Michael Pershan
@mpershan.bsky.social
math teacher, writer
teaching blog: pershmail.substack.com
reading/writing blog: michaelpershan.substack.com
website with links to publications etc: michaelpershan.com
teaching blog: pershmail.substack.com
reading/writing blog: michaelpershan.substack.com
website with links to publications etc: michaelpershan.com
Pinned
Michael Pershan
@mpershan.bsky.social
· Aug 27
Really grateful to the crew at @hexliterary.bsky.social for giving this weird story a home. I can't say enough nice things about hex! I love what they're doing.
hexliterary.com?p=2829
hexliterary.com?p=2829
Reposted by Michael Pershan
November 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
No guarantees but I think Ryan Davis is the kind of guy that if you have him on while you're cooking your dad will walk up and be like 'hey who's this' www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuvU...
New Threats From The Soul
YouTube video by Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band - Topic
www.youtube.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:03 PM
No guarantees but I think Ryan Davis is the kind of guy that if you have him on while you're cooking your dad will walk up and be like 'hey who's this' www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuvU...
A day off without the kids! I took a walk.
November 27, 2025 at 2:52 AM
A day off without the kids! I took a walk.
“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
—Stephen King, “On Writing”
“The boat bobbed, listed, righted itself again, dived bravely through treacherous whirlpools.”
—Stephen King, “IT,” second sentence on page one
—Stephen King, “On Writing”
“The boat bobbed, listed, righted itself again, dived bravely through treacherous whirlpools.”
—Stephen King, “IT,” second sentence on page one
November 26, 2025 at 11:12 PM
“I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
—Stephen King, “On Writing”
“The boat bobbed, listed, righted itself again, dived bravely through treacherous whirlpools.”
—Stephen King, “IT,” second sentence on page one
—Stephen King, “On Writing”
“The boat bobbed, listed, righted itself again, dived bravely through treacherous whirlpools.”
—Stephen King, “IT,” second sentence on page one
we're still having fun
michaelpershan.substack.com/p/hell-is-pa...
michaelpershan.substack.com/p/hell-is-pa...
Hell is Paved
11/26/25
michaelpershan.substack.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:31 PM
we're still having fun
michaelpershan.substack.com/p/hell-is-pa...
michaelpershan.substack.com/p/hell-is-pa...
Malamud was right -- "Jewbird" is a fantastic name for a story.
November 26, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Malamud was right -- "Jewbird" is a fantastic name for a story.
Gonna start working with my 7th graders on their numeracy skills thanks to this numeracy lesson.
November 26, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Gonna start working with my 7th graders on their numeracy skills thanks to this numeracy lesson.
Not sure if this is the right way to say this but it's cool how a novel can have two fairly conventional scenes or chapters with straightforward feelings but by putting one after the other it can feel like change.
November 26, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Not sure if this is the right way to say this but it's cool how a novel can have two fairly conventional scenes or chapters with straightforward feelings but by putting one after the other it can feel like change.
Hey so literally my only exposure to Roland Barthes is from Percival Everett in GLYPH...any advice on where to start with Barthes?
November 26, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Hey so literally my only exposure to Roland Barthes is from Percival Everett in GLYPH...any advice on where to start with Barthes?
I turned 38 last week and the main advice I have to younger men is work on your skills - dribbling and especially your shot. I can't hit anything and I'm a huge liability in pick up games. Wish when I was a kid I had studied less, played more.
November 26, 2025 at 12:46 AM
I turned 38 last week and the main advice I have to younger men is work on your skills - dribbling and especially your shot. I can't hit anything and I'm a huge liability in pick up games. Wish when I was a kid I had studied less, played more.
Reposted by Michael Pershan
And with perfect timing, @mpershan.bsky.social just dropped a new essay. I haven't read it yet but I'm confident it's better than other ones.
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
I Don't Know What to Think About America's Declining Test Scores and Neither Should You
The case for confusion
pershmail.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM
And with perfect timing, @mpershan.bsky.social just dropped a new essay. I haven't read it yet but I'm confident it's better than other ones.
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
Reposted by Michael Pershan
I wrote about philosophers who wrote novels and novelists inspired by philosophy
countercraft.substack.com/p/literary-p...
countercraft.substack.com/p/literary-p...
Literary Philosophy and Philosophical Literature
On philosophers who wrote novels and novelists inspired by philosophy
countercraft.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I wrote about philosophers who wrote novels and novelists inspired by philosophy
countercraft.substack.com/p/literary-p...
countercraft.substack.com/p/literary-p...
Reposted by Michael Pershan
For reasons unknown to me I am keeping at it with this short blogging. michaelpershan.substack.com/p/the-barony...
The Barony of Mahhery Boy
11/24/25
michaelpershan.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:17 AM
For reasons unknown to me I am keeping at it with this short blogging. michaelpershan.substack.com/p/the-barony...
For reasons unknown to me I am keeping at it with this short blogging. michaelpershan.substack.com/p/the-barony...
The Barony of Mahhery Boy
11/24/25
michaelpershan.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:17 AM
For reasons unknown to me I am keeping at it with this short blogging. michaelpershan.substack.com/p/the-barony...
Reposted by Michael Pershan
This is really good look at trends in student performance data. No jumping to conclusions or analysis - just good ol' fashioned curiosity and humility.
November 24, 2025 at 5:17 PM
This is really good look at trends in student performance data. No jumping to conclusions or analysis - just good ol' fashioned curiosity and humility.
Reposted by Michael Pershan
Perhaps complicated issues may not have simple explanations
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Perhaps complicated issues may not have simple explanations
Reposted by Michael Pershan
This is a rational, well written response to some public discourse about the “state of education.”
November 24, 2025 at 4:16 PM
This is a rational, well written response to some public discourse about the “state of education.”
Yikes I wrote about education policy. pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
I Don't Know What to Think About America's Declining Test Scores and Neither Should You
The case for confusion
pershmail.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Yikes I wrote about education policy. pershmail.substack.com/p/i-dont-kno...
Reposted by Michael Pershan
heyyyyyy my book made it onto @electricliterature.com's list of favorite short story collections of the year! electricliterature.com/electric-lit...
Electric Lit’s Best Short Story Collections of 2025 - Electric Literature
Books by Marie-Helene Bertino, Torrey Peters, and Samanta Schweblin are among our favorites of the year
electricliterature.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:21 PM
heyyyyyy my book made it onto @electricliterature.com's list of favorite short story collections of the year! electricliterature.com/electric-lit...
Needed a job
November 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Needed a job
Teachers: do you think that standards have been lowered for K-8 students in the past 10 years?
November 22, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Teachers: do you think that standards have been lowered for K-8 students in the past 10 years?
Doing my part. michaelpershan.substack.com/p/nursery-of...
November 21, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Doing my part. michaelpershan.substack.com/p/nursery-of...