Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Today in my work with the Fulbright Specialist program I met with Andri Rafn Ottesen, an experienced grade 9 social studies teacher at Garðaskóli, who is leading a nationwide program for new teachers in Iceland along with Soffía Ámundadóttir and Unnur Björk Arnfjörð from the University of Iceland.

Two white men (Doug and Andri) with glasses sitting in a school conference room. Andri is holding up the year-long plans on a piece of paper.

September 11, 2025 at 3:02 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Such a great experience working at the University of Iceland as a Fulbright Specialist on the issue of teacher retention with my colleague Unnur Björk.

A picture of a man and a woman in an office, standing in front of a scenic window view of the University of Iceland campus in Reykjavik. There are logos for The Fulbright Program, Háskoli Íslands, and Montclair State University across the bottom.

September 9, 2025 at 3:28 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Hi @actblueorg.bsky.social,
Please deal with your out of control texting/spam problem. I like donating through Act Blue to people and causes I support, but I NEVER donate to texts. No way to tell what is real. We need an opt-out list that removes our number from all Act Blue lists and tools. Thanks.

This is a screenshot of a long fundraising text received today. I type "STOP" to about 10 of these each day because I never signed up for them. These keep coming and there is no way to tell what is real, so I never click the links.

August 7, 2025 at 7:48 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Great crowd at the No Kings rally in Princeton today!

A crowd of hundreds of protesters in Princeton, New Jersey

June 14, 2025 at 8:02 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Under the profile picture there is an option to select "Give Feedback"

June 11, 2025 at 9:15 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

The second and expanded edition of my book Teaching Science in Diverse Classrooms: Real Science for Real Students is now available for pre-order. www.routledge.com/Teaching-Sci...

Black book cover with colorful science icons and a green stripe at the bottom with the author's name.

May 8, 2025 at 1:15 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

The second and expanded edition of my book Teaching Science in Diverse Classrooms: Real Science for Real Students is now available for pre-order.

www.routledge.com/Teaching-Sci...

May 8, 2025 at 1:13 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Trenton, NJ #handsoff protest today — great turnout!

Crowd of protestors—one with a yellow sign picturing trump that reads “ bully, bigot, liar, draft dodger…”

Protesters in a crowd. Large black and yellow sign reads “even the introverts are here.”

Large crowd at the ww2 memorial in Trenton.

April 5, 2025 at 7:20 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

The moment a cybertruck showed up and got booed at the #TeslaTakedown today.

March 9, 2025 at 3:26 AM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

#teslsatakedown today in Mercer County New Jersey. Thought this would be a small protest. It’s not!

A photo of a large protest in front of a Tesla dealership in Lawrence Township New Jersey

March 8, 2025 at 9:02 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

thanks to @kendrawrites.com for the fix—I was one of the 1/3 not getting the Ice Breaker. Also, a curious follow-up related to your recycling story from a while back. Here in Mercer County, NJ, #5 plastics are now accepted. I can't quite get the economics, but okay. Thought of you. Keep being you!

A notice from Mercer County NJ showing that #5 plastics are now accepted for recycling in 2025.

February 20, 2025 at 10:11 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

The type of book "you went behind the barn to read." Last one from the same issue, because everything old is new again:

Article from 1935 text: Book Ban, Kansas City Acts On Mother's Complaint
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A mother who said Pearl Buck's "The Good Earth" was a type of book which in her childhood days "you went behind the barn to read" brought about a sweeping investigation of high school reading lists in Kansas City. "Orders have gone out for teachers to give closer attention to both optional and required readings," said School Superintendent George Melcher. Earlier, the Board of Education had directed that a committee of English teachers study the optional reading list and eliminate all they consider "not appropriate." Superintendent Melcher said "no general policy" regarding Mrs. Buck's "book had been adopted, but added: "It was on the optional list at Northeast Junior College. Because Mrs. E. B. McCann objected to it as unfit for her fifteen-year-old son, we have eliminated it from the list there." Mrs. McCann expressed the ¡belief that "book reviewers, the so called intelligentsia and the great American reading public are so ignorant they don't know trash when they see it."

February 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

The article directly above it...

Article from 1935 with the title "Nazis First" which reads: "Berlin—Bernhard Rust, Minister of Education, has announced that those candidates for admittance to normal schools will receive first consideration who have been members of the Nazi party or one of its subordinate organizations. In his declaration he says further that in the future the teaching staffs of the public schools will be recruited chiefly among students who have been members of the Hitler Youth."

February 7, 2025 at 9:04 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Teacher retention problems from the 1930s.

Article from 1935 with the headline: Pretty Teachers, How to Keep them is Delaware's problem. The single paragraph reads: "Wilmington, Del. — Dr. H.V. Holloway, State Superintended of Public Instruction, is having labor trouble in his domestic science department, according to reports, which say that when the state appoints pretty teachers of the household arts it is leaning on a series of broken reeds. No sooner do they get settled down in their jobs than they leave to get married. Something has to be done about it, for the yearly turnover of domestic science teachers averages three.

February 7, 2025 at 7:41 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Thank you @andykimnj.bsky.social for your passionate defense of USAID.

www.c-span.org/program/news...

Senator Andy Kim speaks to a group of reporters in front of the USAID building

February 4, 2025 at 2:53 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

For the last 12 years I have been co-leading a scholarship program with colleagues at Montclair State University to support the preparation of STEM teachers, with funding support from NSF. This morning I received this notice to cease participant selection. People need to know this is happening.

screenshot of the NSF Executive Order Implementation Webpage that reads: "Message to the NSF principal investigator community
Jan. 28, 2025
Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-25-13, issued on Jan. 27, 2025, directs all federal agencies to conduct a comprehensive review of their financial assistance programs to determine programs, projects and activities that may be implicated by the recent executive orders. Therefore, all review panels, new awards and all payments of funds under open awards will be paused as the agency conducts the required reviews and analysis. NSF has created an executive order implementation webpage to ensure the widest dissemination of information and updates. We will continue to communicate with you as we receive additional guidance.

All NSF grantees must comply with these executive orders, and any other relevant executive orders issued, by ceasing all non-compliant grant and award activities. Executive orders are posted at whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions. In particular, this may include, but is not limited to conferences, trainings, workshops, considerations for staffing and participant selection, and any other grant activity that uses or promotes the use of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) principles and frameworks or violates federal anti-discrimination laws. Please work with your institutional research office to assist you in complying with the executive orders. You can also direct your questions through this webform.

Thank you for your work advancing science, engineering, technology and innovation for our nation."

January 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Congrats to Lauren and all the authors in this amazing book—just arrived today! @aerastl.bsky.social

This is a picture of the book climate change, education across disciplines K-12: New Jersey and beyond edited by Lauren Madden with a picture of New Jersey on the front.

January 25, 2025 at 12:14 AM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

A cover of the book, "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Birthday" edited to read "The Berenstain Bears and Too Much A.I" Brother Bear has an extra foot and three eyes and Papa Bear has a misplaced eye as well, in the style of AI image errors. I changed the spelling of the Berenstain's name at the bottom—the top is correct— as a nod the possibly of A.I.s encountering a Mandela effect of their own.

December 11, 2024 at 5:46 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Current mood, driven by A.I. pollution:

December 10, 2024 at 2:39 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

Had a sneaking suspicion that Barbara Kingsolver wanted readers to take in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield (which I'd never read—I blame that on being a physics major) before her book Demon Copperhead. Took me a while, but now that I've finished both, I can confirm that doing so was rewarding!

This is the cover of the book Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver. It is white with black pencil nature drawings, with the title in red capitals and the author's name in blue. There are two seals at the bottom: one says Oprah's book club 2022 and the other says Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

November 30, 2024 at 9:17 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

I like this authentication method for academics: post your ORCID link in your Bluesky bio, then put your Bluesky handle in your Website & Social links section of your ORCID page. Happy for all the new follows out there, but anything that looks like a bot, bigot, or bait is getting blocked.

This is a screenshot of my (Doug Larkin's) ORCID page showing my Bluesky handle in the Websites and social links section.

November 29, 2024 at 10:13 PM

Doug Larkin

@douglarkin.bsky.social

I have some new followers, so I thought I'd share 3 things I've made in the science teacher education space that I'm most proud of. First is "Teaching Science in Diverse Classrooms," (2nd edition coming in 2025) which I turned into a free audiobook during COVID: creators.spotify.com/pod/show/dou...