Sunday question for ELA folks: what is the best page/passage of literature you've brought into the classroom from a book this year? Why? (Bonus points for a pic of the actual page 😎)

Okay, I have to say it: Pluribus (on Apple TV) is remarkable. Anyone else 2 episodes in and just overwhelmed? (in the best of ways?)

I wish there was a "PD opportunity" where English teachers met in groups of 5-6 + each brought a passage from a book that they find meaningful in craft as well as substance to share with others, explaining why it moves them. Each gets a turn—then you walk away with 4-5 new passages to play with.

2025: where I grade the AI that was built to grade my students. Circle of (educational) life.

The uncertainty of the state takeover is taking a toll. For years, my colleagues and I have worked under unreasonable conditions and we’ve made some real magic. +

It brings me a lot of joy to feel inspired by a poem, to create and teach a lesson, to share that lesson, and then see someone like Marcus adapt and mold it to an entirely new objective. Let's keep sharing here on #EduSky #TeachersofBluesky!

🎯 without question this is the reality for many English teachers right now: we are having to advocate in every way possible to keep the longer texts we know students love in our curriculum and to bring more whenever we can (however we can)

"If you needed proof that the ‘Mississippi Miracle’ has jumped the shark..." ⬆️🦈⬇️

Reason #192391 that I continue to love connecting with other teachers here: 1️⃣ found a poem activity from @thevogelman.bsky.social 2️⃣ had students to read/annotate/discuss 3️⃣ then asked them to write their own "ingredients" poem 4️⃣ each student shared one line to create our "classroom ingredients"

It was a long week but I have a student this year who begins each of our classes by standing at the front of the room + delivering a brief 30-second comedy routine for their classmates + I don't think I can overstate how much joy this brings into our room. Students can really be incredible.

Being a teacher in 2025: being required to submit student writing into an AI tool + then being required to edit/override the scores since they are unreliable. (Make it make sense.)

Trying something new in the classroom is both the most exciting and scary thing. This is such a great reflection of that pedagogical process! #TeacherSky

Trying something new in the classroom can be a "best of times but also worst of times" experience—esp. if you want that "new" to be both good/sustainable That's what I reflected on today: learnings from bringing a new strategy/system into the classroom thebrokencopier.substack.com/p/bringing-s...

Super-cool activity adapted from @briansztabnik.bsky.social to mix things up at the halfway point of our novel: 1️⃣ groups determine 5 key moments in reading so far, summarize them on slide deck 2️⃣ groups trade slide decks to complete analysis of each moment that the other group summarized (1/2)

My one consistent point about doing check-in surveys, etc., in the classroom: you HAVE to share the results with students. (Even if the numbers go down!)

17 years ago today, my friends and I were watching as Obama got elected, sobbing and chain-smoking cigarettes, waxing poetic about the first Black president. In hindsight, it is a privilege to have believed in something so completely. I’ll never fault the person I was who believed in hope & change.

Their Eyes Were Watching God continues to be THE book for me in the classroom. It is remarkable. Every single time in a new way. (And we're only on Chapter 7!)

Multiple times this week an idea from another teacher multiple time zones away has made its way into our classroom in a positive, impactful way—and I'm reminded, despite all the other stuff, that doing this work in community matters. It matters a great deal.

"We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves." Quite a line right there. And a call-to-action.

"And the way to keep the ship floating is to keep peddling the vision and to seem more confident that the dream is inevitable the less it appears to be coming true." Man, it is always fun to see @brianphillips.bsky.social cook—and especially on this topic: www.theringer.com/2025/11/04/t...

Presuming we'll still be around and functioning enough to have the benefit of hindsight, I feel quite confident that future historians will have one word to describe how education navigated the years from 2020-2025: Abysmally.

"The world does not have to be stagnant to be comfortable" Students write cool things—and, without question, it is worth it to take the time to showcase and celebrate those cool things (Probably favorite space in our classroom!)

New month, new calendar! (And it was a good Monday: there was a lot to choose from for the first box!)

I sometimes think reading goals and the social media culture around them can suck the fun out of reading. Just read when you can, don’t get caught up in beating a number or beating someone else’s goal. Don’t feel bad that you read less than the next person because your life is not their life.

I'm talking about paraphrase in class this week and was curious to know how ChatGPT would fare creating a lesson similar to the one I'm actually using (that I made without AI). I asked for a passage from a real article and then a good paraphrase. It did give me a passage. But the rest? Not great. /1

Just about to draft out my "November calendar" for recording wins—September/October are completely full. (Seriously: this habit makes a substantive impact.)

as a HS English teacher, it really is something to teach "American Dream" novels and see how flat that idea lands in the classroom amongst students me: "...and you know, like the American Dream? Right?" students: *blink with awkward, dismissive silence*

A mini-thread/self-reminder going into this new school week: This past Friday, I was coming off a very up-and-down week, especially with out-of-school stuff, and I walked into Friday's classes (Halloween!) already sort of thinking about the finish line. That happens! But...

Been listening to a Knowledge Matters podcast series about social studies that made an important point about CCR: schools went all in on math and “reading skills” at the expense of…everything* else. Today’s high schoolers have grown up with that + Zoom. Disconnectedness is a logical outcome (1/2).

For me, this is maybe the second-order consequence of increasing AI usage for writing and communication that I am most concerned about. If quantity increases and authenticity decreases, the motivation to find meaning in reading and writing? Surely it will continue to wither.

"Bizarre notions of expertise" 🎯 This. This is the description I've been looking for. Spot-on.

I wrote more letters of recommendation this year for students than any year prior, and found value every single time I sat down and went work on one. It's a privilege I take seriously. That said: I'm really not sure if I want to write them anymore going forward.

"I'm trying to almost like work backward from what is most meaningful in the classroom—and how can we find ways to make it more meaningful for students." If AI is part of the path to that? I'm open-minded. But right now, it feels like the exact opposite...

Yeah … I grew up living in a district where local public schools had grad rates in the 25% range - kids were NOT being set up for life success. The problem with the Gates college & career push was the focus on quantifiable school outcomes instead of root sociopolitical causes. (1/2)

"With your group: What do you notice? What do you wonder?" Could not recommend more: giving anonymous check-in surveys with class and THEN sharing the results so they can see and respond to them as a classroom community

I think the term "college and career readiness" is an incredibly well-intentioned shift in education that has left many, many high school students disengaged + disconnected from their learning. They deserve to learn things that have value + enrich their lives in the present—not just the future.

It had been A WEEK for so many reasons so I just decided to edit our bellringer to this—and then everyone went around and shared aloud. The right way to begin class today, and a reminder-to-self for me that I always should pivot towards what matters.

"There’s no resolving that." These final two paragraphs are without question the most haunting read of the day for me so far. Happy Halloween to you, too, @marcwatkins.bsky.social... (But thank you for this piece today.)

"I reject the idea that AI actually saves me time." So many aspects of this conversation with Stephen Fitzpatrick felt different than much else of what I hear about AI—really, really enjoyed wearing my "learner hat" and hearing about his own experiences as a teacher with it.

A highlight of fall semester classes every single time 🍁🍂 The fall leaf poem 🙂 First comment will have the basic lesson outline. #WriteOut #nwp

"I feel pretty strongly that using AI to do research is just going to be the norm going forward." As someone who teaches a "research unit" with HS sophomores, I think about this a lot—what do they need now, especially looking forward?

a fantastic sequence this week: 1⃣ reading "A Small Place" by Jamaica Kincaid 2⃣ designing narrative prompt for students 3⃣ creating my own "teacher perspective" sample 4⃣ seeing students do some very-cool stuff with it!

"What I’m offering here is documentation. It’s one teacher’s attempt to use AI deliberately, try to use the tools productively, and assess the results honestly." There are many things teachers are doing w/ AI that make me skeptical. But this? If there's a right way, this is the right way.

Omgoodness. We r on same page, my friend. I used this term last week w my Eng 9 kids, We r going 2 zoom in, so we can zoom out. I showed them Zoom, & now we’re annotating/reading a picture 📕 (Batman’s Dark Secret) - processing details & connecting them to themes. online.fliphtml5.com/lpvez/pehy/

New writing activity we're trying out: Zoom In, Zoom Out (Another way to capture their thinking on a reading before arriving in class to discuss!)

honestly the only piece worth reading on the platner situation. @tressiemcphd.bsky.social is absolutely cooking here. (gift link)

One of the ongoing challenges as a teacher has been navigating "two classrooms" at once: one for students who are there regularly/moving forward confidently; the other for students who are frequently absent and very much disconnected from what we're doing. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...

I spend a LOT of time assessing sts’ work. I know that work could be spent doing other things. But not spent doing better things. I said this 2 them 2day: I assess ur work & provide personalized feedback 2 u in order 2 KNOW u as learners & ppl. I can’t where they r @ if I send 2 AI 2 b marked.

Update from the classroom: multiple class periods spent way too much time trying to explain how the phrase "lowkey" works today and despite all their patience with me I still lowkey don't get it.