Sandy Leaton Gray
@drleatongray.bsky.social
Professor of Education Futures at UCL. Personal account, posts represent my own opinions and not those of my institution.
Great that I have a new book on decolonisation out today with Routledge. Not great that they demoted me in the biography despite us asking for a correction *twice*. They didn’t demote my male co-author, of course. I’m furious.
November 18, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Great that I have a new book on decolonisation out today with Routledge. Not great that they demoted me in the biography despite us asking for a correction *twice*. They didn’t demote my male co-author, of course. I’m furious.
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
Also tbh the idea that the average layperson can become expert enough in any field to have a nuanced and meaningful take on policy is frankly 98% of why we are in any given mess.
No, a weekend of reading is not gonna make you an expert on anything and some they’all don’t even do that much.
No, a weekend of reading is not gonna make you an expert on anything and some they’all don’t even do that much.
I do not want to “Do my own research.” I want to pay trained accredited experts to do the research, trained accredited experts to report on findings, and trained accredited experts to make policy based on them.
I am busy af with my own job, I don’t need to do eight zillion more.
I am busy af with my own job, I don’t need to do eight zillion more.
November 15, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Also tbh the idea that the average layperson can become expert enough in any field to have a nuanced and meaningful take on policy is frankly 98% of why we are in any given mess.
No, a weekend of reading is not gonna make you an expert on anything and some they’all don’t even do that much.
No, a weekend of reading is not gonna make you an expert on anything and some they’all don’t even do that much.
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
💪
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:12 AM
💪
Well, something unprecedented just happened. After years of emotionally exhausting reviews, I got one that said the submitted paper was great and nothing really needed changing. 😮😄
November 14, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Well, something unprecedented just happened. After years of emotionally exhausting reviews, I got one that said the submitted paper was great and nothing really needed changing. 😮😄
Uber and Bolt warn of 15% fare increase from ‘taxi tax’ plan. I think people are absolutely right to object as the unintended consequences, particularly outside metropolitan zones with generous public transport, will be vast.
www.thetimes.com/article/ac20...
www.thetimes.com/article/ac20...
Uber and Bolt warn of 15% fare increase from ‘taxi tax’ plan
The firms have asked Rachel Reeves not to impose VAT on private hire journeys, saying it would hit vulnerable passengers and put women’s safety at risk
www.thetimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Uber and Bolt warn of 15% fare increase from ‘taxi tax’ plan. I think people are absolutely right to object as the unintended consequences, particularly outside metropolitan zones with generous public transport, will be vast.
www.thetimes.com/article/ac20...
www.thetimes.com/article/ac20...
www.economist.com/business/202... TL:DR to profile people this way replicates the biometric racism that Galton and Bertillon were so fascinated by, and which ultimately contributed significantly to the holocaust.
Should facial analysis help determine whom companies hire?
A new paper suggests a photo can tell a recruiter much about an applicant’s personality
www.economist.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:07 AM
www.economist.com/business/202... TL:DR to profile people this way replicates the biometric racism that Galton and Bertillon were so fascinated by, and which ultimately contributed significantly to the holocaust.
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
The 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report was meant to “build a world-class curriculum for all.” In reality, it signals something quite different: the closure of curriculum reform in England. 🧵
November 5, 2025 at 10:08 PM
The 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report was meant to “build a world-class curriculum for all.” In reality, it signals something quite different: the closure of curriculum reform in England. 🧵
A big shout out to the Cambridgeshire Cycling Proficiency teachers out and about in Sawston this week with cohorts of primary schoolchildren, chanting in unison ‘Turning right!’ ‘Turning left!’ ‘Looking for traffic!’ as they rode along. Cuteness itself and a perfect pedagogy for safety drill.
November 6, 2025 at 11:16 AM
A big shout out to the Cambridgeshire Cycling Proficiency teachers out and about in Sawston this week with cohorts of primary schoolchildren, chanting in unison ‘Turning right!’ ‘Turning left!’ ‘Looking for traffic!’ as they rode along. Cuteness itself and a perfect pedagogy for safety drill.
The 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report was meant to “build a world-class curriculum for all.” In reality, it signals something quite different: the closure of curriculum reform in England. 🧵
November 5, 2025 at 10:08 PM
The 2025 Curriculum and Assessment Review Final Report was meant to “build a world-class curriculum for all.” In reality, it signals something quite different: the closure of curriculum reform in England. 🧵
Don't pay for iCloud, people. A glitch at the Apple end meant that it has permanently wiped a third of my entire iCloud files by accident (n=300), across every single device, and it took me 5 days, 3 online chats and 3 phone calls to learn they are not going to do anything about it. All gone.
November 5, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Don't pay for iCloud, people. A glitch at the Apple end meant that it has permanently wiped a third of my entire iCloud files by accident (n=300), across every single device, and it took me 5 days, 3 online chats and 3 phone calls to learn they are not going to do anything about it. All gone.
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
I wrote a blog post on AI and the need for sapience. Pause. Enjoy.
"If AI will one day become the infrastructure of knowledge, then the role of educational institutions is to ensure that knowledge remains tethered to meaning". #AI #HEI #EduSky @drleatongray.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/2025/10/...
The long slow turn: sapience, technology and the future of education
The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been narrated as a story of inevitability, implying that social institutions must simply keep up… (read more)
blogs.ucl.ac.uk
October 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I wrote a blog post on AI and the need for sapience. Pause. Enjoy.
I wrote a blog post on AI and the need for sapience. Pause. Enjoy.
"If AI will one day become the infrastructure of knowledge, then the role of educational institutions is to ensure that knowledge remains tethered to meaning". #AI #HEI #EduSky @drleatongray.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social blogs.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/2025/10/...
The long slow turn: sapience, technology and the future of education
The promise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been narrated as a story of inevitability, implying that social institutions must simply keep up… (read more)
blogs.ucl.ac.uk
October 30, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I wrote a blog post on AI and the need for sapience. Pause. Enjoy.
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
the pièce de résistance in all this, for me, was learning how the alleged heisters allegedly got the ladder:
they requested a demonstration from the Paris-based owner, then stole it during the demonstration
they requested a demonstration from the Paris-based owner, then stole it during the demonstration
October 24, 2025 at 9:53 AM
the pièce de résistance in all this, for me, was learning how the alleged heisters allegedly got the ladder:
they requested a demonstration from the Paris-based owner, then stole it during the demonstration
they requested a demonstration from the Paris-based owner, then stole it during the demonstration
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
The interview with the CEO letting slip one of the other ideas they had but ditched, metro.co.uk/video/german...
German crane manufacturer goes viral with Louvre heist advert
Burglars who stole jewels worth an estimated €88m from the Louvre aren't the only ones profiting from the heist.
The German manufacturer of the lift used to steal the jewels published an advert featu...
metro.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 8:55 AM
The interview with the CEO letting slip one of the other ideas they had but ditched, metro.co.uk/video/german...
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
The German company that makes the mechanical ladder used in the Louvre heist has used the image to advertise, with the text 'When you need to move fast'
10/10 response, no notes
10/10 response, no notes
October 24, 2025 at 8:27 AM
The German company that makes the mechanical ladder used in the Louvre heist has used the image to advertise, with the text 'When you need to move fast'
10/10 response, no notes
10/10 response, no notes
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
In Praise of Jewel Thieves
How nice to read about a heist rather than a massacre
www.theatlantic.com
October 24, 2025 at 11:57 AM
So come join with me in a journey of discovery regarding a painting I inherited from my grandparents. It’s of little financial value but great interest.
October 24, 2025 at 8:58 AM
So come join with me in a journey of discovery regarding a painting I inherited from my grandparents. It’s of little financial value but great interest.
Parents look for £180,000 tutor to prepare baby for Eton or Harrow. Extraordinary.
www.thetimes.com/article/152b...
www.thetimes.com/article/152b...
Parents look for £180,000 tutor to prepare baby for Eton or Harrow
The ideal candidate would be from a ‘socially appropriate background’ to ready the one-year-old boy for elite schools
www.thetimes.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Parents look for £180,000 tutor to prepare baby for Eton or Harrow. Extraordinary.
www.thetimes.com/article/152b...
www.thetimes.com/article/152b...
‘The Georgian-inspired desk costs £11,500 and has satinwood legs … I bought it once I got the advance from my new book, Clodagh’s Happy Cooking.’ (Times). In contrast I spent entire annual royalties for six academic books on a pre-loved John Lewis desk off eBay last year. Questioning life choices.
October 22, 2025 at 9:44 AM
‘The Georgian-inspired desk costs £11,500 and has satinwood legs … I bought it once I got the advance from my new book, Clodagh’s Happy Cooking.’ (Times). In contrast I spent entire annual royalties for six academic books on a pre-loved John Lewis desk off eBay last year. Questioning life choices.
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
My text to a colleague this morning!
October 20, 2025 at 9:59 PM
My text to a colleague this morning!
Have finally persuaded my parents to adopt my old smartphone. They are not untechnological but just didn’t see the point before. The defining moment was probably the window cleaner wanting pictures of the windows in order to quote.
October 16, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Have finally persuaded my parents to adopt my old smartphone. They are not untechnological but just didn’t see the point before. The defining moment was probably the window cleaner wanting pictures of the windows in order to quote.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great my husband survived Covid round three and all that, but having him downstairs again of an evening has definitely compromised my binge watching of The White Queen.
October 16, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great my husband survived Covid round three and all that, but having him downstairs again of an evening has definitely compromised my binge watching of The White Queen.
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
We don’t just have an attendance problem, we have an engagement problem – but we can learn a lot from the way Chicago has turned around its school system, says @vianclark.bsky.social
Curriculum reform must focus on engagement, not just attainment
Looking at how Chicago turned around its struggling schools offers insights into how the curriculum review could unlock transformation here, says trust CEO Becks Boomer-Clark
www.tes.com
October 15, 2025 at 6:35 AM
We don’t just have an attendance problem, we have an engagement problem – but we can learn a lot from the way Chicago has turned around its school system, says @vianclark.bsky.social
Reposted by Sandy Leaton Gray
At the other end of the spectrum, when my dad was ~17 he did well in an event for young chemists and the prize was a trip to an asbestos factory.
My 9yo is going on a school trip to Abba Voyage this week for a tenner, which I'm just throwing out there as the best school trip I've ever heard of
Inexplicably, my son’s very standard state school - in a mixed area, not a particularly affluent one - arranged a £4K trip to Kenya last year. I keep meaning to do a story on the astonishing escalation of the school trip.
October 13, 2025 at 12:04 PM
At the other end of the spectrum, when my dad was ~17 he did well in an event for young chemists and the prize was a trip to an asbestos factory.
My lad’s house sale has fallen through after the survey revealed extensive asbestos problems. It leaves them £4K down on multiple fees and surveys, after two failed attempts to buy a home fell through.
October 11, 2025 at 5:45 PM
My lad’s house sale has fallen through after the survey revealed extensive asbestos problems. It leaves them £4K down on multiple fees and surveys, after two failed attempts to buy a home fell through.