Summary:
Shawn and Troy are back to talk about seventh graders, writing, AI and more. Dave talks about Mercury Hazards.
Jokes:
I’ve only got two, maybe three MoTown puns left. Four tops.
This morning I saw my neighbor talking to her cat; it was obvious the poor woman thought the cat understood her. When I got home, I told my dog… we laughed a lot.
Writing poetry about cats is purr verse.
Do you know where you can get chicken broth in bulk?
- The stock market.
Three years ago, my doctor told me I was going deaf.
- I haven’t heard from him since.
Why is Peter Pan always flying?
- He neverlands.
- I like this joke because it never grows old.
You can summer in places and winter in places, but you don’t fall in places or spring in places.
What internal organ is located on children’s legs but not on adults?
- Kidneys.
For a town whose motto is “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” they sure sell a lot of souvenirs.
I got fired on my first day as a car mechanic after I was asked to change a tire.
- They didn’t like that I went missing for an hour and came back in a three-piece suit.
A man asks another man to lend him $10 until next payday. The second man says, ‘Sure, here you go. When’s payday?’
- ‘I don’t know. You’re the one with the job!’
Even Bob Marley seems concerned about this…
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Mercury Hazards
I was recently reading the April 10, 2026, NSTA Blog, a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this blog I read an article written by Ken Roy. He wrote an article entitled “Mercury Spills in the Science Instructional Space: Hazards, Risks, and Safety Actions.”
Use of mercury in high school and middle school science classrooms and laboratory instructional spaces has well-known safety and health hazards and risks. Bottomline is don’t take any chances with safety and health-even to learn important science.
https://k12science.net/mercury-hazards
Reports from the Front Lines
- Subs
- How Many Days?
- 25 days
- Break
- Shawn’s Podcast Vacation
- Troy’s Travel
- Email catch up
- Workflows
The Social Web
Word of the Day is ‘frobly-mobly’, meaning ‘indifferently well’ – essentially the 19th-century version of ‘meh’.
Eric Curts @ericcurts.bsky.social
EdTech Links for the Week of 4-27-26 – www.controlaltachieve.com/2026/05/LOTW… ⭐ Constellation Draw 📜 Talkie – AI from 1930 👀 Seek-and-Finds 🛟 TeachAid 📰 What’s New in Google 🧳 Google Takeout for Schools 💎 New EduGems #EduSky #EduSkyAI #EdTech #GoogleEDU
Dublin City University @dublincityuni.bsky.social
Is it just a busy semester, or is it burnout? Writing for Wonkhe, Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons DCU Institute of Education explores the specific reality of educator burnout, moving past the “eye-rolls” to address a serious occupational phenomenon. Read more: launch.dcu.ie/3QDt0R8
Susie Dent @susiedentwords.bsky.social
A question: what are the things you wish there was a word for? And have you come up with your own word to fill that gap?
MiddleWeb @middleweb.bsky.social
REVIEW: A Human-Centered Approach to Using AI in Writing Instruction. Vogelsinger’s book models productive, reflective approaches to using AI, where student voices are centered & human thinking trumps artificial intelligence, writes teacher Michele Haiken. #edusky www.middleweb.com/53356/a-huma…
Strategies:
What’s Going On in This Picture? | April 27, 2026
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/learning/whats-going-on-in-this-picture-april-27-2026.html
Resources:
AXIS The Culture Translator
Slang of the Week: “You the Birthday”
The phrase “you the birthday” (also spelled “you da birthday”) can be used to refer to someone who has made themselves the center of attention—like it’s their birthday—either for a flattering or an unflattering reason. The phrase started because of the rapper Hunxho’s song “Birthday Girl,” where he says, “She eat, she the birthday girl,” with just enough space between the words “birthday” and “girl” that some listeners thought he was calling someone “the birthday.”
ATOMENCY
A browser-based chemistry platform for high school students and teachers. 12+ interactive simulators, a full assignment builder, and real-time feedback — all aligned to NGSS, AP Chemistry, and IB standards.
Atomency started as a personal frustration — the chemistry tools available at school were either locked behind expensive licenses or too simplified to be useful. So I built something better. This is how it happened.
Web Spotlight:
We’re Training Students To Write Worse To Prove They’re Not Robots, And It’s Pushing Them To Use More AI
A Big False Assumption About AI In Schools
https://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-big-false-assumption-of-ai-in-schools.html
Slang Added to the Dictionary in the Last Five Years
https://wordsmarts.com/new-slang/
Random Thoughts . . .
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