@Shamlet
@shamlet.bsky.social
HS English teacher in Canada. Same handle as my deactivated twi(x)tter.
Bet yer bottom dollar it was AI generated
November 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Bet yer bottom dollar it was AI generated
My goodness, what a wonderful thing to have in a classroom
November 24, 2025 at 12:50 AM
My goodness, what a wonderful thing to have in a classroom
Of course students need guidance, but a rote structure can all too easily lead to dodging the critical question: do you have something to say about this?
November 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Of course students need guidance, but a rote structure can all too easily lead to dodging the critical question: do you have something to say about this?
the leaf will soon become a snowflake
November 23, 2025 at 3:34 PM
the leaf will soon become a snowflake
It can be rebuilt here, but I think people are daunted by the effort of starting over, particularly people who had built a large following and were thus able to get a lot of interaction very easily. It's harder here, and the feeling of having less power and reach is naturally less enticing.
November 22, 2025 at 3:41 PM
It can be rebuilt here, but I think people are daunted by the effort of starting over, particularly people who had built a large following and were thus able to get a lot of interaction very easily. It's harder here, and the feeling of having less power and reach is naturally less enticing.
Really boils down to trying to counter the perception, expressed in various ways by students, that certain courses have hard facts and knowledge and that English is some vague, subjective world. You need to know a lot of things here too, and that knowledge is quite critical to your success!
November 22, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Really boils down to trying to counter the perception, expressed in various ways by students, that certain courses have hard facts and knowledge and that English is some vague, subjective world. You need to know a lot of things here too, and that knowledge is quite critical to your success!
Vocab is one example: want a kid to leave a course saying "I learned [x] number of words." Or not just I read and analyzed/reflected on a bunch of poems, but I have a technical, granular understanding of how poetry works. Things I do now, of course, but just foregrounding them a bit more.
November 22, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Vocab is one example: want a kid to leave a course saying "I learned [x] number of words." Or not just I read and analyzed/reflected on a bunch of poems, but I have a technical, granular understanding of how poetry works. Things I do now, of course, but just foregrounding them a bit more.
As questions that may often themselves be asked in the context of studying a text.
It may sound like I'm outlining some traditional "great books" education, but that's not what I mean at all. Just want to do more to build the knowledge pieces that surround the process of reading and writing.
It may sound like I'm outlining some traditional "great books" education, but that's not what I mean at all. Just want to do more to build the knowledge pieces that surround the process of reading and writing.
November 22, 2025 at 3:10 PM
As questions that may often themselves be asked in the context of studying a text.
It may sound like I'm outlining some traditional "great books" education, but that's not what I mean at all. Just want to do more to build the knowledge pieces that surround the process of reading and writing.
It may sound like I'm outlining some traditional "great books" education, but that's not what I mean at all. Just want to do more to build the knowledge pieces that surround the process of reading and writing.
Amping up focus on the knowledge base: vocab, grammar, prosody, genre and period study, context, ideas and philosophy. Framing English class as a subject to study, and within that a process to practice.
We are seen by kids as somewhat content-free in comparison to STEM. Want to redress that.
We are seen by kids as somewhat content-free in comparison to STEM. Want to redress that.
November 22, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Amping up focus on the knowledge base: vocab, grammar, prosody, genre and period study, context, ideas and philosophy. Framing English class as a subject to study, and within that a process to practice.
We are seen by kids as somewhat content-free in comparison to STEM. Want to redress that.
We are seen by kids as somewhat content-free in comparison to STEM. Want to redress that.
Can you imagine 😎
Fortunately our provincial English conference is in Banff, so that's pretty sweet
Fortunately our provincial English conference is in Banff, so that's pretty sweet
November 21, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Can you imagine 😎
Fortunately our provincial English conference is in Banff, so that's pretty sweet
Fortunately our provincial English conference is in Banff, so that's pretty sweet
Oh we should pursue that, particularly since I don't think I'll be able to get NCTE to do like a summer festival in Toronto or something 🤣
November 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Oh we should pursue that, particularly since I don't think I'll be able to get NCTE to do like a summer festival in Toronto or something 🤣
In that hall of fame, long live the pioneer modems
November 21, 2025 at 12:56 PM
In that hall of fame, long live the pioneer modems
Yeah, 2005. What a time.
A big part of NCTE for me, particularly the solo trips, is being in a foreign country. That added layer of distance from your ordinary life puts you in such an interesting reflective space.
Obviously posting about this because not being in Denver is killing me --
A big part of NCTE for me, particularly the solo trips, is being in a foreign country. That added layer of distance from your ordinary life puts you in such an interesting reflective space.
Obviously posting about this because not being in Denver is killing me --
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Yeah, 2005. What a time.
A big part of NCTE for me, particularly the solo trips, is being in a foreign country. That added layer of distance from your ordinary life puts you in such an interesting reflective space.
Obviously posting about this because not being in Denver is killing me --
A big part of NCTE for me, particularly the solo trips, is being in a foreign country. That added layer of distance from your ordinary life puts you in such an interesting reflective space.
Obviously posting about this because not being in Denver is killing me --