WHAT SCHOOL SHOULD BE: I think schools – particularly brick-and-mortar private schools – are in for an interesting ride as increasing connectivity and the rise of AI add to pressures already created by the rise of online home schooling and the wide availability of travel ball sports. I don't think I'm overexaggerating when I say a lot of teachers are going to have to reimagine everything about their jobs from the ground up. So I was particularly interested in this post by Eric Sheninger about "What School Should Be." Though I don't agree with everything he's said (here and elsewhere), I think he's on the right track simply by saying as loudly as he can that what our jobs have historically been is about to change, dramatically and rapidly.
ON THE OTHER HAND: AI may not actually do all that much to change how we teach. Matt Miller at Ditch That Textbook has a nice post on why AI won't actually fundamentally alter education.
CONTROVERSY: Larry Ferlazzo has a whole list here centered around How to Teach Controversial Subject Matter. I especially like the main graphic, which insists "If it matters, it creates controversy."
GOOGLE, AI, AND BIAS: Regardless of the cut of your particular ideological jib, this article from Wired on the Google Gemini controversy that unfolded last week is tailor-made for a classroom discussion on things like "History is written by the winners" and "Who watches the watchers?" and "Who decides what's true online?"
FUTURISM FROM 1899: Apparently a bunch of French artists in 1899 envisioned what they thought school would look like in 2000. I'm particularly fascinated by the image below, which remains the dominant model in most American classrooms. I think it would be fascinating to discuss these images and the underlying assumptions with almost any age class. The whole set is worth a look.
ME, A TREMENDOUS GOOFBALL: A friend of mine and Laura's had a birthday this week, and she's a huge 90s rap fan. So when I realized I could send her a birthday message in the voice of Biggie Smalls, there was really no other option. You can play around with it at FakeYou, which is a rabbit hole you may never come out of. And this, truly, is the best use of all America's technological prowess, right?
GET SOMETHING ON THE PAGE: That's what I always tell students, whether they're struggling with algebra or a lit essay. So I found this list of Sentence Stems to Help Struggling Writers interesting -- kind of like giving a failing car a push to get it started a little easier. I especially like the way it was broken up by topic, so a student could just scan headings to find what their struggle point is.
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