Another inspiring day on Twitter yesterday (in between the inevitable and constant trad v prog arguments and a diatribe about MCS) in which the hashtag #MPTAs appeared.  I’m always one to jump on a bandwagon, especially one like this, so here goes with my personal list of edu-twitterers that have inspired me to try and be a better teacher this year.

In no particular order…

@smithsmm  – Simon is the leader of the pack when it comes to primary reading.  He’s the one who has inspired me to try new things in my teaching, reintroducing picture books to my class bookshelf and getting children reading things they want to read.  As part of his inspiration I have been running sessions in school where my Y4 class read with the Reception class.  This has had amazing results for both groups and is incredibly powerful to watch.

@cjabracher – Claire is one of those incredible individuals who does far more for people than she will ever realise.  A genuine force of nature, she couples her job as an assistant head with being my personal rock at times!  This year she has been my sounding board on lots of things and my class have loved the collaboration we have done with hers, contrasting our settings to look at our wider world around us.  Loves ya Miss B!

@MrHeadComputing – Tim is a genius and part of that genius is not realising how great he is.  A constant stream of ideas and strategies he is another who balances being a member of his school’s SLT with helping others.  He’s given me so much sage advice over the last couple of years and has helped me immeasurably in becoming the teacher I am now.

@craftie2004 – Neil is a secondary maths teacher (along with some science – don’t ask!) and a fellow graduate of the Troops to Teacher scheme.  His common sense approach to things is incredible and he helps me stay a little bit grounded.  Talking with him makes me think about my maths in a slightly different way, especially looking at transition and how we in primary prepare children for later learning.  He also has a healthy appetite for gin which makes him a great guy in my eyes!

@thatboycanteach – Another colossus of the edu-twitter world.  A fine blogger and speaker of common sense (along with @FarrowMr) about what is really important in the primary classroom.  Helped me to see the wood from the trees and has been a source of constant support through the year.

@caroljallen – Carol does SEND in a way I can only aspire to.  She constantly inspires me with her tireless attitude towards making things better for the children she works with.  She was instrumental in getting me my current job by sitting me down and helping me see where my strengths and weaknesses are and giving me strategies to use at interview to address them.  Not one to blow her own trumpet, she does constantly champion others.

@Sarah_wright1 – Sarah is single-handedly responsible for increasing my Twitter followers.  As a lecturer in primary education she is leading the next generation of teachers with aplomb.  She gets her students to embrace social media as a learning tool and is instrumental in helping them build effective personal learning networks to aid their development.

@nichola_nicnac  – Nichola is one of the most beautiful creatures on this planet.  She blogs about things that most of us keep hidden, our insecurities, our failings and our fears.  Her cathartic writing style never fails to amaze me and I can only hope that she gets as much out of writing her blog as others get out of reading it.  She is also someone I would genuinely like to spend time in their classroom with.

@MrsHelenDouglas – Another source of inspiration and a shining example of how head teachers can still be great people!  I love reading about the things she does in her school and her educational experience north and south of the Scottish border is a big help to me in the area I live in.

The next part will just be a list of those who most of you will already know and follow but they’ve helped me in big ways over the past year or so…

@ICTEvangelist, @musicmind, @westrisejunior, @chrisdysonHT, @mini_lebowski, @flymygeekflag, @JarlathOBrien, @nancygedge, @artdecobuttons, @Animate2Educate, @eLearning_Laura, @MrTullock, @simcloughlin

Finally, I cannot sign of a list of thank yous without mentioning @tallteachY6L.  Paul has been an amazing colleague and friend over the past 3 years.  Possession of the finest sense of humour this side of the River Tyne makes (apart from mine!) always makes spending time with him pleasurable.  A golf bandit, avid reader and all round good guy I predict a bright future for him in his second career!  I would not still be in the education world if it wasn’t for him.  We now work in different schools but still keep the banter going by various other means.

Enjoy the festivities everyone, be thankful for who you are and what you have and keep being fabulous!