Malala Yousafzai surprised Brooklyn Landmark Elementary School's second-graders this fall by serving as the school's "celebrity substitute" on the YouTube show of the same name, helping launch a major makeover of the school's library and technology room. Read: https://bit.ly/47XA1T6

HAPPY THANKSGIVING (NOT): This holiday season, @nycspeakeradams.bsky.social wants you to know that she's NOT thinking about Paraprofessionals. In fact, she's spending her last few weeks in office actively working AGAINST Paras by single-handedly blocking legislation that would raise Para salaries.

the obsession with making kindergarteners to decode words has ruined kindergarten

Be wary of authors, consultants, administrators, and influencers who want you to believe they know the thing that will make children learn. There is no thing. There is no such thing. There are no easy answers. Teaching is miles wide & oceans deep.

Viola Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, has died. She was 111. "I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot," she told Congress in 2021. Geoff Bennett has more.

Thank you, teacher evaluator, for spending no time prior to the lesson learning my objectives and challenges, and for having zero understanding of the community context of my school, & for using a 60 point rubric, & for giving me absolutely useless feedback

Got into a little bit of a mayoral control rabbit hole—look at the bylines on this little slice of the disaster that was the Cathie Black chancellorship! (City Room 💔💔💔) archive.nytimes.com/cityroom.blo...

imagine saying this & thinking you’re helping. the liberal mind is a tragic joke

Investing in paraprofessionals is investing in NYC’s public schools. These educators — mostly women of color — are the backbone of our classrooms. @nycspeakeradams.bsky.social, you have the power to fix the para shortage and lead with the equity you’ve long championed. Let the bill pass!

AI data centers are sucking up communities’ power & water. AI is being used by corporations to shaft consumers and is threatening young workers’ job prospects. So Trump wants to ram through a ban on state AI regulation — all to help out his Big Tech billionaire friends. Priorities.

From Puerto Rico to Brooklyn, Rep. @velazquez.house.gov has always been a champion and tireless advocate for immigrants, small businesses and working families. Your grace and fight showed us what real leadership looks like. From the bottom of my heart, thank you La Luchadora.

yikes

It's true some students are struggling with math because of reading comprehension. It doesn't mean we stop giving them word problems.

finocchio

Not saying this would change everything but sure would be nice to get open access to scholarly journals as a K-12 teacher

Vito Marcantonio was a real one. Italian-Americans have a unique opportunity to continue his leftist, anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-colonial legacy today at the polls. Vote Mamdani.

my brand of humor

Given the hunger and fear that this administration is inflicting upon so many children across the country, it has never been a more difficult time for schools to be good places for kids to walk into and it has never been a more important time, too. And that both/and is overwhelming.

From private prisons to health care scams, the attack on unhoused people is about exploitation, not safety.

New York is violating its climate law — and doesn’t get a pass because implementing the law is “complicated,” a judge found Friday. nysfocus.com/2025/10/24/n...

What @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social is saying here really hits home. I don’t often talk about my faith. I don’t feel like explaining. I don’t want to be judged or othered, whether by strangers or people in my life. Hoping a Muslim mayor can make Islam more known. youtu.be/XjiAl-u2Cr4?...

More of this!

“Adequate housing is a ‘Muslim issue’, public transit is a ‘Muslim issue’, universal childcare is a ‘Muslim issue’. Zohran fights for these issues bc they advance the common good for all of us” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

“This is Andrew Cuomo’s final moments in public life, and he’s choosing to spend them making racist attacks on the person who would be the first Muslim to lead the city”

having fun with prefixes

Cuomo and Sliwa pronounce "Zohran Mamdani" correctly when

"Play is not a distraction from learning. It is the work of children and the means by which they become thinkers, creators, and members of a democratic society." lmonaco.substack.com/p/protecting...

If students are taught to self-regulate and focus on completing challenging academic tasks like tests, they'll do slightly better. However, it doesn't necessarily mean they're learning more. www.kqed.org/mindshift/65...

NYC Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos has done well (considering her circumstances) & merits consideration. What remains to be seen is how the role itself will evolve if the system is restructured. Most important is www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025... 1/

At the Afghans for Zohran debate watch party

how on earth did they pull this off

“I’m not actually here to teach you to memorize US History facts, I’m here to teach you how to use your brain, and if you use AI to complete my assignments, you aren’t using your brain, and I’m not doing my job.” - one snippet of me ranting yesterday in response to a “why can’t I use ai” question

Concept maps: simple but powerful learning tools. On the podcast this week, Dr. Kripa Sundar shares practices for making the most of them. Also joining us is Dr. Pooja Agarwal (@retrievelearn.bsky.social), editor of the book Smart Teaching Stronger Learning. www.cultofpedagogy.com/concept-maps/

@velazquez.house.gov says @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social has united us around a simple but powerful idea: that New York City should be a city for everyone “As Trump targets our community, we need a mayor who won’t flinch, who will stand up and defend every NYer. That is who Zohran is.”

@chiosse.bsky.social at the @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social rally: “This election is to be part of a political revolution that continues inside and outside the halls of government… After we win this election, it’s not where the work ends- it’s where it begins.”

This article speaks more on the current state of G&T under Mayor Adams than on Mamdani's ed policy plans. Basically @nycschools.bsky.social is still failing to equitably identify & enroll students, provide appropriate curriculum, and desegregate existing programs www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2025...

Countless Sunday nights falling asleep listening to the laughter of my parents as they watched Keeping Up Appearances. My siblings and I can quote this show, and do, frequently. What a comedic genius she was. Rest in peace

People don’t want to believe us when we tell them our curriculum is racist. It is. All of it.

that our fields are constantly evolving as a result of ongoing research should be reason enough, but also, for many “experts,” learning should continuously extend beyond “what do we know about xzy” to “what are we not thinking about, and how is that specifically holding us back”

How many opportunities for good teaching are lost every day due to bad curriculum? It's been 3 years since the changeover and I'm still finding my way back to what works

Stop using generative AI girlsunited.essence.com/feedback/lta...

We want YOU to help us register thousands of New Yorkers to vote by redesigning the iconic I VOTED sticker. But you need to move fast. Submit your design by Friday at 6pm - and get ready to pick a winner this weekend. zohranfornyc.com/stickittotheman

So many mutual aid requests coming out of Gaza. People are desperate for food, medicine, water. If you can’t donate, the least you can do is share.

PBIS update: still building relationships still labeling kids on how effectively they suppress their flight or fight responses still ignoring schedule, environment, cognitive demands & adult behavior as factors still depriving kids of experiences still giving treats

green on green

Recognizing Palestine. Recognizing genocide in Palestine. Ok, so are you going to stop it? Are you going to intervene? To withdraw your material support at the very least? Otherwise it’s just words.

something about wearing all black just makes me very happy