Tommy is a teacher at Mundella primary school in Folkestone, and TEDx speaker who is passionate about helping kids build confidence when it comes to maths, which he does through play.

He describes his approach to teaching as more like Game of Thrones than the Simpsons - and what that means in practice. We talk about the conditioning we experience from our family around whether we’re likely to be any good at maths before we even go to school, and what the conversation around the dinner table could be instead. And we reminisce on our own transition from primary to secondary education and what that means for our kids today.

You can watch his entertaining and inspiring TEDx talk, what if I told you maths was about play, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slbcoChAqHQ&list=PL1Q8bQIq6BaOLk6MVno640DBXrLxDoEzd&index=11

Subscribe to his  YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltQ-eImEFc67VkhX5lG0kg 

or Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/madmaths2021 a follow for more ideas and characters coming next term. 

Today on The Emma Clayton Show, I’m in conversation with Berry Billingsley, Professor in science education at Canterbury Christ Church University, and leader of the Epistemic Insight (EI) initiative.

EI is currently defined as ‘being epistemically curious and thinking critically about the nature, application and communication of knowledge’.

We talk about the switch we make as children from primary to secondary education, and the impact studying subject by subject on a timetable has on our ability to continue connecting the dots in the bigger picture of life and what it means to be human. As well as, how we can better make use of what we learn at school, later on in life if we take an EI approach to learning across subjects.

You can watch Berry’s educational and entertaining TEDx talk, Epistemic Insight (EI): Engaging with life’s big questions, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIctYqZ2Bls

Today on the show I'm in conversation with Ruban Pillai about his TEDxFolkestone talk, the invisible challenges of stuttering.

By day Ruban works in the banking sector in risk, and in his spare time he is a director of a charity that helps other people experiencing a speech impediment in the work place. It formed in 2018 as a WhatsApp group which quickly grew to over 100 people around the world and became a community meetup group - a safe space for people to talk about the challenges they face.

In our conversation we talk more about the invisible challenges, as well as how we can best support someone we know or meet who has a speech impediment. In his excellent short (3 min) talk, he addresses the 99% of us that don’t live with this challenge and you can watch it here: https://youtu.be/Rt0VLUqVv2w

To learn more, check out The Underdog Way podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-underdog-way-with-ruban-pillai/id1521944974

This is one of those conversations I did not want to end!

Richard Bundy recently appeared on the TEDxFolkestone stage to deliver his mesmerising talk, how letting go of inherited trauma can release you from the past. Watch Richards poetic and powerful talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3XLykkk61w&list=PL1Q8bQIq6BaOLk6MVno640DBXrLxDoEzd&index=16

Richard is a musician and systemic practitioner. He explains what (the latter) is, how trauma is inherited genetically and shares many eye opening stories and examples that get you thinking about the systems you may be in, and where your stress response comes from.

We also touch on how the healing process starts with acceptance.

I’m sure you’ll love listening to him as much as I do.

To connect further, check out his website: www.richardbundy.com

Nikky is a creative recruiter within the advertising and design industry who likes to help under represented groups navigate an industry that can be a challenge.

She talks about how companies reacted to the Black Lives Matter movement by upping their diverse hiring drive, without addressing their work culture and how this is neither a new issue nor will it be solved over night.

We also discuss what challenges are still present for women in the workplace and how change starts with us as individuals.

Both her work and lived experience as a female who falls under the LBGTQ+ umbrella led to her TEDx talk 'Recruitment with conscience when hiring diverse talent' which is a call to action to CEO’s and business owners to take a long hard look at their work culture as part of their Diversity & Inclusion efforts.

Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxEpHcr-XyQ&list=PL1Q8bQIq6BaOLk6MVno640DBXrLxDoEzd&index=9

Check out Nikkys website here: https://www.nikkylyle.com/

Liu is a presenter and content producer, TEDx speaker and TEDx Folkestone founder and curator with a big passion for helping others find and voice their ideas.

She shares how she got into presenting, how she started TEDx Folkestone and what it was like to go to India to deliver her very own TEDx talk. And we talk about how sometimes it’s difficult to articulate an idea or concept and how to find the confidence to express that gut feel or what’s on your heart.

You can watch her TEDx Jiet talk “How to create the future you want without knowing what you want” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z60qKQQRJ74

And connect with Liu via her website: https://liubatchelor.com/

TED talks have been a big part of my own personal growth journey, opening my mind and eyes to new ideas, and challenging my perspectives.

This last 18 months I've been on a journey volunteering with my local, independently organised TEDx Folkestone to deliver an online event with 8 thought provoking, moving and inspiring talks.

Over the next few episodes I'm honoured to be in conversation with some of those speakers where I felt there was a natural crossover with the broad range of topics that find their way to The Emma Clayton Show.

Whether you're new to TED or a seasoned follower, I hope you enjoy this special season dedicated to some of the speakers and their topics presented at TEDx Folkestone 2021.

Follow their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxFolkestone 

Or visit the TED YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuUUnT6oDeKwE6v1NGQxug   

On 16th June 2021 at 22:48, as an epic thunder storm passed overhead, a very old, very tall cedar tree on our front drive was struck by lightning and a big chunk of it exploded. That moment has to be the scariest moment of my life, and whilst we're very grateful that no-one was hurt and the damage was limited to the tree and our vehicles parked below it, the realisation of how it could have been so much worse has been something that I've personally had to process.

Keen to tell the story and document this experience, I invited Adam and Lyndsey (who was staying with us that night!) on to the show to reminisce and talk about their experiences and how they too have been reflecting ever since.

I hope you enjoy being a fly on the wall for this special episode.

Warning: contains a fair few swear words.

For realtime images and commentary, visit my highlighted stories on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/emmaclayton.xo/

This is a unique episode. Corinne is someone I met online who I absolutely adore, we were having a catch up and I was like, hang on a minute! This is too good a conversation not to record - so we did.

It was a while ago now, but here we are, with no agenda, no structure just two people connecting over a common love of all things self-discovery, personal growth and making a difference in the world. 

We start talking about the Human Design system and how this could be revolutionary for understanding our kids and ensuring they don’t go through as much conditioning as out generation have.

And we go on to talk about Beliefetics and the energy of money and weight, and releasing the expectations around weight loss. All the things!

Connect with Corinne on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/corinnemick or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/corinnemicklerkaye/

Joan is a food freedom and body confidence coach helping women 40+ stop dieting and emotional eating so they can find peace around food.

An experienced social worker and NLP practitioner, Joan was drawn to coaching - she could see herself doing this during retirement. Shortly after she started her training in 2015, tragedy hit her family and she found herself deep in her own healing journey, which eventually shifted her dramatically and led her on the path she finds herself on today.

We share a passion for this topic and talk about what’s wrong with diet culture, food rules and body ideals, and the role intuitive eating, awareness of our thoughts and playful curiosity have played in our own healing journeys.

Connect with Joan on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/joanridsdelcoaching or visit her website: http://www.joanridsdel.com/