David Barton, the widely ridiculed and perpetually corrected "amateur historian" who has mainstreamed the idea that church-state separation is a myth, will be advising the Texas State Board of Education on social studies curriculum.

Overheard in school today: "The first Ten Commandments are known as the Bill of Rights..." 😵

I guess they didn't have any bridges for their friends to jump off of....

From the archives: Teaching has always been tough. Here's George, a teacher in 1819: "little comfort is to be looked for in the life of a schoolmaster, if he is always to be liable to similar derangements and disappointments in the execution of his plans.”

Linda "A-1" McMahon and henchmen: American education used to be a great shining light! The actual archives: Deptford NJ suspended its public school on May 2, 1789, because “the schoolhouse Windows are frequently broken by the Scholars"

[news announcer voice:] For more on this, let's go to the "baby-dinosaurs-in-cages" exhibit at the creationist Ark Encounter in Kentucky, visited by ~750K people per year.

Apocalypse math is so tricky. Maybe like William Miller in 1843, Mhlakela forgot to carry the third horn of the beast.

'Many of the educators are caught flatfooted, shocked to find out that they are the subject of a virulent social media campaign.... “I couldn’t believe the things people I’ve known my entire life were saying about me" '

Curious about the modern attack on vaccines? @briandeer.com can explain. www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/... @hopkinspress.bsky.social #Vaccines

Once again, my condolences to everyone who doesn't get to be from Wisconsin.

My guess: "Department of A-1"

Gift link: Trump's Fox-News guy is out.

An oldie but a depressing-ie:

If they get as much schooling as boys (that has been a big IF), girls have always outperformed boys academically. E.g., in the 1845 Boston exams, girls correctly answered 36% of the science questions, boys only 19%. Girls' superiority was taken as a natural fact by reformers such as Horace Mann.

Amen to this, in big ways and small. Here's a small one: Tons of students carry about umbrellas. In my teens I would have died before I did something...so obviously reasonable and prudent.

True story: Seeking respite yesterday, I hiked on up to this gem of a high-mountain ADK pond. But here's the thing: In 2025 even the beavers are polarized--the whole time they were fighting about beaver politics. *sigh*

You’ll never believe what right wing education activists in the golden age of the 1950s (many of whom were funded by Bill Buckley’s dad) were saying about the state of US public education. That’s right , it had been poisoned by communism for many decades. bsky.app/profile/seth...

Linda "A1" McMahon's new vid sez US education was awesome in the 1950s. Here's the thing: in the 1950s, US ed was so bad Congress injected huge $$ to stave off Soviet superiority. But: in the 1950s, US schools were legally segregated by race. Guess which one Linda cares more about?

I hadn't yet watched the America 250 video, but it's a *remarkable* piece of propaganda. Everything on the culture war bingo card from obvious AI video, Drag Queen Story hour, Bill Ayers, AND the Gulf of America. There's even a WWE audio hit @ 1:03

“Know America. Love America" is the motto of the new America 250 Civics Coalition led by EdSec McMahon, partnered w/ PragerU, Turning Point USA, Heritage Foundation, & Moms for Liberty, among many, many others, to "reignite the spirit of citizenship and national pride." america250civics.com

Another loss for Oklahoma's MAGA mini-me Ryan Walters. OK's supreme court blocked new social studies standards that included conspiracy theories about covid and about Trump's loss in 2020. And they blocked the law putting bibles in public schools.

It got buried in this article, but Trump is trying to boost "patriotic" teacher ed. What will that look like? "the federal government will spend $160 million on American history and civics education this year, up from $23 million that Congress had authorized." [gift link]:

#skystorians: Can you help? I'm reading the Rawick interviews from the 1930s, tracing the ways enslaved children were educated. This line has me stumped. Can you help? “edication is one thing an’ fireside trainin’ is another. We had fireside trainin’.” John H. Jackson, b. 1851, Wilmington, NC.

"Jenkins defeated Tina Descovich, who went on to become a co-founder of the conservative group Moms For Liberty." This is the way. Americans vote for good public schools, no matter what Linda and DeSantis say.

We Americans love our public schools: "Lawmakers from some of the reddest parts of the country opposed the funding pause too, an early warning signal to the White House as it weighs plans that might further disrupt the public-education system."

Taking us back to the time when children's books included lines like this one from 1838: “The reader of this little book will certainly die, at some time not very far off.”

In 1925, MAGA activists in North Carolina sent a spy into a class at UNC. They wanted the professor fired for having "infidel" ideas about white supremacy [the prof told students white people were not superior to Black] and for telling students that the Bible was "a form of mythology."

I encourage people to watch this video. The selected footage shows the professor doing nothing even slightly out of line, whereas the student misinterprets the law and hopes to impose her religious beliefs on the material. Administrators caving to this is terrifying.

Please spread the word—The Scholars’ Workshop in Early African American Print at AAS Jan. 12-15, 2026. A writing workshop and intro to archives for junior scholars working on the dissertation or first book. Fully funded. Apply by Oct. 15 2025. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD

Here's the totally incendiary, Stalinist presentation I gave (sarcasm alert). I don't want to overstate the response. It was just a few people who seemed genuinely peeved by what I said and everyone was polite enough. But anyway, here it is. docs.google.com/presentation...

Scopes Summer continues--even after Labor Day. For everyone interested, the good folks at @evolutionvu.bsky.social and @ncse.bsky.social have made all the Vanderbilt talks available. Check out Ed Larson, Ken Miller, Lee Meadows, Amanda Townley, Barbara Forrest...tons of amazing speakers, plus me.

Now this is a headline. Front page lead in NYT. And very strong, no-BS story by @julianbarnes.bsky.social Barnes and Catie Edmondson. Respect, to all involved. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/u...

The latest issue of History of Education Quarterly is out. This thread will have free links to all of the content. 1/n

A new book by John Turner is always an event, and this book is an especially big event! So glad to see this, @yalepress.bsky.social! The vitality of Mormon history as a subfield has been nothing short of remarkable.

Thanks to @shannapeeples.bsky.social for a thoughtful review of my Lancaster book. "Laats’ greatest contribution lies in excavating this link between early notions of educational improvement and present-day echoes in perennial technological miracles that promise comprehensive learning on the cheap."

Ohio gives vouchers for transportation to private schools leaving public school kids to fend for themselves. www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-hea...

The US Constitution: "Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them..." Trump:

There's no excuse anymore. This is literally the oldest failed recipe in the history of school: Take 1. Inexperienced but well-connected pundit 2. New tech 3. Wild promises about instant improvement Mix for seven years, spread to less-well-funded schools. Result? Failed schools.

Here’s the headline ICE is walking by to get into their concentration camp just outside Chicago.

Hold firm, Pres. Washington. 100 years ago, they came for UNC--Chapel Hill. President Harry Chase stood up to them and won. He told North Carolinians they could either cave or have a "real" university. They couldn't have both; they sided with Chase.

There's no excuse anymore. This is literally the oldest failed recipe in the history of school: Take 1. Inexperienced but well-connected pundit 2. New tech 3. Wild promises about instant improvement Mix for seven years, spread to less-well-funded schools. Result? Failed schools.

Before you read this infomercial, maybe check out how the state of Pennsylvania denied licensing to this outfit because "“There is no compelling evidence that Unbound Academic’s proposed programs will enable students to meet academic standards." www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Check out the new policy dialogue on school vaccinations in History of Education Quarterly.

Scopes Summer continues! ICYMI: @ncse.bsky.social has posted the full presentations from its Scopes Centennial series, including yours truly. In my talk, I make the case for the 100-year-long impact of the trial, including our current world of attacks on higher ed and resurgent racism.

If you're curious how teachers feel about the test: old.reddit.com/r/Teachers/c...

Check out my latest for @us.theconversation.com theconversation.com/how-frank-ri...

The PragerU "America First" test for teachers in Oklahoma is much....dumber than you might think:

Thanks to Kim Tolley, we don't have to wonder what is going to happen in Florida. Without mandatory school vaccinations, children die in the thousands. Check out Dr. Tolley's book: www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

In-depth reporting by @vauhinivara.bsky.social on how AI tools are being integrated into K-12 despite a wide range of deep concerns and little research to support the push. My takeaway: teachers who are resisting when districts and ed institutions are selling kids out to tech cos. need support.

History nerd friends: What do you say when someone asks you what caused all this Trumpy chaos? When I say "Citizens United" I get blank looks.