P. L. Thomas, Professor, Furman University. Teacher/Writer/Poet. Twitter is not my classroom. Tweets represent me only and no organization
Spartanburg, SC
Joined February 2011
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Paul Thomas retweeted
Happy to get a positive review from the NY Times:
American Socialist "capture[s] Debs’s remarkable appeal while also resisting the temptations of beatification."
nytimes.com/2026/10/27/books…
Paul Thomas retweeted
America’s Worst States for Education (2026 Edition) schoolfinance101.com/2026/10…
Paul Thomas retweeted
New journal article @aaup Journal of Academic Freedom: Context Collapse and Retaliatory Firings: Higher Education in the Wake of Charlie Kirk’s Assassination aaup.org/JAF17/context-colla…
Paul Thomas retweeted
Your monday morning updates: schoolfinance101.com/2026/10…
Paul Thomas retweeted
The “Coddling of the American Mind” expanded beyond campus free speech into parenting behaviors and social media? Its influence on modern discourse is undeniable. But did it distract us from the real causes of youth distress? I discuss the weak science of the Coddling parenting hypothesis today.
Link to follow
Paul Thomas retweeted
I know a lot of teachers and have been in contact with thousands through my Ed Week column. I have never heard of a teacher employ the ‘discovery learning’ that so many complain is rampant in schools. Maybe, during a school year, a tchr might use it for short lesson now and then
Paul Thomas retweeted
What really annoys me is that if you ask evidence for received wisdom (e.g. classrooms are discovery hotbeds), the mere question will make you 'in favour of...'. It's an enormously un-evidence-informed stance.
Paul Thomas retweeted
Given the seeming lack of interest to really provide or discuss evidence on this, I never looked at these types of variables again. There are 8 teacher questions in the TIMSS 2023 dataset.
Let's look at two questions.
Paul Thomas retweeted
In teaching mathematics to this class, how often do you ask students to do the following? Listen to me explain how to solve problems.
Lots of variation, but mostly very high prevalence. Highest scores not always for 'every or almost every lesson' but 'about half'.
Paul Thomas retweeted
In teaching mathematics to this class, how often do you ask students to do the following? Memorize rules, procedures, and facts
Here it is interesting that it's less (New Zealand!) but much variation again. And also see scores across. Some bimodal but see US (less does better).
Paul Thomas retweeted
The prevalence data is interesting, given claims some things seldom or often happen. The inferences re achievement are hard to interpret. Would be the first to say correlational. But at least I give some data.
Paul Thomas retweeted
We acknowledge that no one has the bandwidth for this, but if it helps:
-It’s ‘sleight of hand’
-It’s ‘bated breath’
-It’s ‘lo and behold’
-It's 'buck naked'
-It’s ‘brass tacks’
-It’s ‘free rein’
-It’s ‘toe the line'
Paul Thomas retweeted
Public service announcement: Do not use the proportion of students who are proficient on NAEP as a justification for the need to raise achievement unless you know what proficient on NAEP means.
Paul Thomas retweeted
I appreciate NPR Illinois / 91.9 UIS promoting my Mary Shelley talk tomorrow evening at Williamsville Public Library and Museum - already have a nice size group registered - registration encouraged but not required williamsvillelibrary.org/
Paul Thomas retweeted
Wait, I thought reading was over.
“Actually, in America, the reading of books is up. Sales of print books have increased nearly twenty-five per cent from a decade ago. The number of independent bookstores in the United States has climbed steeply since 2009, with a seventy-per-cent increase since 2020.”
These nuggets & more in this delightful @NewYorker profile of James Daunt, founder of Daunt Books, CEO of Barnes & Noble, and Managing Director of Waterstones: newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
