Opportunity Makers
In October 2015, I made the fateful decision to quit my then school with no job to go to. That December, I wrote a little blog about why I was leaving which I published on my own little obscure blog.
At this time, I had a twitter account with a following of less than 500. I was very fortunate that Jon Severs came across the blog and asked if the TES could publish it. At the time, I remember being so excited at having something published! The original blog went viral – thousands clicked and read. It was then that I met Ed Dorrell – the content editor of the TES, who today announced his departure from the publication after more than 10 years of journalistic service.
When I first spoke to Ed in the January of 2016, he encouraged me to write another article for TES online. I had lots to say and my second blog was then published which again went viral. After this, Ed gave me the opportunity to write weekly for the TES. This was at a time I was technically unemployed, although just starting up my new business. Ed put a lot of faith in me, allowing me freedom to submit what I wanted and always giving me really positive and constructive feedback from an editorial perspective. We shared laughs when responses to articles were “mixed” and he was someone to turn to in those early blogging days for me when I was new to the hubbub of social media. We met at the BETT show that year and struck up a friendship. Since then, we’ve shared pints – including at the oldest pub in London (!?).
Ed and I - a sneaky selfie, Practical Pedagogies, France, 2016.