mid-year “Best” – A mid-year roundup adds several posts to an all-time favorite list, while an extensive “non-best” list tracks new research, AI tools for classrooms, and ongoing debates about test scores, poverty, motivation, and English learner instruction.
A mid-year “Best” list usually arrives with a calm nod of the head—another selection, another update. But this one lands like a working educator’s desk is being cleared in real time: ideas for teaching are piling up. some rising instantly to all-time favorite status. and others filing into the “not for the top spot yet” stack with clear reasons why they still matter.
The update begins with the blogger’s choice to kick off a mid-year round of best posts “from this blog so far from the past several months. ” along with a promise that more “Best” lists will follow over the next two months. The same post also points readers to earlier “Best” lists: picks for the best over nineteen years. and all previous annual “Best” lists.
What’s new is the mix of classroom-focused teaching support and education research—especially for teachers working with English learners—and the decision to elevate certain posts into an all-time favorites tier.
The selections moving into the “all-time best” list are:
“No Sh_T Sherlock, Another Study Finds That Just Because Your Students Do Well At Advantaged School Doesn’t Mean You’ll Have The Same Success At A Low-Income One”
“An Epidemic Of Uncurious People Who Think They’re Curious”
“Here’s Advice I Gave To My Student Teacher Grandson This Week About Student Engagement”
Alongside those additions. the post lays out a long list of entries that are not being placed into the “best” category right now. The list is heavy with education research updates. curriculum and classroom strategy posts. and tools designed to help teachers—including several items centered on English learners and AI use in teaching.
Among the “non-best list” posts are:
“Yes, A Big Study Came Out Today Highlighting Plummeting Test Scores But, No, I Don’t Think It Tells The Whole Story”
“What Do You Think Of These Two Questions For Helping Guide School AI Use?”
“Every ELL Teacher In The U.S. Will Want To Read These Results From An Ed Week Survey On Teaching English Learners”
“Infographic On ELLs In California – Here’s The Prompt I Used If You Want To Create One For Your Own State”
“This Idea Of Beginning Lessons With A ‘Micro-Inquiry’ Is A Good One, & I Like This Free AI Tool Designed To Create Them”
“Big New Analysis Of What Works In Reading Instruction For Older Readers – Here’s What It Says”
“If You’ve Wondered How Many New Words To Teach In One Lesson (& What ELL Teacher Hasn’t?), Then You Want To Read This!”
“This Is A VERY Interesting & Useful Study On The Use Of Collaborative Writing In An ELL Classroom AND I Think It’s Findings Can Be Applicable With English-Proficient Students, Too”
“Here’s The Table Of Contents For Our New Book”
“I’ve Created Five Free Chatbots For Teachers & Others, And Some Have Become Quite Popular – Here Links To All Of Them”
“Here Are My Google Slides Sharing Each Day’s Plan For My ELL Newcomer Class”
“In Many Ways, I Think ‘ESLvideo’ May Now Be One Of The Best Examples For AI Education Use On The Web”
“Online Game Leaderboards & Zero Sum Thinking”
“Shocking (NOT) Research Result – SEL Can’t Mitigate The Affects Of Poverty On Academic Achievement”
“Great Free Curriculum For ELL Newcomers”
“New Study Suggests The Main Reason Students May Find Math – Or Any Other Subject – Challenging Is Because They Don’t Know How To Handle Mistakes”
“Google Just Created A New AI Tool That Is Perfect For Teachers Of ELL Newcomers”
“Recommendations For Teachers From A Study On How To Enhance Student Motivation”
“I Just Don’t Understand How Some Major Education Organizations Cannot Speak Out Against Trump Administration Actions”
“Here’s My One Idea For How To Be An ‘Education Governor’ Or Even An ‘Education Leader’ In 2026”
“How Many Teachers Leave The Profession Within Their First Five Years?”
“I Really Like This Strategy For Talking With People You Disagree With”
“What Should Schools Do As The Numbers Of ELL Newcomers Decrease?”
“‘Eat Poop You Cat’ Could Be A Great Game For English Language Learners”
“What Is The ‘Constraints-Led Approach,’ The Hottest Thing In Sports Training, & Can It Be Applied To The Classroom?”
The post finishes by listing ongoing “Best” collections the blogger has already created for readers. including “The Best Analyses About The Role Of Ed Tech In Today’s Classrooms. ” “The Best Free Sites For YOUNG ELL Beginners. ” and “The Best Resources Highlighting What English Language Learner Students Want From Their Teachers.”.
Other “Best” lists named in the update include “The Best Resources For Using ‘Reactance’ With Students To Help Them Learn About How Corporations Try To Manipulate Them. ” “The ‘Best’ Lesson Ideas For Teaching About The Protests & Killings In Minneapolis. ” “The Best Ways For Modifying Assessments & Supporting ELLs. ” and “The Most Useful Free Or VERY Low Cost AI Tools For Supporting English Language Learners.”.
The final “Best” list referenced is “The Best Resources For Learning Different Perspectives About ‘Gifted & Talented’ Programs.”
By the end of the post. the message is less about a ranking for its own sake and more about an educator’s working map: what’s been elevated. what’s been set aside for later consideration. and where the next batch of teaching ideas—especially around English learners and classroom learning support—will land in the coming two months.
education news MISRYOUM Education News English learners ELL teachers AI tools for teachers reading instruction student motivation test scores classroom strategies
So basically they’re making “best” lists for teaching English learners? Sounds like more paperwork.
I don’t get why they need an “all-time favorite” list when teachers already have a million ideas. Also test scores still seem like the main thing they obsess over.
Wait, is this saying AI tools are gonna replace ELL instruction?? Like I swear I read that somewhere. If that’s what this is, then no thanks. But if it’s just tools for teachers then okay… still seems weird to argue about poverty and motivation like it’s just “engagement.”
The title makes it sound like they’re ranking posts but honestly it’s just the same debate again right? Like “curious people” and “low-income schools don’t mean success”… idk, feels obvious. Also why are they swearing in the post title, that seems unprofessional. Maybe that’s why it got moved to all-time best or whatever. Teachers deserve actual pay raises not lists.