What is #EduchatNQT?

I am so excited for this! I wrote a blog post recently about my ​first year of teaching and the rollercoaster that it was. It was one of the hardest times I have ever had but it turned out to be some the best learning and growth I have ever experienced. 

I think teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world and as someone who has wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old but during my first year I questioned on a regular basis was it the right profession for me. Many people, for one reason or another, ask themselves this question and decide it is not. This is a world wide thing and it pains me because education is one of the most important foundations in society and we need the amazing educators out there to stay ........

One of my biggest downfalls in my first year was isolating myself because I thought I was the only one going through the ups and downs and wanted to hide it but once I started to branch out and share what I was going through I started to realise that I had many people I could rely on. Like @DrRLofthouse says in her recent  blog post about #edumentoring it helped create 'Buoyancy'. 

So as part of my journey I've always wanted to  create a space where people feel safe and comfortable to put out their 'lonely' worries or feel open enough to ask their 'weird' questions and this is when I stumbled upon #edumentoring which is run by @HereToLearnED and @aaronaberry and it has been set up to make partnerships with those new to their teaching career and those with experience. 

I was paired up with @MissKBNQT and right from the get go we were bouncing ideas off each other, it was sometimes weird how similar our passions aligned one time even saying 'Are we the same person?' 

And this is when #EduchatNQT was born. We were talking about a variety of topics and Katie was looking at ways she could express herself an her journey which aligned with what I was looking for which was supporting teachers in their early years to build up their toolkits quickly by growing their tribe and realising that we can all support each other. 

So the #EduchatNQT twitter chat will be held biweekly on Sundays 9am in London and 8pm in New Zealand. It is so tricky to find a time that works for people especially when the two people hosting the chat live on opposite sides of the world!! But we will see how this goes and adapt if needed :) 

Our aim for the first chat is to ask some general questions to get some feedback from the conversations to see if there are any common themes coming out of the dialogue and then plan our next chats based on this. However, I believe that wellbeing and being accountable for yourself is a big part of the toolbox needed for teachers so this theme will be running through each week. 

One of the common themes coming out of many of my interviews for Empathetic Educators is that every voice matters and what you do with your voice is important. This chat is for everyone from those just starting their teacher training to those looking for jobs to start their teaching career to those who have been in the teaching profession for 40 year +. All of our insights matter and by sharing our experiences we can grow and develop together. 

Here are the dates for the upcoming sessions: 
17th May 2020 
31th May 2020 
14th June 2020
28th June 2020
12th July 2020 


Let us know if any questions, wondering, comments or ideas that you think will help make #EduchatNQT the most helpful
platform it can be. 


Also, if you feel like getting involved don't hesitate to get in contact with myself, @naomi_toland or @MissKBNQT. 

Look forward to seeing you as part of the #EduchatNQT Tribe!