Grades. Requirements. Deadlines. Getting the right answer. Dr. @susandblum.bsky.social challenges us to rethink some of the grading structures we take for granted—and consider what might happen if we designed less around “doing school” and more around learning itself. Listen now: bit.ly/4ru99Cq

We played musical chairs in my class today! (Read my latest Substack post.) susandblum.substack.com/p/musical-ch...

Musical chairs

Learning Cultural Values Through Competitive Play

susandblum.substack.com

Here’s my field report from the first day of class (last week): aiming for slow education and inefficiency. susandblum.substack.com/p/first-day-...

First Day Of Less-Schoolish Classes

Image source

susandblum.substack.com

Belief in the necessity and utility of grades has been accepted doctrinally but without a demand for proof. —Susan D. Blum @susandblum.bsky.social growbeyondgrades.org/blog/meet-ou...

Meet Our Board! — Grow Beyond Grades

Meet the educators helping guide Grow Beyond Grades into its next chapter. In this roundtable, our Board of Directors reflects on their paths to gradeless learning, the experiences that reshaped how t...

growbeyondgrades.org

Here’s a Substack piece with some thoughts about the upcoming academic year... susandblum.substack.com/p/inching-to...

Inching toward Fall 2026 with So Many Thoughts

Updating My 2025 Manifesto

susandblum.substack.com

Listen to my latest podcast with The Grading Podcast superhosts and superstars Sharona Krinsky and Robert Bosley. It's about #Schoolishness and #ungrading and #alternativeassessment and more! #AI might make an appearance. thegradingpod.com/episodes/160...

160 – Schoolishness, AI and the Future of Education: A conversation with Dr. Susan D. Blum.

What if the biggest challenge facing education isn’t grading—but our assumptions about school itself? In this episode, Sharona and Boz welcome anthropologist and author Susan Blum for a wide-…

thegradingpod.com

My latest Substack: "Sometimes It Really IS Brain Surgery: What I Did on my Summer Vacation" open.substack.com/pub/susandbl...

Sometimes It Really is Brain Surgery

What I Did on My Summer Vacation**

open.substack.com

Read my latest Substack post, inspired by Amelia Thomas’s book What Sheep Think About the Weather, and applying principles of autonomy to both animal and human learning. susandblum.substack.com/p/motivation...

Motivation through Play, Not Through Fear or Control

Lessons for Teaching Humans from Working with Other Animals

susandblum.substack.com

Watch the opening of the Obama Center! www.obama.org/visit/grand-...

Watch the Grand Opening

The Obama Presidential Center opens to the public! Come mark this milestone at a free, open-house style event, celebrating community, creativity, and joy. Dance to music on the plaza, create art with ...

obama.org

My latest Substack, about what college is for. Battle of the Paradigms: What is College for in a Cynical Age? open.substack.com/pub/susandbl...

Battle of the Paradigms: What is College for in a Cynical Age?

Depends whom you ask Can the contradictions be harmonized? Take number 2964931

open.substack.com

My latest Substack post, in response to the attempt by Harvard to limit the number of A grades #HigherEd #Assessment #Grades open.substack.com/pub/susandbl...

Oh Harvard. Limiting A’s Is Not It

Grade Inflation, Deflation, and Obsession

open.substack.com

I participated in an hour-long conversation titled “What is College for Today?”with Nicole Lynn Lewis and Paul LeBlanc, moderated by Anya Kamenetz, and hosted by Frederique Rigoulot, on the Cambridge Forum platform. You can listen to us here! cambridgeforum.org/what-is-coll... #HigherEd

I had a great time talking with two Catholic theologians, Alessandro Rovati and Jason Heron, about ungrading and schoolishness and morality. I absolutely see education as a moral project. You can listen to us (and watch us) here! open.substack.com/pub/catholic...

From Coercion to Fascination: Moving Beyond Grades

Why Grades Harm the Catholic Vision of Education

open.substack.com

I wrote a piece on Substack about the closing of Hampshire College. Such a sad end of an era. open.substack.com/pub/susandbl...

On Hearing of Hampshire College’s Closing

….End of a Hopeful Progressive Era?

open.substack.com

"A Priest, a Scientist, and a Humanist Walk into a Classroom"--or to least we had a conversation about learning! (I'm the humanist) With Ji Son, Louis DelFra, and others at the U of Notre Dame, Inst for Educational Initiatives, Center for Educational Research and Action. youtu.be/ec0LbZq4ChA?...

Era Speaker Series: A Priest, a Scientist, and a Humanist Walk into a Classroom

YouTube video by Institute for Educational Initiatives

youtu.be

Is pedagogy a moral project? Check out my latest Substack post! susandblum.substack.com/p/is-pedagog...

Is Pedagogy a Moral Project?

Theologians Weigh in on Ungrading

susandblum.substack.com

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition. Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology

She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

nature.com

Here's my latest Substack post, titled "The Polycrisis: How to Face Teaching in 2026." open.substack.com/pub/susandbl... #education #pedagogy #polycrisis

The Polycrisis

How to Face Teaching in 2026

open.substack.com

I'm so honored that you are engaging with my book! @cornellupress.bsky.social

Hunter ACERT@hunteracert.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Today we met for Austin Bailey's Teaching Scholarship Circle centered on Susan D. Blum's book on Schoolishness. We talked abt where we notice schoolishness & alienation in education. Looking forward to reading more next week & to our guest of honor, @susandblum.bsky.social who joins our 3rd session!

I love that I am finally comfortable with all my students, even the ones who have been challenging for me, for reasons that may have only to do with me and not with them. @susandblum.bsky.social growbeyondgrades.org/blog/my-favo...

My Favorite Thing: Talking to Students About Their Learning — Grow Beyond Grades

Susan D. Blum, editor of the book Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) , shares how she uses conferences to consult learners in their full humanity (as much as ...

growbeyondgrades.org

The world of ought sometimes beckons to the world of is, and change toward practices that work requires a vision of what that would be. @susandblum.bsky.social growbeyondgrades.org/blog/my-favo...

My Favorite Thing: Talking to Students About Their Learning — Grow Beyond Grades

Susan D. Blum, editor of the book Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead) , shares how she uses conferences to consult learners in their full humanity (as much as ...

growbeyondgrades.org

Democracy, Debates, December: On a good day....(My latest Substack post) Democracy requires disagreement, disagreement requires debate, and debate requires practice: the role of education. susandblum.substack.com/p/democracy-...

Democracy, Debates, December

On a good day....

susandblum.substack.com

I had a wonderful conversation with @Trevor Aleo about my latest book, #Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning, and you can listen to us on his podcast, Conceptually Speaking. open.substack.com/pub/trevoral...

Dr. Susan Blum Talks Schoolishness and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning

Listen now | In this episode of Conceptually Speaking, I sit down with Dr.

open.substack.com

I just came across a new review of my book Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning. The reviewer, Jake Mattox, appreciated the wide reading in multiple areas that accompanied my manifesto/tirade/prayer. radicalteacher.library.pitt.edu/ojs/radicalt...

@hcrichardson.bsky.social writes, "What is left when a system loses the give and take of politics is force." October 19, 2025 open.substack.com/pub/heatherc...

October 19, 2025

All last week, Republican leaders tried to portray the No Kings protests scheduled for Saturday, October 18, as “Hate America” rallies.

open.substack.com

This is what democracy looks like. #NoKings

AntiFa = Anti-Fascist. If you’re opposing this, you’re ProFa, = Pro-Fascist, or possibly Anti-Anti-Fascist. I know where I stand. encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/a...

Fascism | Holocaust Encyclopedia

Fascism is a far-right authoritarian political philosophy. Learn about the history and principles of fascism and its implementation in Nazi Germany.

encyclopedia.ushmm.org

1/2 The absurd conclusion of all this GenAI stuff is faculty creating courses entirely w AI; students completing assignments w agentive AI; faculty grading w AI. No humans need be changed in this process. No learning will be required. Easy peasy. #GenerativeAI

My student-led team, schoolstorylab.com, has just rec'd IRB approval for this yr’s project, an inquiry into READING. (We built on @liznorell.bsky.social's survey.) It will take less than 10 min. & is open to ANY STUDENT in ANY COUNTRY, 18 years or older. Plz share widely! forms.gle/yscpm2vubiEH...

School Story Lab

schoolstorylab.com