I think this is important - we need to present a case for reading (and expanding, problematizing, and inverting) the canon that is distinct from the "We need to defend Western Civ from the Islamo-Marxists intent on queering your kids and making them burn American flags" being sold.

Annie Abrams@annieabrams.bsky.social · yesterday

would read an op-ed about how this differs from the situation at UT Austin, from the situation at St Johns, from the situation at Hillsdale

Pope Leo XIV denounces any religious justification for wars raging around the world saying, “There is no such thing as a holy war.”

Pope says 'there is no such thing as a holy war' in message to religious leaders

The American pope denounced the “troubling revival of war as an instrument of international politics” and its religious justifications by leaders.

nbcnews.to

I was just worrying that too many Americanist political scientists aren't viewing this unprecedented moment in US history for what it is, & here's PSQ with a whole issue on whether the US is undergoing an "authoritarian turn." Featuring @dziblatt.bsky.social, @stevelevitsky.bsky.social, among others

What Is the State of American Democracy?

By Lawrence R. Jacobs and Robert Y. Shapiro The following Forum addresses this fundamental question at a major moment in American political history. Views amon

academic.oup.com

If every senior took that class instead of memorizing quotes from the federalist papers and oversimplifications of Court doctrine, we'd be in a much better place.

Sam Ulmschneider@samulmschneider.bsky.social · last wk.

Once - one year - I got to teach a seminar for my advanced high schoolers where we read Putnam (Our Kids), Eirenreich (Nickel and Dimed), Yglesias (One Billion Americans), Desmond (Evicted) a whole book on how to run for local office, and more. These sorts of classes are mostly now foreclosed by AP.

God, I just want to take a scythe to AP/College Board domination of advanced curriculum and student choice. Why should we be giving gifted high schoolers 5x as much AP Psychology and AP Economics instead of a diversity of options from local history to intro to philosophy to European literature etc.

I keep teaching the guarantee clause extensively in my APUSH and AP Gov classes hoping that it will stick with some future constitutional lawyer who decides to channel the spirit of Thaddeus Stevens and go to town.

Sam Ulmschneider@samulmschneider.bsky.social · 2w ago

The Republican Guarantee Clause and 14th Amendment's Privileges and Immunities clause are like dormant volcanoes of potential constitutional power. Sometimes I wonder if they'll erupt in my lifetime.

Very few people I know are against including DI in one's pedagogical repertoire. The deskilling doesn't come from learning or using DI. It comes from the policies that would mandate it across all ages, disciplines, contexts, etc. and the companies who would package, sell, & script it to schools.

thinking again about something @mcsardo.bsky.social wrote a few years ago-- educate.apsanet.org/thinking-pol...

Lucan Way and I have been writing about competitive authoritarianism for more than 25 years. We never thought we'd write this piece. www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/com...

Competitive Authoritarianism in America | Journal of Democracy

The United States has slid into competitive authoritarianism. The slide has been modest and remains reversible—but it is real. Even after Donald Trump, American democracy will remain fragile.

journalofdemocracy.org

What's striking about this list is that they are all internal to schools - basically none of them deal with the broader context in which education happens: inequalities in wealth, time, housing security, food security, books and internet access... www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/u...

30 Ideas for Fixing U.S. Schools, Ranked by Experts

Math and reading scores are in a decade-long slump. We asked three dozen experts: What could turn things around?

nytimes.com

Iced coffee discourse feels like a psy-op. How is this something that anyone cares about?

"Mama, we made posters about voting at school. Can I make a sign for your office on campus for your students?"

This seems right to me.

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux@bretdevereaux.bsky.social · last mo.

It's hilarious that Huang things not knowing his address, zip-code and phone number are a mark of how he is cognitively off-loading to technology and Klein doesn't seem to press him that what he's actually obviously doing is using the fact that he's rich to off-load onto other humans.

My thoughts on the inclusion of Smith's Wealth of Nations as a "Foundational Text" of US Government and Politics in @liberalcurrents.com

Liberal Currents@liberalcurrents.com · last mo.

"AP US Government and Politics teachers received an email indicating that four new documents would be added to its list of 'required foundational documents' in order to 'strengthen alignment with college-level courses,' [including] 'core principles from the writings of Adam Smith.'"

Yes, Smith is an interesting and provocative thinker. But does he belong in a high school government course? Is he in any comparable undergraduate syllabi? And importantly - why have we let a private corporation or a couple of state governments decide what is "foundational"?

Jason Briggeman@jbriggeman.liberalcurrents.com · last mo.

Smith is great of course, the real Smith is, anyway, but in a U.S. government and politics course, in high school, and surely it's some conservatized economized simplified received version of Smith, what are we doing here

Curious why a bunch of high school seniors are reading Adam Smith? College Board made "core concepts from Smith's Wealth of Nations" a "Required Foundational Document" for the AP US Gov/Pol Exam. In @liberalcurrents.com I explore why & why it matters: www.liberalcurrents.com/jefferson-ma...

Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, and Smith: The College Board Adds a New Founding Father

On the politics of canonization in academia.

liberalcurrents.com

i am genuinely bewildered by people who say that the rise of white nationalism in the republican party is a response to the "woke left." like, did the woke left cause pat buchanan's 1992 presidential campaign? is the woke left why steve king had a long career in congress?

Has there ever been a more obvious/timely moment for a left/progressive case for publicly-financed, broadly accessible liberal arts ed

Me every time a student cites the "guarantee clause" in my AP Gov class.

Jack Nicholson's Evil Smile Head Nod

ALT: Jack Nicholson's Evil Smile Head Nod

static.klipy.com

I read Tegmark's Life 3.0 years ago, and was struck then at his effusive praise of Musk, which should be as much of an indictment of someone's judgment as you need.

Timnit Gebru@timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 2mo ago

Guys, this is Bernie Sanders' guy for all things AI. Max Tegmark of the Future of Life Institute, funded to the tune of $665m by crypto billionaires, that's of course, after all the Muskrat + friends' money. Their "seed funding" was from Musk. 🧵 www.politico.com/news/2024/03...

This has always confused me as someone who hasn't had my reading skills rotted by a formal legal education: the clause literally says "take care that the laws are faithfully executed." How could one ever read that as an expansion of executive authority independent of Congress?

Jerry Edwards@jerryedwards.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I am not an executive powers guy, but it seems to me that it is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of presidential authority. The Take Care Clause does not enhance the President's power. It limits it. The Constitution binds him to the rule of law. We are not governed by his arbitrary will.

Nothing says "masculinity" like your bum smelling like cinnamon and cloves

Erin Green 🖖@erin-o-green.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Pumpkin Spice has broken containment.

This: the argument against APs should be that they are robbing students of valuable intellectual and growth experiences by getting to skip actual college classes.

Melissa Johnson, PhD@ladyhistorian.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Things happen in college in addition to "learning content" and that's why AP or "college in the high school" will never be the same as college classes

the literal position of the trump administration is that any school that has any more than a smattering of black students is engaged in illegal racial discrimination against whites www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/b...

Trump Moves to Strip Tax Exemption From Schools That Aid Minority Students (Gift Article)

The Treasury Department released rules that would prevent schools with race-based programs from qualifying for tax-exempt status, a threat to both higher education and other private schools.

nytimes.com

Hey at least it's under $20

Robert Komaniecki@komaniecki.bsky.social · 2mo ago

We are all dogs locked in god’s hot car

A whole new type of guy just dropped - someone in his 50s+ with absolutely no familiarity with the basic archetypes of the Trojan War. Maybe those classical learning people have a point... </sarcasm>

Erin Lockwood@erinkaylockwood.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I wish everyone the Odyssey experience @mcsardo.bsky.social and I had, seated next to a man who, based on his whispered reactions -- an awed "whoaaaa" when the Achaeans rappelled from the horse, "she turned them into animals!", "they recognize him!" -- was unfamiliar with the entire plot.

Few things reinforce my strong determination to avoid AI generated materials for my students like the disrespected, riled-up feeling I get when those meant to be in charge of or training/teaching me generate slick-but-empty AI slop to do so. I don’t want my students to feel disrespected like that.

This really tracks what I see with high school students (even quite bright ones). Their first instinct is to go to the llm. They've lost the ability to think they can do it themselves.

Ersatz Doctor@ersatzdoctor.bsky.social · 3mo ago

It’s not just that they lack basic critical thinking and composition skills (though many do), it’s that they can’t fathom doing any substantial cognitive task without AI. They lack the confidence and imagination to see what they’re capable of. They’ve given up part of their humanity for convenience.

Please don't give ed-tech any more bad ideas.

Erin Lockwood@erinkaylockwood.bsky.social · 3mo ago

what