Thread/ When I joined Edu Twitter it was a fine place, full of people sharing ideas and supporting each other. Some grand people helped me when I was was struggling on ITT and there’s been some lasting friendships.

Recently though it’s become more of a place to berate those who have ideas different to our own. A place where shouting the loudest seems to be the best thing to do.

Even people who claim to support the #BeKind stuff aren’t at times.

What we need to remember is that, as educators, we are all in this together. We all are trying to achieve the same thing, even if we go about it in different ways.

We don’t know everyone else’s context, can’t pick apart their thought processes so we really cannot sit in judgement of their decisions.

What we can do is question nicely, perhaps even in private, to get an idea of the thinking behind an idea.

We can also accept that fun has a place in education, particularly in primary. For without fun we become automatons, devoid of joy. Fun and education do not have to be exclusive, nor constant bedfellows.

It’s about knowing your crowd, playing their strengths and appreciating when to use the stick and when to use the carrot.

I take a lot from a lot of people on here, some of whom I’d normally suggest I’m diametrically opposed to. But there’s always a useful nugget in there.

So let’s make this place better, back to what it used to be. A place where challenge is accepted when done properly and respectfully.

Have I always got it right? No. But I’m trying to be better.

Maybe you can to...