Brian Connell
@connellschool.bsky.social
English Teacher, Founder of The Connell School of Writing, YAWP! Writing Program™️, Birmingham AL
Love this article @mraleosays.bsky.social! It's not just the English teacher's job to choose (if they're lucky) and present the book, but to show students what it looks like to be in a really cool, thoughtful, smart, fun, critical, and joyful relationship with it.
Forgive the click-bait title, but I had to wade into the "Kids can't read" & "Give them books!" discourse. While I 100% agree we should advocate for teaching long-form texts, it's easy to forget that teaching literature well is HARD. #literacies #academicsky
trevoraleo.substack.com/p/books-cann...
trevoraleo.substack.com/p/books-cann...
Books Cannot Not Save English (Part 1)
Why literature is necessary but insufficient for transformative teaching
trevoraleo.substack.com
March 30, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Love this article @mraleosays.bsky.social! It's not just the English teacher's job to choose (if they're lucky) and present the book, but to show students what it looks like to be in a really cool, thoughtful, smart, fun, critical, and joyful relationship with it.
Kids give the weirdest compliments. After helping a 9th grade student work on his essay today, he looked at me earnestly and said, "Mr. Connell, you smell like the flower section at Safeway."
March 6, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Kids give the weirdest compliments. After helping a 9th grade student work on his essay today, he looked at me earnestly and said, "Mr. Connell, you smell like the flower section at Safeway."
Great and thoughtful discussion about teaching writing in the challenging age of AI.
I was looking forward to this potential conversation with @biblioracle.bsky.social the moment I opened his new book, More Than Words—and was even more excited once I finished it.
About writing, ChatGPT, and making meaning more broadly:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
About writing, ChatGPT, and making meaning more broadly:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Writing in this AI Era with John Warner
Podcast Episode · The Broken Copier · 02/18/2025 · 51m
podcasts.apple.com
February 18, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Great and thoughtful discussion about teaching writing in the challenging age of AI.
This is what I'm saying 👇
Feel like no one’s writing songs about blind deaf mutes who are really good at pinball anymore
February 17, 2025 at 2:24 AM
This is what I'm saying 👇
Rictavius is writing about how neighborhood violence impacts children's sense of safety. He was on a roll, and I love that he wanted to keep going even after the bell rang.
February 13, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Rictavius is writing about how neighborhood violence impacts children's sense of safety. He was on a roll, and I love that he wanted to keep going even after the bell rang.
YAWP! student Xavier (9th) developed a thesis today:
"Religious indoctrination of young people that justifies harmful ideologies such as racism, sexism, and discrimination can limit independent thought and development into adulthood and perpetuate hateful beliefs in society."
"Religious indoctrination of young people that justifies harmful ideologies such as racism, sexism, and discrimination can limit independent thought and development into adulthood and perpetuate hateful beliefs in society."
February 13, 2025 at 9:57 PM
YAWP! student Xavier (9th) developed a thesis today:
"Religious indoctrination of young people that justifies harmful ideologies such as racism, sexism, and discrimination can limit independent thought and development into adulthood and perpetuate hateful beliefs in society."
"Religious indoctrination of young people that justifies harmful ideologies such as racism, sexism, and discrimination can limit independent thought and development into adulthood and perpetuate hateful beliefs in society."
Reposted by Brian Connell
just gonna keep licking toads until i find the one that makes me see god
February 6, 2025 at 10:17 PM
just gonna keep licking toads until i find the one that makes me see god
Reposted by Brian Connell
Nikola friggin' Jokic, man.
A 66-footer to give him a 22-21-15 triple double at the end of the third quarter. Sure. Why not.
A 66-footer to give him a 22-21-15 triple double at the end of the third quarter. Sure. Why not.
January 24, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Nikola friggin' Jokic, man.
A 66-footer to give him a 22-21-15 triple double at the end of the third quarter. Sure. Why not.
A 66-footer to give him a 22-21-15 triple double at the end of the third quarter. Sure. Why not.
I'm a little worried by how truly elated I feel when a Skyrizi commercial comes on
January 13, 2025 at 4:46 AM
I'm a little worried by how truly elated I feel when a Skyrizi commercial comes on
It looks like AI images are becoming widely accepted as part of the landscape so I guess I'll just barf until I die.
January 7, 2025 at 1:40 AM
It looks like AI images are becoming widely accepted as part of the landscape so I guess I'll just barf until I die.
Hey Admin: No matter what EdTech tells you, reading full novels in middle/high school is the easiest, cheapest solution to problems of student achievement. Be courageous, launch a quality reading program. #EduSky
December 30, 2024 at 7:49 PM
Hey Admin: No matter what EdTech tells you, reading full novels in middle/high school is the easiest, cheapest solution to problems of student achievement. Be courageous, launch a quality reading program. #EduSky
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN!!!! I loved this movie. I only wish that, ala Lord of the Rings, they'd gone ahead and shot two sequels at the same time covering the subsequent 10 years!
#bobdylan
#bobdylan
December 26, 2024 at 12:59 AM
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN!!!! I loved this movie. I only wish that, ala Lord of the Rings, they'd gone ahead and shot two sequels at the same time covering the subsequent 10 years!
#bobdylan
#bobdylan
nothing separates quality teachers from the bad like a good old fashioned internet outage
#EduSky #iteachenglish
#EduSky #iteachenglish
December 18, 2024 at 3:03 PM
nothing separates quality teachers from the bad like a good old fashioned internet outage
#EduSky #iteachenglish
#EduSky #iteachenglish
When students first see their work published, I think they feel like they're being lifted up, visible in a new and positive way.
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
December 17, 2024 at 3:40 AM
When students first see their work published, I think they feel like they're being lifted up, visible in a new and positive way.
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
Book Launch Day for these published student writers from Birmingham City Schools! [Mychael gets interviewed; A'Mera feeling proud; students sign the Superintendent's copy of SCREENED; group shot]
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
December 17, 2024 at 2:19 AM
Book Launch Day for these published student writers from Birmingham City Schools! [Mychael gets interviewed; A'Mera feeling proud; students sign the Superintendent's copy of SCREENED; group shot]
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
#EduSky #iteachenglish #YAWP
💯
book bans and "high school students aren't reading novels anymore" are part of the same picture
December 14, 2024 at 12:42 AM
💯
One year in my 10th grade English class I included "Like a Rolling Stone" as an example of rhyme scheme maybe(?) and the students liked it so much that it turned into an entire unit on Bob Dylan that lasted over 3 weeks, so don't ever accuse me of not doing my American duty
#EduSky #bobdylan
#EduSky #bobdylan
December 14, 2024 at 12:09 AM
"So if someone in your organization is hollering that you need to pull in this AI large language model Right Now, keep asking that question--What problem will it help solve?"
#EduSky
#EduSky
December 12, 2024 at 10:03 PM
"So if someone in your organization is hollering that you need to pull in this AI large language model Right Now, keep asking that question--What problem will it help solve?"
#EduSky
#EduSky
The first time I ever taught Romeo and Juliet, a mentor teacher gave me this advice: "One of your main jobs is to simply show them what it looks like to love Shakespeare." You can plug any subject into this premise to increase student interest/engagement/joy.
#EduSky #iteachenglish
#EduSky #iteachenglish
December 10, 2024 at 12:05 AM
The first time I ever taught Romeo and Juliet, a mentor teacher gave me this advice: "One of your main jobs is to simply show them what it looks like to love Shakespeare." You can plug any subject into this premise to increase student interest/engagement/joy.
#EduSky #iteachenglish
#EduSky #iteachenglish
Staring at the rain while eating a giant bag of Sun Chips
December 9, 2024 at 8:15 PM
Staring at the rain while eating a giant bag of Sun Chips
Y'all should check out The Signed First Editions Club over at @thankyoubooks. Great gift for yourself and any reader in your life. Each month they mail you a newly published book signed by the author with a thoughtful letter by the bookseller who chose it. Ships anywhere! 🙌 📚📚
#iteachenglish
#iteachenglish
Thank You Bookshop
Birmingham's Exciting Community Bookstore
www.thankyoubookshop.com
December 7, 2024 at 12:29 AM
Y'all should check out The Signed First Editions Club over at @thankyoubooks. Great gift for yourself and any reader in your life. Each month they mail you a newly published book signed by the author with a thoughtful letter by the bookseller who chose it. Ships anywhere! 🙌 📚📚
#iteachenglish
#iteachenglish