#bbcInterview2 @MrETeacher92


-          First tell us about yourself. (Keep it clean)

A teacher(ish) with the face of a 12 year old but the bones of a 70 year old. (How I've not been caught by the police is a miracle).

Living in sunny Chesterfield (Chez-Vegas to the locals) and working in Mansfield, I divide my time between school, annoying people on twitter and pretending I'm immersing myself in gaming. Actually, just immersing myself in gaming. There's certainly no pretending about a 12 hour shift on Fm20

-          That’s more real than real life.

-          1. Why teaching? What would you be if you weren’t a teacher?

Because when I was growing up there was no such thing as 'professional gamer' that I could aspire to.

I always flitted between 2 different aspirations: lawyer and teacher.

Lawyer because my dad always banged on about how much money they made and teacher because of my school experience. I loved primary school and thought I'd love to go back as a teacher.  At secondary school I didn't have the best of times. Some bullying and some teachers that didn't inspire or motivate me meant I left wanting to do a better job for children like me.  The teachers that were amazing (such as my form tutor Mr Brown) only convinced me further that teaching was for me.

It was actually my Religious Studies teacher (Mr Lawrenson) who helped me to finally make up my mind. He told me that I was too cheery and happy to be a lawyer and that all the people he knew who went into law ended up miserable.  So from Year 10 I decided on teaching.  Looking back, he probably knew I'd never get the straight A*s needed and wanted to let me down gently.

The primary vs secondary debate was over quite quickly. I usually say that I chose primary because I didn't like the idea of teaching one subject 4 times a day for the rest of my life. The reality is that I was petrified of being picked on by the bigger kids in Y11!



If I left teaching now I'd probably have to stay in education somehow.

My last role was a lead practitioner across an academy Trust - sort of like a consulting role. I really enjoyed it but missed being at the chalk face too much.  Might give something similar another go in the future. After all, @SwailesRuth makes it look like fun!



-          2. What advice would you give for newcomers to twitter?

For me, Twitter needs to be a positive place. A bit of escapism where I can have a laugh, a moan, a rant or (on rare occasion) a serious discussion about education.

For that to work, its not about numbers of followers or how many people are in my 'network', it works because the people in my network are generally amazing.  It's like a carefully crafted team. I know who I can go to for specific advice or I can put something out there publicly and get appropriate challenge and support.



-          That describes my experience of it as well.

-          3. Besides Football Manager, what are your passions?

Football manager…

I used to manage the school football team too, so football manager in real life...  That consumed so much of my time actually. I had so many notebooks full of different tactical set ups and set piece routines. We were doing the 'love train' corner long before Southgate got hold of it!

Oh and Sheffield United of course



-          4. What has been your favourite ever lesson?

I'm not sure how to pick a favourite lesson.

I can recall some fun, Alfie Wickers-inspired Class Wars when learning about the Romans.

My favourite subject to teach is probably PSHE. Especially when it comes to lessons regarding stereotypes. I like how impactful 'big reveals' can be.

-          5. Who should play you in the film of your life?

-          I have a few suggestions.

I'd love to hear them

Adam Driver has the emotional range required to play me - in other words he can mirror my tantrums quite well.

Zac Efron would probably be the best fit in terms of likeness.

-          Not sure about that one. If I was kind, Adam Scott.

I'd be happy with Adam Scott. His youthful enthusiasm is a good fit

-          6. What is the best/worst teaching advice you’ve heard?

I can't really recall the specifics of the advice but recently I've gone to the likes of

@HYWEL_ROBERTS, @f33lthesun, @chrisdysonHT and @SwailesRuth for certain things.

Even people like @AnnisbrownJ, @Misterbodd and @MrS_Primary have come up with some useful nuggets of advice in between the usual nonsense.

-          7. If you were an inanimate object, what would you be?

I'd be a tessen.

Doesn't look like much but can be quite effective.

-          Read that as Tekken initially. But your choice makes more sense.

-          8. What's your most controversial opinion?

Video game music is better than 99% of what is in the charts right now. (the remaining 1% is Taylor Swift)

-          Is that controversial? You aren’t even trying.

I'm not a controversial person. I don't say anything that might upset someone else! And the metal gear solid 2 soundtrack is the best piece of music ever written.

-          9. Which 4 living people would you invite to dinner?

David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi and Benedict Cumberbatch.

I'd absolutely unleash the inner nerd. I'm spent this Easter break watching the rebooted Doctor Who's and just finished rewatching all the Sherlocks just before.

                - Inner?

- 10. What would you like to be remembered for?

I would be nice to be remembered as that guy who won the lottery 3 times.

Failing that, just being remembered is a positive.  On my grandad's headstone it reads "Did all he could for all who asked."

If I can get remotely close to that I'll have lived a great life!

-          That sounds like a good motto.

-          Finally….Who would you nominate for an interview?

I reckon @petercrouch would be a good one.

If you don't have the gravitas to bring him in then perhaps @MrS_Primary

-          I’ll take a punt on both. My money is on Crouchy. @MrS_Primary is too big for his boots.

Word on the street is that they both do a mean robot.

-          I’ll ask for evidence. 


-          What's this @misterbodd told me about magic tricks?


I have a very basic card trick that I used to use to get free drinks at university.

I shared an up skilled version of it with Bodders and Brett (@mrs_Primary) to try and wow them. The problem was I didn't have a deck of cards on me so I did an amazing trick for them but all imaginary... I told them I'd perform it live at Primary Rocks. So bloody glad it's been cancelled or I would have had to pull off a miracle.

- Livestream on Zoom?

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