excellent student
11.03.2026 10:05
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excellent student
The side room was magical. Like, a kid is having a hard moment or needs some quiet -- go to the side room! You need some small group conferencing but want to keep an eye on the rest of the class -- go to the side room!
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES??
Some of these things seem daunting to imagine incorporating in US schools (e.g., the anteroom) but others seem do-able and like they would have a positive impact (e.g., noise blockers, welcome support for newcomers).
a picture of two student desks with noise blockers on hooks
There seemed to be a lot of intentional design to support students' self-regulation. Each desk was equipped with noise blockers that some children put on during independent seatwork.
A group of children working together. The child on the right front is kneeling on her chair, with one foot hooked over the top of the chair.
a little boy sitting on the floor
The teacher had a calm manner, which my host tells me is common in Swedish elementary schools. Children were able to be wiggly, and she made no attempt to correct them (because why do we even do that to kids?).
The boy pictured below spent about 10 min of the lesson in this position.
a metal sink with a green tile backsplash. there is a small wire dishrack with blue, green, gray, and white cups labeled with children's names and a small bottle of dish soap.
a small side room with two tables and some stools that is attached to the main classroom
But there were some differences in the built environment that stood out. For instance, there was a sink in the room with a dishrack filled with cups. Each cup had a child's name on it. There was also a side room attached to the main classroom. Aides went there to work with some children.
Green cubbies with coat hooks labeled with children's names. They are filled with coats, backpacks, mittens, and bike helmets
a circular navy carpet with children's names written on masking tape
In many ways, the classroom was familiar. There were cubbies and coat hooks with children's names. There was the carpet at the front of the room, also labeled with their names on masking tape.
A sign posted on a glass door that says, "Today we say welcome to Mahira"
We learned that it was one student's first day. She happened to be in the class we were in. There was a welcome sign for her on the door, and they had an adult sit next to her throughout class to help her follow along with the activities.
a photo of metal shelves filled with boots
First, when we entered, we all took off our outside shoes. Some of the adults carry slippers with them to put on, but many were in socks. The children were in socks or barefoot.
My favorite part of visits to other parts of the world... today I got to have a school visit. I watched a second grade maths lesson in an immigrant-serving school in Northern Sweden.
The compare/contrast to US schools is always illuminating for me. #EduSky
Hello from Sweden 🇸🇪
I am here this week giving lectures and learning about an educational system in a country with a social safety net.
For starters, undergraduate education is free and doctoral students are treated as employees, including paid medical and parental leave.
tell me you don't know anything about human learning without telling me you don't...
oh wait. it's ed tech.
of course they don't know anything about human learning.
a web portal asking for my country location. Although I have entered "United States," I have a red error message asking me to "Please select a valid country."
Girl, I wish I could
My next pay-what-you-can workshop is coming up! www.tickettailor.com/events/uncon... #EduSky
"She frequently reported on stories critical of ICE for Nashville Noticias, the Spanish-language outlet."
www.tennessean.com/story/news/l...
🤷🏼 🇺🇸
a screenshot from Leah McElrath that says, "Preliminary Pentagon cost estimate of the war in Iran is $1 BILLION a day. So far." She has screen shotted Nancy Youssef, whose X post states, "The preliminary Pentagon cost estimate of the warn in Iran is $1 billion a day, a congressional official told me."
A screenshot of a post from Portland Jobs with Justice. The caption says, "You want unemployment to go up? Keep cutting education funding," said Angela Bonilla, President of Portland Association of Teachers. "It's already difficult." We join educators demanding lawmakers act aggressively to fund schools, for instance -- tap into the education reserve fund or use kicker $. There is a link to a news story with the headline, "It's already difficult": Portland teachers lobby for education funding.
"This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page; it’s about more than just cutting and spending. It’s about the kind of future that we want. It’s about the kind of country that we believe in."
- @barackobama.bsky.social, April 2011
Feed kids. Let them get adequate rest. Help them get to school.
So much low hanging fruit in education... and so much crappy edtech promising miracles
yep. and in our district buses are also a huge constraint
The one I always think of in my field of educational research? Adolescent sleep needs and school start times. Such solid evidence. So hard to move the needle on the practice.
What it takes to get the public to (a) listen to research findings, (b) understand their implications, and (c) mobilize to take action is incredibly hard.
But a moral panic gets halfway around the earth before research finding has gotten out the door.
outstanding 🥰
It is imperative that we maintain hope even when the
harshness of reality may suggest the opposite.
—Paulo Freire
Purim teaches us that joy can be defiant, courage can be collective, and survival is only the beginning. We gather, we give, we protect one another — and we refuse to disappear. Chag Purim Sameach.
The Children Speaking from the Rubble Tell us, what do the living do? Do you dance? Do you make bread with each other? Do you walk in the parks in autumn, smelling the late summer flowers? Is it true that some things get to grow old? What is the world doing now? Are you fighting with sticks and stones? Do you remember us? Do you lie down under the stars and listen to the birds passing overhead, and do you get to feel the little wings of your own wild heart be opened? You have somewhere to go then, don't you? Go. Don't let us keep you. We have names. We are safe. We're at school. We are hiding in our favorite little places, waiting for you to tap us on the shoulders, to tell us it was just a joke, come home now, and the bombs and boots are just a game we're playing, and the bread and milk are waiting on the table, and the moon is new, and the gardens are in blossom. This sentence is the length of one of our shoes. —Joseph Fasano
When will we ever learn?
Also at #CALDER2026: To Make Teaching Sustainable, Help Teachers Balance Work and Personal Demands: Findings from the 2025 State of the American Teacher Survey - link to paper available here caldercenter.org/events/17th-...
love the title -- because yes absolutely. thanks for sharing!
honestly there was a Vibe Check podcast where @zachstafford.bsky.social did a GREAT explainer on private equity in the context of Red Lobster.
[GIFT LINK]
China’s Parents Are Outsourcing the Homework Grind to A.I.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/w...
that's exciting!