MSM 711: Nutritional Determinism
Summary:
Shawn and Troy talk about AI, starting school, teacher movement, collaboration strategies, and more. Dave bugs out in the backyard.
Jokes:
My boss is threatening to fire the person with the worst posture.
I’ve a hunch, it might be me.
What do you call an explosive horse?
- Neigh-palm.
What did Jay-Z call his girlfriend before they got married?
- Feyoncé.
Animal welfare said I can’t keep my pet dolphin in the bath.
Apparently, it’s not fit for porpoise.
My tailor really likes fixing my clothes.
- Or sew it seams.
Who is the patron saint of email?
St Francis of a cc
Open mic night sounded like a lot of fun until I realized I’d been invited to an autopsy…
Why don’t pirates travel on mountain roads?
- ‘Scurvy.
Middle School Science Minute
by Dave Bydlowski (k12science or davidbydlowski@mac.com)
K12Science Podcast: Bugs in Our Backyard
I was recently reading the July/August 2026 issue of “Science Scope” a publication of the National Science Teaching Association.
In this issue I read the section “Citizen Science” written by Jill Nugent. She wrote an article entitled “Backyard Biodiversity: Bring Science to Life with Bugs in Our Backyard.”
As educators we look for ways to make science relevant, hands-on, and engaging for our students. Involving them in real world science is one way to accomplish this, and with Bugs in our Backyard citizen science project, learners of all ages are invited to participate in science by observing and collecting data on insects and plants right outside the door, in backyards and schoolyards. Please visit the website for this project at:
Reports from the Front Lines
Teacher Movement
Still no subbing
Naming kids – (i.e. Namemaxxing = https://www.parents.com/what-is-namemaxxing-12111756)
The Social Web
MiddleWeb @middleweb.bsky.social
REVIEW: Use Patterns of Analysis to Rethink Grammar Instruction. Patterns of Analysis is a practical, vibrant, user-friendly guide to helping students discover how grammatical choices shape meaning, tone, and text structure. #edusky #ELA @stenhousepub.bsky.social www.middleweb.com/54254/use-pa…
Welcome to the ONLY event about Apple happening today, as far as we know. We’ll be running this as an AMAAA (Ask Me Anything About Apples). Ask your biggest Apple questions in the replies to this post and one of our Apple Geniuses will be with you shortly. 🍎
Eric Curts @ericcurts.bsky.social
📢 What’s new in Google for Education – www.controlaltachieve.com/2026/09/goog… From our August 2026 GEG-Ohio meeting: ✅ Detailed agenda ▶️ Recorded video 📰 Latest GoogleEDU updates 🧰 Helpful tips & resources ❓ Q&A #EduSky #EduSkyAI #EdTech #GoogleEDU
AMLE – via Facebook
Here’s a great opportunity to connect with your professional network while learning ways to create authentic learning experiences tailored to the middle that encourage curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking in an age of artificial intelligence. Register nowhttps://ow.ly/9l8E50ZMybS
Strategies:
How to Get Your Middle Grade Reader to Read More: The Ten Book Challenge
Share with parents.
https://mainedeck.substack.com/p/how-to-get-your-middle-grade-reader
The Ditch That Textbook Ultimate Guide to Classroom Collaboration
Resources:
Killed By Google
- Google Earth Pro – Gone in 10 months.
- Firebase Studio – Gone in 6 months.
- Tenor API – Gone 2 months ago.
- Pixel Studio – Gone 3 months ago.
Tools for better thinking
Rithm Resources for AI Literacy
I asked and received 5 Rithm Card Decks, one for each of the Social Studies Department, just by asking for them from Rithm. Thank you for the support!
Web Spotlight:
NYC school system to ban AI for elementary, middle school students
The Gen Z stare, the decline of saying things out loud
Like most good generational jokes, poking fun at the now-infamous “Gen Z stare” – a silent, blank expression – works because it gets at something real: We are, quite literally, talking less.
An analysis published in July in Perspectives on Psychological Science of more than 2,000 people found that Americans and people in several other countries are speaking roughly 300 fewer words a day, or about two to three minutes’ worth, with each passing year. The drop – a 28 percent decline from 2005 to 2019 – was especially pronounced among people younger than 25.
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/gen-z-stare-decline-saying-090000441.html
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17456916261425131
Brains, Calculators, and the Purpose of School
The logic of banning calculators wasn’t about punishing kids. It was about making sure students learned the process of thinking. Anyone who has watched a child wrestle with long division or fractions knows it isn’t easy. But that struggle creates growth.
When I help Jack with his math homework, I pull out my phone, open ChatGPT, and ask it to explain fractions “like I’m a sixth grader.” And it walks us, step-by-step, how to find a common denominator in language he understands.
Suddenly, I’m equipped to help him with math, and he learns better.
True innovation, in my mind, isn’t throwing out tradition whenever something shiny comes along. It’s adding value to what already works.
If banning calculators helps build brain power, great. Sometimes we need to restrict technology. If using AI as a tutor helps a student catch up, also great. If art and music grow creativity, empathy, and collaboration, they’re essential. The goal isn’t tradition for tradition’s sake, or innovation just because it’s new. The goal is to help students become the graduates, the people, we know they can be: creative, resilient, collaborative, empathetic, and prepared to thrive.
School needs to evolve with the times, but not at the expense of what makes it meaningful. It should hold onto what’s timeless and embrace what’s new, as long as both help students grow into their full potential.
https://www.trevormuir.com/blog/brains-calculators
There’s Really Only One Way to Stop Students From Cheating
Aimed at college students.
https://archive.is/BJuty#selection-3969.0-3974.0
AXIS – The Culture Translator
Past is Present
What it is: An account on X called @25yearsagolive is live-posting through September 11, 2026, as if it were September 11, 2001.
Why it’s more than clout-maxxing: @25yearsagolive, also known as Ohio native Manny Marotta, won’t be posting on 9/11 as a one-off publicity stunt. He’s a 27-year-old history buff, and today will be part of a much bigger project, which he calls “a giant LARP” (language). He reenacts various significant events on other accounts he runs, including @100yearsagolive and @50yearsagolive, all with the same “livestreaming the past” gimmick. Marotta plans to post over 400 times, and he says he watched 40 documentaries and read three books to research September 11, 2001—a research process that completely changed how he saw those events.
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