Tormorrow at 9am, I am talking about how teachers reply when we are asked the question Why do you teach? Join me live on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social

The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester 28-03-2026 | Podbean Livestream Welcome.

I am live on @ttradioofficial.bsky.social talking about the importance of friendship in managing school transitions. Join the conversation now.

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...and to anyone who joined in the conversation. I think this is such a great community and it wouldn't be without everyone's wonderful participation. So thank you all.

As my semester on the #LTHEChat organisational team comes to an end, I want to thank @suebecks.bsky.social for giving me such an amazing opportunity, my co-organisers @sarune.bsky.social, @clairetimmins.bsky.social and @fransez.bsky.social for their stellar work, to all of our guest hosts...

A6. Journalling. I like to empty my head out onto paper, especially if it's been a tough day.

I first learned about "glimmers" the other day and it's such a great concept! I really like the idea of applying them to the workplace and actively looking for them.

That's a really good point that I hadn't thought of. Love this.

A3. When needing to have "difficult conversations." These conversations don't mean that a colleague is failing in their role, just that support needs to be given to change a behaviour. But they can turn sour quickly if emotional intelligence isn't present.

A2. A love for the job. I don't think leaders should indulge in toxic positivity, but I want my leader to as passionate about her job as she was at the beginning of her career, so that I can feel energised by that enthusiasm.

A1. For me, a "well" community is one in which everyone feels like they belong, regardless of individual interest or passion. Everyone gels together and similariries and differences work together to help everyone thrive.

"Activity is not the same as impact." - Jenny Webb.

YES! So many things are proxies for CPD and are actually just a waste of time. This is why deliberate practice and reading the research (rather than the one pager about the book about the research) is so important.

@ttradioofficial.bsky.social

A3. I think there needs to be more encouragement in "learning for the sake of learning." So much is boiled down to employabillity that students really only care about securing the degree to get a job. We need to get back to "learning is amazing, let's broaden our horizons."

A2. As a linguist, I think valid assessment boils down to "how well can you interpret, understand and use the language you're learning?" I think we've done a lot of damage by encouraging closed books exams and restricting the use of dictionaries, because assessment should reflect real world use.

A1. I think so. I think knowledge is constructed through conversation, both with others (in terms of reading and citing articles) and myself (in the academic writing process). I'm not sure how knowledge can be created without engagement in both.

Are you interested in running a classics trip but don't know where to start? We've got you! Sign up to this free CPD event by Friday 6th March to find out the best ways to take your classics teaching out of the classroom.

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I have concerns about teaching research ethics. If we endorse LLMs which are trained on data gathered without consent, how can we be taken seriously when we tell them it's necessary to gain consent when collecting data for dissertations?

It's interesting to think about it from the "other" side. Algorithms aren't going anywhere, and is the manipulation of them as a rhetorical device really any different to appeals to emotion or rule of three? It feels a bit shady when you start to think of "persuasive" being akin to "manipulative."

Different disciplines might require different extents. ITT, for example, should explicitly teach it so that our teacher trainees are aware of the impact on their own students. But anyone who advocates algorithm use needs to make sure their students are fully informed of what they're building.

A4. If you are encouraging the use of algorithms in your course (through media, AI etc) then you have an ethical responsibility to make sure students are fully informed.

but where the humanities are suffering fewer young people are aware of how people manipulate the algorithm to amplify their voices. (2/2) #LTHEChat

A2. Classicist bias incoming, but I think this is where students would benefit more from rhetoric training. It happens as part of the English Language A Level and can be part of the classical languages A Level (1/2)

If you've been on the internet for a while, you'll know the acronym tl;dr. (Too long, didn't read). We used to use it extensively back in the day when we didn't want to wade through people's posts.

I learned a new acronym this afternoon.

AI;dr.

It may be my favourite one ever.

Thank you so much, @jacquithijm.bsky.social. This has been fascinating to think about, and I think these questions will stay with all of us for a while.

I love this way of seeing it. Something else for me to print out and stick to my desk!

I think that's hit the nail on the head. We are the intitution in the here and now and while we won't be around forever, we make up the experience these specific cohorts of students will have.

(Am I having an existential crisis?!)

A6 #LTHEChat I think this is a really layered question. Frankly, I don't know if I need to matter. I think my subject matters, I think being the best model as a linguist/classicist as I can be matters, but I also know my job can be done by anyone with my same qualifications.

That's a really good point. We assume that they are "digital natives" and want to do everything online, but they do often find it easier to actually speak to someone. And that applies to everything from wellbeing to assignment briefs to "where is the library?"