Nate
jessenathaniel.bsky.social
Nate
@jessenathaniel.bsky.social
Black. Special Education administrator. Holding fast to the belief that education and restorative justice can meet the political moment. Committed to racial justice inside & outside of school.
I listen to these podcasts because I really do find learning sciences research interesting… but, while I think this is super vivid framing, I have two arguments against thinking of teaching and learning in this way… (🧵 1/8)

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
February 7, 2026 at 10:40 PM
This is an undeniable truth to me. And it’s a way better guiding principle for students should learn in schools than any bad faith censorship-driven approach conservatives have pushed.

If they truly believed in the merit of your ideas about the nation, they wouldn’t fear counter-narratives so much.
January 19, 2026 at 5:55 PM
I’ve long thought this is the best way forward: creating grade level lists and requiring schools choose at least one while giving teachers the freedom to supplement. But given how these debates go, I also sometimes wonder if grade level themes/essential q’s w/suggestions is the way to go.
January 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM
In talking to novice teachers more often in the last couple of years, the part about being overwhelmed and being told to do one more thing really stands out here. But, for me, this is what I try to emphasize with new teachers: how can you create and sustain an ongoing dialogue about learning?
January 18, 2026 at 11:40 PM
I live in the East Bay, but these numbers about the region/state resonate — childcare cost is a serious issue here and I hope other cities/counties follow suit with this
January 18, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Feels obligatory …
January 14, 2026 at 2:15 PM
This little nugget is sitting at the heart of every single article about strikes and budgeting in public school districts … and I find it fascinating that the reasons for it are rarely named much less explored.

We can’t keep glossing over what’s happening here.
January 14, 2026 at 2:09 PM
Something we must understand: these goons are testing the limits of our social, legal, and moral fabric at every level possible to see what they can get away with. They’re indifferent to the safety of children and only becoming more emboldened. We’re morally obligated to oppose their very existence.
January 13, 2026 at 3:02 PM
January 3, 2026 at 8:36 PM
This is DEFINITELY an element of what we should be doing as educators in 2026 — it’s already started, but I think this explicit connection between tech and our current political hellscape is really important to acknowledge (and something I know a lot of educators try not to get bogged down with)
December 31, 2025 at 9:11 PM
December 31, 2025 at 2:15 AM
I’ve seen this article come across my timeline a few times in the last week and the part about core beliefs really caught my eye — for people are naturally more authoritarian or permissive, that often comes with core beliefs about/formative experiences with authority and those can be hard to shake.
December 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
(Also, does this part remind anyone of a prominent national program that recruits college grads into the teaching profession by promising to satisfy their moral ambition… or is that just me? Because I think there’s a conversation to be had about shared dark sides… but for another day… 😬)
December 24, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Really interesting (passing) thought from Rutger Bregman about “moral ambition” and teachers that I’m wrestling with.

He seems to juxtapose an “entrepreneurial aspect” with “doing the right thing in our little corner of the world”… but doesn’t mention the scale of impact over a teacher’s career.
December 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This is quite literally a series of single-sentence horror stories about ed tech in the last 25 years… even as it addresses key issues like training…

…because if I was asked to spend any amount of time on this training, I’d skip it and take the write-up — at some point, we have to just refuse.
December 23, 2025 at 7:20 PM
My 5 year old just heard my 3 year old count to 20 and didn’t absolutely lose it when she passed 6-7.

Christmas miracles are real.
December 22, 2025 at 1:14 AM
I mean … it remains obvious to me that we’re laying the foundation for the machines to create The Matrix, but that’s not the future others seem to have in mind when they talk about AI so I’ll just sit in a state of dread all by myself I guess 🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️
December 17, 2025 at 2:34 PM
This is a wild situation — I had no idea about the districts beyond the Bay — but I’m really glad to see that there’s an effort to build solidarity… because it’s a bleak situation for teachers.
December 16, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Impeccable timing here! A perfect articulation of the overarching point I was making: there is no universal set of principles of “what works” for “effective teaching” for all people in all places at all times.

We should always be wary of pedagogical dogmas.
mrjoneswhiteboard.blog/2025/12/13/b...
December 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Any rational human being would immediately recognize this as absurd.

Clearly, there’s a shortage of rational human beings in this administration.
December 13, 2025 at 5:30 PM
This whole article about what makes the Science of Reading™️ problematic is great, but this section in particular is beautifully articulated — the problem is the dogmatic overprescription by proponents (not the research itself!) www.humanrestorationproject.org/writing/who-...
December 9, 2025 at 5:24 AM
This thread about ADHD reminds me of a Cult of Pedagogy podcast ep I listened to recently … it’s still really easy to tap into an ableist about ADHD, apparently podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
December 8, 2025 at 3:19 PM
The conclusion actually captured what agitated me: they appear to be making pedagogical claims cloaked in curricular arguments while alluding to aims that aren’t that controversial. Revising and releasing a second draft would actually be a hilarious way to make the point about being responsive. /fin
December 8, 2025 at 5:49 AM
The next three sections are pretty good and this section on assessment is quite good… but the initial framing around decentering books casts a dark cloud over these very important points that have a ton to do with creating equitable learning environments.
December 8, 2025 at 5:42 AM
And again, I don’t disagree with any of this part (even though I think some of these statements are loaded)… but I think this is an argument for a complete reorganization of school (and secondary graduation requirements) rather than decentering books in ELA…and I’m here for that…but this is a mess 🤦🏾‍♂️
December 8, 2025 at 5:35 AM