My friend Nelba challenged me to offer some poetry reading/analysis workshops. I’m considering it for the summer! It would be pay what you can & the focus would be analysis, discussion, connecting old classics to new genius, & how to gift poetry to young people. What do you think? Any interest?

Anything written by @heymrsbond.com is worth reading ---- Keeping Parents in the Loop With Student-Written Emails www.edutopia.org/article/comm...

Here are some research ideas: 1. How do Black women English teachers in the state of Texas perceive state takeovers as influencing their decisions to remain in the profession? 2. How does the standardization of curriculum impact Black English teacher self-efficacy? #DoctoralJourney

Since everybody’s all “make sure all your doctoral assignments build to your problem of practice” and “use all your classes to write about your problem of practice” can somebody please just tell me what my problem of practice is?! Damn! 🤣😭

Oooh I'm so excited that @heymrsbond.com finally wrote up her home email strategy for @edutopia.org !!! www.edutopia.org/article/comm...

Heeey, new teacher! Yes, this is really forking hard. No, it’s probably not supposed to be THIS hard. Although you can’t control most of it, you can make sure to drink water, eat your lunch, and take some breaks. Teaching’s a big deal, but you’re a big deal too! Signed, Your teacher big sister

It’s testing season and below, you’ll find the answers to commonly asked questions:

Oh, nothing. Just waiting on my professor to email me back to tell me that my research idea is still “way too big” and “spanning multiple dissertations” instead of okay-ing my topic 😭 #doctoraljourney

James Baldwin said that part of being a writer is knowing “what I won’t do.” And “at least refrain from consciously telling lies.”

I spent summers with my grandma and started reading her Danielle Steele collection at age 8. I spent more time worried about secret love children than I needed to 🤣😅

Dr. Rev. John M. Perkins is with the ancestors now. The Perkins patriarch is gone. 🖤 Dr. Perkins is a civil rights legend. His kids were first to integrate Mississippi schools in early 1970s. He founded multiple orgs, including schools and churches. There will NEVER be another John M. Perkins.

Women and girls should be safe in movement work. Holding gratitude and grief for Dolores Huerta’s dedication and bravery. Wishing she didn’t have to be so goddamned committed and brave.

I knew The Academy was gonna do what it does to preserve whiteness, but I’m having such a hard time knowing the artists, the people whose work has the potential to change the world, watched both movies and truly thought One Battle After Another is a better film than Sinners.

Have you ever even thought how being kind to people online from Gaza even if you have no money for them offers them valuable emotional support & gives them hope & contributes to their survival this way? This small thing to combat genocide is in everyone’s power. Imagine not taking the opportunity.

@unlawfulentries.bsky.social (Prof. Anna O. Law) compellingly summarized parts of her forthcoming book on @dahlialithwick.bsky.social's podcast Amicus. I'd say it sounds like a must-read for people who want to better understand our "nation of immigrants" (e.g., me!) www.annaolaw.com/book-migrati...

Delroy Lindo is an intergenerational, intercontinental treasure; he deserves every single good thing. Thank you, Ryan Coogler, for creating a world where Lindo got to bring Delta Slim to life. #Oscars #Sinners

“You are a gifted surgeon with an extraordinary mind. Don’t let what he wants eclipse what you need. He’s very dreamy. But he is not the sun. You are.” 😭💛

💀

Louise V Durham, stained glass and driftwood sculpture, Shoreham by Sea, UK #WomensArt

Being a teacher in Texas means there’s a fresh hell that breaks my spirit every week. A law. A policy change. A small capitulation to a government that would rather kids be silent than safe. And yet, there is magic here.

I can’t be a school administrator. My first question is always, always “where’s the research to support this decision?” and most people don’t like that.

The fact that Kristi Noem was removed and Pete Hegseth was not should tell white women everything they need to know about their relationship to power. It won’t, but it should.

I only $3,000 out my $5,000 fundraising goal! My family desperately needs money to pay for my stepdads funeral expenses and living expenses. Please donate if you can and share if you can't! 🙏🏾 www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...

OK I know this is like the least important thing but the fact that he's using this as an opportunity to hawk his overpriced USA hat is really pissing me off.

So #NTTBF did it again. @angiethomas.bsky.social, @arriwrites.bsky.social, and Rex Ogle are everything. So many people named that being a Texas teacher rn is TOUGH. But there are still stories to share and I’m so grateful for the folks who wield their stories to tell our children the truth 💛

the GOAT first page 🐐

Tomorrow, my students and I begin Zora Neale Hurston’s masterpiece. This is my favorite novel to read and teach and this is the most perfect first page in all of literature. I’m nervous and excited to experience Janie’s world with this group. The conversation will be RICH. #TeachingTEWWG

I’m at the “why am I even trying to teach; all these kids are at extracurricular events anyway” part of being a high school teacher during spring semester.

I’m disappointed that people truly believe a white Christian man is a better choice to fight Christian nationalism than a Black woman lawyer and sitting congressperson. When thinking about people who advocate for “reaching across the aisle,” I think of the marginalized folks they’re willing

🧵So let's imagine I am a student in @heymrsbond.com 's class. It's the first time I have a Black woman as an ELA teacher. She sees me, speaks my language, enages the content in relevant ways. I was always a good student but because I have been given a voice, I want to go the extra mile. But then 1/

OOF 😭

Imagine the person who said “I brought you into this world; I can take you out” looking you in the eye and telling you that your parenting isn’t gentle enough for their grandkids…

I’m gonna spray my toddler with a water bottle because his new favorite thing is spitting. His grandmother is FLOORED! “I can’t believe you’re gonna spray that baby with water!” Ma’am…you spanked me!?

They act so brand new with grandkids. My mom came to their defense yesterday like they were facing death row.

@heymrsbond.com, I need your help. I need the help of HS English and history teachers. If your students had to assign members of the regimes to the characters in a FICTIONAL book/movie, who do they assign to what role and why? IE-putin=hewhoshallnotbenamed. Rubio=quirrell. Etc.

I’m gonna spray my toddler with a water bottle because his new favorite thing is spitting. His grandmother is FLOORED! “I can’t believe you’re gonna spray that baby with water!” Ma’am…you spanked me!?

Why is my (Black, biracial, not Mexican) 8 year old mad at me? Because she just found out she can’t have a quinceañera.

Why is my (Black, biracial, not Mexican) 8 year old mad at me? Because she just found out she can’t have a quinceañera.

I can’t imagine how complicated today has been for folks who are Iranian and Iranian American. My heart is with you as you and your families navigate the complexities and the challenges your people face today and in the coming weeks. 💛

Someone called me a MAGA plant today and I dunno… It’s kinda flattering? 🤣🫠

Sharing with my students tomorrow.

I don’t know that Kamala Harris would have been better about Israel. I feel pretty certain that she would have been better about so many other things that, if she started a war with Iran, we’d collectively have energy enough to be shocked and outraged.

Already under CIA observiation for her community activism, Eartha Kitt was blacklisted in the U.S. for nearly a decade (1968–1978) after publicly criticizing the Vietnam War at a 1968 White House luncheon hosted by Lady Bird Johnson. Kitt was forced to work in Europe and Asia during that time.

Over the last month, my students have read and taught some of the best short stories in American Literature. I’ve been blown away at how thoughtfully and deeply they’ve approached the texts. Best idea I’ve had in a while.

What the fuck

A possibly related hot take that has been on my mind all week: People often talk about how great teachers don’t necessarily make great leaders, but the bigger issue is that the districts I’ve experienced have incentive structures that reward technocratic careerists over organic leaders. (1/2)

All’s well, friends. They did well.

“It's crucial in the same way condoms and STI screenings are crucial to sexual health. Mitigation is mitigation, and if we purport to value consent and testing, then it only makes sense that unwanted exposure to viral illness be respected and modeled.”—Kae @khaoticaa.bsky.social journalist 🧵