Marcus Luther
@marcusluther.bsky.social
HS English teacher clinging to what the legendary Gwendolyn Brooks wrote: "we are each other's / harvest:" (yes, that line break feels heavier than ever these days)
Also: I share writings, resources + thoughts on education at thebrokencopier.substack.com!
Also: I share writings, resources + thoughts on education at thebrokencopier.substack.com!
Pinned
2025 learning + 2026 reminder for teachers/educators:
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
"But there is value in resisting pure optimization, aggregation, and specialization. Not only for the sake of the humanity of the written word but also because it can be quite lonely at the bottom of a rabbit hole."
A month late to this piece, but really loved it: www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
A month late to this piece, but really loved it: www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?
Books are inefficient, and the internet is training us to expect optimized experiences.
www.newyorker.com
January 6, 2026 at 2:24 PM
"But there is value in resisting pure optimization, aggregation, and specialization. Not only for the sake of the humanity of the written word but also because it can be quite lonely at the bottom of a rabbit hole."
A month late to this piece, but really loved it: www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
A month late to this piece, but really loved it: www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
all I can say about the first day back from Winter Break? the kids showed up all day in the best of ways 🙏
(literally us teachers after school: quietly knocking on each other's doors and asking, "were they amazing for you, too?")
(literally us teachers after school: quietly knocking on each other's doors and asking, "were they amazing for you, too?")
January 6, 2026 at 3:37 AM
all I can say about the first day back from Winter Break? the kids showed up all day in the best of ways 🙏
(literally us teachers after school: quietly knocking on each other's doors and asking, "were they amazing for you, too?")
(literally us teachers after school: quietly knocking on each other's doors and asking, "were they amazing for you, too?")
Something that I think would be really helpful in building a broader coalition here: a substantive conversation about what the "newer era" of the canon can/should be?
Like, which 10-12 books should be part of the canon from the past 50 years?
That should be a conversation!
Like, which 10-12 books should be part of the canon from the past 50 years?
That should be a conversation!
January 5, 2026 at 4:29 AM
Something that I think would be really helpful in building a broader coalition here: a substantive conversation about what the "newer era" of the canon can/should be?
Like, which 10-12 books should be part of the canon from the past 50 years?
That should be a conversation!
Like, which 10-12 books should be part of the canon from the past 50 years?
That should be a conversation!
Reposted by Marcus Luther
Some of us teach social studies what are we supposed to say to the kids tomorrow
January 5, 2026 at 4:13 AM
Some of us teach social studies what are we supposed to say to the kids tomorrow
Reposted by Marcus Luther
It’s been a hectic 365ish days since I started my Substack & I’ve enjoyed having a space to write & connect with folks who share my passion for teaching, learning, & the literary humanities. In the spirit of obligatory NY posts, here’s my 2025 highlights.
open.substack.com/pub/trevoral...
open.substack.com/pub/trevoral...
2025: A Year of Becoming Literary
Reflections on a year of research, teaching, and substacking
open.substack.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:48 PM
It’s been a hectic 365ish days since I started my Substack & I’ve enjoyed having a space to write & connect with folks who share my passion for teaching, learning, & the literary humanities. In the spirit of obligatory NY posts, here’s my 2025 highlights.
open.substack.com/pub/trevoral...
open.substack.com/pub/trevoral...
Reposted by Marcus Luther
The Curriculum Discourse™️ has me returning to a question I often ask myself & PSTs—what might happen if we START the curriculum design process by asking “how can students join meaningful conversations within the literary humanities?” instead of “what skills/standards should I cover in this unit?”
January 4, 2026 at 9:10 PM
The Curriculum Discourse™️ has me returning to a question I often ask myself & PSTs—what might happen if we START the curriculum design process by asking “how can students join meaningful conversations within the literary humanities?” instead of “what skills/standards should I cover in this unit?”
"Let us / talk more of how dark / the beginning of a day is"
Tomorrow = the second year of a row of this poem by @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social being what students walk into after Winter Break
(Cannot wait!)
Tomorrow = the second year of a row of this poem by @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social being what students walk into after Winter Break
(Cannot wait!)
January 4, 2026 at 7:25 PM
"Let us / talk more of how dark / the beginning of a day is"
Tomorrow = the second year of a row of this poem by @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social being what students walk into after Winter Break
(Cannot wait!)
Tomorrow = the second year of a row of this poem by @maggiesmithpoet.bsky.social being what students walk into after Winter Break
(Cannot wait!)
"Most of what matters in our lives takes place in our absence"
Year 3 for me as far as slow-read journeys go with Simon Haisel's Footnotes & Tangent group, this time with Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Could not recommend more!
(Also, not going to lie: I'm mesmerized by the opening chapters)
Year 3 for me as far as slow-read journeys go with Simon Haisel's Footnotes & Tangent group, this time with Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Could not recommend more!
(Also, not going to lie: I'm mesmerized by the opening chapters)
January 4, 2026 at 2:17 AM
"Most of what matters in our lives takes place in our absence"
Year 3 for me as far as slow-read journeys go with Simon Haisel's Footnotes & Tangent group, this time with Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Could not recommend more!
(Also, not going to lie: I'm mesmerized by the opening chapters)
Year 3 for me as far as slow-read journeys go with Simon Haisel's Footnotes & Tangent group, this time with Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Could not recommend more!
(Also, not going to lie: I'm mesmerized by the opening chapters)
This is where the AI push into schools feels quite parallel to all other reforms of past decades:
1️⃣ introduce new policy/system/tool without evidence
2️⃣ then claim need for data/evidence to support success
3️⃣ THEN blame teachers/schools if it isn't successful
(#3 is already happening, btw)
1️⃣ introduce new policy/system/tool without evidence
2️⃣ then claim need for data/evidence to support success
3️⃣ THEN blame teachers/schools if it isn't successful
(#3 is already happening, btw)
Drew Bent, the education lead at Anthropic: "'We’re at a point now where we need to make sure that these things are backed by outcomes and figure out what’s working and what’s not working.'"
Convenient that *now* is the time for evidence, once these products are released and pushed into schools.
Convenient that *now* is the time for evidence, once these products are released and pushed into schools.
Tech Giants Are Racing to Embed A.I. in Schools Around the Globe
www.nytimes.com
January 3, 2026 at 6:37 PM
This is where the AI push into schools feels quite parallel to all other reforms of past decades:
1️⃣ introduce new policy/system/tool without evidence
2️⃣ then claim need for data/evidence to support success
3️⃣ THEN blame teachers/schools if it isn't successful
(#3 is already happening, btw)
1️⃣ introduce new policy/system/tool without evidence
2️⃣ then claim need for data/evidence to support success
3️⃣ THEN blame teachers/schools if it isn't successful
(#3 is already happening, btw)
I mean, quite a screenshot, right?
January 2, 2026 at 8:37 PM
I mean, quite a screenshot, right?
What teachers get way too often, I think:
1️⃣ lots of resources without much, if any, agency
2️⃣ lots of agency without much, if any, resources
Maybe 2026 we can, you know, give teachers...both?
1️⃣ lots of resources without much, if any, agency
2️⃣ lots of agency without much, if any, resources
Maybe 2026 we can, you know, give teachers...both?
January 2, 2026 at 4:40 PM
What teachers get way too often, I think:
1️⃣ lots of resources without much, if any, agency
2️⃣ lots of agency without much, if any, resources
Maybe 2026 we can, you know, give teachers...both?
1️⃣ lots of resources without much, if any, agency
2️⃣ lots of agency without much, if any, resources
Maybe 2026 we can, you know, give teachers...both?
"I like to call things as they are."
A bit of wisdom, humility, and—I'd add—hope to carry into 2026. (I think.)
A bit of wisdom, humility, and—I'd add—hope to carry into 2026. (I think.)
January 2, 2026 at 5:16 AM
"I like to call things as they are."
A bit of wisdom, humility, and—I'd add—hope to carry into 2026. (I think.)
A bit of wisdom, humility, and—I'd add—hope to carry into 2026. (I think.)
Appreciated the chance to listen to this conversation—but again and again the message I hear from Mollick is "if students use the right version in the right way," it can be good for learning.
...which feels entirely disconnected from the reality in K-12 schools that is being experienced right now.
...which feels entirely disconnected from the reality in K-12 schools that is being experienced right now.
Had an interesting, hard interview with @adamconover.net on his podcast. I think he is a great example of a smart AI skeptic.
My main messages were that AI is a really big deal, it has good & bad impacts, and that, by sitting things out, skeptics can’t guide use. open.spotify.com/episode/5cFK...
My main messages were that AI is a really big deal, it has good & bad impacts, and that, by sitting things out, skeptics can’t guide use. open.spotify.com/episode/5cFK...
An AI Expert Challenges an AI Skeptic, with Ethan Mollick
open.spotify.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:17 AM
Appreciated the chance to listen to this conversation—but again and again the message I hear from Mollick is "if students use the right version in the right way," it can be good for learning.
...which feels entirely disconnected from the reality in K-12 schools that is being experienced right now.
...which feels entirely disconnected from the reality in K-12 schools that is being experienced right now.
Reposted by Marcus Luther
I'm looking to continue growing my network on here this year.
Can you recommend #teachers and people in #education, #literacy, #poetry, and #literature that I should be following that I may not have found on hear yet? Drop a few suggestions of people you are learning from right now.
Can you recommend #teachers and people in #education, #literacy, #poetry, and #literature that I should be following that I may not have found on hear yet? Drop a few suggestions of people you are learning from right now.
January 1, 2026 at 9:44 PM
I'm looking to continue growing my network on here this year.
Can you recommend #teachers and people in #education, #literacy, #poetry, and #literature that I should be following that I may not have found on hear yet? Drop a few suggestions of people you are learning from right now.
Can you recommend #teachers and people in #education, #literacy, #poetry, and #literature that I should be following that I may not have found on hear yet? Drop a few suggestions of people you are learning from right now.
Reposted by Marcus Luther
Most of the teachers I know do amazing work in the classroom, caring for their students. They want the kids to succeed, to learn, to love learning.
2025 learning + 2026 reminder for teachers/educators:
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
January 1, 2026 at 4:11 AM
Most of the teachers I know do amazing work in the classroom, caring for their students. They want the kids to succeed, to learn, to love learning.
👀
Yo what the fuck short form videos are bad
Short-Form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions
arxiv.org/pdf/2302.03714
Ht: HowTown
Short-Form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions
arxiv.org/pdf/2302.03714
Ht: HowTown
December 31, 2025 at 3:13 PM
👀
Reposted by Marcus Luther
This is a good reminder! I think the best things that happened this semester were
Students preparing a proposal for the school board to build an observatory for a donated telescope.
Continuing the BTC journey
Worst
Fighting for students to be placed in classes where they can succeed.
Students preparing a proposal for the school board to build an observatory for a donated telescope.
Continuing the BTC journey
Worst
Fighting for students to be placed in classes where they can succeed.
2025 learning + 2026 reminder for teachers/educators:
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
December 31, 2025 at 3:03 PM
This is a good reminder! I think the best things that happened this semester were
Students preparing a proposal for the school board to build an observatory for a donated telescope.
Continuing the BTC journey
Worst
Fighting for students to be placed in classes where they can succeed.
Students preparing a proposal for the school board to build an observatory for a donated telescope.
Continuing the BTC journey
Worst
Fighting for students to be placed in classes where they can succeed.
Reposted by Marcus Luther
Here is a little more about how sketching and poetry can interact in your classroom in 2026!
www.edutopia.org/article/simp...
@historycomics.bsky.social @grantdraws.bsky.social
www.edutopia.org/article/simp...
@historycomics.bsky.social @grantdraws.bsky.social
December 31, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Here is a little more about how sketching and poetry can interact in your classroom in 2026!
www.edutopia.org/article/simp...
@historycomics.bsky.social @grantdraws.bsky.social
www.edutopia.org/article/simp...
@historycomics.bsky.social @grantdraws.bsky.social
2025 learning + 2026 reminder for teachers/educators:
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
December 31, 2025 at 2:31 PM
2025 learning + 2026 reminder for teachers/educators:
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
We need to tell the good stories, too, about what is happening in our classrooms and schools. To tell them frequently and loudly and meaningfully.
(Because we know no one else is going to at this point.)
When people complain about "students these days," pieces like this (!!!) from people like this (!!!) are why my immediate instinct is typically to respond by asking, "have you been watching what adults have been up to?"
The reason this Harvard history professor decided he was done with one of the best and most privileged jobs in the world was, in his own words, because he was forced to lecture in a mask during peak Covid.
I’m not making this up.
I’m not making this up.
December 31, 2025 at 3:01 AM
When people complain about "students these days," pieces like this (!!!) from people like this (!!!) are why my immediate instinct is typically to respond by asking, "have you been watching what adults have been up to?"
Reposted by Marcus Luther
“Direct/explicit instruction”
“Cognitive science”/CogSci
Texts — books vs excerpts (that could really be all 3!)
Honorable mention:
Inquiry/discovery-based learning (connected to the above … but it feels like it was ONLY used as a straw man)
PD/training
Screen time
Efficiency
Skills
Preparation
“Cognitive science”/CogSci
Texts — books vs excerpts (that could really be all 3!)
Honorable mention:
Inquiry/discovery-based learning (connected to the above … but it feels like it was ONLY used as a straw man)
PD/training
Screen time
Efficiency
Skills
Preparation
December 31, 2025 at 1:27 AM
“Direct/explicit instruction”
“Cognitive science”/CogSci
Texts — books vs excerpts (that could really be all 3!)
Honorable mention:
Inquiry/discovery-based learning (connected to the above … but it feels like it was ONLY used as a straw man)
PD/training
Screen time
Efficiency
Skills
Preparation
“Cognitive science”/CogSci
Texts — books vs excerpts (that could really be all 3!)
Honorable mention:
Inquiry/discovery-based learning (connected to the above … but it feels like it was ONLY used as a straw man)
PD/training
Screen time
Efficiency
Skills
Preparation
Reposted by Marcus Luther
Reposted by Marcus Luther
December 31, 2025 at 1:02 AM
I'm thinking of making another "bracket" to end 2025 of the biggest buzzwords in education over the past year.
I have some ideas in mind, but what are your TOP THREE buzzwords, for better or worse? (let's be honest, usually worse)
I have some ideas in mind, but what are your TOP THREE buzzwords, for better or worse? (let's be honest, usually worse)
December 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM
I'm thinking of making another "bracket" to end 2025 of the biggest buzzwords in education over the past year.
I have some ideas in mind, but what are your TOP THREE buzzwords, for better or worse? (let's be honest, usually worse)
I have some ideas in mind, but what are your TOP THREE buzzwords, for better or worse? (let's be honest, usually worse)
Reposted by Marcus Luther
You know, millions of us once dreamed of being famous authors, and millions of us are not, including BIPOC & LGBTQ folks.
It's true that there's plenty of discrimination in publishing. It's also true that sometimes, one's craft, talent, and luck don't get you the desired outcome. *That's life.*
It's true that there's plenty of discrimination in publishing. It's also true that sometimes, one's craft, talent, and luck don't get you the desired outcome. *That's life.*
This shit is made up, actually
December 27, 2025 at 9:50 PM
You know, millions of us once dreamed of being famous authors, and millions of us are not, including BIPOC & LGBTQ folks.
It's true that there's plenty of discrimination in publishing. It's also true that sometimes, one's craft, talent, and luck don't get you the desired outcome. *That's life.*
It's true that there's plenty of discrimination in publishing. It's also true that sometimes, one's craft, talent, and luck don't get you the desired outcome. *That's life.*