Chris McNutt

Sketch notes agenda on poster paper saying intros and opening, significant disproportionality, success gaps, and Human Restoration Project.

Love that @humanrestorationproject.org got included in the sketch notes agenda today. 😁

Uploading some process videos I've been hoarding on my tablet. #wip #illustation #イラスト #oc

It's interesting to talk with school leaders & districts about the sort of terminal condition of school data today. Ironically, they have more data than they've ever had before but lack the processes & resources to make sense of it in ways that are timely, actionable, AND meaningful...

Youth will always be amazing. They just need the space and conditions to flourish.

What excites me is the same thing that scares me: that it's unpredictable!

More people seeking more human ways to learn together in the face of ever-increasing dehumanizing forces in schools (I hope)

Neurodiversity is getting through

Postcards from Conference to Restore Humanity! 2025: What excites you about the future of education?

"Youth will always be amazing. They just need the space and conditions to flourish."

"What excites me is the same thing that scares me: that it's unpredictable!"

#EduSky #CTRH2025

Screenshot of opening slide featuring map outline of conference events and sponsors

A huge thank you to everyone who made Conference to Restore Humanity! 2025: Quest for Connection our best attended and most engaging conference yet! It was an honor and our pleasure to build community and connection with you all over the past three days. ❤️🚀 #EduSky #CTRH2025

On Monday we begin our Quest for Connection🧭, bringing together students and teachers, researchers and doers, thinkers and visionaries to explore complex topics in education and illuminate a path forward together.

July 21-23 | virtual | $50
www.humanrestorationproject.org/conference
#EdChat

Nonscientific poll: would folks be interested in the opening chapter to #Nostos in standalone accordion format, w/bonus behind the scenes, process stuff included before the book is finished (it’d be printed there as well in standard book format)? Hoping to finally make this happen! #Unflattening 2

A 2-page black and white comics spread, with imagery continuing beyond the side boundaries of the pages as it’s part of a longer sequence. The center is a tapestry that stretches through the page displaying Odysseus’s ship with the lighthouse of pharos, Penelope weaving a pharos, and the bag of Aeolus. The image of penelope emerges from the tapestry, near it there's a meta-tapestry with warp and weft of threads that make the page, all woven by hands from the reader’s perspective. They hands unwind at the wrists to merge with a labyrinth that fills bottom of page metapmorphosizing from greek key patterns that make the boundary of the tapestry. At top the moon in three phases and a double headed axe spins through the page - in one instance mirroring the full moon with crescents on either side. The axe transforms into a monarch butterfly across the page. Also there’s an owl who moves backwards across the page until it comes to rest on Penelope’s loom. It’s a complicated page... (oh, and I have twice as many characters as Twitter here - but that’s probably enough)

A, to say the least, rather difficult page to describe & given that I’ve made identifying elements a contest, apologies in advance for not spoiling it here. It’s a 2 page spread split horizontally in two - the upper half is a black background in the stars, lower half of page is white and in the body. Top half features a number of initially circular panels over the cosmos with images drawn of planets, comets, and such, as it moves rightward across the spread panels are now hexagonal and show more distant locales in the universe. Lower half has a forearm unraveling and tissue and threads that make it unspooling and displayed in at first small circular panels. Heading to right half of the spread these panels become larger and hexagonal and show molecules and finally atoms. Overlaying this is a hexagonal pathway of panels showing the life journey of a carbon atom this winds up on the upper half far right. Center has 4 images top telescope old & modern, same with microscopes in lower half.

six spreads from a comic book all somehow based on circular compositions along with the thumbnail diagrammed sketches that led to their creation

a comics page in 9 panels but all a single scene. the buddha sits in a banyan tree, with various animals around him. Each essentially in its own panel while his face is in the center panel. The text is about how comics are read sequentially yet the visual nature of it makes it a single simultaneous experience and thus rhizomatic connections across the page (like the banyan tree itself) are possible and make comics something far less than linear. It's also about the fragmented nature of comics - and the buddha makes a joke where the text reads "each element is thus" and he says "one with everything" (this is from the joke - the buddha orders at a hotdog stand "make me one with everything")

cool to see #PortfolioDay! I make comics about ideas with an emphasis on exploring the form itself. I also teach comics & much of what I explore in form/constraints comes from what I learn from working with students. Most known for #Unflattening (my dissertation in comics) & in the midst of #Nostos!

Our latest episode is a conversation with @ryanboren.bsky.social, Chelsea, Norah, & @autisticrealms.bsky.social about the awesomeness that is @stimpunks.org and DIY, mutual aid, & human-centered learning for neurodivergent & disabled people! 🤘

www.humanrestorationproject.org/podcasts/diy... #EduSky

"The goal for this project was for students to learn about the purpose of an IEP, understand their own goals and accommodations, and create a personalized portfolio to showcase their strengths, needs, and learning preferences."

Love the idea of a personalized portfolio driven by the IEP.🤔💡

‍My IEP, My Future | Human Restoration Project | Catherine Patton

"The project exposed educational weaknesses that had been kept from the students themselves as a lot of IEPs are deficit based, focusing on where students are lacking educationally instead of showing them as whole humans."

My IEP, My Future

www.humanrestorationproject.org/writing/my-i... #EduSky

Reclaiming Teaching & Learning in an Age of AI w/ Chanea Bond Podcast Episode · Human Restoration Project · 06/21/2025 · 1h 7m

This episode is a #✨GiftOfLove✨.

@heymrsbond.com & @covingtonedu.bsky.social y’all should connect with @aieloc.bsky.social. They do work around identity based learning & their upcoming conference is on humanizing pedagogy. #WeAreHumanBeingsNotHumanDoings #EduSky

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

Zaynab leading the group talking about PBL.

Nick talking to educators about portfolios.

Natasha (OV Middle School) talking with co-workers about projects.

HRP & Open Way Learning just wrapped an incredible week in Muskegon with Orchard View & Reeths-Puffer Schools! Educators co-designed cross-curricular PBL projects & integrated portfolio-based assessment. Learn more at www.thirdcoastlearning.org/about #restorehumanity

I started listening to this in my AirPods & it took me aback that my voice just pops out of the void 😂😂😂😂😂
5 minutes in and I have thoughts!
1) @covingtonedu.bsky.social’s voice sounds like he does a podcast 😂
2) MORE TEACHERS TALKING ABOUT THINGS ON YOUR PODS
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/h...

Reflections on Teach Truth Day of Action 2025 | Human Restoration Project | Nick Covington How can John Dewey’s ideal of a thriving democratic education revitalize a American commitment to freedom and democracy? Published by Human Restoration Project, a 501(c)3 organization restoring humani...

"A free education is incompatible with fascism. That was Dewey's petition from his generation’s age of fascism to our own: that to make education incompatible with fascism is to make us more free."

My remarks from #TeachTruth 2025:

www.humanrestorationproject.org/writing/refl... #EduSky

Ira, Cassie, Chris, Pam, & Nick selfie

@pammoran1.bsky.social & @irasocol.bsky.social just happened to be working with schools in Muskegon at the same time as the @humanrestorationproject.org team! Great things happening here in Western Michigan. 👀

Last year we spoke with @nqcliteracy.bsky.social about Nourishing Caregiver Collaborations: Elevating Home Experiences and Classroom Practices for Collective Care.

Queue up this conversation and join her in July for a 2-hour workshop at #CTRH2025!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjIW...

Our merch is printed by union labor in the United States from an ethical supply chain. We've got shirts, stickers, and posters. All profits go to our mission.

www.rayguncustom.com/collections/...

Contest — Grow Beyond Grades

🕐 ONE WEEK LEFT!

Students: How have grades—or the lack of them—shaped your learning or growth?

All genres & formats welcome ✍️
Cash prizes 💸
Chance to be published 📚

growbeyondgrades.org/contest
#gradeless #ungrading #growbeyondgrades
@humanrestorationproject.org @gotlearning.bsky.social

Check it out!

Just like all our conferences, we'll release nearly everything for free afterwards...joining live lets you participate in the community + support the cause!

This event will feature a stellar line-up, leans into virtual as a way to connect, and has some light TTRPG elements. ;)

YouTube video by Human Restoration Project Conference to Restore Humanity! 2025: Quest for Connection - Trailer

In 2025, we’re responding to the need for community & solidarity in uncertain times by turning Conference to Restore Humanity into a model for humanizing critical discourse & dialogue. We hope you'll join us!

Virtual | July 21-23
humanrestorationproject.org/conference

youtu.be/ZF92Jl6e_bA #EduSky

SPOTLIGHT ON Orchard View Middle School, Muskegon Four young children engaged in a hands-on construction project. One girl, wearing a blue hard hat, is focused on measuring and assembling materials, while the others, dressed in casual clothing, lean in to collaborate. The setting has a warm, natural light, with wooden materials and tools spread across the floor. The ‘What School Could Be’ logo is in the bottom left corner. Classrooms buzz with enthusiasm—students aren't silently flipping through textbooks but actively collaborating as young innovators. This is what school looks like at Orchard View Middle School in Muskegon, Michigan. Driven by a vision to boost attendance, reduce discipline referrals, and ignite joyful learning, Principal Josh Smith partnered with the Human Restoration Project, Open Way Learning, and independent evaluator RAND to launch the Third Coast Learning Collaborative. This bold initiative blends interdisciplinary, project-based learning, portfolio-based assessment, and intentional, social-emotional learning to create meaningful, student-centered experiences.

SPOTLIGHT ON This month, What School Could Be is thrilled to spotlight Cassie Nastase! Cassie began her career as a middle school counselor in West Michigan. Now, as the Third Coast Learning Collaborative Coordinator with the Human Restoration Project, Cassie partners with educators at Orchard View Middle School to co-design learning experiences that cultivate curiosity, creativity and meaningful connection to self and community. Cassie is passionate about integrating SEL standards and therapeutic approaches into everyday teaching practices to create nurturing learning environments that support the holistic development of students.

We're honored to have HRP's collaborative work with Michigan schools highlighted in the @whatschoolcouldbe.bsky.social inaugural newsletter, with a huge spotlight on the indispensable and incomparable @cnastase.bsky.social, our TCLC Coordinator! 🙌

mailchi.mp/whatschoolco...

If you want to know why the work of @humrespro.bsky.social is exploding, this is exactly why. Conscientious school leaders know the antidote to apathy, disengagement, absenteeism, AND so-called "artificial intelligence" is purposeful, meaningful, human experience:

bsky.app/profile/mcnu...

A group of educators gathered in Vincent, Ohio at Warren Local Schools.

Student data portal with top reading: "Students Leading the Way, Ohio: 2024-2025 This report synthesizes findings from empathy interviews conducted with over 700 students across eight Ohio school districts. Through peer/facilitator-led conversations, students shared candid insights about their educational experiences—what works, what doesn't, and how schools might better serve their needs. Their perspectives offer valuable guidance for creating more engaging, supportive, and meaningful learning environments."

Incredible convo at the Ohio Jennings gathering! HRP trained students who led 130+ peer discussions on reimagining education. We identified 4300+ insights showing clear desire for self-directed learning, PBL, and restorative practices which directly leads into *action*. @humrespro.bsky.social

Nothing creepy about this at all

More Than Words A veteran writing teacher makes a “moving” (Rick Wormeli) argument that writing is a form of thinking and feeling and shows why it can’t be...

But writing is not just a transaction, particularly in contexts where we're learning to write. Writing is an experience. The experience matters. Outsourcing the writing to an LLM is obviously pointless. Writing is not just syntax generation. www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/john-...

Chris standing with the rulebook over the large table presence for Sleeping Gods

Nick's close victory location in Mind MGMT, a hidden movement game

The HRP team had a blast working w/ teachers, visiting schools, and talking with students in Michigan this week. An extracurricular highlight was the stash of games @mcnuttedu.bsky.social brought! My ranking:

Sleeping Gods
Mind MGMT
Arcs
Dominion
Watergate

Interesting in-progress item analysis. We're currently sorting through 3797 conversation highlights, and we've tagged 1002 of them as "Direct Teacher Feedback", ie, "What's one thing you would want teachers to take away from this conversation?" 👀 #EduSky

So how did we sort & code these by subtheme?

Wow what a depressing yet needed point to elevate. There's so much power in young people being educated to tackle the real problems facing our world. Let's make this happen! 🤞

“Our children are telling us ‘we cannot live into this future.’

We're the only species on this planet where our little ones are taking their own lives.

What is it that's causing all this anxiety and stress & depression? The number one reason that they talk about is climate change & unsafe futures"