Carola J
@carolaj.bsky.social
Secondary English teacher for longer than I care to remember. Brightoneer.
Reposted by Carola J
New post just out:
My 2025 audit - looking at what I got right and wrong this year. And picking out lessons to improve my commentary in 2026.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
My 2025 audit - looking at what I got right and wrong this year. And picking out lessons to improve my commentary in 2026.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
The Audit - 2025
What did I get right and wrong?
open.substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 9:44 AM
New post just out:
My 2025 audit - looking at what I got right and wrong this year. And picking out lessons to improve my commentary in 2026.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
My 2025 audit - looking at what I got right and wrong this year. And picking out lessons to improve my commentary in 2026.
(Free to read)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
Reposted by Carola J
Very useful explainer on what's going on.
This by @ecfr.eu’s Majda Ruge is a good guide to Trump’s calculus on Venezuela. Rival factions (primacists, prioritisers, restrainers) have been counseling different courses of action, but “the answers depend on what the president decides will bring him the biggest ‘win’.”
ecfr.eu/article/maga...
ecfr.eu/article/maga...
MAGA goes south: Trump’s plan for Venezuela – European Council on Foreign Relations
Speculation is swirling that the US could use military force to pursue regime change in Venezuela. The country’s fate may depend on which faction in the Trump a
ecfr.eu
January 3, 2026 at 9:08 AM
Very useful explainer on what's going on.
A lot of my students seemed to be unaware that I knew it was hot today.
June 18, 2025 at 7:14 PM
A lot of my students seemed to be unaware that I knew it was hot today.
Reposted by Carola J
UCL are going back to all in person exams. There is no other solution to this problem currently available.
It's not the biggest problem education is facing but at some point the preference of parents and students for coursework and fewer exams is going to collide with the fact that AI probably necessitates a big return to in-person exams
Shocked (not).
June 16, 2025 at 9:54 AM
UCL are going back to all in person exams. There is no other solution to this problem currently available.
Reposted by Carola J
I'm just glad one of these men has the nuclear codes and the other has all our personal data.
June 5, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I'm just glad one of these men has the nuclear codes and the other has all our personal data.
Reposted by Carola J
I love how this is so much like a big budget American version of the Boris/Cummings break-up.
June 5, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I love how this is so much like a big budget American version of the Boris/Cummings break-up.
Reposted by Carola J
Given how unpopular Starmer is this is quite a reflection on Farage and Badenoch.
May 27, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Given how unpopular Starmer is this is quite a reflection on Farage and Badenoch.
Oh, what I've been saying *forever* is suddenly news.
The loss of teacher autonomy over the past decade threatens not only our pupils' education but also the future of the profession, warns @samgibbs.bsky.social
How we dumbed down teaching – and what we must do to fix it
Over the past decade, teaching has been pushed towards a prescriptive model that reduces intellectual curiosity and overlooks essential classroom engagement, argues Sam Gibbs
www.tes.com
May 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Oh, what I've been saying *forever* is suddenly news.
Reposted by Carola J
Shipman's ST column says that Bridget Phillipson is going to be replaced as ed sec by Peter Kyle in June.
But she's working on a massive/complex overhaul of special needs which will have to be signed off before then. Mad to have her make that call and then be replaced (if that is the plan).
But she's working on a massive/complex overhaul of special needs which will have to be signed off before then. Mad to have her make that call and then be replaced (if that is the plan).
May 4, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Shipman's ST column says that Bridget Phillipson is going to be replaced as ed sec by Peter Kyle in June.
But she's working on a massive/complex overhaul of special needs which will have to be signed off before then. Mad to have her make that call and then be replaced (if that is the plan).
But she's working on a massive/complex overhaul of special needs which will have to be signed off before then. Mad to have her make that call and then be replaced (if that is the plan).
Stop the world I want to get off.
I mean, it’s just insane and shows how desperate the markets are to hear that message.
CNBC even ran it as fact.
CNBC even ran it as fact.
April 7, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Stop the world I want to get off.
Reposted by Carola J
"What do you mean 'good luck with the polar bear'? Where are you going?"
March 29, 2025 at 12:23 PM
"What do you mean 'good luck with the polar bear'? Where are you going?"
Reposted by Carola J
So a nail-biter of an evening awaits. *If* the exit poll is correct.
What is certain: turnout was 84%, the highest of any election since German reunification.
What is certain: turnout was 84%, the highest of any election since German reunification.
February 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
So a nail-biter of an evening awaits. *If* the exit poll is correct.
What is certain: turnout was 84%, the highest of any election since German reunification.
What is certain: turnout was 84%, the highest of any election since German reunification.
Reposted by Carola J
Everything hinges on whether FDP & BSW stay under 5%. If so, GroKo is in play without also needing Greens, which you have to think is least worst scenario at this point
February 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Everything hinges on whether FDP & BSW stay under 5%. If so, GroKo is in play without also needing Greens, which you have to think is least worst scenario at this point
Reposted by Carola J
Every teacher who leaves teaching -- and by all accounts retention is in a bad state -- is one who decided the "long holidays" aren't worth it.
February 15, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Every teacher who leaves teaching -- and by all accounts retention is in a bad state -- is one who decided the "long holidays" aren't worth it.
Reposted by Carola J
Really interesting data via @keiranpedley.bsky.social.
Starmer: OK
Badenoch: extinction-level dire
Davey: an embodiment of the traditional Lib Dem brand
Farage: de facto Leader of the Opposition
Starmer: OK
Badenoch: extinction-level dire
Davey: an embodiment of the traditional Lib Dem brand
Farage: de facto Leader of the Opposition
February 5, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Really interesting data via @keiranpedley.bsky.social.
Starmer: OK
Badenoch: extinction-level dire
Davey: an embodiment of the traditional Lib Dem brand
Farage: de facto Leader of the Opposition
Starmer: OK
Badenoch: extinction-level dire
Davey: an embodiment of the traditional Lib Dem brand
Farage: de facto Leader of the Opposition
Reposted by Carola J
Six areas have been added to the government’s Devolution Priority Programme - paving the way for more mayor-led authorities.
They are:
• Cumbria
• Cheshire & Warrington
• Norfolk & Suffolk
• Greater Essex
• Sussex & Brighton
• Hampshire & Solent
They are:
• Cumbria
• Cheshire & Warrington
• Norfolk & Suffolk
• Greater Essex
• Sussex & Brighton
• Hampshire & Solent
February 5, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Six areas have been added to the government’s Devolution Priority Programme - paving the way for more mayor-led authorities.
They are:
• Cumbria
• Cheshire & Warrington
• Norfolk & Suffolk
• Greater Essex
• Sussex & Brighton
• Hampshire & Solent
They are:
• Cumbria
• Cheshire & Warrington
• Norfolk & Suffolk
• Greater Essex
• Sussex & Brighton
• Hampshire & Solent
Reposted by Carola J
I think we should take this story from the Times today (and picked up by many other outlets) with an enormous pinch of salt for two reason (mini thread):
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
Gen Z doubts about democracy laid bare in ‘worrying’ survey
More than half believe the UK should be a dictatorship and there’s a stark gender divide over equality, research for Channel 4 shows
www.thetimes.com
January 27, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I think we should take this story from the Times today (and picked up by many other outlets) with an enormous pinch of salt for two reason (mini thread):
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
Reposted by Carola J
It's not finished. This is just the outline. But I wrote about why North England is poor. Which it really really is. tomforth.co.uk/whynorthengl...
Why North England is poor.
And why Thatcher is partly to blame, but not in the way most people argue.
tomforth.co.uk
January 23, 2025 at 11:19 PM
It's not finished. This is just the outline. But I wrote about why North England is poor. Which it really really is. tomforth.co.uk/whynorthengl...
Reposted by Carola J
This is a David Brooks line about Trump but arguably applies to Musk as much (when stoned):
"We’ve got this perverse situation in which the vast analytic powers of the entire world are being spent trying to understand a guy whose thoughts are often just six fireflies beeping randomly in a jar."
"We’ve got this perverse situation in which the vast analytic powers of the entire world are being spent trying to understand a guy whose thoughts are often just six fireflies beeping randomly in a jar."
January 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
This is a David Brooks line about Trump but arguably applies to Musk as much (when stoned):
"We’ve got this perverse situation in which the vast analytic powers of the entire world are being spent trying to understand a guy whose thoughts are often just six fireflies beeping randomly in a jar."
"We’ve got this perverse situation in which the vast analytic powers of the entire world are being spent trying to understand a guy whose thoughts are often just six fireflies beeping randomly in a jar."
Reposted by Carola J
In a world full of Elon Musk wannabes, be a Matt Damon.
December 22, 2024 at 4:56 PM
In a world full of Elon Musk wannabes, be a Matt Damon.
Last vid of Brighton Burning the Clocks…
December 21, 2024 at 10:13 PM
Last vid of Brighton Burning the Clocks…
Even more Brighton Burning the Clocks…
December 21, 2024 at 10:12 PM
Even more Brighton Burning the Clocks…
More Brighton Burning the Clocks…
December 21, 2024 at 10:10 PM
More Brighton Burning the Clocks…
Brighton Burning the Clocks this eve…
December 21, 2024 at 10:07 PM
Brighton Burning the Clocks this eve…
If you’re wondering where the grey pound is being spent, get yourself to a garden centre cafe on a week day.
December 9, 2024 at 1:47 PM
If you’re wondering where the grey pound is being spent, get yourself to a garden centre cafe on a week day.