. Like like there's there's a family somewhere in this country where the kids getting their mum for an extra day a week because we sat down and said, yeah, of course XYZ. And that's insane to me. So thank you. Yeah, no, I love it. So yeah, lots of bit of a cop out answer, but no, I like it, you know, that's it. I like it anymore. Redefining moment, last one moment again at this time, teacher moment. So as a teacher in school, what was your moment? A bit of a cop out, all of it. No, I'm joking. I had a really nice moment fairly recently, I guess, but it just made me feel warm. It was Rivers 1st birthday in November and I'd like I didn't maybe I mentioned it at school once or twice, but I didn't go out of my way to be like, hey kids, it's my daughter's first birthday coming up and four of the kids came up to me that like the next morning after and just had all made cards for her. And I was like, Oh my God, that's just so sweet. And they'd all like really written really nice comments in there.

50:47 And I was just like that. This is just those little moments there. I don't know. It's just something about it isn't there. It's nothing to do with learning. It never is. If I think about it, those moments, it's very rarely actually where I'm like, oh, yeah, they just totally nailed semicolons, totally nailed it. I don't really care. Like it's great. But it's those moments. They they went out of their way because we've got such a nice relationship to be like, oh, let's go do this thing for Mrs Stevens for his git because he'll love that and it's nice. So that was my that that jumps to mind when I think of top moments. Did you did you say to them my child can't read? He's a pointless. I said oh thank you, I'll file these straight in the bin. No, I took them home and they sat downstairs. Somewhere beautiful somewhere. Yeah. What about you? Favourite. Do you have a favourite teacher moment? Obviously the same in terms of it's nothing to do with educational attainment whatsoever. So teacher moment, mine was end of year, end of year. So it like June, July of 2024, I got a card on my desk. I didn't see this child, but I got a card on my desk. For my daughter's first birthday. No at all.

51:45 And I opened it and I said, oh, that this would be nice from a child. And it was from a child who was leaving the school, so was in year 6, who I hadn't taught since they were in year 3, so 3 years ago. Saying thank you so much. You, you're my favourite teacher. You made me really calm because we're a Junior School. So year three, it was the first year that came. She was a bit anxious about it, a bit worried first man teacher, first boy teacher, but basically just saying thank you, had a gift in it and stuff. And just seeing that I've written note and the fact that she'd gone out of her way to say, oh, can we get a card for Mr. Price, please? I was a year three. I was a year 4 teacher who taught her in year 3. And she was leaving year 6. Like it was so easy for and I would never expect anything. And I wouldn't say it as a slight if they didn't do anything.

52:28 I was like, yeah, you're thinking of your, your next, whatever. That was so, so nice. And then we saw her and her dad at the recent Carol concert. And the dad made the point of coming up and talking and saw her catching up. She's near 7 now. And we had a whole conversation. And when it finished, the dad just said, turn around and said to this girl, so you happy now that we've seen the teachers you wanted to see? And she was like, yeah, yeah, that's fine. And she's like, Oh my God, she, she still just wanted to have that connection. I was like, that's why we teach. That's the best thing about teaching, building those bonds and love it. So impacting someone's life potentially forever. She'll probably remember you forever, genuinely. Like I still remember my favourite teacher and you, I'm sure you do as well. And that is nice. It's very nice.

53:09 Lovely, I love that. Well, thanks. I enjoyed our little best of 2024. I would make it better if we now did some goals for 2025, wouldn't it? Right, 2025, it's around the corner. We put together three goals that we want to keep to First one is to do with like our job as teachers. Yep. Second one to do with the children, because obviously that's the most important thing to do with our job. And the last one's going to be like a personal goal. So let's start with the actual functioning of our job. What's your goal for 2025? My goal? No more than one hour work at the weekend, OK each week. Yeah, good. How are you going to control that if you just have three hours of work you just gonna not do? It just not do it genuinely. Yeah, honestly, I'll think about it ahead, be a bit more organised maybe to think about it in the week.

53:50 I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna leave myself 3 hours of work this weekend. So you'd rather do more work in the week so. Yeah, do it in the week and you know what? And if I can spread it out, that make you know, if I do 2 hours one weekend, I gotta do 0 the next one. They can average out. OK, OK, cool. Nice one. That's my goal though. Brilliant. My 1:00 on that is quite similar actually mine is to. I really want to get more long term organised in terms of organising my free time better because you've spoken about before, you kind of don't plan anything for the time. It's like, well, I might have some planning that weekend or gosh, don't, I don't know, pick a weekend away because I might have this popping up. Get more organised long term so I don't get trapped at a weekend where actually I've actually got no work, but I didn't know I'd have no work. So you have to book nothing, book nothing and I've got nothing to. Do the next week and you've got 8 hours of stuff to do. Exactly that. So I want to be like no ahead of time.

54:31 Well, I've got this, this and this to do. Spread it out a little bit. Don't leave it till the last minute, or at least just know when I'm going to do it so that I can actually enjoy my free time. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, that sounds great. I think they're quite similar. We can We can hold each other accountable for. Those next one is more to do with like you know, day-to-day working with the children. What's your goal? It sounds a bit wishy washy, but just hear me out. Make the children leave school with a smile every every single day. OK. And. You're loving. It isn't it. I'm laughing because I'm going to say mine straight up. Go on. Strive for happiness with the children just as much as I strive for their attainment. It's just, it's funny because that is right. Yeah. Honestly, if I think about the kids, I don't care. The academic staff when nailing it, Yeah, like they're getting a good education.

55:15 I don't care anymore about it, but they're doing fine. Like they get so much school. What I want them to do is be happy. Yeah, seriously. And, and you know what, I can I'll think of something every day on reserve time if it takes 3 minutes to give them a Riddle for the end of the day because it's funny and it gets them thinking and they go out and say, oh man, I just got this Riddle for you, man. I got this Riddle for you because Miss Stevens just did it. I want, I want that. I don't want to go out being like, Oh yeah, I just had to. We were stressing because we had to get our bags at the last possible second because we had to finish writing this thing in our books. Like no, I don't want them to leave like that. It's like the wild robot. I'm going to read it to my class. Even if we read 1 chapter a day, there's no excuse. Yeah, it's like two or three pages. We won't. Obviously we'll read it much bigger than that, but absolutely. Finished geography lesson on latitude a little bit earlier. I guess so.

55:56 We teach that lesson 58 * a year, apparently, according to this podcast and rounding in math, that's all we teach. It's. My 48 hour of teaching latitude budget relations. Okay, last one, something a bit more personal than last goal 2025, what you got? Just book some fun things for school holidays similar to your first one. I get to the school holidays and and realise that I should have booked something for it a month ago because it's too late in the holiday to do it. Don't, don't, just don't. Just like slob out. Yeah, basically it's actually book ahead. So I'm going to really try at least two of the school holidays. I want to try and book something nice for us to do as a family or whatever. So that's my my little personal goal. Me, me, you and our children. Just me and you. Just me, you. Just me and you. My 1 is I I really I? I'm kind of worried.

56:38 I think we spoke about this increase my personal activity levels because, my gosh, when I was younger and you heard people say when you get into your 30s and you have a kid, it's so easy just to become stagnant. I was like, no, I do that. We always playing football and let's go play a bit. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Guys, honestly, it's a trap. You get to 30 and I could go a week without my heart rate getting above 75 beats per minute and it's it's objectively awful. I just want to increase. I'm not even going to put a number on it. I just want to increase my activity levels. Even if like we spoke with Charlie recently, the teachers health coach, even if I just instead of jumping in the car to go to Tesco, which is a 2 minute drive, I take the 10 minute walk. Honestly, just just do move a bit more. Yeah, definitely.

57:23 That's my goal. That's a great goal. That's something I'm also working on. I didn't use it as my thing because I want to do something else, but I'm very much on the same mindset. Because it's not being funny. You move less than me and I'm worried about it. So you. Must be devastated I move less than a snail. Do you know that that Riddle like you can get like a billion pounds bit of a snail touches you yeah yeah, just replace snail of Hayden, you know a billion pounds but if. Hayden touches you'll definitely win. Give me a billion. Give me a billion. Unless you're in this office, you're winning. Oh, this podcast studio. Sorry, not. Yeah, sorry, yeah, podcast, right, Not tied to the bedroom. Didn't. We're running out of time. OK, OK, we're getting to an hour now. I'm going to finish up with just one thing I've seen on the Internet to try and roll you up, or at least get you thinking.

58:03 How's that sound? All right, so I saw I saw this and I thought it's very interesting dynamic here and I'd love to see you in this situation because I think it'd be interesting to see you react. So someone said their head teacher, their office is in the staff room. A bit odd, but whatever their office, the headteachers office in the staff room and they've and they've always got the door open. So they're always just kind of in the staff room there listening. And I often listen to staff conversations during break times, during lunch times, like kind of purposely listening in and then pull staff up some things that comments that they've heard over things like things they've ever heard. Pull them up, embarrass staff, you know, in staff meetings, catch and say, I heard you saying this the other day. Just basically just a wigging on staff conversations in in the staff room. I don't know how to feel.

58:47 I don't know how to feel about it. How do you feel about that? I think teachers need, I think any workplace, you need to be able to talk to your colleagues about something that you wouldn't want your boss to hear. I don't think that means you're bad. I don't think that means that. I don't even think that work means the workplace is awful. No matter what you do, you've got to be realistic. Vent. There's going to be time to vent exactly that. Like no matter what, people could be doing the best job in the world and you could still want to vent about them. You know, it could still be annoying. The head could have made a fantastic decision for the overall, you know, outcomes of the school, which is well within directed time and doesn't put too much on the staff. And the staff will will always still find a way to complain about something. That's human nature. It's completely normal. I think it's just an awful precedent set. I, I think if you're doing that actively and putting people up about it afterwards, you're not providing staff with that safe space to talk about stuff and, and you're actively making people feel like they're treading on egg shells, just existing in that, in that workspace. Like what you're actually trying to get out of it. Are you trying to, you're not going to change someone's mind on what they think about something by forcing them to not say out loud.

59:53 So this only thing that's going to do is build resentment and worry. So what what I would say today is if you're in a building where your office has to be for whatever reason. In the staff room and you can hear what staff are saying either at break time and lunchtime. Don't sit in your office, go and find something else to do. Go on duty for a bit or something. Just get out of there and let the staff have the moment or close the door. Or do you know what? Even if you are there and listen, completely ignore it. Let them vent and never ever use it against them. Do you know what let let them say stuff, let them be annoyed. It's completely normal. And do you know what a a really good leader would hear? And 80% of the time they might say, I'm just going to ignore that they're just moaning. Yeah, whatever.

1:00:33 Or 20% of the time they might go. That's a really good point actually. OK, I'm going to think. I'm glad I've heard that perspective. But I'm not going to pull someone up and call them out for something you said in the staff room when you feel like you're in a safe space. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It depends what you're saying. Because I think there's certain things I've heard staff and people say before where I'm just like, that's probably a bit too far. You're being a bit personal. I've been a bit rude at this moment in time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If it's just like, oh God, have you seen the new marketing policy? Like I, I spent two hours yesterday. It's just ridiculous and it doesn't help the kids. It's ridiculous. That should not be pulled up on. No, if you're if you're a professional saying something's introduced that's increased my workload and I don't see an impact on the children, that's your professional opinion and should not be, you know, belittled or made to feel like you're you're stupid for. Especially when you're like you said, you're saying it. And what is your safe space where you don't feel like you have to be professional?

1:01:22 So just take it to your mate. Yeah, start from yeah, yeah. It's not what isn't it? The most liked response was don't say things that you're going to get pulled up on in front of your head then. Yeah. I mean, I mean, but I think this, I'm trying to get a balance here. I think that's, that's a good point though. Like if you're in your staff room and you know, your head teachers there, just have a bit of common sense, like go to your room with this, you know, if you have an event which everyone needs to have. Yeah, you're not an idiot. Yeah. It's 5050, isn't it? Because it's like equally the staff room is like the common safe space. So why is the head teacher in there? It's both parties could probably do something. There, the head can walk into the staff room. I don't mean there's a single like workplace in the country where the boss doesn't walk in on an awkward conversation everyone starts. Here's a good example of our head knowing that staffing a safe space and actively just being like, I'm just going to let them have a safe space when I'm not there to impact it. Every time we do it like a Christmas do or any kind of staff do, our head teacher always actively shows his face for a bit and then leaves quickly and has literally told me before it's like, yeah, because no one wants the head teacher, They just want to moan and vent out of school. So I'm going to go home and I'm like, I like that he know. He know he's a human being.

1:02:29 You know, if people are going to want to have a bit of a van and chat with their mates and catch up and not have the head teacher, their boss just breathing down the neck like, oh, what do you think about this? Oh, it's all great, actually. Thank you. I'm really enjoying this meal. Thanks for being here. Like, I just think that's really cool. It's quite easy to understand, isn't it? And just be like, yeah, obviously people like to defend. I think for that you just there's certain things you say that round me up and really annoy me. Yeah, that, that I'm just like, really. Like, do we really need a forum to tell you what to do in that situation? Like that's just, yeah, that is just like, that's just working as an adult in a workplace. Common sense and also head teacher maybe maybe shut your door. Yeah, that's what I. Mean maybe just give you stuff bit of privacy. Yeah. Or just leave the room. Do you mean let them have their 20 minutes? Yeah, yeah. Completely cool, didn't write you up very well this week. I'll try a bit harder.

1:03:13 Next time I'm gonna give that a three out of 10 for Ryla. 2 out of 10. Actually, I didn't really get wild at all, did I? No, you didn't. Two out of. Ten you didn't. Maybe you're just so chilled from. Christmas do better. Tired. Maybe. Tired. OK, a new Golf 2025 is annoyed Dylan a bit more on this podcast. Right, guys, we're gonna wrap that one up. That was the last episode of 2024, Hayden. We are really quickly approaching 100 episodes. I can't believe it. It's. Insane. It's insane. We're gonna be triple digits soon, Yeah. Make sure you follow us on Instagram. I guess that's the only thing we can say, yeah. Yeah, we still need some followers. You know what we need to make sure is our reviews always stay above the number of episodes that we've got. So on Spotify, on Apple podcast, wherever you're at, if you leave us a review, we would really, really appreciate it. Send us a message on Instagram at TTP podcast, Get in touch. We want to hear you Hayden's moment, singular of the year. What moments of you guys getting in touch? Which is really weird because he never actually looks at the messages himself.

1:04:02 He just waits for me to tell him about it. That's why it's a great moment. I only get the highlights. You just get one moment when I send all of them at once. Guys, thank you so much for listening. Hope you have an amazing new year and we'll see you in 2025. In the new year. Bye, guys.