MathIsLife
@damianmolinari.bsky.social
Math educator, hill and mountain wanderer, and music and bean lover. Working to create a humane learning community.
Unreasonable excitement for the lastest McSweeney's Quarterly. Is it the Trapper Keeper binder, the storybook template, the folder, or the story in the form of a scantron test? It's all that and more! Also, purchased at the International Library of Young Authors. 😊
November 27, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Unreasonable excitement for the lastest McSweeney's Quarterly. Is it the Trapper Keeper binder, the storybook template, the folder, or the story in the form of a scantron test? It's all that and more! Also, purchased at the International Library of Young Authors. 😊
Reposted by MathIsLife
The problem with ICE is not that it's targeting people who aren't criminals. The problem with ICE is that it's an unaccountable secret deportation police. It cannot be reformed under a better president. It can be made less terrible, but the instrument of repression remains for the next tyrant.
November 26, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The problem with ICE is not that it's targeting people who aren't criminals. The problem with ICE is that it's an unaccountable secret deportation police. It cannot be reformed under a better president. It can be made less terrible, but the instrument of repression remains for the next tyrant.
Reposted by MathIsLife
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Even God Is Worried About ChatGPT
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
www.vulture.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Pope Leo XIV told students not to use artificial intelligence for homework, saying that AI ‘won’t stand in authentic wonder before the beauty of God’s creation.’
Reposted by MathIsLife
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
November 25, 2025 at 1:26 PM
"My mentor always tells me, 'Kim, dogs don’t bark at parked cars." They’re coming after critical race theory, 1619, intersectionality because these ideas mobilized people. They gave them the language to actually articulate what they were seeing with their own eyes," says Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Reposted by MathIsLife
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Reposted by MathIsLife
Session 1 of our Speaker Series, by @pamseda1.bsky.social, got Session 3's @jennalaib.bsky.social thinking: "When does it make sense to change [cultural] elements?... The answer isn’t a checklist or a directive. It’s a stance... I strive for intentionality & balance... Why this shift? & for whom?
November 24, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Session 1 of our Speaker Series, by @pamseda1.bsky.social, got Session 3's @jennalaib.bsky.social thinking: "When does it make sense to change [cultural] elements?... The answer isn’t a checklist or a directive. It’s a stance... I strive for intentionality & balance... Why this shift? & for whom?
This elegantly captures the intrinsic value of education (and reveals the critical importance of fighting for our public schools).
"Learning to listen, to attend carefully and
relentlessly, to unexpected others […] is the single disposition that renders education what it can and must be: the interaction quite literally constituting (ethical) community."
-- my colleague, philosopher of education @barbstengel.bsky.social
relentlessly, to unexpected others […] is the single disposition that renders education what it can and must be: the interaction quite literally constituting (ethical) community."
-- my colleague, philosopher of education @barbstengel.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 6:04 PM
This elegantly captures the intrinsic value of education (and reveals the critical importance of fighting for our public schools).
Reposted by MathIsLife
"Learning to listen, to attend carefully and
relentlessly, to unexpected others […] is the single disposition that renders education what it can and must be: the interaction quite literally constituting (ethical) community."
-- my colleague, philosopher of education @barbstengel.bsky.social
relentlessly, to unexpected others […] is the single disposition that renders education what it can and must be: the interaction quite literally constituting (ethical) community."
-- my colleague, philosopher of education @barbstengel.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 5:33 PM
"Learning to listen, to attend carefully and
relentlessly, to unexpected others […] is the single disposition that renders education what it can and must be: the interaction quite literally constituting (ethical) community."
-- my colleague, philosopher of education @barbstengel.bsky.social
relentlessly, to unexpected others […] is the single disposition that renders education what it can and must be: the interaction quite literally constituting (ethical) community."
-- my colleague, philosopher of education @barbstengel.bsky.social
Reposted by MathIsLife
Supporting Neurodivergent Teachers: How Schools Can Help the Helpers | Cult of Pedagogy
“Recognizing and supporting the needs of neurodivergent teachers doesn’t just benefit those individuals … it strengthens entire school communities.”
“Recognizing and supporting the needs of neurodivergent teachers doesn’t just benefit those individuals … it strengthens entire school communities.”
Supporting Neurodivergent Teachers: How Schools Can Help the Helpers | Cult of Pedagogy
Neurodivergent educators bring unique gifts to their work, but they also face unique challenges.
www.cultofpedagogy.com
November 24, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Supporting Neurodivergent Teachers: How Schools Can Help the Helpers | Cult of Pedagogy
“Recognizing and supporting the needs of neurodivergent teachers doesn’t just benefit those individuals … it strengthens entire school communities.”
“Recognizing and supporting the needs of neurodivergent teachers doesn’t just benefit those individuals … it strengthens entire school communities.”
Reposted by MathIsLife
Hello, I was diagnosed with autism in the 80s. I was also told many times as a child by doctors that they only diagnosed extreme cases due to the stigma associated with things like autism and adhd. Hope that helps clarify why we suddenly have more (we don’t, they’re just being labeled now)
Next few paragraphs include some data but also lots of hyperbole and a shockingly dismissive tone that suggests lots of kids are suffering from made-up conditions.
November 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Hello, I was diagnosed with autism in the 80s. I was also told many times as a child by doctors that they only diagnosed extreme cases due to the stigma associated with things like autism and adhd. Hope that helps clarify why we suddenly have more (we don’t, they’re just being labeled now)
🎆🎇🎆🎇
In a massive backlash against MAGA fascism, Democrats have now swept school board elections in Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio and defeating all terrorist Moms For Liberty candidates in the process. Much more of this please, we have a democracy to rescue. 💙👊
November 24, 2025 at 12:37 AM
🎆🎇🎆🎇
Reposted by MathIsLife
I think this is a piece that’s worthy of consideration by educators across the full K-post-secondary spectrum. It’s my experience that the nature of this current cultural moment in the U.S. is almost forcing kids to ask the questions that the humanities grapple with. And the job market demands it.
"While other universities report that the humanities are shrinking, at Berkeley, the opposite is true. The music major is the fastest-growing major on campus. We are finding bigger classrooms because film is exploding. English is back to the numbers we saw 15 years ago. We are hiring" bit.ly/4ohKuOe
"The humanities really are a resource — a confidence for living in our times.” Dean Sara Guyer on the modern utility of humanities degrees
This interview originally appeared on the Division of Arts
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 11:44 PM
I think this is a piece that’s worthy of consideration by educators across the full K-post-secondary spectrum. It’s my experience that the nature of this current cultural moment in the U.S. is almost forcing kids to ask the questions that the humanities grapple with. And the job market demands it.
Reposted by MathIsLife
If you're interested in some intersection of history and maths (e.g. history of maths, or the maths of history) and the potential for each to enrich education of the other, then I have the free fledgling network for you: historyand.mathsy.space
Home
historyand.mathsy.space
November 23, 2025 at 8:49 PM
If you're interested in some intersection of history and maths (e.g. history of maths, or the maths of history) and the potential for each to enrich education of the other, then I have the free fledgling network for you: historyand.mathsy.space
Reposted by MathIsLife
Just a friendly reminder as we go into the holidays:
Folks don't have to explain to you why they don't drink.
If you offer them a drink and they decline, don't ask them why. It's not your business.
Just offer them something without alcohol to drink instead. And move on.
Folks don't have to explain to you why they don't drink.
If you offer them a drink and they decline, don't ask them why. It's not your business.
Just offer them something without alcohol to drink instead. And move on.
November 23, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Just a friendly reminder as we go into the holidays:
Folks don't have to explain to you why they don't drink.
If you offer them a drink and they decline, don't ask them why. It's not your business.
Just offer them something without alcohol to drink instead. And move on.
Folks don't have to explain to you why they don't drink.
If you offer them a drink and they decline, don't ask them why. It's not your business.
Just offer them something without alcohol to drink instead. And move on.
This is my reaction to most AI applications in education, even writing recommendation letters. I enjoy thinking deeply about what makes different students special and figuring out how to turn that into a narrative that might catch a reader's attention. I guess I just like thinking and connection. 🤷♀️
I just can't imagine farming out the part of writing I love - thinking critically about a topic and then, you know, writing about it - to a predictive text generator. I want AI to do my dishes, not supplant my brain.
November 23, 2025 at 8:48 PM
This is my reaction to most AI applications in education, even writing recommendation letters. I enjoy thinking deeply about what makes different students special and figuring out how to turn that into a narrative that might catch a reader's attention. I guess I just like thinking and connection. 🤷♀️
Reposted by MathIsLife
I just can't imagine farming out the part of writing I love - thinking critically about a topic and then, you know, writing about it - to a predictive text generator. I want AI to do my dishes, not supplant my brain.
November 23, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I just can't imagine farming out the part of writing I love - thinking critically about a topic and then, you know, writing about it - to a predictive text generator. I want AI to do my dishes, not supplant my brain.
Reposted by MathIsLife
New Blog Post:
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them?
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them?
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them? Earlier this week, I watched the first session in TERC's Forum for Equity in Elementary Mathematics series '25-'26. Dr. Pam Seda spoke about "Culturally Relevant Math Tasks: When What You Teach Connects to Who They Are."
jennalaib.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:20 PM
New Blog Post:
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them?
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them?
College football fan 10th grader asks me, "Dad, do you know the transitive property? Sam houston is better than Georgia." and shows me this pic. Proud math teacher dad moment. 😉
November 23, 2025 at 12:17 AM
College football fan 10th grader asks me, "Dad, do you know the transitive property? Sam houston is better than Georgia." and shows me this pic. Proud math teacher dad moment. 😉
Too often decisions made to privilege different elements of cultures are made with little thought or realization. The examples described here support a more intentional and inclusive approach.
New Blog Post:
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them?
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them?
Culture & Identity in the Math Classroom
How do elements of the culture students bring into the classroom interact with the classroom culture we create? What does it mean to shift or honor them? Earlier this week, I watched the first session in TERC's Forum for Equity in Elementary Mathematics series '25-'26. Dr. Pam Seda spoke about "Culturally Relevant Math Tasks: When What You Teach Connects to Who They Are."
jennalaib.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Too often decisions made to privilege different elements of cultures are made with little thought or realization. The examples described here support a more intentional and inclusive approach.
My 7th grader made me lunch today and labeled it so I knew what I would be eating. ❤️
November 22, 2025 at 7:41 AM
My 7th grader made me lunch today and labeled it so I knew what I would be eating. ❤️
Reposted by MathIsLife
Part of the problem with “Google it” assumes a baseline knowledge of what to look for and how.
Now that people are using LLMs to summarize articles they’re not really reading, it adds another tier of faux knowledge we’re not adjusting for.
Now that people are using LLMs to summarize articles they’re not really reading, it adds another tier of faux knowledge we’re not adjusting for.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Part of the problem with “Google it” assumes a baseline knowledge of what to look for and how.
Now that people are using LLMs to summarize articles they’re not really reading, it adds another tier of faux knowledge we’re not adjusting for.
Now that people are using LLMs to summarize articles they’re not really reading, it adds another tier of faux knowledge we’re not adjusting for.
Reposted by MathIsLife
I went back to a reflection from a year ago this week after reading @asv.bsky.social's Becoming an Everyday Changemaker and decided to lean on "Vent diagrams" again—a both/and practice that forces me to leave space in the center that I really don't have the words for.
Here's where I'm at right now:
Here's where I'm at right now:
November 21, 2025 at 1:24 PM
I went back to a reflection from a year ago this week after reading @asv.bsky.social's Becoming an Everyday Changemaker and decided to lean on "Vent diagrams" again—a both/and practice that forces me to leave space in the center that I really don't have the words for.
Here's where I'm at right now:
Here's where I'm at right now:
Reposted by MathIsLife
Here, listen: when the President calls a female journalist “piggy” in a scrum, maybe you planned on asking about the economy, or whatever… But the story is now “the President called a female journalist piggy.” You asking a follow-up isn’t just defending her, it’s following the story.
while I’m being cranky, access journalism needs to go. When the president does his “I’m alpha because I insulted you” thing somebody needs to fall on his sword and say “what the fuck is wrong with you, old man?” on a hot mic. the hero of the wizard of Oz is Toto.
November 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Here, listen: when the President calls a female journalist “piggy” in a scrum, maybe you planned on asking about the economy, or whatever… But the story is now “the President called a female journalist piggy.” You asking a follow-up isn’t just defending her, it’s following the story.
Reposted by MathIsLife
Wanna send this to the school librarian listserv I'm on and say "I FUCKING TOLD YOU."
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Wanna send this to the school librarian listserv I'm on and say "I FUCKING TOLD YOU."