Welcome back to the insurance truth. I'm Cody from Scourge Mentor. I am sitting with Mr. Christian. Thank you, buddy Hey, Cody. Yeah, good to be here. Appreciate you being on man. Christian is from he's a final expense agent He's from Columbus, Ohio Hio Why'd you come down today? I came down because I'm always looking for education and nuggets as a final expense agent I'm always trying to improve my game Cody and I have we've you know I've been following Cody for some time had the opportunity to come down here and meet with him today and So we've gotten a lot of good things flushed out just some things that I'm doing this this You know this industry is all about numbers, but there's there's also a people side one thing I learned today is Taking time to listen, which is a hard thing to do when you're trying to build rapport and finding out that Why when you meet with people? Yep, and so that's pretty important What is as far as like as far as like selling final expense in Ohio, you know, you can we get a lot of new agents are like Hey, I knew I don't know what to do help me. You know, what would you say? You know, I mean when you're figuring it out It's cold Yeah, yeah, it's real cold, but and I say that tongue-in-cheek because You know in the northern states, I know I know a lot of the good producers You know you look at the weather.  Maybe it's not a secret, but maybe it's something you've done like you're like, okay These are some things that I've done in my business that have actually really that have really helped you Yeah, I you know for me I was just thinking about this the other day is I focus on okay. What am I doing right? Yeah? I don't focus on we all know what our weaknesses and it can be we know what we need to prove on but I learned a long time ago Being a former educator and when I helped vocational students With their jobs Purnish it programs. We always focused on Hey, what are you doing right? What do you like about this job? What would you say you do right?  I'm good at this, you know I enjoy sitting down with people. I enjoy talking with them. I enjoy their story I don't care what situation it is if I'm sitting on the edge of a couch on an edge of a chair or recline back I want them to be I Wanted to be a comfortable and pleasant situation because these are these are older people these are seniors and the big reason I got into this business is because Basically my mom didn't have coverage I got her coverage Cody was the first policy ever wrote and Actually wrote her a second one later when I could save her a little bit of money do what's affordable, right? And unfortunately she died unexpectedly eight months later So I know my reason why that's your why so when I look at the things I do right my why is a big part of that And you have to know your why so if you can figure that out why you're out here why you're helping people If that's what you want to do obviously you're gonna make money But you listen to the story and that's what I did right absolutely so as far as that was a great right That was awesome. Thanks as far as what would you say? Maybe you've done wrong or you're not great at or you've you've noticed Hey Christian from Ohio needs to improve it that I need I need lots of improvement, but we all we all do yeah, yeah I would say being consistent I've been in situations where I've had to do a lot of organizing With the different companies I've worked for a couple different companies and multiple companies at times You know depending on how you're set up as a final expense agent, right? There's a lot you can put on your plate. You just got to keep it very keep it very simple When I don't keep it very simple it becomes complex. I overthink things Myself gets in the way my head gets in the way my mind isn't right Why is that because it's it's tough to stay focused on what the task at hand and and and get out and work cuz yeah You work and you can tell I mean this this dude works this dude is impressive I've sat down with him and I've been impressed and I've taken away and learned more from our meeting than I guarantee you He did it's been good. It's been really good. I'm serious. Well, you know You gotta know you gotta know how to work this this business is It's simple, but honestly, it's not easy. That's a great way to put it simple, but not easy Wow, you just got to work at it and what you're not good at you do need to improve upon their their systems and processes with Whatever company whatever brokerage you're with You have to follow that Are you gonna be perfect? No, you got to work on improving that I can't came down here to meet with Cody that to improve upon some things and It is a game of numbers, but at the end it's really it's it's it's a it's a professional business That you have to get better at an education. You're always learning you always gonna be learning this business No matter what profession you're in especially ours because it's it's not easy exactly and said said said well from a Previous educator and teacher yourself. You know what and we're going out. We're educating the general public, right? We're helping them we're having that teacher's heart, right that teacher's mentality of helping building rapport building relationship I guarantee you that's something that you're great at face-to-face being genuine getting trust building rapport I guarantee you you're fantastic at it. Thanks, man. I you know, I just that's the easy part We're talking about working with people is I really care about them I may not know a whole lot and I think I'm not sure Einstein or somebody was a unknown author said people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care It really is the truth crushes dropping bombs on the issues truth, man. I love it. I like it, you know, and How else can you help like as an agent? Tell me one thing that was like a struggle for you and you're like, you know what as soon as I overcame that or I Fixed that or I or I took that struggle away That it really helped your business The big thing and I'll dial it down to a small thing the big thing is fear of failure. Okay, it's okay if you fail There's nothing wrong with it. Yep So one of the things that I was bad at still working on it In fact, I gotta get on the phone here as soon as I leave Cody Is the phone Setting up appointments. I've had people do it for me It's not near as good as when you do it because you get a lot of experience from it Whether you're new at this or you've been doing this a long time Because you may not have that appointment setter Accessible they might be out sick or you might not have one Yeah, and people really want to hear your voice that you're gonna sit down and meet with so I think the best setter Can be the person's actually gonna sit down with the person so for me It's picking up that phone making those dalleys putting down those the tally marks wire agents Maybe not always a hundred percent scared. Maybe it's just something we don't want to do We don't enjoy it. What is it about picking up the phone? And yeah, you can doorknock, but we need to be doing both What is it about picking up the phone? Outside of maybe the fear of it not working well for you or getting started for me I think it's the fear of the unknown And you know honestly once I get started and I get that first appointment Maybe even get that first no or two or I'm not interested or ten Yeah, I know it's gonna be that next one that's gonna say yes, and it's kind of like golf You make a good hole you keep coming back, but I think once you start you just pick up the phone and you start even if you're You're dialing Bogus dials, you know, you're calling that number two and three times just to put that tally down Whatever you got to do and I'm a big Star Wars fan Jedi mind trick your mind To pick up that phone you do whatever it takes and that's a lot of this business I love that, you know, whatever whatever it takes you got to find what works best for you And that's the reason I do this today with Cody is whatever I can share we all learn from each other Again constantly learning and I love this business. I love helping people This is my it shows, you know, this is my career. I want to get as good as I can with it I love it Christian. Thank you very much Truth for coming all the way to the office to hang out That's oh, I owe baby to get to I really enjoyed it. So thank you for the thank you for the mentorship the relationship the friendship Yeah, Cody getting to hang out getting to help some agents while you're down. Hope so. Yeah, so thank you Oh, thanks for watching your truth. If you got value from this, you know, like, you know what I love this Give us a like if you want to see more make sure you hit the subscribe button because we're gonna be dropping more I can't promise they'll always be as good as the interview with Christian, but I can promise you they'll be great Thanks for watching.  Appreciate you guys


Hello, everyone. Welcome to Oxmer Toyota. I'm Gabrielle, and I wanted to do a quick video on a new vehicle we just got. This one is the 2024 Toyota Corolla Cross, and this is the XLE trim. Now, for the XLE, and this vehicle is actually going to be the highest trim level. So, this one is going to have a lot of features that I'm going to go ahead and show you. In the front, you are going to have your LED headlights, your daylight running lights. You're going to have that really pretty black front grille. The exterior color on this is in celeste, so it is a really beautiful kind of sparkly. There's 18 inch alloy wheels, kind of that chrome and black mix. There's going to be roof rack rails. We are going to have our Corolla Cross badging right here. It looks really nice in that chrome. Then, coming towards the back, again, we're going to have the Corolla Cross. You can also have it in the bumper right here. Guys, when I look at this, it does remind me of the RAV4, just in a little bit smaller size. The price point is going to be a little bit better, too. This is also going to be really good on gas mileage. We're going to get around 32 combined. That is really great for a mid-size SUV. Going into the interior, it looks great. We're going to have the Macadamia Mocha Soft-Tax. We're going to have heated seating. There is going to be backup camera. We're going to have Apple CarPlay, Android Auto. There's going to be a sunroof. Then, we are going to have an 8-inch touchscreen. We're going to have six speakers. Then, we also have a wireless charger. All right, guys, let's go ahead in the second row. We are going to have a 60-40 split. We already have the 40-side sitting down. There is going to be a lot of room. I go ahead and push this up. We are going to have a lot of space for your passengers. We're also going to have some charging ports down there, as well. One more thing, guys. We are going to have all-weather floor liners throughout. Lastly, I did want to show that there is going to be a power lift gate. We can check out our space. We're also going to have that all-weather floor liner back here. It's a really good amount of space back here. We are going to have our privacy cover that we can just go ahead and put in. All right, guys. Thank you so much for watching. If you have any questions, feel free to let us know. All our contact info is listed right here. I'll see you all soon. Bye.


In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, the emergence occurs when the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, meaning the whole has properties its parts do not have. These properties come about because of interactions among the parts. Emergence plays a central role in theories of integrative levels and of complex systems. For instance, the phenomenon of life as studied in biology is an emergent property of chemistry, and psychological phenomena emerge from the neurobiological phenomena of living things. In philosophy, theories that emphasize emergent properties have been called emergentism. Almost all accounts of emergentism include a form of epistemic or ontological irreducibility to the lower levels. In philosophy, the emergence is often understood to be a claim about the etiology of a system's properties. An emergent property of a system, in this context, is one that is not a property of any component of that system, but is still a feature of the system as a whole. Nikolai Hartmann, one of the first modern philosophers to write on emergence, termed this category will know the new category.


How you guys welcome back to the channel. I have got a new type of video for us. So I did as good of a research as I could and come up with a list of what is this like 14 or 15 new sewing patterns just released in August. These are obviously all indie patterns. So we're going to take a look at these together. It's a little bit like a first impression video but not exactly because some of these I've seen on Instagram and you know seeing the pattern testers makes and all of that. The first one is the Somerset halter by stitch which patterns it's turning into fall and winter.  This is going to be great for you guys. It's a quick and easy hot weather make the perfect top for beach days and sun rays. The Somerset halter makes I'm sorry features a mock bikini bust that is attached at the side scenes. Mock bikini bust. Okay. The front bodice hem has a dropped curve in the center back is fastened with four buttons. The pattern is drafted on the B cup. Okay. And sizes 0 to 34 medium weight non stretch woven chambray linen twill printed cotton suiting and gingham. That's an interesting list of suggested fabrics. It is very very well fitted or closely fitted. So interested to see how fitting gets on for people with that. There's like barely any ease on her version and we only get this one picture. So that's all the info I have on it. Here's the line drawing. So once again I guess I would understand it being so close fitted if it were sure but these buttons in the back like how I genuinely don't understand how people button up the back of their garments. It is a very interesting concept. Certainly something unique and different that we don't see a lot. Yeah. I mean of course I wish there were more photos. Okay well this is certainly helpful. Yeah not as fitted but definitely still very close fitting but it looks pretty good. I mean yeah the buttons are pulling. That's what I expected. If it were me honestly I'd convert either the whole back panel or at least like a portion of the back panel shirring and then for go the buttons. Alright so that is stitch which patterns the Somerset halter new pattern released in August and I have listed all of these in the description box and then if you are a patron I have listed it with links so that you guys can easily find them. So head on over to my patreon to join there to get that list. Alright this is the Martha skirt from so la la. It looks to be kind of just like a elastic waist skirt. This is it. Yeah it's just an elastic waist skirt. Um worn high waisted here button plackets or the tiers. Again even those options are not exceptional. Great if you're a beginner sewist like if you're just starting out sewing this would be a good option. We're not going to look too much at all of this but yeah easy peasy elastic front skirt. I do wish oh it looks interesting. Okay so the way she's done it is she's pre-gathered the skirt and then attached the waistband on after that. Which feels like a lot of work am I right? Those of you that have made these before do you not just like turn down the top edge of your skirt top stitch it down and then insert the elastic into it or do you do it in two separate places like this too? Cause this one doesn't look gathered at all. This waistband. Where did the gatherers live on that one? Interesting. So probably some unique construction going on there. So that is the sew la la Martha skirt. So next we have what store is this? Sewing Makina. I'm pretty sure that's how you say that. Um it's the oversized Oscar sweater. So as you can see I'm going to get a description at all. Yeah Etsy's a little bit like the Wild Wild West when it comes to buying patterns. They're definitely not all pretty equal. This shop does seem to have like some really good reviews and lots of buyers. So I would feel comfortable recommending it. But here's the line drawing. You can see that it's got kind of like a front yoke with like a half zip mock neck drop shoulder. But also this second sleeve part is like a drop shoulder and you have this bicep area and then this sleeve area too. Also these princess seams and elastic at the wrist and the waist. Oh there's a little video of it. Cute. Very Gen Z right? Very boutique looking. Very like trendy. So I like her really thick elastic. I like that a little bit better to be honest. I really like this. Oh cute. Love the color blocking especially in this kind of like nylon type of fabric that's adorable. This has got to be like some kind of sweatshirting maybe. Lots of photos too. This is like a thinner lighter weight. So almost like a t-shirt version. Alright I kind of like Oscar a lot especially for $6.57. That's such a good deal. Okay next up is Iso Studios Dove Stone Dress. This is a versatile summer maxi slash knee length dress. It's fitted across the bust and it flows a little to the ground. Central slit and then the knee length does not have any slit. Okay here's our line drawing. So I think what's happening is it's just one flowy dress and then the oh the straps of the shoulder straps become the waist straps. Okay this is cool. This reminds me of the overalls. What is the name of the overalls? I can't remember the minor in like green like a kelly green. Oh I have the worst memory but you guys know what I'm talking about. Leave it in the comments below. It's a great great little jumpsuit pattern. But it reminds me of that because their straps become the thing in the jig too. But that one does have a waist seam. This one does not because I was even thinking the jumpsuit has a really low back. So you could probably just lower all of this. Like remove some length from the back and still keep these carriers there and then just do it a little bit lower. That could be really cute too. You wouldn't be able to get this crisscross design that way but alright that's really interesting and then of course in addition to these options you can also just like tack down the straps I would think right and then just have like a flowy dress. Or you could like tie them to where they come through the belt carriers but then just tie them right here. So there's no waist definition at all. Yeah like this. Oh or just like the halter duh. This is what I was suggesting. Okay dove stone. I like that one. Okay this is the dressmaker's closet. The dolly top is the cutest little top with lined yoke detail ruffle hem and two sleeve options. No fastenings. You just pull it on. So it's like a baby doll top. And then you add this little ruffle here. Set in sleeves with gathers at the wrist. Yeah not my personal style. I just don't see myself wearing this. Although I say that I don't know maybe I was going to say maybe a short sleeve version. I think maybe it's harder for me to tell because she's wearing them over skirts like just how she has them styled it's harder for me to see myself in them. I mean you can't go wrong with a baby doll look right. Yeah that already proportion wise looks better. I guess it's the crispness of the fabric. I really honestly don't even hate the pattern matching she did. Right. Can you see though because it's more fitted through here in this skirt I guess she's wearing. It just gives like some I don't know it makes her look like she has like an actual body under there. That's cute dolly top. Okay next we have the Raina ruffle dress from Studio Rosado. Wow okay this is the iconic this iconic ruffle dress features delicate spaghetti straps playful ruffles and flirty above the knee slit. Capturing early Y2K fashion. Wow that is really pretty this feels very like very high end looking very luxury to me. I mean she has it kind of a little bit styled down here like dressed down but I mean this could obviously be a showstopper like well that could be like a resort wedding dress. Like if you did a destination wedding somewhere I would look at the little rosette choker. I mean I wouldn't wear this to Target so I don't allow myself to buy things that I wouldn't also just wear to Target but man that is really pretty. You do have this version too where you leave off all the ruffles or I guess you could just leave on some and take off others. Maybe in like the right kind maybe the white is throwing me off but in like the right kind of rayon or something that had like a casual print on it. I don't know it is really pretty though right. So we're in euros here. Oh my gosh and euros and dollars are kind of almost the same right now. So less than 10 bucks for sure. Okay this is the Chanterelle pants and shorts from So Liberated. It is a little ease and a whole lot of fun to your wardrobe comfortable and easy to fit elastic waist wide leg barrel leg and short views. Ooh I do like the barrel leg. Chanterelle with any gap in your wardrobe. Alright alright let's take a look. So we've got shorts. Shorts seem a little fitted to me. Like a little maybe they're just small for her but look how tight they are on her thigh when she takes a step forward. Not so much here not so much here. I don't know. But here's the barrel leg. Look how cute that is. With a little clog or sandal obsessed. And then here's the full wide leg pants. Oh here we go so it's like a little slash pocket. Oh my god look at the set. Freaking adorable little set. Oh back patch pockets as well. Okay these are little far apart. Like this one needs to be way over here probably at this line. And same with this one moved over two or three lines. But yeah I don't know if the shorts take a narrower side seam. Something easy enough to play around with. They look pretty decent in the back. Yeah they just seem like a lot straighter right. This one flares out a little bit. Cute. Alright are we back to the beginning yet. Oh these pictures are really really sweet. Lots and lots and lots of pictures. Alright so what's the price point. Good grief $17. Man I don't know guys. I don't know I just I get it I get that you know so liberated is allowed and deserves to you know ask for as much money as they possibly want to for all the work that they put into these but man I have a hard time it's elastic waist pants. Okay here's Ellie and Mack. They come out with a baby tee. It's exactly what you think speaking of Y2K. Super close fitted knit stretchy doesn't have to be a crop top but they've obviously made a crop top version. It's just the fitted tee with the little short cap sleeve. You guys had a million of these 20 years ago and they are definitely back. The biggest thing here is oh they put them with the low rise they are leaning in. They are leaning into this trend my goodness. The biggest thing here is going to be finding fabric that has enough stretch but also still good recovery.  So all these people did a pretty good job with it. I think that Ellie and Mack mostly uses knits so all their testers are pretty well versed in how to use knits. You have this little ruched option. I have a tutorial on my page about how I took like a regular t-shirt and did this hack. So if you like that detail but don't want to buy a new pattern you can use this on any t-shirt. Crew neck, short sleeve, three-quarter sleeve, long sleeve and then also a scoop neck. Short crop length, long crop length and shirt length and then I don't know what a ruched crop length and then tank style. Oh sleeveless they mean. So yeah always always lots of options here. Here we go. All of those options. Full size range. Even all the way down to your teen sizing. So. All right. Next up we have. Thank you. This is the Jack t-shirt and blazer shirt from Notches Patterns. The possibilities of Jack are many from a comfy t-shirt to a stylish blazer shirt. With this set of sewing pattern parts you can make up a 24 different garments. T-shirt with jersey neck trim. Shirt with shoulder zipper. And also two. Sleeve lengths. Shirt with. Shirt with. Shirt with. Shirt with. Overlap and jersey neck trim. Shirt with overlap and shoulder zipper. Shirt with double overlap and shoulder zipper. Blazer shirt. I've never even heard of anything like this before. Much less seen it. And I'm assuming since all the little. Like croquis where men is this designed for men. I mean my guy would never wear this. But if I saw somebody wearing it. On the street I'd be like wow that guy is very stylish. I mean if you wanted to make it for a lady. I mean it's just kind of like a robe right. It's kind of giving like kimono robe. Love those pants too. It is interesting concept for sure. Blazer shirt. Never heard of such a thing. All right this is Lore PR. Forgive me if I'm not saying that correctly. 18 year old. 18 euros. Tulip trousers sewing pattern. Okay so. Trousers tailoring addition are full length pants with baggy like silhouette. The highlight is the four centimeter high waisted waistband. Four centimeter high waisted waistband. Okay. Tailor to flatter your figure. Adjustable hidden button elastic. Hidden button hole elastic. At the back allows for a customized fit and maximum comfort. Attention to fit is evident with two back darts. Front darts create a beautiful folded effect. The menace of a blooming tulip. Thin belt loops. Welp pocket. On the back side. Functional sightseeing pockets. With stay pocket bags. The front darts create a beautiful folded effect. The menace of a blooming tulip. Thin belt loops. Welp pocket. With stay pocket bags. Easy dressing with a front zipper closure. Finish fly. Shield facing invisible button and a discreet hook and eye. Wow. Okay. Allows for fabric scrap utilization. Particularly for pocket accents. Interesting. Okay. This button thing is throwing me off. So let's see if we can't figure out what she means by that. So you have your. Extra wide waistband. This is the folded over pleat situation. It is really beautiful. It does look like a tulip. Wide leg. That's the welp pocket in the back. And even though it is a high waisted pant. It doesn't look like diapers. It looks really nice and clean back there. Love that. Sightseeing pockets. Here it is in a denim. Or a chambray. All right. It looks like a. Like some kind of suiting. Pretty. So I don't know what that means. Where did it again? Where did it go? Adjustable. Hidden. Buttonhole elastic at the back allows for customized fit. That makes me feel like. In here somewhere. Is some kind of. Button with a buttonhole. Or at least like a loop. But how is it hidden? I don't know. There needed to be a photo of that for sure. But really nice classic trousers. For around $20. Okay. This is designer stitch. She came out with the gasman. Woven dress. It's a little wrap dress with a little elastic sleeve. Some darting. A ruffled here. Pretty. High load hemline. Oh, they do a lot of photos. Designer stitch too. Yeah. Really pretty simple elegant. This is not revolutionary in terms of sewing patterns. But. Classic design for sure. Love a wrap dress. Looks great on every single body type. Lots of people here using. Sheer sleeves. Yep. Cute. You can't go wrong. All right. Now we have the so love patterns. Kaya dress and top. So it's a center front seam. Like pencil dress. Post fitted spaghetti straps. There's some darting. First little pattern top. Mini dress or midi dress. There's option to make the dresses with or without elastic at the waist. And the midi dress has a front slit. Simple v-neck and the front and the back. And it's finished with partial lining. There's a central seam at both the front and the back. This is probably designed for color blocking. That's all they're gonna let us do in terms of. I'm gonna make it big. I can't make it big. Okay. So you can as you can see play around with different stripes utilizing this center front seam. Spaghetti straps. That's the same fabric in different color ways. Here's the elastic that they were talking about. You can add if you want. Or belt it. I think that's the back with her. Yeah. So a little funky on the fitting through the hip on her. But this feels. I don't know what the word is. Like couldn't I just. Drag this myself. I mean it is free. Free for the first month of release. So. I don't know how much longer we have on that. All right. So love. And then we have Lydia Naomi. The Lulu frock. This is cute. It's like the. Like a play on the baby T right. But just lengthened into a dress a little bit of flair. Rounded square neckline cap sleeves. Lined cap sleeves. Built in bra. And no waist seam. Built in bra. Good for her. Okay. Yeah. Super cute. Super simple. Throw on. Dress. Maybe a little on the short side for my taste. Let's see what everybody else is. Yeah. It could use a couple more inches depending on your height. Okay. Lots of helpful information here. Video tutorial. And then back to the beginning. So. They seems like they do a pretty good job of helping you navigate how to. Yeah. This is the only M. Pattern company. They're Florence PDF sewing pattern. So it is a. Dress with a little twisted bodice detail. Again, not. Anything new intern in the sewing world, but. Just another option. 14 sizes includes diagrams. How to blend sizes. Ideal pattern for intermediates. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Reviews instant download. Okay. Let's look at the photos. So sleeveless twisted top. Deep V. And then this pretty little. More like a delicate skirt than I've seen on some of the other versions. Like a little. What is it? It's not to look. The other one. Mermaid. I'm so bad at those things. There's the back. The back looks really great on her. Yeah. I was going to say something about this on the other, the red version. This feels a little. Not correct on either version. A little low on her. The other one was a little bit. Too wide through here. So check the arms side. You make this one. You're talking to your screens right now about not being able to wear a bra with it. Yeah, that's true. You can't and it's made evident whenever you have a full or busted woman. But I mean, I don't think it looks bad. But it's, I'm sure more of a comfort level than it is how it looks. Right. And I don't have a full chest. So I don't know. I don't know what that would feel like. But this is what I was talking about with the arms side. Just a little bit funky through here. Okay, so that's it. Those are all the new patterns for August. If I missed any, let me know. But that's going to do it for me today. Congratulations to all these designers for releasing these patterns last month. It is a huge feat that should not go unrecognized. And yeah, I'll see you all very soon. Bye.


More college football CLC host of Vermillion at home Saturday. Not a lot of offense in this one. Raiders go ahead, 17 yard. Antoine Acundo's field go in the second. The defense though stepped up for CLC. Adrian Jackson picks off Brion Jackson and takes it 95 yards of the house. The only Raiders touchdown of the game. Vermillion though made it interesting. Late in the fourth quarter, Jackson finds Derelco Meriti for the pitch and catch. 56 yards for the score. But CLC they hold them off 10-8. They're now 3-0 on the season. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.


canon. I'll ever n Poppy's is wros a teacher to get the most influential blog on education in the UK today I'm delighted to be joined by a highly used high is a former teacher studying for her doctorate and is deeply fascinated by mentor which I think is the focus of you doctorate Haley, am I correct? Sort of, yeah I mean I'm fascinated by a lot of things. That's my problem. Mogw erdwyd mewn gwahanol am yma'n allanoddau ac rwy'n meddwl gydag ystafell mewn gwahyd. Rwy'n ni'n ei ddweud, mae'n gweithio yn ddod yn ei ddweud. Rydyn ni'n gofynol peth gydag ymlaen i chi'n gweithio'r ffordd o'r ffordd i'r ysgol, i'r ddweud i chi'n gallu'n gweithio i chi'n gweithio i chi? Rydyn ni'n gweithio i chi, mae'n gweithio ar gyfer yma, iddyn ni'n gweithio i chi gydag ymlaen, So, rydw i'n amlwg yw y cyfnodd yng nghymru nesaf yng Nghymru. Nid yw'n gweithio'r bywysi'r ysgol yw'r cyfeirio. Rhaid i'n cael eu rhan o'r reiffa o'r cyfnodd o'r cyfnodd i'r gweithio yw'r cyfnodd yma yng nghymru. Rydw i'n credu yng Nghymru ar y mae'r ystafell ar 8 o'r gwrthod, ac yn fwy o'r hollidau. Rydw i'n credu ti'n credu. drwch, yma, hon. Mi'n gweld froch i chi ddechrau i chi gynnig yn dod i hynny ymweld 1989 yma. Felly, rydyn ni'n meddwl i'w ystafell, rydych chi'n ei ffordd sy'n gweld y peddwl y penderfyn, mae'n gallu gweithio'r ffordd. A rydyn ni'n dwi'n meddwl i gynnig ein morol, ac osai unrhyw ei ddweudio, ac yn dweud lle leiaf o'n gweithgredig ardano ymyrch chi'n meddwl. Onw'n weithio muntyll, ac eu gweld yr hynny'n meddwl i'n meddwl arlog mwyfynion? I signed up to train to teach, and 15 years later, and I've only just left the classroom this July, I had various different roles in a school, like most people who work in a school for 15 years. Middle leader, senior leader, looked after mentoring in schools, and teaching and learning, all sorts of different hats really, and I left in July, because increasingly after writing my books, Mae'n fawr i'n gwybod ychydig. Rydyn ni'n dod i'r gweithio yng Ngwunedd, a rydyn ni'n ddod i'r Gwlaethau, i'r gwahau i'r stafff, i'n ddiweddio gwrtho'r gwneud o'r drwsgwyl, ac yn ddod i'n trefio i'r labai o'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio, rydyn ni'n ddod i'n gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio. I leave in the classroom. I now am head of education at Iris Connect, which I adore. I get to do research and CPD all day. I love Iris. I'm a senior lecturer at the University of Sunderland as well, so I spearhead them entering alongside my doctorate and trying desperately to finish the two books that I have due to publishers. I'm writing all this down. I'm just right. I've nearly filled half the page. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I do a lot. Yeah, I don't sleep. So, I mean, I recognise that journey of like being passionate about your subject, school leader, helping other teachers, getting really into a particular topic, writing about it, publishing a book, which is a great opportunity in its own right. But then other people asking for you to come in and share your wisdom and then that being a battle because you're fixed at a full-time employment time to, and I guess over time that becomes a real challenge, doesn't it? What's your doctorate in then mentoring? It's a standard kind of doctorate in education, but I'm looking at teacher identity of experienced teachers. So, one of my great passions as an educationalist is experienced teachers. I think very often there's a lot of research, a lot of support put in for early career teachers, but us chips off the old block who've been around the block a few times, you know, we don't really get a look in. So, all three of the books that I've done are aimed at experienced practitioners and that is a real passion of mine. Right, so I'll come back to that because I'm very interested in that too. So, a question I always ask, you know, just to kind of get to know people is, could you describe your 16-year-old self for me and listeners, please? Oh, God. What do you like at school?  Didn't like authority, thought I was cleverer than the teachers, anarchist completely. Right. Yeah, and was not much different as a teacher, to be honest. Oh, okay. Did you get yourself in trouble? Sometimes, yeah, I learned to harness it, you know, as I got older and realised that actually no one practitioner is bigger than a school and I think that was a hard lesson that I had to learn, but I still don't like the rules.  Yeah, yeah, that's pretty cool, yeah. So, can I dig it a bit deeper? Where do you think that kind of energy comes from to have that kind of devil in you, Jean? My mother, I think. Okay. So, yeah, I mean, my mum, I had me when she was 16, very young, and I remember being at the school gates waiting for her on a daily basis at school as a very small child and her turning up with different hair colour pretty much every week. You know, she was a new romantic back in the 80s and she's always been somebody really who doesn't like to conform and likes to break stereotypes. So, I've got a question for you then, you know, if I think back to my, you know, my, one of my first NQT roles or early teacher roles in the 90s was in a Catholic school in Tottenham and at the time I wasn't wearing a tie and it was very traditional and all those like, and the deputy head used to always come once a week. Ross, have you thought about wearing a tie? All those types of things. Now, a tie in the grand scheme of things is low end to teachers with tattoos and piercings and God knows what else, that some schools may not advocate. So, my question is, what tips do you have for teachers who may not fit the traditional stereotype of that squeaky clean suit type appearance, you know, skirt and whatever else. I'm falling into stereotypes here. That traditional view of a teacher, people that don't fit that mould, what would be your advice? Find your home because there is one. You know, there's many, many, many heads, some of whom I connect with on Twitter on a daily basis, who actually see past the superficial things like that about teachers and they look at their pedagogy and the relationships and the difference that they make to students and I feel quite actually lucky. I don't whether that's the right word because it almost sounds like, you know, I've done something wrong by being alternative, but I do feel really lucky that I've worked for two heads, well, three actually in my career and all three of them, you know, I've never asked me to cover my dress very smart as a teacher every single day, but I don't wear suits. It's not me. It's not part of my personality and I think if you're not being your authentic self in a school, we spend so long there that you will be found out. Yeah, well, I think there's a good doctoral question here. What impact does wearing a tie have on educational outcomes? We're so fixated by outcomes, aren't we? I think we need to do some kind of control trial or something on it, maybe. So just, yeah, that's a good point. Yeah, you know, I know that some schools out there that it's a very rigid discipline with appearance, isn't it? Yeah. So just before we move forward, go back to kind of your career. Can you give us a kind of, you know, for people listening to this, maybe outside the UK, your career's been in the northwest of England? Yes, in teaching, yes, northwest, yeah. And then in secondary schools, English teaching, middle leader, senior leader, et cetera, et cetera. Yes, yeah, correct. Any particular highlights, you know, fond memories? Many. A lot of them in my, I worked with a particularly incredible head in my first school who retired when I left the school and, you know, just really being given opportunities to shine, to lead things quite early on in my career, and having that professional trust was really beneficial to me. I need somebody there who is going to give me the space to, you know, stretch my wings as well. Sure. And if I just talk about the reasons why you left, now I think I've got a kind of similar story. It's partly the workload from the other things that you're doing outside of your full-time employment, as well as, you know, as you develop a degree of expertise and we'll come to the experience teacher part in a moment, that you develop a degree of wisdom, you repeat it every year.  My question I want to ask is, were there any negative things that might have made you leave, for example, the workload or the pandemic, or was it all for great positive reasons? Because for me it was a bit of both. Yeah, I mean, that's a really good question. I think, like all teachers who were on the front line, so to speak, during the pandemic, it definitely changed my perspective on things like work-life balance. I think I've always been somebody who's been quite practical about work-life balance and realised that actually it doesn't exist in teaching. You know, we've essentially got to strive for a managed disequilibrium of sometimes, you know, family will come first, sometimes school will. And, you know, I'm lucky that my husband works in education, albeit in a university, so understands the demands that are on me. So there was a little bit of that, I suppose, but mostly it was the constraints in a school. I think schools are still run the way that they were, you know, 100 years ago. And I think there isn't the opportunities for experienced teachers who don't necessarily want to be on SLT than there should be. I think that's changing. I think with the ITT market review and the introduction of these lead mentor roles and other, you know, MPQLTD, for example, there are going to be those roles for experienced teachers who don't want to be SLT but want to be involved in teaching and learning and develop others. And sadly, I left at a time when that just isn't really, those roles don't really exist.  And, you know, that male ego, all those types of things just wasn't entertained. Okay, let's move forward. So when you took the jump, was it, I'm assuming that because you worked in another industry, it wasn't so scary. For me, I started teaching when I was 19. So it was all I ever knew. So it was a real scary leap of faith. What was that process like for you, making your resignation, going, you know, taking that leap full time? Yeah, I mean, it was scary a little bit because even though I've been a journalist before I was a teacher, you know, the vast majority of my working life now has been in the classroom. So it was a little bit scary. And I wondered whether I was, you know, the whole grass is always greener myth, you know, whether I was going to hate it. And, you know, I loved my colleagues that I worked with. My department was incredible. And, you know, I'm still very good friends with all of them. So yeah, it was just a massive, massive leap. And it's been a huge transition. I've actually found the transition to HE more difficult than I ever could have imagined that it would be to be quite honest. And what reason for that? Just the terminology, the way of working, the different level of rigor or? Yeah, lots of different reasons. I don't think it's the level of rigor, because I don't think things can be more rigorous than in a secondary school or a primary school, to be honest, without, you know, QA, et cetera. It's been more like, you know, in Pierre Bourdieu writes about the university, doesn't he? And like the academic kind of conventions that people live by. And I just felt like a fish out of water, I guess. You know, I didn't understand any of the acronyms, you know, and I work at distance as well, which I should add. So I work at the University of Sunderland and live on the Lancashire Yorkshire border. So it's even harder to do those things like turning somebody in an office and saying, what on earth is this acronym? I can't do that. So, you know, it's been, it's been a lot of different challenges. And I guess you also had a few feelers that you could take a leap of faith because of your books or people asking you to do speaking events. I guess those in the, you know, if people weren't asking you to do those things, you wouldn't know if you could take that. I guess the income leap, isn't it, to leave a regular salary. You know, before we came online, I suppose we'd just say it for the benefit of listeners that, you know, when you work for yourself, every pound matters, you have to work. And you said that you're working right up to Christmas Eve. It would be your only day off perhaps over the break. And, you know, the freedom comes with its challenges in a different respect, doesn't it? Yeah, absolutely. And then, you know, you're absolutely right. It had got to probably May. And I had, you know, 40 bookings or something that I was being asked to do. And I just thought I can't do this. So, I knew the appetite was there. I'm definitely not somebody who's going to rest on my laurels because I think, you know, that the bookings aren't going to last forever on this one book. To do this, you know, for me, it's from my fifth year or something like that now. But to do it at the start of a pandemic or in the middle of the pandemic, it's a real difficult one. And what lessons have you learned?  There'll be a lot of people who listen to this that are considering it or people that are already doing it and just want to bounce ideas because it can be quite a lonely business, quite solo, and there's a little network of us, I suppose. So, what have been the highs and lows so far in the last six months? I think the highs have been getting the chance to travel around the country and go into different schools and meet teachers from all different kind of levels of experience and to learn so much from them because I absolutely believe that when I come into a school, I'm not stood there as an expert. I'm stood there as somebody who has got an opinion about something and I've got a big enough gob to shout about it essentially. But I've learned so much from interactions with other colleagues, so that's definitely the highlight. I think that the points have been not having that day-to-day interaction with teenagers that I normally have. I've got my own teenager at home who actually goes to my old school that I left in July and he just grunts at me, so it's not quite the same. And also not having colleagues, so even though I have amazing colleagues at Iris Connect and at Sunderland, we're connecting on a digital basis and it's not quite the same. I wonder if there's an idea for us to think about creating a little network of education consultants of some kind because the ZESL teacher that I created years ago and there's other potential things. But I've thought for a while now that there needs to be a little network for us all to come together, share ideas, processes, protocols, ups and downs. Anyway, we'll part that one for now, but that's an idea. So the ups and downs, the usual things are through the pandemic. My next question is what kind of things have you been asked to do? All sorts. So from working kind of in a small collaborative group of four or five team members in a school, literally panning out their whole mentoring provision to going into schools and providing an academic lecture for year 11 students on Romeo and Juliet. So huge difference. Yeah, so I guess you've got that English expertise as well as your mentoring passion. Now, what kind of things have you learned from visiting lots of different institutions? You get that lovely radar to go and see different places and you see how some of your ideas work in some places. Some are well received, some go down like a lead balloon. What kind of things have you picked up? I think I've picked up that teachers are very tired and that, you know, when you go into a school, it's not about going in with this kind of panacea or if this is going to change your lives. It's about trying to make it relevant for their context and listening to what their needs are. I think, you know, Mark and Zoe ends his brilliant book about CPD spelled it out for me about how CPD needs to be tailored, it needs to be bespoke. And I think going in with a one size fits all and expecting everybody to just lap it up is not going to work. And I think I've learned over the last kind of three or four months of doing this that actually being questioned by people, having to win hearts and minds is actually part of the process. And I think, you know, I enjoy it now and I was scared of it when I first asked it. Yeah, well, it's like that. It's a one off supply day experience for you. You've got to build relationships very quickly, gain a bit of trust, get that feedback in the rooms. Pretty much what teachers do day in, day out, I suppose, but doing it as a one off gig is quite a big, big tough ask. So I want to switch to mentoring. Before I do, let's just quash or get some definitions. What's coaching? What's mentoring in your opinion? What's the difference? I knew you were going to ask me this. So traditionally, I think mentoring has been an expert or somebody more expert working with a novice, you know, guiding them. Then that will result as they become more experienced at becoming a reflective practitioner that will result in them being able to lead their own practice a little bit more. I think coaching for me is more about people who are more on of an equal footing. That might be in, you know, two colleagues working together where there is no hierarchy, where it's very much two people passing ideas, having that professional dialogue and giving suggestions and steering your own development. And you've written a couple of books on mentoring. So could you talk about maybe your first book, you know, what was the particular focus? Yes, so I mean, it's one book on mentoring at the moment. I've got another one due with Crown House after Christmas that I'm woefully behind on. But yes, so I wrote mentoring in schools and this came from my, I was asked by Professor Sam Twisselton to come to a DFE round table that she was looking at on the core content framework. And I just found it really interesting and my heart sang a little at the emphasis on how important and vital mentoring is for early career teachers. So I thought, do you know what, there's a book here. So I wrote the book and it's aligned to the early career framework. So it's very technical, it's very of the moment. And essentially it sets out, it's broken down into sort of behind each of the sections of the early career framework to the teacher standards. It's broken down to the research that underpins the framework. And then there's case studies. I did some qualitative research with about 100 new teachers that was online like this on the phone met some face to face. So it's got their experience in and then it's got practical strategies bridging the gap between that theory and practice of actually what mentors can do to go away and help. Nice. So like I said, a book very timely at the moment. And I guess that maybe I'm wrong. Did it form a large part of your work at the moment or at least your passion? Yeah, very much so. So the mentoring, obviously it's very, as you say, very timely, very topical. And a lot of what I'm being asked to come in in schools about is about mentoring. Some is about disadvantaged pupils. I come from a background of disadvantage and have written quite a lot about that in the press. And I also talk about teacher well being quite a lot as well of experienced teachers. Sure. And what about your preserving positivity book? Yes. Give people listening a summary. You talk about the mindset and have a positive attitude as a teacher employee. Is that the perspective? Yeah, essentially. I mean, it's a very honest book. I'm a very honest person.  And, you know, the whole point of preserving positivity is that it's told from the point of view of somebody who probably would have left four or five times because of particular toxic things that had happened in my career. And I did and I moved schools. I wrote it out. I found other things to fulfil me. And that's what it's about. Again, it's looking at the reasons why people leave the profession at case studies of practical things that have worked and tangible ways that people can make a difference. I mean, you know, this was written when I was in the classroom. I do feel a bit of a charlatan now I've left the classroom. However, I probably will go back to the classroom at some stage, but I just had to take this opportunity now. Yeah, sure.  And I remember often as a blogger, you know, a lot of people externally shouting lots of ideas and it's frustrating if you're on the front line or those types of things. And now I'm on the other side. I do try my best to support and challenge from the within, particularly during a pandemic. It's really tricky. Yes. But I kind of look back and hindsight some of my views are probably a bit narrow. And it's a personal thing more than anything that there are people outside of the classroom that can contribute and support schools. And like you said, as we said earlier, there's a whole industry of people working outside of full time school life that do a huge service to ensure school success. So, yeah, it's a very interesting point you make about, you know, how perhaps just moving to a different school can unleash your mojo again. Is that what happened to you? Yeah, I mean, I was being bullied actually, which I talk about in the book and I've written about in the press as well. I was being bullied by a member of SLT who was quite McEvellian.  So, you know, I had to move for my own self-preservation. What surprises me about education, you know, any sector I suppose, but within education where we work with children, there are people bullying colleagues in our skills and it's a sad indictment that, you know, we're human nature and these things will be evident everywhere. But, yeah, that's why I published a book called Toxic Skills with Dr Helen Woodley a few years ago now, just trying to lift the carpet on this toxic culture that exists in some schools. Could I ask one more question on that topic highly? Do you think it was an individual thing or do you think it was a cultural thing that was allowed to kind of breathe in that school or was it just an individual personality that took a dislike to you? It was an individual personality, but he did it to a lot of different people and actually it was accepted because that was just the way he was. And many people ended up leaving the school because of it and actually this person was asked to leave eventually. So, you know, but it took years. I mean, I dread it. Yeah, and a lot of casualties along the way. Okay, so then I guess we move on to that experience. You know, you've got that person's experience as a bully and then you've got your own experience and then we kind of move towards your doctorate research. So give us a little kind of synopsis as to why this has become your focus, you know, you know, doing it part-time at what institution, et cetera. Just give us a whistle-stop tour of where you're at. Yeah, so I met Glasgow, the University of Glasgow. I chose that because of its reputation, essentially. And I am in year four, so I'm supposed to be doing my dissertation as we speak. I've got about a year and a half left to do it. You're on a podcast for me instead of writing it. I'll be honest with you, Ross. I haven't really read anything since September. So, you know, changing careers completely. I've been doing myself. Honestly, like my supervisor is going to kill me the next time I see him. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. Yeah, I agree, like totally. I think the first three years at Glasgow were taught, so that was much easier because I had specific deadlines I had to work to, but now it's like, you're in year four. You're on your own. Good luck. Yeah, it's hard. I mean, I haven't been to Cambridge for two years physically since the pandemic, and it kills me to say it, but all the seminars and lectures have been virtual. I'm just not motivated to turn up to any of them because we're all zoomed out, I suppose. I think it's also a degree of independence when you're at that level. You've just got to crack on with it, so you check and we supervise, et cetera. I think also the pandemic for me, you know, working solo, chasing the pounds doesn't give you much time to focus on research, which is something that you do as a kind of byproduct or interest, et cetera. So, on that note, giving some tips because I know that I've been struggling with this personally. How have you narrowed your focus? Well, I knew that I wanted to do something about experienced teachers, and I really like the writing of Pierre Bourdieu, so particularly on kind of habitus and field rather than specifically kind of cultural capital, which seems to be a lot of what people talk about when it comes to the ideas behind Bourdieu, but obviously they're all enmeshed anyway, and I got the opportunity because of a global pandemic to look at experienced teacher identity through the COVID-19 pandemic. I just thought it was a really interesting dynamic that a lot of the things that we take for granted as teachers, like in the interaction with students, all of those things that are in the field of the school that are in our habitus as a teacher are now taken away, and I wanted to know what effects that had on experienced teachers understand. So, how do you define experience after a number of years of service or an age? Yeah, I think five years plus, because the DFE define early career teachers as before five years. Okay, so you're at a stage where you're kind of writing your final pitch, so to speak? No, I've done that. Yeah, I'm now on the literature review, and then I'll be putting my ethics. I'm not laughing. I'm not laughing. Yeah, next year is ethics in January, and then studying in summer, probably. Right, well, you're a bit ahead of me, because I've really struggled to narrow it down, but I think I'm on the theme of corpus linguistics, which is large bodies of text. Yeah, it's new territory. I'm not a social scientist, I'm a DT teacher, but I've now got a focus of corpus linguistics, looking at the sentiment analysis of the text. So there's a great paper published last year by Dr Sam Sims and Christian Bocov. I think I tweeted it about a month ago. They gathered the text mining language of 17,000 Oxford reports, which was fascinating, but you may have seen on my Twitter feed where I've been putting little social network maps. So my plan is, and this is the challenge to narrow it, is when Ofsted publish a blog or a document, what's the corpus linguistics aspects of it, but what's the sentiment analysis, and then when people talk about it online, what are they saying, how does that conversation spread? That's so interesting. And what I'm really fascinated is what does Hailey or Ross say on Twitter about this publication that later leads to a change in policy or an Ofsted later announcement. So it's a tricky one to unpick, but I'm confident I've observed it on Twitter for myself for the last 15 years or so, so I'd like to put it on paper, but that's my current challenge and focus. So yeah, it's really interesting. So I know it's early days for you, but what are the kind of things that are emerging from the things that you're unpicking? I think that a lot of experienced teachers missed those informal chats with colleagues, because those in themselves are a form of teacher development. So, you know, I remember from my own experience, if I was teaching a text, I might stop a colleague while we're having a brew in the staff room and say, how are you approaching this particular aspect of this, you know, or what about this student, or how would you do this? You know, it's all of those things. I think as well, the identity of putting your smart clothes on every day, of coming to school, of acting out this role as a role model really around students and not having that and instead those boundaries being broken and students being able to see into your homes, to meet your pets, you know, to have children in the background. And I think those professional boundaries that we put up as a teacher because of that standard one about setting my expectations, you know, I think those were broken and a lot of experienced teachers who'd been in the classroom for a long time found that quite difficult to deal with. I know that I battled with the real Ross and the teacher Ross at school. And as you get a bit older, you get a bit more comfortable about being yourself and you can get a bit more covered about letting people into your personal circumstances. And I think that when you become a school leader, it comes a bit harder because you have to also, although there's not any clear written rules, there is over time that comes a bit of a clear separation between the general staff body and the leadership team. And that's also an interesting dynamic. So the experienced teachers have you broken this down into, you know, the kind of middle leaders and school leaders so you can get a sense of different bits of data. Yes, I intend to, yes. So when I put my proposal in, that was one of the things that I intended because I think, as you say, having experienced being a senior leader myself, one of the things I found the hardest to deal with actually was going into a staff room and people stopping talking. And I think that says it all really, there is going to be a differencing in their perspectives. So, yeah, can I pin you down for an estimate, publicate? Well, do you know what? To be honest, if I pass my vibe or I think I would be crying with happiness, so I have no plans to publish it at the moment. However, maybe I'll get a book out of it, who knows? A couple of years or something, yeah. Okay. Now, we haven't talked about iris. I love iris. So, what was the head of education role contain? What kind of things are you doing? So, I'm developing new content for the platform. We've got this really exciting launch in January where we're launching an instructional coaching pathway, a reflective pathway and also something called the practice exchange, which is essentially bite-sized theory, CPD, four teachers so they can steer their own development and also video exemplifications of those strategies in action. Fantastic. I've always wanted iris to marry the chartered college or someone like that so that I have a professional Facebook of video footage and certificates so that when I connect with Haile as a head teacher, I can let you see my portfolio of car crash lessons, reflections and brilliant and it's there and we've got the technology to do this rather than this notion that I have to go to an interview, teach a fake class of kids that I don't know in an abstract environment and no one really gets the true sense of how good or I am or would I fit into the school etc. So, can you pass that one to iris for me again that we need to try and marry up with someone and get this technology available. They have it in Scotland and they have it in Wales, we don't have it in England sadly. I think I need to arrange a meeting with you with our CEO Andy Newell because I think you'd love it. I've posed that to Andy a few years ago so send him a little nudge. I will. Let's see if we can work out something. Right, my next question then is so tell me what you're doing at Sunderland. So, I started out as an English PGCE lecturer. I'm still doing a little bit of that. I'm doing subject studies because obviously I'm very recently come out of the classroom so it's good for the student to have that input but I'm now a lecturer in professional development so I'm working on the master's course, some coaching and mentoring qualifications and really kind of spearheading a guess Sunderland mentoring provision. So, you're juggling loads of bulls. A lot, yeah. I mean I've got very understanding employers so Andy Newell has been amazing with me going into schools and speaking. As long as I get my deadlines done and my work done it's very flexible. So, you're doing all these different things in a kind of self-employed capacity so you can juggle different hats and choose your work that meets deadlines or yeah. I'm sure there's some formal agreements in there but I think what I'm trying to say is you've got such an interesting range of stuff going on. You're no doubt you're busy but it's super exciting at the same time. Yeah, I mean it's amazing. I mean I'm employed Iris and I'm employed at Sunderland and then I do the speaking self-employed so it's a bit of an odd situation really. So, I'll give you one last big question and I'll start to wrap up a little bit. You know given that you took that leap of faith to go out and now you've got all these different things going on and some will be brilliant, some might go a little wavy up and down kind of mood. Where was the original intention of stepping out in terms of what pathway did you hope to pursue? I guess the question is where do you see yourself in the two or three years time in terms of this self-employment and you also mentioned going back to school at some point. Yeah, I mean in the short term in the next five years it'd be great to become the director of education at Iris maybe. Who knows? I've got to prove myself a little bit. There's a plug for people listening. Are you listening? But yeah and you know I'm very happy to carry on working in teach training in some capacity. I'm not sure whether that's in HE or whether that's in somewhere like Teach First or somewhere that's more of a teaching school hub but I do like having a foot in both camps. I do you know in five years plus who knows it'd be great to go and work for a trust perhaps doing mentoring across the trust or some kind of teaching and learning. Maybe Johnny Utley who I would love to work with at some point so there you go. There's another plug Johnny for listening. He knows I'm always mithering him. Now there's a word of not over a while but I've heard it lots since I moved up north. Mithering. So for people listening elsewhere in the UK and outside the UK what does mithering mean? It means bothering. And how do you spell it? And how do you spell it? It's like mothering with an eye but yeah it's bothering. Annoying somebody. Annoying somebody. Right now I probably know the answer to this but what's your synopsis of COVID for teachers? You know workload, headaches. So that's initial synopsis and what are your hopes? Yeah I mean I think it's just been an absolute nightmare for teachers to be quite honest. I don't know how they've carried on because in July I was on my knees and by all intents and purposes from listening to colleagues on the ground being worse this afternoon in many ways. So I think it's just been awful for them and they're complete and utter champions. They deserve every accolade going. My hopes I guess are that there is more respect in the media for teachers after this. More respect from parents. I think that's happened a little bit because certainly when I was still at school last year some parents said to me oh my god I realise how hard work they are now and the stuff you've got to do and how difficult it is. Because teaching isn't an easy job and I think teachers deserve the same respect you know as any other front line worker. What would be your advice to your young journalist self? Don't do what they're asking you to do. Get out. There's more to life.  Oh many many many. I mean they usually always had some kind of awful pun in definitely. Yeah so there you go right so highly you know if you're people listening will know that now we've gone through a bit of deep meaningful I'm going to pose loads of quick fire questions I'm sure you without offending the old enough to remember mallets mallets and things like that. And I don't have a virtual hammer to hang in the head but I'm going to pose loads of questions away and I don't want your white to be succinct and not pause or hesitate if that's possible so we'll start easy. Now you're jugging lots of hats but so what project are you working on on your desk today? I'm doing my book my next book which is a critical theory book yeah. Great and what books are you reading? I am reading The Beginner's Guide to Cooperative Learning. I have a copy there which I've just been sent by Crown House and was lucky enough to write a testimonial for. Fantastic. Finish the sentence if I was Secretary of State for Education I would. Oh my god I don't think I want to say. I would give to teachers an extra week off. An extra week off now that would be well received maybe not so for parents. Okay piece of advice for a teacher wanting to get deeper into research or maybe want to start a doctorate. I think just go for it you'll think I can't do this how am I going to do it but you just make it work. Okay your favourite tattoo on yourself? I think my latest one which is my fingers and it says life is a cabaret. Okay nice. Can you show us that again on the camera? Beautiful. And any regrets tattoo one that you wish you hadn't got is there any? Yeah I've got Morrissey on my arm and he's turned into an absolute muppet so yeah that's pretty pretty distressing.  I'd love to be a librarian if it paid more. How would you? Well there you go. Piece of advice for any anarchy teachers out there? Be subversive so do what you've got to do not smile but you know be subversive. Be subversive. What are you most proud of your biggest career achievement? Probably working in a special measure school for seven years and it was really tough but I know I made a difference to those students. There you go. Now you mentioned earlier in our chats as CPD. What are your favourite tips for having little conversations day to day to boost morale for yourself or for other colleagues? What's your piece of advice? I think tell somebody how good they are at something. I don't think we do that enough and every single colleague that we work with is brilliant at something in the classroom and I think it's about making people more aware of that and the fact that we appreciate them. Great little tips. If I've been to Diggle where you live, if I came over to Diggle for 24 hours what would we do? Where would we go to have a drink? What's there to see? Oh well Diggle my goodness me you know it's a hive of activity. Well I'd take you to Diggle Chippie for their famous ragpudding so we'd have ragpudding chips and gravy.  Sounds very relaxing. Who would you recommend I interview next and why? Because I'd love to dig out my recording. I think someone recommended you. I'll need to dig out who it was but who would you recommend? I would recommend that you interview Professor Rachel Lofthouse. Because I think there's a lot of talk at the moment about what instructional coaching is and isn't and I think Rachel's got some really interesting perspectives on it as someone who works with Jim Nygf. Now I was going to ask you that question what is instructional coaching I don't know if I put my cynical hat on but what and your definition what is it? It depends what definition you're looking for because there's many. Maybe that's Rachel. Okay I'll chase Rachel down. Work in listeners find out more about you you know online links blogs I know you've got a blog The Ink Teacher which is fascinating is that something you regularly update? It's not I need to do it more that's going to be my new year's resolution I think to update my blog more. So yeah The Ink Scholar is my blog I'm quite active on Twitter probably not as active as I used to be because I just have no time with jobs etc at the moment. But yeah so it's a place to find me and my books are all on Amazon and WH Smith etc. So there you go. Hi I've got one more question what would you hope to be your legacy?  What a lovely little expression so highly thank you it's been lovely to connect and lovely to pick your brains and I wish you all the best with all the different exciting things that you've juggled and particularly doctorate I'm going to look forward to that when you get something published and yeah in this now I'm living up your way in a pandemic world hoping to catch up soon physically. That'll be amazing yeah thank you. So thanks for your time Hayley. Bye for now.


Rwy'n gweifio dd sprwp a'r cyllidell y gallu darllenfawr. Rwy'n gweithio ddweud i gweithio i heatedatio'r ei wneud i fflyg i fanodol. Gweithio'r ddweud i gweithio i gweithiogaeth Cymru a'r ddiddygu i gweithio'r ddweud i gydbwrdd hyn o unedig a'r anonnas, gyrfaol iawn i Gwyrdd Pond, yn hyn. Dwi'n gweithio i gweithio i gydwyr a'r anonnas diwylliad sy'n gweithio'r gweithio ar gyfer y cyllidellion ddod yn gweithio i gawr, The statutory consultation is now under way, and therefore we should not prejudge the outcome. We recognised that any such cessation of production would be devastating for the dedicated and highly experienced workforce at the site, and it could have profound implications for the economic and social wellbeing of Annesan and the wider community in Anandale and S estate. I want to make absolutely clear my commitment and that of the Scottish Government to doing all we can and with all the resources available to us and our partner agencies in working to seek to maintain production at the pity site and retain as many of the jobs as possible. I have held a number of early discussions, including with Young Seafood Management and the Trade Union Unite, and I have established an action group with membership, including Dumfries and Galloway Council, our enterprise and skills agencies, and industry representatives. To explore all viable options to protect employment, I repeat my commitment that we will leave no stone unturned to try and find a solution. I am visiting the pennies plant on Thursday to meet with the chief executive of Young Seafood, Mr Bill Showalter, and I will convey our concern about the situation and reinforce the message that we are keen to work with young people to secure employment at the site. I will also meet representatives of the workforce and I will assure them that the Scottish Government and our partners will provide all the support that we can during this difficult time. I thank the minister for that answer and for the work that he has done to date. It is very important that we have managed to build some cross-party consensus around what is the most significant thing to happen in the Dumfrieshire constituency since my election. Does he believe that there is a willingness from young people to retain production on the site and from the conversations that he has had so far, what options have been explored with the company? I echo the point that has been made by Oliver Mundell that we are very pleased that there is a cross-party consensus on this issue. It will help enormously the workforce to know that we are all behind them, but it will also help our efforts to try to secure a positive outcome. I particularly welcome the activities of Mr Mundell, John McAlpine, Colin Smith and other local members in working with the Scottish Government constructively to explore all possible solutions. In terms of the willingness of young people to engage with us, we can take them at their word. They have said that they will work with us closely and had assumed in terms of making the original decision that perhaps some options were not available to them, so they are willing to reopen that discussion. Two of the three main contracts have been lost to other businesses, one in Scotland and another nearby in Carlyle, but that means that it will be difficult to sustain all the employment there unless we find alternative sources of business for the plant, with other retailers perhaps, or if we can find another occupier to come in in the event that the plant is to close. Obviously, we have to wait the outcome of the statutory consultation before taking forward some aspects of the work. However, I want to reassure Oliver Mundell that we are very much focusing on trying to look at all options at this moment in time, and we will do everything that we can working with local members to try to provide a viable future for the site. Oliver Mundell, I thank the minister for that answer. My understanding is that there are four parties who have expressed at least early interest in the site. I wondered if I could seek the minister's reassurance at this point that those potential buyers will be entitled to help and support from the Government's agencies and that any grants or financial incentives that can be put in place will be put in place should those buyers decide to move forward. I can certainly give Mr Mundell, subject to all the due diligence side, what he would expect would have to be undertaken in any grant application, that we will certainly be offering all possible financial support that we can within the straight aid limits that we have to operate within. Culey's seafood is unfortunately, as I know, Mr Mundell is aware, affected by a particularly tight constraint around state aids considerations and a de minimis limit, but other food production has a much greater scope for support. We are looking at a number of interested parties, not all of them in the seafood area, so we will certainly look to see what support we can give. It will be treated with the highest priority to try and provide secure employment for those at the site. We know how vulnerable the economy of Annandale and Estale is, and a loss of jobs on this scale would be equivalent to something like £25,000 in the context of Edinburgh, so it goes out saying that we recognise the significance to his constituents. The minister will be aware that Penny Soul customer under Young's was Markson Spencer's and had been for several years. I appreciate that groceries regulation is a reserved matter and that exclusivity of supply is not prohibited in the grossers code of conduct. However, does the minister agree that, although such arrangements may seem beneficial when demand is high, they can have very negative effects when there are other market challenges and what does he think can be done to address that? I very much agree with the sentiment of what Joan McAlpine says. We do recognise that there are commercial considerations here, but I do identify with the point that Joan McAlpine has said in that spec that where we have a plant being dedicated effectively to one client, clearly if any work is lost on that client, it means that that plant is particularly vulnerable. We are looking to engage with Markson Spencer's in this particular scenario and seeking to meet with Markson Spencer's senior management team this week if we can do so to fully understand their perspective and to get to the bottom of that. We have had some initial conversations with Markson Spencer's, but I want to speak to Markson Spencer on the specific issue about single company sites. I agree with the member that the situation is starkly illustrated in this case, and the risks associated with having a single client site is obviously horribly exposed in the context of what has happened at Arnan. When you add agency and seasonal workers to the permanent workforce, the potential job losses, if Penny's closes, are likely to be near 700, which I know the minister is aware would be an absolute economic tsunami for that community with its size. The first priority is to use the 45-day consultation to convince young people to change their closure decision, and if unsuccessful, to find a buyer for the site. Does the cabinet secretary share the concerns of the local community that one of the reasons any job losses would be so disastrous is the fact that there are still fundamental weaknesses in the local economy in terms of poor infrastructure, low pay and a lack of alternative large employers that still desperately need to be tackled? I identify with that latter point that Colin Smyth has mentioned. We clearly are taking forward proposals for a south of Scotland enterprise agency, and that is a medium to long-term mission to try to transform the economy of the south. In the immediate period, we have got a more severe challenge to us in the context of Arnan. If all 450 permanent jobs were to be lost, and indeed the seasonal jobs from October to December, which is the peak period of production, were to be lost as well, then that would have very significant consequences for the area. One of the virtues of having the action group that we have established is that we cannot just look at the specifics around the particular impact of the plank closure, but also look to see if there is anything out of this process where we can try to do something to strengthen the economy in Arnan. Of course, there are other communities around Arnan that are affected, as well as I am sure that Colin Smyth knows such as Gretnan and Lockerbie, where a number of staff work at the plant. We know that vast majority of staff are concentrated in a 10-mile area, so clearly job losses on that scale will have a huge impact on Arnan. 2. Iain Gray To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it has called in the planning application for a substation on the site of the former Kackenzie power station. Thank you, Presiding Officer. As planning minister, I called in this application as it clearly raises issues of national importance. The Kackenzie power station site is a strategic site in the national planning framework 3, which was published in 2014. The framework recognises Kackenzie as an important hub with significant opportunities for renewable energy-related investment and identifies two national developments relating to the site. The framework states that Kackenzie is part of the high-voltage energy transmission network, which is listed as a national development. Consent and Associated Marine Licences were granted in 2014 for the Inch Cape offshore wind farm, and a grid connection agreement is in place to connect to the Kackenzie site. The planning application is in relation to the electricity substation required to make that connection. There is a deadline in quarter 1 of 2019 for a bid for UK funding for the Inch Cape development through the contract for difference process. To be eligible, all permissions and consents must be in place. Calling in the planning application gives a greater chance of a timely decision ahead of the funding deadline. The reporter will consider local views, including the local development plan, and the calling in of the application does not predetermine the outcome of the planning process. Iain Gray The site, as strategic importance is all right, is the biggest opportunity for economic development and job creation in local living memory. The proposed substation is right on the waterfront and could jeopardise the potential development of the site as a port. Its future should be decided locally by local councillors who understand that potential and are accountable to local people. That is what happened in 2014, when planning permission for the same substation on a different part of the site was granted by East Lothian Council. Why was a local decision okay in 2014, but this time the minister thinks that he knows better? Thank you, Presiding Officer. As I highlighted in my first answer to Mr Gray, there is an issue here of potential national significance. We, as a Government, recognise the importance of local decision making, and we use call-in powers sparingly, but on this occasion we have decided to call in. We will ensure that the reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals division is given the appropriate time to consider and make comment on the application, and that community views are taken into account prior to them making a recommendation to me as minister. The other issue is that, in 2016, the project was bought by Red Rock, a company owned by the Chinese State Development and Investment Corporation, whom the First Minister was meeting last week at the very moment that the planning decision was called in. Can the minister understand that it looks to my constituents as if he is prepared to ride rough shot over their interests and aspirations in order to protect the interests and aspirations of a Chinese-backed project, which will create not one job in East Lothian? If he wants to convince them otherwise, will he do that now by returning the decision where it belongs to East Lothian Council? As Mr Gray is well aware, I made the decision to call in on 4 April, which was related to East Lothian Council on 9 April, before the First Minister was in China. We have been absolutely clear that there was no connection whatsoever to the First Minister's visit to China. Consideration of planning cases is focused on the merits of the case. The identity of the applicant is not a planning consideration, relevant to the assessment of any process. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the closure of the Two Sisters factory in Cambuslang. I am extremely disappointed that the decision by Two Sisters to close its facility in Cambuslang will be clear, as we were in contact on a number of occasions during the consultation phase. We worked very hard to try to divert the closure. I have been actively involved in discussions with the company and stakeholders having met Jeremy Hudson and having written to Mr Ranjit Singh, Two Sisters founder, offering every support to retain the site at Cambuslang. The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, Keith Brown, has met with Unite the Union, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland and South Lanarkshire Council all have worked intensively with the company to explore every possible option to secure a sustainable future for the site and to safeguard jobs in Cambuslang. Unfortunately, despite all those efforts, the company has made its decision to close the site, and I greatly regret that this is the case. However, I want to assure Clare Haughey that our partnership action for continuing employment to our PACE team has agreed a programme of support activities with the company, which will provide support for all affected employees as they look to find alternative employment. As Ms Haughey may be aware, it has a tremendous record in helping those affected by redundancy. I thank the minister for his answer. I, along with many of my constituents, was extremely concerned by the announcement last week that the factory will close in August. The impact on the staff affected and the local community could be devastating. Several members of the same family's work there, many of the workforce have been employed at the factory for decades, and small businesses rely not only on the workers using their services, but also on the two sisters' company for contracts. Can the minister detail what support the Scottish Government can provide to my constituents at this very difficult and troubling time? I certainly can. I have just been discussing, in the context of Annan, an action group in the context of the job shock in Dumfries and Galloway. My proposal would be to discuss with South Lanarkshire Council how best to take forward collaborative action in supporting the local community affected by the job losses. We will look to discuss whether there are advantages in taking forward a similar action group response in response to the job losses of the two sisters. We have wider than that aspiration to try to get pay support in, which I have alluded to in my first answer. The full programme of pay support activities has been agreed with management of two sisters, which is not always a case, so that is a positive in itself, because we know that it has a profoundly important impact for those individuals affected. However, the Scottish Government has also committed more than £0.5 billion for the next 20 years to the Glasgow City Region deal, and we will look to support delivery of a programme and investment to stimulate economic growth and create jobs right across the city region, which obviously includes South Lanarkshire as well. We will look to see to what extent those investments can also support the economy. I look to work with Clare Hockey and other members who have an interest in this. I know that there are members across the chamber to make sure that we work together and draw down as much support as we can from Scottish Enterprise and our other enterprise and skills agencies to help local businesses, because Clare Hockey is absolutely right. It is not just the company itself but the wider supply chain in the area that is affected. To identify those companies that are vulnerable, working with two sisters to identify their suppliers and to see what we can do to support them through that. Will the minister commit to engaging with all relevant agencies, including South Lanarkshire Council, with a view to looking at convening an action group similar to the one that is organised in Anan? Can he advise me what the Scottish Government can do to support the future use of the site so that jobs can be created and supported in Camposlang? Yes, absolutely. I commit to Clare Hockey that we will take forward that discussion with South Lanarkshire Council and look to see whether we can convene an action group. I do not want to prejudge that, because the council itself may have a different view as to how best we work together. It is not always the outcome that we require an action group to deliver an impact. We have had several examples in Lanarkshire in recent years where we have managed to successfully get those employees affected by redundancy programmes before they have even lost their jobs. We will await to see what comes from that discussion, but in terms of the wider interest that she alluded to in the future use of the site, that is another issue that we can take forward with the council. We do not want to tread on the council's toes on its responsibilities in economic development, but we became to support, as we are doing in Paisley, with the transfer of jobs from Chivas from Paisley to Dunbarton, supporting the local authority in looking at options to master plan of sites that any Scottish Government can do to make sure that a valuable site can be used for further employment opportunities. James Kelly Thank you. Does the minister agree with me that Marks and Spencer's main customer are complicit in this closure plan, in a sense supporting the movement of poultry operations to one site in England? Will I give consideration to the reasonable suggestions from Gerard Cillan, the local MP, to set up a task force involving all parties and relevant agencies in order to look at solutions to avert this closure? On the latter point, as I have addressed to Clare Hawke, I think that the first thing that I want to do is speak to the local authority, South Lanarkshire Council, to find out what they would like to see happen. I take on board the point that Gerard Cillan has made and repeated by James Kelly today, that sometimes the task force approach is valid and it can work effectively, as it did with the steel task force. In other scenarios, an action group can be flee to refute and move more quickly to identify opportunities, and that is what we are doing in Hawke and now in Anon. We will have a discussion with the council on that point. As to the issue around Marks and Spencer's, as I have alluded to in response to earlier question regarding the pinnies plant in Anon and the role of MNS, we are keen to engage with MNS and we can certainly take forward discussions with the company about the business model that they are deploying and what impact it is having in situations like this. I want to listen to MNS before I start to take any conclusions as to how the situation has been arrived at. I hope that Mr Kelly will understand. I do not want to shoot first and ask questions later. I would rather listen and hear what views MNS can put forward, but I certainly take on board his point. We clearly are worried about the vulnerability that plants have to single clients. When they lose tens of millions of pounds of work in one go, they can clearly have a massive impact on employment. Thank you very much. That concludes topical questions. We turn now to a statement by Shona Robison on NHS Tayside. The cabinet secretary will take questions after our statement, so I encourage all members who wish to ask a question to press their request to speak buttons now.


is some Swedish children's story which a lot of people grew up on and somehow they combine that it's a goose flying in the air and they combine that with the lamb shawarma from Turkey yogurt definitely has a bit of flavor and color maybe a little bit more mint leaves would have been good but we're going to other places that do that I love food I love shawarma when I saw Shimrishon was doing a shawarma tour and said I had to join so far so good and I'm excited to taste the rest of the shawarmas bigger there's more people showing up all the time despite the rain despite the cold the true shawarma lovers will never give up on the shawarma we're doing the action here give more Israeli taste to the Israeli taste the other guy he was doing it more to the Turkish taste we're doing everything to get this the news to you as it happens in Jerusalem but where we're going now it's run by Alfie Levy everyone knows about him he's the master chef he's got a real Turkish guy working there this is group, who are we? we're just very simple Shimrishon TV that's what we are what goal are we and you decide? we've eaten so much we can't move I found it very exciting the meat was delicious all the different salads and extras are interesting Sean here and the other guy Alfie they're doing a wonderful job we love them