In this powerful two-part replay, Sharon and Sarah revisit one of the Pit Pony Podcast’s most talked-about episodes - the story of David Myers, a maths teacher whose experience captures both the brilliance and the brutality of modern teaching.

Part 1 traces David’s journey from a creative, psychology-driven teacher who thrived in supportive, visionary schools, to the moment everything changed. He shares:

• His early success at High Tunstall - where creativity, curiosity and student-centred thinking were genuinely welcomed
• The joy of teaching during lockdown, when technology finally allowed students to explore maths in meaningful, playful ways
• His research into problem-solving, cognition and confidence in mathematics
• The abrupt shift after COVID, when creativity was replaced by rigid templates, tick-box demands and pseudoscience masquerading as pedagogy
• The moment marking and monitoring overtook teaching
• The first signs that a supportive culture had become something far more dangerous

This episode lays the foundations of a story that so many teachers recognise - the erosion of autonomy, the misuse of ‘support’, and the human cost of a profession that doesn’t always allow teachers to be the professionals they are.

Reissued for 2025 because it remains one of the clearest examples of how schools lose extraordinary talent.

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Thanks for listening 🙏
Edited with finesse by our Podcast Super Producer, Mike Roberts of Making Digital Real