Josh Eyler
@josheyler.bsky.social
Senior Director of the University of Mississippi's CETL & Assistant Professor of Teacher Education | Author: Failing Our Future (https://bit.ly/3UUdctd) and How Humans Learn (2018) | Speaker: http://bit.ly/jeyler | he/him
Reposted by Josh Eyler
Do I have a totally baller slide for tomorrow's seminar on curiosity and learning? Yes.
Is it based on an impromptu exploration of "hwæt" with my 8YO from reading Weinersmith (@smbccomics.bsky.social) and Boulet's Bea Wolf together? Also yes.
Are we talking @josheyler.bsky.social? Still yes.
Is it based on an impromptu exploration of "hwæt" with my 8YO from reading Weinersmith (@smbccomics.bsky.social) and Boulet's Bea Wolf together? Also yes.
Are we talking @josheyler.bsky.social? Still yes.
November 20, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Do I have a totally baller slide for tomorrow's seminar on curiosity and learning? Yes.
Is it based on an impromptu exploration of "hwæt" with my 8YO from reading Weinersmith (@smbccomics.bsky.social) and Boulet's Bea Wolf together? Also yes.
Are we talking @josheyler.bsky.social? Still yes.
Is it based on an impromptu exploration of "hwæt" with my 8YO from reading Weinersmith (@smbccomics.bsky.social) and Boulet's Bea Wolf together? Also yes.
Are we talking @josheyler.bsky.social? Still yes.
Fantastic new essay on AI refusal from @dbuckedu.bsky.social! zeal.kings.edu/zeal/article...
Our Students’ Humanity Is Worth Protecting: An Argument for GenAI Refusal
zeal.kings.edu
November 18, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Fantastic new essay on AI refusal from @dbuckedu.bsky.social! zeal.kings.edu/zeal/article...
Reposted by Josh Eyler
"When we’ve been conditioned to see any failure as a parallel representation of our inherent deficiencies, any kind of critique is bound to be taken as a personal attack." Not at all surprised to see the author is a history major!
A very interesting op-ed in Princeton's student newspaper that makes a philosophical case connecting an obsession with grades to burgeoning authoritarianism.
h/t to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for the heads-up about this piece.
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...
h/t to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for the heads-up about this piece.
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...
A is for authoritarianism
Academic perfectionism can dull our ability to recognize our own authoritarian tendencies because together they share a flawed reasoning that faultlessness reflects one’s value.
www.dailyprincetonian.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:33 AM
"When we’ve been conditioned to see any failure as a parallel representation of our inherent deficiencies, any kind of critique is bound to be taken as a personal attack." Not at all surprised to see the author is a history major!
Reposted by Josh Eyler
Limited-Time 40% Discount on BOOKS!
In honor of the POD Network conference, the @oupress.bsky.social "Teaching, Engaging, & Thriving in Higher Ed" series announces . . .
40% off with code 18POD25
Free shipping over $75
www.oupress.com/search-resul...
I'm on the board: got a book idea? DM me!
In honor of the POD Network conference, the @oupress.bsky.social "Teaching, Engaging, & Thriving in Higher Ed" series announces . . .
40% off with code 18POD25
Free shipping over $75
www.oupress.com/search-resul...
I'm on the board: got a book idea? DM me!
November 17, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Limited-Time 40% Discount on BOOKS!
In honor of the POD Network conference, the @oupress.bsky.social "Teaching, Engaging, & Thriving in Higher Ed" series announces . . .
40% off with code 18POD25
Free shipping over $75
www.oupress.com/search-resul...
I'm on the board: got a book idea? DM me!
In honor of the POD Network conference, the @oupress.bsky.social "Teaching, Engaging, & Thriving in Higher Ed" series announces . . .
40% off with code 18POD25
Free shipping over $75
www.oupress.com/search-resul...
I'm on the board: got a book idea? DM me!
Reposted by Josh Eyler
People who won't do the easy things, don't do the hard things.
November 17, 2025 at 6:23 PM
People who won't do the easy things, don't do the hard things.
A very interesting op-ed in Princeton's student newspaper that makes a philosophical case connecting an obsession with grades to burgeoning authoritarianism.
h/t to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for the heads-up about this piece.
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...
h/t to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for the heads-up about this piece.
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...
A is for authoritarianism
Academic perfectionism can dull our ability to recognize our own authoritarian tendencies because together they share a flawed reasoning that faultlessness reflects one’s value.
www.dailyprincetonian.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
A very interesting op-ed in Princeton's student newspaper that makes a philosophical case connecting an obsession with grades to burgeoning authoritarianism.
h/t to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for the heads-up about this piece.
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...
h/t to @thetattooedprof.bsky.social for the heads-up about this piece.
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...
I joined the Oxford Civic Chorus for several reasons: I wanted to do something in my spare time that was constructive and fun, and I wanted to be a part of a community of people who were creating something beautiful in dark times. It's been a true joy. Local friends—Join us on December 13th at 3:00!
November 15, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I joined the Oxford Civic Chorus for several reasons: I wanted to do something in my spare time that was constructive and fun, and I wanted to be a part of a community of people who were creating something beautiful in dark times. It's been a true joy. Local friends—Join us on December 13th at 3:00!
Reposted by Josh Eyler
My goodness the articles are piling up over the last few weeks. This one at least indicates that the issue is complicated, but derides the suggestion that grades are not pure measurements of learning and does not explore the research on grading at all. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Why Students Are Obsessed With ‘Points Taken Off’
Students and professors are in a drawn-out battle over grade inflation. It may never end.
www.theatlantic.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:35 PM
My goodness the articles are piling up over the last few weeks. This one at least indicates that the issue is complicated, but derides the suggestion that grades are not pure measurements of learning and does not explore the research on grading at all. www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Ugh. Please make it stop. www.chronicle.com/article/why-...
Opinion | Why Harvard Students Are Afraid of B’s
For many students at elite colleges, anything less than excellence feels like failure.
www.chronicle.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Ugh. Please make it stop. www.chronicle.com/article/why-...
The Harvard report discussed in CHE's Teaching newsletter today was titled "Re-Centering Academics at Harvard College: Update on Grading and Workload" but it could easily be re-titled "Grades are getting higher and we have a hunch about that so let's create a narrative that supports our vibes."
November 6, 2025 at 7:18 PM
The Harvard report discussed in CHE's Teaching newsletter today was titled "Re-Centering Academics at Harvard College: Update on Grading and Workload" but it could easily be re-titled "Grades are getting higher and we have a hunch about that so let's create a narrative that supports our vibes."
Reposted by Josh Eyler
I was thinking about Zohran’s transition team and today’s anti-feminist piece in the New York Times, and my mother’s book on the first generation of women to work in the city government in New York City.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
November 6, 2025 at 4:20 PM
I was thinking about Zohran’s transition team and today’s anti-feminist piece in the New York Times, and my mother’s book on the first generation of women to work in the city government in New York City.
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
"Hope is a good thing, Red. Maybe the best of things."
--The Shawshank Redemption
www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-...
--The Shawshank Redemption
www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-...
Mississippi Democrats Break Republican Senate Supermajority, Flipping 3 Legislative Seats
After 13 years, Mississippi Democrats broke the Republican Party's supermajority in the Mississippi Senate, flipping 3 legislative seats.
www.mississippifreepress.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
"Hope is a good thing, Red. Maybe the best of things."
--The Shawshank Redemption
www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-...
--The Shawshank Redemption
www.mississippifreepress.org/mississippi-...
I'm working on a genealogy of alternative grading practices for the book @empittsdonahoe.bsky.social and I are writing for Princeton UP. We're calling the book *How to Grade: Alternative Models for the College Classroom*. 1/x
November 3, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I'm working on a genealogy of alternative grading practices for the book @empittsdonahoe.bsky.social and I are writing for Princeton UP. We're calling the book *How to Grade: Alternative Models for the College Classroom*. 1/x
Reposted by Josh Eyler
Also like every 10 years there is a *national* news story about grade inflation at Harvard and people make fun of the students and don't ask themselves about the impact on young folks in a deeply unhealthy, highly competitive environment where mental health services keep getting cut
October 30, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Also like every 10 years there is a *national* news story about grade inflation at Harvard and people make fun of the students and don't ask themselves about the impact on young folks in a deeply unhealthy, highly competitive environment where mental health services keep getting cut
Reposted by Josh Eyler
People spend way time worrying about whether students are getting too many A's and not enough time considering the possibility that people who busted ass so hard that they got into a place like that might be the kind to be high achieving
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
October 30, 2025 at 10:17 PM
People spend way time worrying about whether students are getting too many A's and not enough time considering the possibility that people who busted ass so hard that they got into a place like that might be the kind to be high achieving
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
Reposted by Josh Eyler
Best metaphor I've heard is that using AI is like bringing a forklift to lift the weights at the gym. The point is to build YOUR muscles, not to make the weights go up and down.
I love to see stuff like this because it helps explain to people trapped in tech-sponsored information bubbles the actually obvious fact that universities teach people to know & think things, and AI is a way to produce the effect of knowing & thinking things w/o actually knowing & thinking them.
Opinion | Why Even Basic A.I. Use Is So Bad for Students
www.nytimes.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Best metaphor I've heard is that using AI is like bringing a forklift to lift the weights at the gym. The point is to build YOUR muscles, not to make the weights go up and down.
Reposted by Josh Eyler
You'd think that folks who think the answer to allegedly artificially high grades is artificially lowering grades would make the connection that grades are just artificial, yet here we are.
October 31, 2025 at 2:55 PM
You'd think that folks who think the answer to allegedly artificially high grades is artificially lowering grades would make the connection that grades are just artificial, yet here we are.
From UM colleague Marshall Ramsey.
October 31, 2025 at 2:53 PM
From UM colleague Marshall Ramsey.
I worked in a Trio program at UConn as a grad student--as a tutor, instructor, and course director. These programs are life-changing for historically marginalized students, & their closure is more evidence that the current admin. prioritizes the privileged. www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
21 States, D.C. Ask Court to Reverse TRIO Grant Rejections
Democratic attorneys general from 21 states and Washington, D.C., filed briefs this week asking a court to reverse the Trump administration’s rejection of grants supporting TRIO programs, which help d...
www.insidehighered.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I worked in a Trio program at UConn as a grad student--as a tutor, instructor, and course director. These programs are life-changing for historically marginalized students, & their closure is more evidence that the current admin. prioritizes the privileged. www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-t...
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the answer to this question is "No." www.chronicle.com/article/we-a...
Can a Conservative Provost ‘Depoliticize’ UT Austin — and Save Academic Freedom, Too?
William Inboden on Trump’s compact, higher ed’s broken social contract, and red-state reform.
www.chronicle.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:45 PM
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the answer to this question is "No." www.chronicle.com/article/we-a...
This is a good piece: www.chronicle.com/article/how-...
How to Restore Joy to the Classroom
It isn’t always warm and fuzzy. Sometimes, it requires repairing what’s broken.
www.chronicle.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:44 PM
This is a good piece: www.chronicle.com/article/how-...
Reposted by Josh Eyler
Anyway, I don't know who needs to hear this right now but faculty, grades are NOT there to take students down a peg, put them in their place, or determine a student's value
They should reflect student learning, if they must be given at all
They should reflect student learning, if they must be given at all
People spend way time worrying about whether students are getting too many A's and not enough time considering the possibility that people who busted ass so hard that they got into a place like that might be the kind to be high achieving
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
October 30, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Anyway, I don't know who needs to hear this right now but faculty, grades are NOT there to take students down a peg, put them in their place, or determine a student's value
They should reflect student learning, if they must be given at all
They should reflect student learning, if they must be given at all
Reposted by Josh Eyler
If you're interested in looking at grading's history, uses, challenges, and perils, seek out the writings of @josheyler.bsky.social. His book "Failing Our Future" is good and he's got plenty of articles out there.
Here's one: www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-v...
Here's one: www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-v...
Grades Are at the Center of the Student Mental Health Crisis
A guest post from Joshua Eyler on an urgent conversation we should be having about how grades impact student well-being.
www.insidehighered.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:27 PM
If you're interested in looking at grading's history, uses, challenges, and perils, seek out the writings of @josheyler.bsky.social. His book "Failing Our Future" is good and he's got plenty of articles out there.
Here's one: www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-v...
Here's one: www.insidehighered.com/blogs/just-v...
Reposted by Josh Eyler
This — a million times this whole thread.
Anyway, I don't know who needs to hear this right now but faculty, grades are NOT there to take students down a peg, put them in their place, or determine a student's value
They should reflect student learning, if they must be given at all
They should reflect student learning, if they must be given at all
People spend way time worrying about whether students are getting too many A's and not enough time considering the possibility that people who busted ass so hard that they got into a place like that might be the kind to be high achieving
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
Too many FACULTY think grading is about breaking people, too
October 31, 2025 at 1:27 PM
This — a million times this whole thread.