I tell my students that we often have to produce a lot of “bad” writing before we can make it “good.”

you can make bad writing better, but you can't fix something that doesn't exist!

What’s the best book/article/essay people have read about teaching writing? Am working on something and I’m curious what others have read that have shaped the way they think about their work—can be practical, theoretical, even only tangentially related to pedagogy.

Are you sure you don’t want to just purchase some kind of AI subscription to acquire some ideas to make thinking better (or maybe easier!)?

Mayor Mamdani and President Obama read a picture book to a group of children.

Mayor Mamdani and President Obama chat and laugh with a group of children.

Mayor Mamdani and President Obama chat and laugh.

Children hug Mayor Mamdani.

Today, President Barack Obama and I read to a group of toddlers at Learning Through Play Pre-K Center in the South Bronx. 

In between singing wheels on the bus, we discussed our administration’s vision for this City — one where New York’s Cutest have the strongest start possible.

#ProudTeacherMoment today: A student had a monstrous (but grammatically correct) sentence and with a few tips expertly broke it into 2 manageable sentences (and one with a semicolon). He then reworked a second one.

Dear Microsoft Word Copilot: No, In do not want you to rewrite for me. You don’t know what I meant and your suggestions would confuse my reader.

The cover of Rua M. Williams' book "Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI". The cover image is a spiral of yellowish orange leaves set against a red background.

Come join @civicsoftech.bsky.social's May book club on Wed, May 20, at 7pm ET. I'll be leading a discussion of @fractalecho.bsky.social's Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI - and Dr. Williams is joining too!

Register at: www.civicsoftechnology.org/book-clubs

In today’s adventures as a PhD student, I’m finally formatting tables into APA formatting!

There is still time to register for Saturday’s 3-hour symposium where we’ll explore texts and ideas together, in conversation. All literacy leaders are welcome!

@ncte.org #NCTE26 #CEL26 #OnLeadership

He still needs to be removed from office. A war powers resolution will not suffice. He circumvented Congress to start the war. He circumvented them on tariffs and appropriations. Why anyone thinks he'd adhere to a Congressional war powers resolution is beyond me.

Regardless of whether it’s all talk, when the leader of our country expresses plainly genocidal intent, everyone has to do something.

For citizens of all political stripes, it means rejecting this madness. For Congress, it means taking action to rein him in. Now.

“A whole civilization will die tonight” is the most vile thing a US president has ever said, certainly during the post-1945 era when they’ve had the power to kill civilizations with the dropping of a bomb. I’m staring into the darkness. May this not be one of the most fateful days in human history.

Armageddon is terrible, but our only other option was diversity trainings at work.

The president of the United States should not be threatening to end “civilizations.” This message is crass and heartless and cowardly.

I hope any work I do in schools inspires and teaches students to be better than this.

We hope to see literacy leaders, ELA department chairs & supervisors, curriculum coaches, and more at our annual #OnLeadership symposium on 4/11/26 from 9am-12pm ET.

If you’re a member @ncte.org , join #CEL for $25/year to gain access to this members-only event!

On Leadership: A Virtual Literacy Leadership Symposium. Saturday, April 11. 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. ET. At this event, literacy leaders will engage with published scholarship—an article or book study—and discuss how those ideas can shape, impact, and inform leadership decisions within their individual teams or contexts; participate in an interactive workshop to discuss pressing and persistent topics relevant to literacy leadership; and network with peers who are addressing similar opportunities and challenges in different schools to find effective practices to empower English and literacy teams.

On 4/11/26, #CEL is hosting our virtual, 3-hour #OnLeadership symposium. Talk about texts and literacy with other leaders (dept chairs, coaches, supervisors, etc.).

Join for relaxed and conversational professional learning.

Free for members (join today!).

ncte.org/cel-symposiu...

Bleak House Slow-Read a slow-read of Bleak House by Charles Dickens “I find the nights long, for I sleep but little, and think much.” I think for many of us, there are those books that you’ve long heard of and considered...

📖 Next weekend we'll start our slow-read of Bleak House by Charles Dickens (one "installment" of chapters a week, all the way through August)

For those interested, feel free to message @thevogelman.bsky.social or me and we'll send you more details!

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Updated 3/31/26: "College Board may use artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other computational methods (collectively, 'AI'), including in the development and scoring of tests and for test security purposes."

Got it.

On Leadership: A Virtual Literacy Leadership Symposium. Saturday, April 11. 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. ET. At this event, literacy leaders will engage with published scholarship—an article or book study—and discuss how those ideas can shape, impact, and inform leadership decisions within their individual teams or contexts; participate in an interactive workshop to discuss pressing and persistent topics relevant to literacy leadership; and network with peers who are addressing similar opportunities and challenges in different schools to find effective practices to empower English and literacy teams.

On 4/11/26, #CEL is hosting our virtual, 3-hour #OnLeadership symposium. Talk about texts and literacy with other leaders (dept chairs, coaches, supervisors, etc.).

Join for relaxed and conversational professional learning.

Free for members (join today!).

ncte.org/cel-symposiu...

That’s a two-word phrase, not a spoiler! I don’t even remember the context: I literally just remember the phrase. I couldn’t tell you if it happens or was significant or just a discussion. (That’s probably not a good indication of my recall ability from only 12 years ago…)

It’s one of those Victorian behemoths I’ve wanted to read for a long time!

First published in 19 installments, @marcusluther.bsky.social and I are going to read Bleak House together in 19 weeks.

Care to join us? DM one of us for more info if you haven’t already!

#dickens #novels #reading

All I recall from BLEAK HOUSE is spontaneous combustion and then Gillian Anderson in the BBC adaptation!

Secondary Section Office Hour. Tuesday, March 31, 7pm ET. Members will 4eflect on ways that NCTE and its programs have helped their teaching careers, ask questions and provide feedback related to NCTE’s support of Secondary members, learn about NCTE resources and upcoming opportunities for Secondary members, and share professional needs that NCTE could address with future programming.

What are you up to Tuesday, March 31 at 7pm ET?

Join @ncte.org's Secondary Section (7-12 ELA teachers!) for Zoom space to chat, connect, and explore NCTE. How can NCTE support you? What has worked? Come meet other secondary ELA teachers who are members of NCTE.

ncte.org/secondary-of...

#NCTEChat

March 2026 Jam Session: Teaching Writing in the Age of AI Welcome! 👋 Drop your questions—or share how you are navigating teaching writing in the age of AI—in the thread below!Join our hosts for a thoughtful conversation about how to approach writing…

✍️ Improving feedback on student writing
✍️ Encouraging academic integrity
✍️ Supporting reluctant writers

^ These are just some of the topics our community is exploring in our March Jam Session, Teaching Writing in the Age of AI! Check out the conversation:

#EduSky #EduSkyAI #EduAI

The image shows a promotional graphic for the 2026 Joint Conference for Elementary Literacy and Mathematics, hosted by NCTE and NCTM. The conference is set to take place in Charlotte, NC, from August 3-5, 2026. The text "Registration Now Open!" is prominently displayed.

Join teachers & leaders for the 2026 #NCTE–@nctm.org Joint Conference for Elementary Literacy & Mathematics!

Get support to advance teaching practices that are responsive, equitable, and grounded in student strengths—practices you can use right away.

Register for #LitMath26: https://bit.ly/3PakQz6

Five smiling individuals stand together, holding conference materials and wearing lanyards. A circular text box says, "Lock in last year's registration rate." The bottom reads, "Imagine. Innovate. Inspire. 2026 NCTE Annual Convention November 19-22, Philadelphia.

This year we’re opening registration for the NCTE Annual Convention earlier, during budget seasons, to allow teachers and administrators to work together to find funding for the premier annual event for English language arts and literacy educators.

Learn more: https://bit.ly/4dylWP7

#NCTE26

Care to join, learn, and connect? @mraleosays.bsky.social @heymrsbond.com @johndownesangus.bsky.social @mnkraft.bsky.social @thevogelman.bsky.social @thereadingzone.bsky.social @gplastrik.bsky.social @shamlet.bsky.social @angelastockman.bsky.social @carlrosin.bsky.social @bnjmnkwdcck.bsky.social

Secondary Section Office Hour. Tuesday, March 31, 7pm ET. Members will 4eflect on ways that NCTE and its programs have helped their teaching careers, ask questions and provide feedback related to NCTE’s support of Secondary members, learn about NCTE resources and upcoming opportunities for Secondary members, and share professional needs that NCTE could address with future programming.

What are you up to Tuesday, March 31 at 7pm ET?

Join @ncte.org's Secondary Section (7-12 ELA teachers!) for Zoom space to chat, connect, and explore NCTE. How can NCTE support you? What has worked? Come meet other secondary ELA teachers who are members of NCTE.

ncte.org/secondary-of...

#NCTEChat

McDowell Center for Performing Arts presents The Trojan Women. A drama adapted by Ellen McLaughlin from the play by Euripides. May 14-16, 2036. The image is of the walls of Troy and the Trojan Horse with four silhouettes of women towering above them.

Today was our first rehearsal for Ellen McLaughlin’s THE TROJAN WOMEN. We’ll be playing in masks, working with student translators, and adding some music. I’m excited for this challenging, heavy, ever-relevant piece.