by Claire Young @curiousCY

I want more circles and fewer lines. I am at my best when I’m working shoulder to shoulder with the people around me and we can see each other eye to eye. My problem with lines is that they leave the people exposed. My problem with lines is that we can only see a section of the people we’re working with, making it all too easy to lose connection with experiences and perspectives we really need to hear. So, my 10% braver work is playing my part in building collaborative cultures within my school community where we connect, we centre our wellbeing, and we form circles not lines.

by Chris Reddy @@brightleadcoach  Founder of @brightleadersUK

Confession time!

When I stumbled across @WomenEd a few years back on Twitter, I did wonder what it was all about. Why do women educators need support over men? It’s worth noting, I was brought up around great women. My grandmothers headed up big, beautiful families and were outstanding role models. My mum is a wonderfully kind, caring and strong retired deputy head teacher.

by Niamh Thompson @toal_niamh

Ever since a young age, I always dreamed of becoming a teacher. Suffering from severe dyslexia, however, I didn’t think this would always be possible. As I began my A levels in Sociology and Irish, my aspirations of becoming a teacher were confirmed - I knew I wanted to pursue a teaching career. With my parents’ unwavering support and belief in me, I was able to overcome my dyslexia struggles and graduate with a degree in Irish and Sociology from QUB. The next step on my teaching path took me to apply for a PGCE in Irish. I was very nervous and failed the interview miserably. I felt like I had let everyone down.

By Christina Astin @ChristinaAstin

The proportion of girls choosing A level physics and pursuing STEM careers has remained stubbornly low for decades. But recent research should give us hope. We understand much better now what helps fix the leaky STEM pipeline. Unfortunately, society still peddles the view that science is not for girls. Does it matter and can school leaders help?

by Jacinta Calzada-Mayronne @drcalzy

I don’t believe in impostor syndrome. What is impostor syndrome? Impostor syndrome is defined as 'an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. While this definition is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, it has links to perfectionism and the social context' (Cuncic, 2020).

by Ann Marie Luce @turnmeluce   Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

The past months have been challenging for everyone, and many have been forced to adapt to our new reality. I, too, have made some difficult decisions that impacted my family and career.  At the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I returned to Canada from China, where I was an international school leader. I spent six months working remotely as a school principal with our school's staff, students, and parents scattered worldwide.

by Lisa Camilleri @HappierHead

Well, here we are in 2021. I think it's safe to say that for the vast majority of the human race, 2020 was not the year we were expecting. In many ways, I would have been quite happy to hide my head under my duvet and sleep the new year in. However, on this occasion I chose to stay up till the early hours just to ensure it really did leave us….and kick it up the bottom on the way out!

by Rachel Doherty @dohertyrachel1

Teaching in a Derry City School with a student population of 500, is not for the faint hearted especially when you are a Primary 7 teacher. Being brave is a daily venture for me. I seek to challenge children to step outside their comfort zone in new learning so I must continue to strive to set that example too. I am also the ICT Co-ordinator at St. John’s Primary school. In my spare time I love all things fitness related and I am a qualified Hatha yoga teacher.