David Hoyt

Executive Director of School Boards for Academic Excellence. Opinions are my own. @SBAENetwork

[Daniel Buck, “Youngest Old Man in Ed Reform” @MrDanielBuck]

Schools: "Why do boys hate school?"

Also schools:

[David Hoyt @DavidCHoyt]

What if the real reason the education establishment is effectively eroding the development of working memory in children is because it correlates to the expansion of consciousness?

“There are still lots of open questions about where working memory is located in the brain but one important area is the prefrontal cortex... The same area also seems to be important for the sort of global broadcasting that global workspace theorists think is responsible for consciousness.”

https://t.co/oNZy3pfInr

[Ned Ryun @nedryun]

Very excited about the new documentary, The Thread of Liberty: Keeping Our Republic. Lots of great guests, writers, producers. Watch this trailer. The full documentary will be available for viewing on July 4th.

[Fordham Institute @educationgadfly]

Good news: The science of reading is taking hold.

Less good news: We’re not there yet.
Too many teachers still rely on outdated ideas.

More: https://t.co/ncn3d6d9Nd

[David Hoyt @DavidCHoyt]

Neuroscientists discover previously unknown cognitive benefits of reading physical books via @psypost https://t.co/1xvcqZuVcH

[Possum Reviews @ReviewsPossum]

Last night, I read the entirety of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. It's a novel told in the form of letters written by a demon to another demon instructing him on ways to manipulate his "patient" to do evil.

This one quote sounded familiar.

[School Boards for Academic Excellence @SBAENetwork]

Our latest newsletter just launched. If you are looking for in-depth analysis, events, training, and relevant news articles, make sure you are subscribed!
https://t.co/D7H2YIiU32

[Athenaeum Book Club @athenaeumbc]

Napoleon did an insane amount of reading when exiled on the island of St. Helena.

He brought 588 volumes from France, and his captors sent him another 1,200 paperbacks.

What did he read? His librarian wrote:

"The Emperor was infinitely fond of reading. The Greek and Roman historians were often in his hands, especially Plutarch. He could appreciate this excellent author more than anyone else. Therefore The Lives of Illustrious Men always appeared on the shelves of his campaign libraries. He often read Rollin. The history of the middle ages, modern history, and particular histories occupied him only casually. The only religious book which he had was the Bible. He liked to read over in it the chapters which he had heard read in the ruins of the ancient cities of Syria. They painted for him the customs of those countries and the patriarchal life of the desert. It was, he said, a faithful picture of what he had seen with his own eyes. Every time that he read Homer it was with a new admiration. No one, in his view, had known what was truly beautiful and great better than this author; consequently he often took him up again and read him from the first page to the last. The drama had great charms for the Emperor. Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, often had one or two acts of their pieces read aloud. He preferred Corneille to the others, in spite of his imperfections; he always chose what was as lofty as he himself, Napoleon. Sometimes he would ask for some comedy which he had seen played, and from time to time a piece of poetry, for instance, ‘Vert-Vert’ [by Gresset]. He also took pleasure in reading some parts of Voltaire’s Essai sur les moeurs et l’esprit des nations, as well as some articles from the Dictionnaire Philosophique of the same author. Novels helped him to relax and broke the seriousness of his habitual occupations. Gil Blas, Don Quixote and a small number of others would be read by him. Those of Mesdames de Staël, Genlis, Cottin, Souza, etc. he read over sometimes, but the novels which he could not bear were those of Pigault Lebrun. He could not endure this author, although he had almost all his works; he never thought of asking for a volume of them, and would have refused one if it had been offered to him. He had nearly always under his eyes all the works relative to the military art and the campaigns of the great captains. One author, Polybius, which he had desired for a long time, he received only during his last days, when he had almost given up work. It was only by chance that he took up a scientific work; books of this sort were only occasional."

[Fordham Institute @educationgadfly]

Students benefit from reading whole books. So why aren’t enough secondary students being assigned them?

Meredith Coffey looks beyond flawed curricular materials to the other forces shaping what students read.

https://t.co/HJMnuuZmGc

[John Moscatiello @HookedonJohnics]

They just gave up on pretending AP exams are “college level work”

[Jeremy Wayne Tate @JeremyTate41]

This is officially the best account on X

[Jordan Adams @Jordan_C_Adams]

I've long believed that, setting aside content questions for a moment, the Science of Learning field is one of the few areas where people on the Left and Right are finding agreement against the ineffective status quo education establishment.

[Joe Wilson @joeignition]

Last night our school board approved next year's handbook. Incldued:
- bell to bell "Off and Away" cell phone ban
- increased recess - 40 mins K-3; 30 4-6
- added "how to" for parents to opt their children out of Chromebooks

Also notable actions:
- budget passed with no tax increase
- cursive curriculum approved for K-6 next school year, with professional development included (Zaner-Bloser)

Next month we hear more about "catch up" for 7-12, focused on "alongside" other necessary skills (Cornell notes, anyone?) AND hearing from our admin team on structured, sustained typing instruction.

Kids have overheard the discussions of cursive writing, and are excited, we were told, which is wonderful to hear!
@MrDanielBuck @0Beanie05923291

[Jordan Adams @Jordan_C_Adams]

Damning.

What if students aren't reading (or reading books) because schools aren't having students... read books?

Reading Full Books in Secondary English Language Arts Classrooms: Findings from the Spring 2025 American Instructional Resources Survey https://t.co/XPFsYJzwCj

[Corey A. DeAngelis, school choice evangelist @DeAngelisCorey]

BREAKING: Seattle teachers union just elected a new president.

She is now on leave under investigation for allegedly abusing a student.

Her name is Ibijoke Idowu.

[Oscar Ortiz Duarte @OOrtizDuarte]

A pencil forces thought differently than a keyboard.

Teachers knew this long before the studies did.

[Daniel Buck, “Youngest Old Man in Ed Reform” @MrDanielBuck]

20 years ago, all classroom readings were from books, practice and tests were on paper, writing happened with a pencil, examples were on whiteboards

We can, just, go back to that.

[Robert Pondiscio @rpondiscio]

A new @educationgadfly study shows the science of reading has largely won the policy argument, but classroom implementation is still lagging. But that may be because it hasn't won the institutions that prepare teachers.

https://t.co/4u6vXxarDC

[Jeremy Wayne Tate @JeremyTate41]

Beanie is a friend and fellow traveler in the classical education movement, many of you remember that she had a big account on X before it got hijacked. Now she’s back on!, Make sure to give her a follow.

[Jude Schwalbach @JudeSchwalbach]

Here’s the state by state estimated percent change in public school enrollment