Matthew J. Smith

one of the really disheartening things about grading in the age of AI (and grades) is that element of trust. do you really think that or were you fed that? the constant questioning of whether a student is being real with me or not is maddening. i don't know how to teach this way.

i just wanna read one essay written by a student who is mad as hell.

student use of AI for writing essays skyrocketed this semester. super depressing. it improved a bit after one initially rough semester, and now its just tanked.

its simple people: do the readings, engage the readings, write out your thoughts. the writing just keeps getting worse. :(

Book ban lawsuit against West Michigan school district dismissed by appeals court The lawsuit had sought to ban 14 “sexually explicit” books from the school district’s library.

A big win in Michigan against book banning. www.mlive.com/news/grand-r...

"These are kids who will never pay taxes," Kennedy declared. "They'll never hold a job. Theyl never play baseball. They'Il never write a poem. They'll never go out " on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted. We have to recognize doing this to our children. we are

RFK Jr. wants to eradicate autistic people and also has no idea what an autistic person is

Northwestern is ready to join the National Day of Action for higher ed. Stand up and come together for our students!

Tomorrow at Northwestern and across the country we stand up for higher ed. Join us.

Microsoft Worker Fired for Israel Protest: “Cloud & AI Are the Bombs & Bullets of the 21st Century” Microsoft fired two workers who protested the company’s ties to Israel’s assault on Gaza at its 50th anniversary celebration last Friday. The workers protested after leaked documents revealed that...

Microsoft Worker Fired for Israel Protest: "Cloud & AI Are the Bombs & Bullets of the 21st Century"

the maps of the survey are really cool

wow.

This is giving me major Andor vibes. Use prisons overseas so less people know what's going on...

PIC Abolition is such an important movement right now.

I’m so grateful for the invitation to talk with Joseph and Pippa about my work. We’ll be live ON Thursday, April 10 at 3pm ET.

“Detained Without Evidence”: Maryland Father Remains in El Salvador Prison After SCOTUS Ruling The Supreme Court has paused a lower court order that instructed the Trump administration to immediately bring back a U.S. legal resident who was “mistakenly” sent to El Salvador, giving the court...

"Detained Without Evidence": Maryland Father Remains in El Salvador Prison After SCOTUS Ruling

This is Utah in case anyone’s wondering how pissed off people are. I have never seen anything like this.

BAR Book Forum: Judith Weisenfeld’s Book, “Black Religion in the Madhouse” | Black Agenda Report This week’s featured author is Judith Weisenfeld. Weisenfeld is Agate Brown and George L. Collord Professor in the Department of Religion at Princeton University. Her book is Black Religion in the Mad...

I'm grateful to Roberto Sirvent of @blackagendareport.bsky.social for interviewing me about *Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery's Wake*

Against a blue background, text says: PLEASE JOIN US FOR A BOOK TALK & CONVERSATION WE GROW THE WORLD TOGETHER: PARENTING TOWARD ABOLITION TUESDAY, APRIL 1 6-7:30PM LOCATION CHANGE: ZOOM LOCATION CHANGE: ZOOM Scan QR code for link Scan QR code for link FEATURING: D’MARRIA MONDAY (contributor), FOUNDER OF THE GRASSROOTS COMMUNITY- BUILDING ORGANIZATION BLOCK BUILDERZ NADINE NABER (contributor), FOUNDER OF LIBERATE YOUR RESEARCH & COFOUNDER OF MAMAS ACTIVATING MOVEMENTS FOR ABOLITION AND SOLIDARITY KIM WILSON (co-editor), ARTIST, EDUCATOR, WRITER, AND COHOST/PRODUCER OF THE BEYOND PRISONS PODCAST MODERATOR, LAURA CIOLKOWSKI, WGSS FACULTY & DIRECTOR, UMASS JAIL EDUCATION INITIATIVE COSPONSORED BY: UMASS JAIL EDUCATION INITIATIVE, DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN, GENDER, SEXUALITY STUDIES, LOIS E. TOKO LECTURE SERIES, TRANSFORMATIVE JUSTICE COALITION, FEMINIST FAMILY STUDIES, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH & RIGHTS CERTIFICATE, REPR

Tonight, join a zoom conversation about caregiving toward liberation, and how we can collaboratively build the world we want to live in, even in desperate times.
Join Kim Wilson (co-editor, with me, of “We Grow the World Together”) and contributors Nadine Naber and D’Marria Monday!

practice friendship.

Does Columbia still merit the name of a university? | Rashid Khalidi Columbia has long been run more as a business empire than as an educational institution. Now it’s acting like Vichy on the Hudson

“Partisans of Israel, infuriated that scholarship on Palestine had found a place at Columbia, once named it “Bir Zeit on the Hudson”. But if it any longer merits the name of a university, it should be called Vichy on the Hudson.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Book cover: Anthony Petro, Provoking Religion: Sex, Art and the Culture Wars

I just ordered @apetro.bsky.social's forthcoming book, *Provoking Religion: Sex, Art, and the Culture Wars.* Use the discount code AUFLY30 for 30% off.

global.oup.com/academic/pro...

What are some of the best new books people are reading in the Environmental Humanities?

Educators Sue to Challenge Trump Administration's Efforts to Weaponize Civil Rights Laws, Attack Educational Programs and Student Opportunities AFT, AFT-Maryland, American Sociological Association File to Challenge Administration's ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter in Defense of Students Nationwide

www.aft.org/press-releas...

Young Trans Activists Aim to Develop a New Generation of Leaders — Assigned A new nonprofit launches a programming series to bring together young trans leaders with “top voices in art, government, science, and public service.”

Its inspiring to see young leaders stepping up when we need them most!
Article by Denny @likethediner.bsky.social

Also, and I realize this is specialized information, but: the earth is round, not flat.