Sally O’Brien
@sallyohbrien.bsky.social
Perpetually awaiting a rebirth of wonder.
οὐ μὲν γάρ τοι ἔτ’ ἄλλος ἐλεύσεται ἐνθάδ’ ᾿Οδυσσεύς.
Proud #PHLed neighborhood school teacher and parent.
she/her
οὐ μὲν γάρ τοι ἔτ’ ἄλλος ἐλεύσεται ἐνθάδ’ ᾿Οδυσσεύς.
Proud #PHLed neighborhood school teacher and parent.
she/her
I have discovered so much fantastic stuff from browsing the new fiction / new nonfiction shelf at the library. One book sent me down a years long rabbit hole of reading everything else I could get my hands on about heroic age
Polar exploration.
Polar exploration.
The death of browsing is part of the reason art is the way it is now. Our opinions are largely fed to us by algorithms. Spending a spare 15 minutes wandering around a bookstore or comic shop or video rental place was how you found stuff you wouldn't ordinarily pick up and thereby expanded your taste
Bookselling is like the most "people go to the store and buy what looks cool to them without a particular agenda" type business left, and your purchases have a huge influence on what is ordered, what is displayed, and what is recommended.
November 30, 2025 at 6:00 AM
I have discovered so much fantastic stuff from browsing the new fiction / new nonfiction shelf at the library. One book sent me down a years long rabbit hole of reading everything else I could get my hands on about heroic age
Polar exploration.
Polar exploration.
Reposted by Sally O’Brien
From Frederick Douglass's 1867 "Composite Nation" speech, a defense of Chinese migration to the United States at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment was intensifying.
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
November 28, 2025 at 7:01 PM
From Frederick Douglass's 1867 "Composite Nation" speech, a defense of Chinese migration to the United States at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment was intensifying.
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
teachingamericanhistory.org/document/our...
“If a Negro should improperly approach a white woman his body would be hanging on the nearest tree…If the same rule were applied on the other side, and white men who insulted or debauched Negro women were treated likewise, this Convention would have to be adjourned for lack of a quorum.”
fuck yes. Robert Smalls is one of the most interesting people in U.S. history (save Ida B. Wells and Joseph H. Rainey)
his papers are available for free online- compiled in a book by his daughter Sarah.
this man was metal af his entire life.
archive.org/details/spee...
his papers are available for free online- compiled in a book by his daughter Sarah.
this man was metal af his entire life.
archive.org/details/spee...
November 26, 2025 at 4:29 AM
“If a Negro should improperly approach a white woman his body would be hanging on the nearest tree…If the same rule were applied on the other side, and white men who insulted or debauched Negro women were treated likewise, this Convention would have to be adjourned for lack of a quorum.”
@derfbackderf.bsky.social floored by this, an incredible feat of both storytelling and research!
November 26, 2025 at 3:55 AM
@derfbackderf.bsky.social floored by this, an incredible feat of both storytelling and research!
DO ATTEND
November 26, 2025 at 2:27 AM
DO ATTEND
chapter infinity in the saga of "Philip Pulley is a plague on humanity"! I lived in a building owned by this notorious slumlord for about five years. I brought my son home to that apartment. Every single news item that comes out about him just makes him look worse. www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
Landlord Phil Pulley transferred ownership of West Philly apartments days before suspected arson, records show
Property records show the notorious landlord signed a deed transfer two days before the June 2025 fire. The new owners are now demolishing the building.
www.inquirer.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:22 AM
chapter infinity in the saga of "Philip Pulley is a plague on humanity"! I lived in a building owned by this notorious slumlord for about five years. I brought my son home to that apartment. Every single news item that comes out about him just makes him look worse. www.inquirer.com/news/phil-pu...
the GOAT.
Patricia Smith’s The Intentions of Thunder: New and Selected Poems has won the National Book Award for Poetry! Read more here: buff.ly/HKCSQQQ
Patricia Smith on How a Poet Ages
Nobody—and I mean NOBODY—warned me about my pubic hair. It glistened for years, springy and sprite, an Ivory Soap-scented welcome mat for lucky episodic visitors. I never gave it much thought, cert…
lithub.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:01 AM
the GOAT.
BREAD AND ROSES
TOO!
TOO!
in terms of well being and happiness imo). In the face of the most overt brutality it's easy to be like 'hard to get mad about access to art when people are being starved and bombed' which has a point but these things all come from the same basic social logic of indifferences to human flourishing.
November 19, 2025 at 12:12 AM
BREAD AND ROSES
TOO!
TOO!
Reposted by Sally O’Brien
everyone should have a life of individual free inquiry/creative pursuit and participation in collective versions of that as well.
November 18, 2025 at 10:44 PM
everyone should have a life of individual free inquiry/creative pursuit and participation in collective versions of that as well.
As I get ready to take the beloved veteran in my life out to lunch this Armistice Day, I am thinking again of this piece by S Brian Willson, which I often return to.
November 11, 2025 at 6:45 PM
As I get ready to take the beloved veteran in my life out to lunch this Armistice Day, I am thinking again of this piece by S Brian Willson, which I often return to.
what I normally do for homework is have students read (usually a book of their choice, occasionally an assigned text) and fill out a log where they have to write a few sentences. this week I rolled out an alternate format where instead of writing every day they just write a book review at the end.
November 11, 2025 at 6:31 PM
what I normally do for homework is have students read (usually a book of their choice, occasionally an assigned text) and fill out a log where they have to write a few sentences. this week I rolled out an alternate format where instead of writing every day they just write a book review at the end.
@marcusluther.bsky.social I SUCK at bulletin boards and the last two years I have fully intended to do this and it just…stayed blank thru June. but this is gonna be the year! finally got it populated! will let you know how the youth respond!
November 11, 2025 at 6:18 PM
@marcusluther.bsky.social I SUCK at bulletin boards and the last two years I have fully intended to do this and it just…stayed blank thru June. but this is gonna be the year! finally got it populated! will let you know how the youth respond!
the youth of today are divided over whether John Proctor or Giles Corey has more aura.
"...but just think about the way he went out in that last scene! refusing to lie on his name!"
"...nah Giles Corey is peak aura. "MORE WEIGHT." as they are CRUSHING HIM to DEATH. bro WHAT."
"...but just think about the way he went out in that last scene! refusing to lie on his name!"
"...nah Giles Corey is peak aura. "MORE WEIGHT." as they are CRUSHING HIM to DEATH. bro WHAT."
November 11, 2025 at 2:28 AM
the youth of today are divided over whether John Proctor or Giles Corey has more aura.
"...but just think about the way he went out in that last scene! refusing to lie on his name!"
"...nah Giles Corey is peak aura. "MORE WEIGHT." as they are CRUSHING HIM to DEATH. bro WHAT."
"...but just think about the way he went out in that last scene! refusing to lie on his name!"
"...nah Giles Corey is peak aura. "MORE WEIGHT." as they are CRUSHING HIM to DEATH. bro WHAT."
third grade was in many ways a hot mess but my son STILL talks about reading Number the Stars, two years later. I can barely get him to tell me anything about his day at school but I can usually get a couple sentences out of him about what happened in Esperanza Rising.
You know what has brought my kid alive as a reader this year? His teacher introduced POETRY. "Mom! Dad! Have you guys even heard of ROBERT FROST?"
November 11, 2025 at 1:25 AM
third grade was in many ways a hot mess but my son STILL talks about reading Number the Stars, two years later. I can barely get him to tell me anything about his day at school but I can usually get a couple sentences out of him about what happened in Esperanza Rising.
me at 20: ugh I can’t imagine spending my life writing criticism about Homer that nobody outside the academy will read, what else can I do w/ my classics degree
me at 40: yesss it’s my leisure time, can’t wait for my weekly Iliad zoom and then gonna crack open this new book of Homer criticism
me at 40: yesss it’s my leisure time, can’t wait for my weekly Iliad zoom and then gonna crack open this new book of Homer criticism
November 4, 2025 at 5:30 AM
me at 20: ugh I can’t imagine spending my life writing criticism about Homer that nobody outside the academy will read, what else can I do w/ my classics degree
me at 40: yesss it’s my leisure time, can’t wait for my weekly Iliad zoom and then gonna crack open this new book of Homer criticism
me at 40: yesss it’s my leisure time, can’t wait for my weekly Iliad zoom and then gonna crack open this new book of Homer criticism
“Why rush to adopt new technology that we know to make us dumber when we have old technology—books—we know to make us smarter?”
bars!!!
bars!!!
. @dan-sinnamon.bsky.social and I put CLOSE READING FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY together to help connect what undergrads do in assignments with what we do as scholars
then we found ourselves talking to a lot of high school teachers
slate.com/life/2025/10...
then we found ourselves talking to a lot of high school teachers
slate.com/life/2025/10...
There’s a Literacy Crisis. One Classroom Solution Should Be Obvious.
You can't get better at reading until you care about a text.
slate.com
October 25, 2025 at 1:15 AM
“Why rush to adopt new technology that we know to make us dumber when we have old technology—books—we know to make us smarter?”
bars!!!
bars!!!
BARS from @mattrkay.bsky.social, an educator I respect a great deal.
October 15, 2025 at 12:38 AM
BARS from @mattrkay.bsky.social, an educator I respect a great deal.
Your feel-good #phled story of the day, courtesy of @newskag.bsky.social, featuring my amazing students and my equally amazing colleagues!
I thank my stars every day that when I go to work I leave with so many reasons to be hopeful.
I thank my stars every day that when I go to work I leave with so many reasons to be hopeful.
These #PHLed students never had a school library. They built one on their own, and now, the community has their back. Loved reporting this story: www.inquirer.com/education/ke...
These Philly students built their own school library. The community has their back.
The students behind DreamEscape Library at Kensington Health Sciences Academy created a social media account, built buzz and earned grants to support their work.
www.inquirer.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Your feel-good #phled story of the day, courtesy of @newskag.bsky.social, featuring my amazing students and my equally amazing colleagues!
I thank my stars every day that when I go to work I leave with so many reasons to be hopeful.
I thank my stars every day that when I go to work I leave with so many reasons to be hopeful.
…the feeling when you’re in the teacher’s lounge yapping about the recent @laborjawn.bsky.social episode about the 1981 Philly teachers strike and your amazing colleague perks up and says “I wrote my undergrad thesis about that strike!!”
I did a big research project in 10th grade US history about the IWW, and it made me the person I am today (union schoolteacher & shop steward who closes out union meetings with a playlist of classic Wobbly songs)
How much exposure did you have to organized labor and workers striking through public school education?
September 18, 2025 at 10:55 PM
…the feeling when you’re in the teacher’s lounge yapping about the recent @laborjawn.bsky.social episode about the 1981 Philly teachers strike and your amazing colleague perks up and says “I wrote my undergrad thesis about that strike!!”
@uniondrip.bsky.social idk if this is official union gear but it is truly magnificent
RAN after this driver to take a picture of his incredible vest!!! I want one so bad but he said they’re only available for MTA workers 🏆🚍🏆
September 9, 2025 at 12:10 AM
@uniondrip.bsky.social idk if this is official union gear but it is truly magnificent
I did a big research project in 10th grade US history about the IWW, and it made me the person I am today (union schoolteacher & shop steward who closes out union meetings with a playlist of classic Wobbly songs)
How much exposure did you have to organized labor and workers striking through public school education?
September 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
I did a big research project in 10th grade US history about the IWW, and it made me the person I am today (union schoolteacher & shop steward who closes out union meetings with a playlist of classic Wobbly songs)
Reposted by Sally O’Brien
The hours wasted on shiny new tech in the past 20 years by K-12 teachers across America is an astounding number of human hours
August 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
The hours wasted on shiny new tech in the past 20 years by K-12 teachers across America is an astounding number of human hours
Reposted by Sally O’Brien
“You can’t get into heaven without that union card” 👼🗑️
Day 8 of the DC33 strike in Philly, set to the melodious tunes of our dear city’s pub sing led by Ben Fink. Mayor Parker, PAY THESE PEOPLE.
#parkerpiles #phillystrike #dc33
Day 8 of the DC33 strike in Philly, set to the melodious tunes of our dear city’s pub sing led by Ben Fink. Mayor Parker, PAY THESE PEOPLE.
#parkerpiles #phillystrike #dc33
July 8, 2025 at 7:22 PM
“You can’t get into heaven without that union card” 👼🗑️
Day 8 of the DC33 strike in Philly, set to the melodious tunes of our dear city’s pub sing led by Ben Fink. Mayor Parker, PAY THESE PEOPLE.
#parkerpiles #phillystrike #dc33
Day 8 of the DC33 strike in Philly, set to the melodious tunes of our dear city’s pub sing led by Ben Fink. Mayor Parker, PAY THESE PEOPLE.
#parkerpiles #phillystrike #dc33
I am BEGGING for a comprehensive account of how much tax money has been spent as a consequence of Parker’s refusal to offer DC33 a fair deal—not just OT for supervisors at PWD & elsewhere but the cost of hiring contractors to service dumpsters / handle the July 4 set-up and breakdown / etc etc etc
The city is relying on managers to fill essential jobs at Philadelphia's water facilities, paying them more handsomely than their DC 33 counterparts.
They're sleeping on cots, working 24/7 shifts, and earning double time.
They're sleeping on cots, working 24/7 shifts, and earning double time.
Sleeping on cots, 24/7 shifts, and double time: How Philly is keeping water clean during the DC 33 strike
As the strike carries into a second week, the city has relied on managers to fill essential jobs at Philadelphia's water facilities, paying them more handsomely than their DC 33 counterparts.
www.inquirer.com
July 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
I am BEGGING for a comprehensive account of how much tax money has been spent as a consequence of Parker’s refusal to offer DC33 a fair deal—not just OT for supervisors at PWD & elsewhere but the cost of hiring contractors to service dumpsters / handle the July 4 set-up and breakdown / etc etc etc
Reposted by Sally O’Brien
It’s honestly so disrespectful and irresponsible that the national media has mostly ignored the DC33 city worker strike in Philly so far. It’s a huge story with massive implications for the 6th biggest city in the country.
Hell, I’ll write about it for ya! Email me! www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
Hell, I’ll write about it for ya! Email me! www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
Philly is in its first municipal strike in the social media age. Does that affect how events are unfolding?
So far, the national press has largely ignored Philadelphia's first strike by city workers since 1986.
www.inquirer.com
July 7, 2025 at 9:37 AM
It’s honestly so disrespectful and irresponsible that the national media has mostly ignored the DC33 city worker strike in Philly so far. It’s a huge story with massive implications for the 6th biggest city in the country.
Hell, I’ll write about it for ya! Email me! www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...
Hell, I’ll write about it for ya! Email me! www.inquirer.com/politics/phi...