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Alex J-W

@alexjw.bsky.social
2K followers 1.4K following 5.9K posts

Maths educator. Often confused by the world. Follow me if you are interested in maths and stats education or professional development in general.

PostsRepliesMedia
Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 14h
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... interesting how this reports doesn’t ask how the tories will pay for a massive increase in prisons yet this is the normal response to any Labour policy.
bbc.co.uk
Laura Kuenssberg: Kemi Badenoch has cemented her image. Now she wants to take her party back to its roots
The Conservative leader is expected to set out a return to core conservative principles at the party’s annual conference.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Really sick of all the online maths homework tools - all trying to ´teach’ kids how to do specific questions but all doing it in the same way - telling kids to follow their specific procedure. Most of these procedures are divorced from underlying meaning really undermines teaching for meaning
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Dr Katie Twomey @k2mey.eurosky.social · 28/09/2026
This is quite cool. My university is the first organisation in the world to force Microsoft to allow us to turn off copilot summaries in Word 365, after a backlash against it from staff (including, very vocally, me). That cannot have been easy for our heroic IT people so hats very much off to them!
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Ken Schultz @kschultz.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I’m sorry. Is the message “invest in us OR we’ll destroy humanity” or “invest in us AND we’ll destroy humanity“?
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Mr E @theniceman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
What can we actually do to take steps in the right direction to move away from this system that stops people from learning languages? whoteacheslanguages.blogspot.com/2026/08/chal...
whoteacheslanguages.blogspot.com
Challenging the System Part 6: Next Steps...
In a previous post, I offered a vision of what a functioning languages ecosystem in the English state sector could look like. With a posit...
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... yes Mr Phipps we might need to pay for something we need. How else do you think we can provide social care to the elderly?? Cos we are borrowing to do it now
bbc.co.uk
Andy Burnham proposes NHS-style social care system for England
The prime minister told the BBC that social care in England is "as unfair as American healthcare".
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David Mair @davidmair4.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
AI seems to follow a pattern common to communication, science and policymaking. That intelligence is all about words, content, language/output legitimacy (logos), neglecting values, goals and identities (ethos) and emotions/relationships/process legitimacy (pathos). #logosfallacy
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Another excellent piece by @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social (English) Devolution, like so much else is turning into a binary issue where you either think it a waste of time and money, or a silver bullet to solve all our problems. www.ft.com/content/067a... The dangers of devolution dogma
ft.com
The dangers of devolution dogma
Viewing decentralisation as a silver bullet could lead to an unthinking rush to pass down power as fast as possible
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 25/09/2026
I have blamed The agents That hacked Your website And which You probably Reasonably thought I controlled Forgive me I am rich And unaccustomed To taking responsibility
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Can we just rename AI as ABI - anything but intelligence? Because it lacks the key element - making meaning. Sure AI generated content can lead to the reader making meaning - just as we did with astronomical objects….
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... this is so pathetic. This kind of superficiality seems to often rear its head around recruitment - might explain a lot.
bbc.co.uk
Could an iced coffee freeze you out of the job market?
Employees and recruiters weigh into the online debate around interview etiquette.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
When you get your tax rebate figure and find it almost exactly matches your credit card balance grrr
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... rescind his citizenship. We don’t need his money or his politics!
bbc.co.uk
Sir Jim Ratcliffe suspends production at key UK plants blaming high gas prices
Ineos said natural gas in the UK is twelve times more expensive than in the US.
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omgisme @omgisme.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba... strange how managers can be sacked for a few iffy results but breaking the rules is a free pass….
bbc.co.uk
Spygate: Southampton and Tonda Eckert await FA ruling
As Southampton manager Tonda Eckert awaits the FA hearing into his 'Spygate' misconduct conduct charge BBC sports editor Dan Roan speaks to him and club chief executive Phil Parsons on what happens ne...
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... why is the bbc even reporting the ravings of a loon?
bbc.co.uk
Trump says triumphal arch will be military complex
Trump said the updated plans were at the request of the US military and for national security purposes.
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Jonathan Hall @studymaths.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
UPDATE: I've just added a pen overlay tool to the Algebra Tiles. It needs a bit of tweaking (rubber tool etc) and once I'm happy I'll roll it out to the rest of the manipulatives. mathsbot.com/manipulative...
A screenshot of the Algebra Tiles tool with the new pen overlay being used. In this case to complete the square.
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Jennie Kermode @jenniekermode.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
A problem has arisen because most people are not really very interested in the products. This is economically threatening. Hence the hard sell. A lot of people are succumbing, but mostly to light use for things they actually consider practical. They're not seduced by what is, in essence, faerie gold
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Jennie Kermode @jenniekermode.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Over and over again, in conversations about AI data centres, I see people conceding a point or letting it slide to the point where it becomes 'common knowledge': we need a lot more of them. But is it true?
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Steve Bullock @guitarmoog.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I see more billionaires are perpetuating the myth that the UK is high-tax, high-govt spending. It just isn’t true. At 44% the UK’s public spending as a %of GDP is lower than most of its European peers (France 57%, Germany 49.5%, Sweden 49.3%, Italy 50.5%, Spain 45.3%) www.imf.org/external/dat...
imf.org
© 2021 International Monetary Fund. All rights reserved.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
britmap · 19 SEPTEMBER 2026 ● 99 ● 100 ● 98 ● 99 ● 99 Total: 989/1000 · www.britm.app this is fun
britm.app
britmap
The daily British history map puzzle.
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Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Indeed. The revealed preference for most people is to value the network more than any moral considerations.
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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
👇🎯 The thing that should have gotten front page coverage, from the very beginning, is that threatening 🇬🇱 & 🇨🇦 was an egregious violation of our NATO treaty commitments & should have immediately ended his presidency.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... when are the bbc going to report my thoughts on the country?
bbc.co.uk
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... the real viper clutched to our bosom is that we have allowed anti-liberal anti-kindness forces to embed themselves in our culture. We would as vulnerable to the enemy within as much as the enemy without because we have become to cowardly in standing up up for the
bbc.co.uk
War may be coming. Are we psychologically ready?
The military and government say the risk of conflict is growing, but we may not be mentally ready for it
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... this report is vile. The village should be mocked not feted and reported like some kind of serious political event. National news for a few hundred people putting a bit of paper in a box. Governors get more votes in schools
bbc.co.uk
Piddington in Oxfordshire votes to leave UK over asylum plans
Piddington residents vote over proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers nearby.
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Johnathan Perkins @johnathanperk.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
“Intersex” is the “I” in LGBTQIA. Learned a lot, watching this.
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Astonishing. And yet a door opening for the UK.... if we weren't still facing in the other direction, examining our navel, and hanging on the every utterance of a mustard-trousered bullshitter?
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Imagine having more money than you could ever need and instead of using it to tackle poverty or disease you give it to a bunch of entitled grifters who don't give a shit about anyone but themselves.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... bbc seem to think the rampant corruption and just plain dodgyiness of reform’s funding is a strength and seem to be normalising it. Do the BBC now they will be the first thing out the window of reform were ever to get near gvt?
bbc.co.uk
Will record donations to Reform be a moment of political change?
Andy Burnham is likely to face fresh pressure to further change the rules on party donations, writes Jack Fenwick.
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Politicians do of course have to respond to things the President of the United States says. But Trump doesn’t know what he's saying from one minute to the next. Tomorrow he may say the opposite. Recognising that the leader of the free world is deranged lunatic could save everyone a lot of time.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Having watched Reacher and now Banshee I can’t help thinking how messed up we are if we think extreme violence is somehow the answer and that there are never any consequences….
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Phil Brickell MP @philbrickellmp.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Party financing in this country is out of control The government needs to act via the Representation of the People Bill to restrict spending limits and donations👇🏻 Reform receives second £36m donation in two days as crypto investor matches record www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Reform receives second £36m donation in two days as crypto investor matches record
Cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne says he has matched a donation from Ben Delo announced late on Friday.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Harborne has given Reform £36 million to match Delo's £36 million. The Telegraph describes it as a "show of force" from Reform's donors. The two men's £72 million is greater than all of the spending by all political parties on the 2024 GE www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
telegraph.co.uk
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Tanita Tikaram @tanitatikaram.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
What I love about Western democracy is you can bung a political party £ 36 million earned from criminal activity & most media will continue to point at asylum seekers & migrant care workers with families as the barbarians at the gate we need to defend ourselves from 🙄.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... spurious headline of the day
bbc.co.uk
UK economy sees surprise growth in July helped by AI boom
The economy expanded by 0.4%, official figures show, whereas analysts had predicted no growth.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Those old problems, that the UK just doesn't have enough of a presence in Brussels and brings little creatively to the table (related), are in evidence once again. Equally, there's a lot of paranoia in Brussels about China that affects almost all trade partners.
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Ed Wilson @eddwilson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The Trump-Netanyahu attack on Iran is steering us towards world recession (not that the Tehran regime are good guys). Could we start pointing fingers? The Monetary Policy Committee might try to "look through" this idiocy - "through a glass darkly". #R4Today
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
If we just agree with the tech bros that their feeble LLM have consciousness will they just stop wasting money and time on it and leave us all alone. I am happy to admit that their ‘machines’ have attained a level of humanity equal to their creators
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/jobs/teacher... anyone fancy a nice part time job in south man with me!
teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk
Teacher of Mathematics - Parrs Wood High School
Teacher of Mathematics job from Parrs Wood High School. Apply by 14 Sep 2026.
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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
In our whole-school T&L CPD today, I included @cmooreanderson.eurosky.social's work on live-modelling (diagrams), talk-rich classrooms and teaching without PowerPoint. It generated lots of really good discussion about active learning & inclusive classrooms. Thanks Christian.
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
“My profession smiles at hard-right figures when they walk into a TV studio and are given a disproportionate amount of air time to make their fact-free assertions while nodding along to their scapegoating of the weak.” ✍️ Patrick Howse
bylinetimes.com
The BBC Is Just Nodding Along
The corporation's news coverage has lost its soul as a bulwark against unaccountable power and extremism, writes a former BBC News producer
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Hannah R @missradders.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Morning! 💪🏻
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Elliott Smith @elliottsmithblesky.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
If I wanted to demotivate and alienate the Reform base, if I wanted to communicate just how culturally alien I was to them, if I wanted to hide information in a place they’d never find it in a million years, then ‘a book’ would be the tool that I would deploy.
static.klipy.com
Stack of Books on a Table
ALT: Stack of Books on a Table
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Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Buy my book, it won’t send any kind of message and I have no desire to create any kind of army. But hey, at least you’re not giving money to Suella Braverman. geni.us/BreakingMicW...
geni.us
Breaking: How the Media Works, When it Doesn't and Why it Matters
Out now!
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 04/09/2026
Farage champions the wrong values, lies about them, and fails every test of competence delivering on them would require. This scandal gives us an opportunity and the evidence to say so, and we should. dmitryopines.substack.com/p/on-farage-...
dmitryopines.substack.com
On Farage, Values, Authenticity, and Judgement
Surprised my computer let me type his name and those nouns in the same line.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Simple fact. Right populists are not held to the same standards as others. Whether in the UK or other countries. You wish it different. But it isn't. And it probably won't be, because that's where most of the big money is heading these days.
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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/09/2026
With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.
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Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
#alevelmaths does anyone use the AMSP further maths support programme? Are you able to claim the uplift funding for a 4th subject if so any idea how that is included when the funding form is submitted??
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Gregory A. Hargreaves @bordergroves.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
"[A] democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism—ownership of Government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power." - FDR (1938)
media.tenor.com
a man stands at a podium with microphones that say wor on them
ALT: a man stands at a podium with microphones that say wor on them
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