Tag: links

MP Daily Telegraph: October 15, 2025

The Atlantic Telegraph 1866
The Atlantic Telegraph 1866 via Internet Archive
  • Illustrative Math’s CEO on What Went Wrong in NYC and Why Pre-K Math is Up Next – Illustrative Mathematics created a K-12 math curriculum used in many U.S. schools, but its rollout in New York City faced challenges due to implementation issues. The curriculum encourages students to think about problems before teachers explain solutions, blending direct teaching with student exploration. The organization is now focusing on early math by developing a pre-K curriculum to help students succeed from the start.
  • Mark Rober’s underwater search for a flooded Gold Rush mining town – (This is so FREAKING cool) Mark Rober used sonar and a small submarine to search for a flooded Gold Rush town under Folsom Lake in California. The town was covered by water after a dam was built in 1955. Despite challenges, the team found interesting shapes and objects on the lakebed.
  • D’Angelo: 14 Essential Songs – D’Angelo was a talented soul singer, songwriter, and producer known for his unique style and deep musicianship. He released three important albums blending soul, funk, jazz, and hip-hop, influencing the neo-soul movement. Despite personal struggles, his music remains powerful and full of emotion, exploring love, pain, and social issues.


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!

MP Daily Telegraph: October 14, 2025

1938 advertisement for the Daily Telegraph via Internet Archive
1938 advertisement for the Daily Telegraph via Internet Archive
  • “Enshittification”: Cory Doctorow on Why Big Tech Sucks, Keeps Getting Worse & What to Do About It – Big tech platforms like Facebook and Google get worse over time because they focus on profit, not users. This process, known as “enshittification,” ensnares users and businesses, yielding little value for anyone except shareholders. To fix this, we need better rules and new kinds of platforms that serve people, not just profits.
  • The Post-Pandemic Promise of High-Impact Tutoring – Following the pandemic, numerous U.S. schools have adopted high-impact tutoring to enhance student learning outcomes. Successful tutoring programs connect with teaching and have dedicated managers to ensure they work well. Tutoring also helps inspire young people to become teachers and is gaining support and funding from states.
  • Red school boards in a blue state asked Trump for help — and got it – In Washington state, conservative school boards like Mead challenged rules protecting transgender students. They asked the Trump administration for help to avoid losing funding over these policies. This sparked a federal investigation and deepened local conflicts about education and student rights.
  • Are You Christopher Columbus? I’m India, and I Heard You’re, Like, Obsessed with Me – India talks to Christopher Columbus and finds his obsession strange. She says he misunderstood her, drew wrong maps, and acted like a colonizer. India shares her culture and jokes about his old-fashioned ways.
  • Numerous Billionaires Preparing for End of Society – Many tech billionaires fear that advanced AI could cause society to collapse. They are preparing by building bunkers and gathering supplies to survive. While AI might bring great benefits, these wealthy leaders are ready to protect themselves regardless of the outcome, which, of course, doesn’t involve any of us mere mortal peasants.


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!

15 Books About Appalachia to Read Instead of HILLBILLY ELEGY

appalachia
Photo by Joseph Cantwell on Unsplash

Kendra Winchester shares on Book Riot:

Since Hillbilly Elegy came out in 2016, I’ve experienced countless people claiming to now “understand” where I come from and what Appalachian people are like. But they don’t think of my childhood watching my dad lose himself while arranging music on his piano or my grandfather tenderly nurturing plants in his ridiculously large garden. Instead, they imagine the stereotypes of J.D. Vance’s version of Appalachia, where the entire region is made up of poor rural white people consumed with violence who have no one to blame but themselves for their life circumstances.

Vance is, of course, the 2024 Republican VP candidate who once called Trump “America’s Hitler”, supports total abortion bans, and says he would not have certified the results of the 2020 election.

Winchester goes on to recommend fifteen books about Appalachia that will provide a clearer view of the region and the people who live there. They include:

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte. “If you’re still wondering why Hillbilly Elegy is so problematic, I’d suggest starting with What You’re Getting Wrong About Appalachia.”

Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place by bell hooks. “In this poetry collection, she laments how Black Appalachians are all too often left out of narratives about Appalachia.”

Any Other Place by Michael Croley. “Croley’s perspective as a Korean American informs his writing as his stories deal with many topics around race, identity, and belonging.”

When These Mountains Burn by David Joy. “When These Mountains Burn features two men deeply impacted by the opioid crisis in Appalachia.”

See also Hillbillies Need No Elegy, an excerpt from Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy.


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!

Thursday Assorted Links

  1. Incorporating Leadership Skills into a Student-Centered Classroom
  2. Breaking Down Project 2025
  3. How Text-to-Speech Technology is Breaking Barriers for Math Learners
  4. How to pick the perfect book to read on a plane
  5. Alabama Department of Education Targeted In Cyberattack
  6. Jimi Hendrix Unplugged: Two Great Recordings of Hendrix Playing Acoustic Guitar
  7. Girls in Tech closes its doors after 17 years


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!

Monday assorted links

  1. Aaron Sorkin Is Writing Some Kind of ‘Social Network’ Sequel Because ‘I Blame Facebook For January 6’ Riot at the U.S. Capitol
  2. The Student-Led Protests Aren’t Perfect. That Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Right.
  3. Shaping the Future of Learning: The Role of AI in Education 4.0
  4. For philosophy newbs: five thinkers to follow today.
  5. Survey Finds Many Gen Zers Say School Lacks a ‘Sense of Purpose’
  6. Bukowski Reads Bukowski: Watch a 1975 Documentary Featuring Charles Bukowski at the Height of His Powers

Party Like It’s 1989…

group of people in front of stage

“Every Friday, I like to high-five myself for getting through another week on little more than caffeine, willpower, and inappropriate humor.” —Nanea Hoffman

“It’s a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat, the lights are so bright, but they never blind me” – Taylor Swift, Welcome to New York, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

Happy Friday, gang! We made it! I’ve got a few interesting tidbits to share with you this week:


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!

Friday Assorted Links

Title: "Az 1848-49-iki magyar szabadságharcz története [With illustrations.]" Author(s): Gracza, György [person] British Library shelfmark: "Digital Store 9315.h.13" Page: 272 (scanned page number - not necessarily the actual page number in the publication) Place of publication: Budapest Date of publication: 1894 Type of resource: Monograph Language(s): Hungarian Physical description: 2 köt (4°)
Source: British Library on Flickr

– The 11 Most Beautiful Post Offices Around the World

– I’m a Student. You Have No Idea How Much We’re Using ChatGPT

– I’m halfway through Cory Doctorow’s latest novel, Red Team Blues. It’s pretty great.

– These glacier photos are breathtaking

– Matt Damon on brainstorming and collaboration

– The Hero’s Journey, according to Joseph Campbell


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!

Safe places and dark spaces

dark library

Hey gang, here are 10 things worth sharing with you this week:

10 Things Worth Sharing

  1. Wil Wheaton spoke in Kentucky in March, and I missed it. However, he kindly posted his remarks on why “The library is a safe space.”
  2. We need more trust and vulnerability in schools.
  3. The 2023 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced this week; one of the winning fiction books is a retelling of Dickens’ “David Copperfield.”
  4. Why sing a song when you can just sing a note and do some crazy stuff?
  5. Cool use of AI: Midjourney recreates ancient battles.
  6. Would AIs make better professionals (or teachers) than humans?
  7. Testing season is in full swing, and we need easier edtech integrations to service the nonsense.
  8. The Oppenheimer trailer dropped this week, and it looks amazing… and disturbing.
  9. First, Chegg took a hit from AI, and now the popular Stack Overflow loses traffic to ChatGPT. AI is here to stay, and it is disruptive.
  10. Lastly, there is no shame in getting help when you need it.


The Eclectic Educator is a free resource for everyone passionate about education and creativity. If you enjoy the content and want to support the newsletter, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps keep the insights and inspiration coming!