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Mike Soskil

@msoskil.bsky.social

5.2K followers 1.7K following 250 posts

Science Teacher ~ Unionist ~ University Lecturer ~ Author ~ Hiker ~ 2018 PA Teacher of the Year ~ 2016 GTP Top 10 ~ PAEMST ~ National Parks Supporter ~ Editor of http://FlipTheSystem.US ~ Trying to leave the world better than I found it. #edusky

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Nov 13

Happy to network with anyone who believes public education and collective action are our best tools for giving each person agency in their lives, communities, and how they are governed.

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Reposted by Mike Soskil

Education International @eduinternational.bsky.social · Jul 4

✊🏾✊🏻✊🏾 This 4th of July, we stand with U.S. educators fighting for inclusive public schools and for democracy.

From around the 🌍, you have our #solidarity.

➡️ eiie.io/4lxMLUA

#GoPublic4Solidarity @neatoday.bsky.social @aft.org @neapresident.bsky.social @rweingarten.bsky.social @daveswords.bsky.social

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 28

What a pleasure to listen to 2025 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year Leon Smith keynoting the PA Educators Rising Conference. @pseaorg.bsky.social

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

This decision to dismantle the US Department of Education was never about educational achievement. It was always about removing equal opportunity for all children. 14/14

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

The USDoEd doesn't set curriculum. It doesn't tell teachers how to teach. It helps provide equal opportunity for all kids. Which is exactly why it's being shut down. If you examine the words the administration banned from federal websites & research studies, "equal opportunity" is on the list. 13/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

By ignoring the full USDoEd mission including equal opportunity and removing that oversight, some states are once again able to ensure rural, poor, and students w/ disabilities and communities will never get what they need to be successful. 12/

Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

Kids in rural and poor were not given an opportunity to succeed. Additionally, children with disabilities were ignored in some states. The US DoEd's mission was to help those schools and those kids have the opportunity to be successful. That is now in danger. 11/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

As a country, we have far more income inequality and children living in poverty than almost any other developed country measured by PISA tests. The USDoEd was created in part because some states refused to fund rural schools and schools in poor areas equally. 10/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

Finally, to your point of the US Department of Education's mission - if you read it, it's not just about student achievement. It also explicitly mentions global competitiveness and equal access to education. 9/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

And, it's also worth noting that the President recently signed executive orders dismantling the little data privacy protection we had. So, this will likely worsen in the age of Generative AI. 8/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

It's worth noting at this point that other countries, especially in Europe, have much stronger data privacy laws than the US has, and this has protected students in those countries more than here. 7/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

I'm really good at what I do, but it's hard to compete with algorithms designed to tap into your inner psychology and make you addicted to a screen. 6/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

It's addictive. We see many kids spending hours per day doom scrolling on Tik Tok, Instagram, etc. Adults aren't immune - you probably found this post during your daily FB scrolling. As kids got addicted to the dopamine hit from scrolling SM, they became more difficult to motivate in school. 5/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

What’s been happening in the same time period (namely about 2017 to now)? Predictive AI being used in social media. Around that time, accelerated by the pandemic, students and others have been subject to SM algorithms designed to keep you consuming social media so that companies can profit. 4/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

It is true that on the NAEP, a test used internally in the US to measure student educational progress, scores have declined sharply since the pandemic. I've seen this used as justification to attack USDoEd as well. Let's explore that, since it somewhat correlates with the decline in math scores. 3/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

In fact, on the international PISA test used to compare ed systems, in 2022, US reading scores were 6th in the world -among our highest ever. We were 10th in science. But, math scores showed a sharp decline. This decline was consistent with other countries as well. This ties into a second point. 2/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

I got a question from someone on FB questioning whether the US Department of Education has failed its mission since 1979. Here is my answer:

First, there is no truth to the claim that test scores or US education performance has been declining since the opening of the USDoEd in 1979. 1/

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Reposted by Mike Soskil

Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · Mar 5

Behave accordingly

The old ibm slide that originally said A COMPUTER

CAN NEVER BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

THEREFORE A COMPUTER MUST NEVER

MAKE A MANAGEMENT DECISION

Except edited to say

A computer can never unionize therefore a computer is management

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

There are plenty more differences, and I'm all for trying to better our education system to be more like other countries that outperform us. I am pretty confident that closing the US Department of Education will do none of these things, though. In fact, it's guaranteed to make things worse. 8/8

Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

In high-performing education systems there is an understanding that teachers need time to collaborate, develop themselves professionally, & think deeply about how to improve their craft. US teachers are lucky if they get to go to the bathroom at a time that coincides with their body's needs. 7/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

*More teacher planning and collaboration time - Even though there are plenty of countries where students go to school more days than in the US, American teachers spend more time in front of students than almost any other country in the world. How can that be? Well… 6/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

*Holistic curricula - Instead of focusing solely on "core" academic subjects like reading/math, high-performing ed systems embrace the arts, humanities, physical activity, & recess. Kids are developed as holistic individuals and not as cogs in a future economy to benefit wealthy business owners. 5/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

*Lower societal inequality - High-performing systems have less poverty & income disparity, universal health care, publicly funded childcare & preschool, & a strong social safety net. This means kids come to school healthier, better prepared, & with less family stress impacting their learning. 4/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

*Lower education system inequality - US is one of the only countries where schools w/ the most need (those in poorer areas) get less funding. This is due to funding structure of using property taxes & local $ rather than federal funding to pay for education. Dismantling USDoEd makes this worse. 3/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

*Highly qualified and respected teachers - Countries that have the highest-performing education systems tend to have well-paid, very respected, and highly qualified teachers. Some, like Finland, require a Masters degree to teach - and compensate those in the profession accordingly. 2/

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Mike Soskil @msoskil.bsky.social · Mar 21

Dismantling the US Department of Education will devastate students and rural communities like mine. The justification is that American education is falling behind other countries. So, let's examine what other countries do to get better outcomes so that we can implement those changes. 1/

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