My fourth graders are researching planets. They have access to several online sites (Brain Pop, PebbleGo, Britannica School). We checked out a bunch of books from our school library as well. They cheered when I brought out the books. Way to make me love my job, kiddos.

Thank you @triangleman.bsky.social for this short thread and for the work. Ignoring that this is happening may be easy but it leads to a terrifying future.

I love this thread. The power of writing positive notes to others is fantastic. Not for them (although it can be for them) but for the one writing the notes. I write one note to a colleague and two postcards per class (I have two classes) each week. It helps me so much.

Yes, yes, yes. We spend so much time at work with people who may be fine (or may not be) but most of them aren't actual friends. What a gift it is when it happens.

I'm a bit hesitant to share this because there are so many great books here I'd love to win, but I want as many people to donate as possible! This is such a wonderfully generous, thoughtful idea and action.

I am thrilled by Spanberger’s win (and so many wins across Virginia). I am also grateful for this reminder. We have so much work to do.

For two days we've used Slow Reveal Graphs as my fourth graders explore line graphs. As I click to each new image there are loud gasps. It makes my day.

I came across this in this article, which has a link to the study.

I just can't with what education is to so many people currently. Students don't test as well when it is hot? So time tests when the temperatures are cooler and invest in HVAC systems. Seriously? Maybe we could, instead, consider placing less emphasis on tests that can be impacted by temperature.

That’s the kind of kneejerk dismissive advice that makes me violent. Telling people to just grow their own food is tantamount to telling them to eat cake.

Please! Come on, professionals!

On my way to San Francisco to see my sister for a long weekend and that brings me so much joy. All my travel taking place during the No Kings rallies and missing them on both coasts makes me sad. Thank you all for sharing signs and stories and for being out there and standing up!

This is a fabulous thread giving some really important context to go beyond the hype that is everywhere.

I will miss her. I've listened to NPR for a significant majority of my life and her voice and stories are treasures.

We are in the 8th week of school and I finally have a system for all of my stuff that means my “desk” can be clear! (Desk is a bit of a misnomer because it serves that purpose and it’s also a place I use to meet with small groups.)

why are we pretending that race shouldn't be predominant when remedying racism? it's the same problem I've always had with affirmative action being about "diversity" rather than quotas. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION SHOULD BE ABOUT QUOTAS. REMEDYING RACISM IN VOTING SHOULD CONSIDER RACE PREDOMINANTLY.

30 years ago I worked on a cruise ship and got to travel more than I’d ever dreamed possible. I can still remember the feeling entering cities like Istanbul where armed military personnel were noticeable. It was disconcerting. Seeing the same in US cities now (we saw this in DC last week) is scary.

It is done and seems to be working fine.

We have needed to replace the light/fan in our bedroom for quite some time. (They stopped working by remote so we pulled the chains. The fan stopped working so I use a floor fan. The chain on the light broke so now it's just art hanging from our ceiling.) This will be a test of our marriage.

This is an important question and I feel like Shana usually gets responses so that makes me think there haven't been any noticeable protests. Can anyone shed light?

I am struggling with this. 1. I still cut out the paper crossword puzzles and mail them to my 98 year old grandmother. 2. I want investigative reporting to still exist. Who do I send my money to these days? (NPR is still on my list. I may go back to the Atlantic and Mother Jones.)

If I never hear another thing about 99 Nights in the Forest I will still have heard about three lifetimes too much.

I'm realizing that a big part of starting every school year is deciding what hill I'm going to die on at any given moment in my classroom. (Not the big, ongoing hills, the little, daily ones.) Right now it's pushing in our chairs. I am bruised from tripping over stools & chairs out in walkways.

I can't get over how much better my life is because I made a change that makes me happier. I am able to eat healthier, be more focused, and be more present. Not being happy (to small extents and, of course, even more to large extents) can make everything else harder.

I changed schools and districts this year. I nearly doubled my commute. I am happier than I have been in years. Sometimes you need a change. That can make all the difference. Now I can take action in ways I couldn't when I wasn't happy. I didn't have the energy or space in my brain.

My fourth grade team compartmentalizes so I teach two groups of students math and science. My teammate teaches those kiddos language arts and social studies. Said teammate had a birthday yesterday. Mine is tomorrow. I am still, even before tomorrow, more than twice her age.

Listening to @mrchase.bsky.social and @clehmann.bsky.social discuss their book, School 2.0, on it's 10th anniversary is giving me life. That sounds hyperbolic, I know. And maybe it is. But also, these podcast episodes are keeping me moving forward. (When I get more organized I'll link to it. Sigh.)

My 22 year old is doing her student teaching in a high school theatre classroom in a school that bans phones. She is relieved both as a teacher and as a person. She’s on her phone less. She’s more present. She’s spending lunch reading. It’s beautiful.

At Open House today I got to meet many of my fourth graders. One brought me flowers and chocolate and another brought an About Me page they’d completed. I am so psyched about this year. (Students have never brought me anything at Open House so this is exciting.)

The only thing that compares to this is the lists of things you "need" when you're having a baby. It is absurd what people register for and buy that they never end up using because they're told how critical it is.

Possibly unpopular opinion: I think the laser focus on data in education has contributed to deprofessionalizing teachers. I’m not completely anti-data. I am concerned that teachers are not trusted unless they have numbers to prove what they know.

I don’t always find Audrey’s writing easy to read because she is brutally honest about the realities with technology. That’s also why I find her writing so critical to read. It’s important to know.

Our kids are 21 and 18. Yesterday we drove up to NYC, saw three Broadway shows, got up this morning to meet friends for brunch, hit an art museum, and see one more Broadway show. We’re almost home again. These moments are precious as I know they won’t last forever.

This thread feels far too familiar to me. This fall, as I begin my 28th year of elementary classroom teaching, I will be teaching science and math to two groups of fourth graders. I can’t do what we are being told to do in literacy instruction anymore.

I am heading home from the ISTE+ASCD conference in San Antonio and I have mixed feelings. I spent time with amazing people and have a lot to think about. As one who has attended both ISTE and ASCd previously, I’m not sure yet how I feel about the joint conference.

I’m at the ISTE+ASCD conference and had a casual conversation about AI (not in a session, just chatting with folks) with people I greatly respect. I raised concerns about the environmental impact and some people seemed surprised and somewhat unaware. How many people don’t recognize this issue?

On the ground in Charlotte for a brief layover on the way to San Antonio for the ISTE+ASCD conference so waving to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social!

After 27 years of teaching, 17 years as a parent (those periods of time do overlap), & 7 years as a student in FCPS, I will no longer have any formal connection to the district. (That total is equal to my age so this feels right.) I am retiring & my children have graduated.

Well, people of Virginia, if you care at all about transgender kids, you need to vote for Spanberger, Hashmi, and Jones in November. And, then lobby for good legislation.

I've been a public school teacher for 27 years. I know how much local elected officials impact our public schools (and so many other things). @schoolmarmadvisors.com is someone I'd love to have as a local elected official and I am happily supporting her campaign financially.

I can't believe this book has been out in the world for two years. I will be forever grateful to @mattrkay.bsky.social for inviting me into this work and for sharing all of his wisdom and the energy he'd put into Not Light, But Fire.

The Trump team thinks Confederate traitors who killed Americans are worth honoring. But Americans who fought at Normandy in D-Day like Medgar Evers, or served in the Navy like Harvey Milk and Cesar Chavez, or worked as a spy for the US Army like Harriet Tubman, well, they are NOT worth honoring.

I offer some more advice to my soon-to-be-a-teacher grandson a week before I retire —-Advice for Beginning—and Veteran—Teachers www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...

I have wanted that project for years. Identify the nice white people in every single CRM photo and attach a family tree.

I often feel like I am the only classroom teacher in the room (with professional organizations, policy discussions, and such). Teacher voice is needed in so many spaces. That said, the concerns and challenges voiced in the comments are valid.

It is the end of the day on a Friday with 2 1/2 weeks of school left. My 5th graders have been reading silently for the past 45 minutes because they got their book club book choices and they are all in. Thank you, children's book authors (and illustrators, but these are all novels)!

Today we finished @medenkuyatt.bsky.social's Good Different and my fifth graders were thrilled because they loved it and sad that it was over. One girl said, "Every time you finish a book you're reading to us I think, 'Now I want to read every book by that author.'" Feels like a win to me.

I have long enjoyed Naomi Shihab Nye's poetry and the one shared today on poets.org is no exception. It is beautiful and heartbreaking.

I know my kids won’t be in my home for these conversations forever so I try to stick it out when they want to talk. But keeping my eyes open for state testing today was more challenging than I’d like to admit.

Y'all, your young adult children (mine are 18 and 21) think this is the perfect time to talk with you at length (now being 9:45 pm and past my bedtime). Parenting changes and some things get easier, but I definitely wasn't prepared for this.