Pete Nackovic

[Brad Weinstein @WeinsteinEdu]

Great advice! 🧡

[Fixing Education @FixingEducation]

My favorite education meme!

[Terrible Maps @TerribleMaps]

Has your Nation ever lost 7-1 to Germany at the World Cup?

[𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 @DrBradJohnson]

https://t.co/cm0XXJIppQ

[Codziennik z Mordoru @mordownik4u]

Reprezentacja Haiti na oficjalnych koszulkach w których zagra na Mistrzostwach Świata umieściła POLSKĄ FLAGĘ!

To nie błąd projektanta ani przypadek – to wyjątkowy gest pełen szacunku, który porusza serce każdego Polaka. W 1802 roku Napoleon wysłał kilka tysięcy żołnierzy z Polskich Legionów na San Domingo (obecne Haiti), żeby zdławić tamtejsze powstanie niewolników. Polacy jednak wybrali inną drogę. Zamiast walczyć przeciwko walczącym o wolność, wielu z nich przeszło na stronę powstańców i stanęło do walki ramię w ramię z Haitańczykami przeciwko wojskom francuskim. Po zwycięstwie rewolucji i ogłoszeniu niepodległości w 1804 roku, pierwszy przywódca Haiti – Jean-Jacques Dessalines – oddał Polakom wielki hołd. Przyznał im pełne obywatelstwo, a w konstytucji nazwał ich „Białymi Murzynami Europy”. Były to słowa najwyższego uznania i braterstwa w tamtych czasach. Część polskich żołnierzy (ok. 400–500) została na wyspie na stałe, głównie w regionie Cazale, gdzie ich potomkowie mieszkają do dzisiaj. Dziś, ponad dwieście lat później, pamięć o polskiej odwadze i solidarności wciąż żyje na Haiti. Kiedy ich piłkarze wychodzą na murawę, niosą na piersi symbol naszej wspólnej historii – historii walki o wolność, która nie zna granic ani koloru skóry.

[Mark Manson @Markmanson]

Most of your doubts are imaginary. Most of your limitations are self-imposed. Also: most of your excuses suck.

[Gurwinder @G_S_Bhogal]

Why being on social media has made me more centrist.

[Brian Tolentino M.Ed @TolentinoTeach]

Students need to learn how to sit, think, and write for extended periods.

No phones. No computer.

Just their thoughts, the struggle to organize them, and the clarity that comes from deep focus.

[David Neill @DNeill62]

Common story:

Kid loves baseball. Decides to quit other sports & specialize in 8th grade.

Plays spring ball, summer travel ball, & fall ball. Private lessons over the winter. Ends up swinging/throwing 12 months straight.

Does this for 4 years.

48 months straight of the same back/arm stress.

And we wonder why so many HS players have Pars stress fractures and torn UCLs.

Now apply this to volleyball, golf, basketball, etc. We are breaking our kids’ bodies in pursuit of scholarships.

Athletes need an offseason. Especially when they’re 15.

[Andy Smarick @smarick]

In 10 years, we'll realize young adults can't read, write, or think as well as they should. We'll wonder how we allowed students to offload huge chunks of their learning to AI. Today we're just watching it happen. This is the most obvious unforced error of our time.

[Prof. Carl Sagan @ProfCarlSagan]

The fundamental cause of the trouble is that... the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

- Bertrand Russell

[Mark Manson @Markmanson]

The quickest way to ruin your life is to try to make everything easy.

[Barack Obama @BarackObama]

Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night's shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy. It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that U.S. Secret Service Agents show every day. I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay.

[Brad Weinstein @WeinsteinEdu]

This is how it should work with teachers. 💯

[Mark Manson @Markmanson]

You have to develop the ability to be disliked in order to free yourself from the prison of other people’s opinions.

[Brad Weinstein @WeinsteinEdu]

Truth! 🙌

[Fixing Education @FixingEducation]

Students remember more when they write it down on paper. Not type it. Not screenshot it. Write it!

The act of writing slows students down, adds tactile feedback, and helps lock it into memory.

[𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 @DrBradJohnson]

Veteran teachers don’t struggle with feedback because they’re unwilling to grow.
The issue is the system treats a first-year teacher and a 20-year teacher the same. That doesn’t make sense.
A new teacher is building a foundation. They need structure, modeling, and direct feedback. A veteran teacher is in a different place. They’ve taught thousands of lessons, worked with hundreds of students, and refined their craft. They need someone who can challenge them and understand their level.

But the system applies the same rubric, checklist, and process to everyone.

And it’s not working.
Large-scale evaluation reforms haven’t shown meaningful gains in student achievement. In another study, only about one in four teachers said feedback actually improved their teaching.

That should tell us something.
The strongest research points elsewhere. Instructional coaching shows significant improvement in both teaching and student outcomes. Why? It’s ongoing, specific, and grounded in real classrooms. It meets teachers where they are.

That’s the difference.
You can standardize evaluation, but you can’t standardize growth.

We’ve tried to fix weak feedback by making it more standardized. The problem isn’t the form. It’s the fit.
This isn’t about administrators doing something wrong. Most are doing what they’ve been asked to do. The system just doesn’t match the complexity of the work.

A veteran teacher doesn’t need more boxes checked. They need someone who understands what they’re trying to do and can think with them at a high level.
Evaluation should be less about judging and more about helping.
More aspirational. More conversational.

Not “Here’s what to fix,” but:
What are you working on?
What’s been effective?
Where do you want to grow?
Because growth is voluntary. You can require evaluation, but you can’t force improvement.
That comes down to credibility and relevance.
Teachers act on feedback when they believe the person giving it understands their work, content, and students.

That’s why coaching works. It’s ongoing, specific, and built around real practice. It creates ownership, not compliance.

Veteran teachers don’t ignore feedback because they think they know everything. They ignore feedback that doesn’t match their level.

After enough years, you learn to filter what helps from what just checks a box.

Because growth isn’t one-size-fits-all.

And pretending it is doesn’t make it better. It just makes it look more organized.

References:
National Bureau of Economic Research
American Educational Research Association / American Educational Research Journal
Review of Educational Research