Ben Fisher-Rodriguez

What do you say to those who claim you’re not American? I understand it’s confusing to encounter an American who can speak two different languages.

The Onion’s Exclusive Interview With Bad Bunny https://theonion.com/the-onions-exclusive-interview-with-bad-bunny/

I WILL be sharing this take with everyone who is subjected to my genAI rants (audience: anyone who talks to me for more than a few minutes)

I was just talking to my student teacher about how there's no pressure for us to be entertainers, or be funny. Kids are so funny if you listen to them. Like we were talking about tourist attractions and a kid said "the Space Noodle!" and like. Everytime I think about it I chuckle.

This episode was great - loved having Jon to talk! (He is an expert in so much more than just classroom management!)

Having a hard time conjuring up little tweets to share here because the state of the world is so hard, but I did want to let y'all know that I fixed the copy machine thrice this week, to the raucous applause of myself

SPEAK!! I was just ranting to my husband about this. My newish car has no knobs, and his brand-new car does have knobs, and I am so, so jealous.

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.)

Respecting people’s pronouns literally saves lies.

Misgendering people is literally killing them.

Homeland security twitter screenshot - “all America wants for Christmas is remigration”

As a person who has been studying extreme far right ideologies for the last decade (and did a PhD on immigration) I find the entrance of “remigration” into the mainstream American political lexicon so profoundly disturbing

On the day following the shooting, the National Cabinet unanimously agreed to strengthen gun laws. Proposals brought forward during the meeting included restricting firearm ownership to Australian citizens only, accelerating the launch of a national firearms register, limiting the number of firearms a single person can own, and further restricting the types of weapons that are legal.

It really can be this easy btw.

If you’ve never thought about whether you’d use your body in an attempt to protect children who aren’t yours,

now’s a good time to stop talking and listen.

“Teaching isn’t just the science of instruction, it’s the art of language. And when our words consistently prime for progress, our students don’t just perform better—they begin to see themselves as learners who can grow, master, and achieve long after the bell rings.” —Cathleen Beachboard, High School Teacher

Cathleen shares 3 strategies: https://edut.to/48bL9fr

#EduSky

Two victims of previous school shootings — Mia Tretta, who was shot in the stomach in 2019 at Saugus High School, and Zoe Weissman, who survived the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — are now at Brown. Gun violence is out of control in this country.

Pink and red clouds at sunset over trees and power lines

Sky as I left my classroom yesterday afternoon 🤩

It’s a favorite - our thanks to YOU!

Quick Draw Here’s another comprehensible input game (that the Little Darlings really think is a drawing game. Shhhhh…..really they’re reading and rereading and rereading, with a little drawi…

(We played a game after to balance it out and the kids got super into it. Win win win day for two classes who can be up or down!)

(The game was Quick Draw by @senorachase.bsky.social )
senorachase.com/2018/01/24/q...

Just 6 school days left - last day on December 19th before we head into Winter Break - and brains are melting. We did a dictation in my level 2 classes today, and it was just the ticket: focused, quiet, hands-on work. Kids noticed good stuff about spelling and punctuation that I take for granted!

Jesus. I'm so sorry.

Phew! You are doing so much. I’m in the same boat: 165 students, four different courses, no time to give them all meaningful feedback, or timely grades lol

Note describing an incident/learning from today

a brief story from today in the classroom:

“People…do indeed acquire languages…”

“Is this something you’ve researched before?” Oh buddy

Excerpt from an email from a student reading: “I'm going to be majoring in Linguistics in college and right now I'm writing a research paper on Second Language Acquistion. Do you have any good resources for me to look at? What is your opinion on SLA? Is this something you researched before? I'm in progress of writing my paper (billingually in English and Japanese). I have been reading on Stephen D Krashen a lot.”

Received an email from a colleague’s student that, given the podcast and my online presence generally, made me LOL

The Sanctity of Literacy Reading is a magical, communal experience

“Reading became a means to a standardized (and fundable) end, not the magical mana that makes us more fully human.”

When you read something on Monday and realize it’s going to be the best thing you read all week.

adrianneibauer.substack.com/p/the-sancti...

"Partner A is the person who can twiddle their thumbs fastest without the thumbs contacting each other. GO!"

"Partner A is the person who can count backwards from 17 to 1 fastest. GO!"

"Partner A is the person who can guess closest to the square root of 6,767. GO!"

(You're welcome.)

Tom Rademacher @MrTomRad I don't know who needs to hear this, but you know that fun Christmas activity you're planning for your classroom? Stop. Unless you work at a Christian school, your room doesn't need any stockings or Santas or reindeer. @HEYMRSBOND

Annual story time! #EduSky

6 years ago, my friend Tom tweeted this. Because I’m a holiday LOVER who had a classroom tree and array of holiday assignments,

I paused and decided to poll my students to gauge their feelings.

+

It is such a blessing to be in community with teachers who share high-interest cultural materials so generously. Currently really enjoying the Wettbewerb der Weihnachtswerbung with my classes as a springboard to talk about how Christmas is celebrated in Germany.
casdk12.my.canva.site/weihnachtswe...

Ep. 30: SLAyyy First Semester Wrap-Up | Podcast Episode on RSS.com GaslightThe Class That Just Won’t TalkPlanning and Grading Struggle BusAccountable ReadingExplicitly Talking About Why We Do What We DoGatekeep Book Study TakeawaysSynonym StackingPronunciation FunGir...

In our final episode of the semester, we chat about what has worked, what hasn’t, and what we’ve learned so far this school year!

rss.com/podcasts/sla...

These same people supposedly concerned about fairness in sports also celebrate the biological advantages of cis men like Michael Phelps as “the perfect swimmer’s body”

www.biography.com/athletes/mic...

👀