Mandy Zerillo 🦋 💻🍎

Anybody on Gist? What do we think?

No room for fireworks in this night!

I’m proud of my state! connecticut.news12.com/connecticut-...

I can’t stop thinking about tariffs.

What the hell are the drunk scientists doing to the fruit flies? www.bbc.com/news/article...

We were so close to a headline reading “Boaty McBoatface discovers footage of the Loch Ness Monster” for April 1st. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Do you doomscroll the news while watching movies with your kids? It’s not healthy.

I legitimately texted the wrong person a drawing of a cat butt without context last week. I feel a little better about the few days. www.bbc.com/news/article...

When people tell you you can’t just eat away your problems, show them this article about eating invasive species. www.bbc.com/travel/artic...

This year, respond to the Trump admin by burying my head in #education policy and technology. Just to ACT. As exec orders passed that 1st week freezing funding for accessibility, my son was diagnosed with #autism. Politics is so personal. It is strange to be so motivated and so, so tired.

Some state oversight coming to the rescue in Bridgeport. Good stuff! ctmirror.org/2025/01/22/c...

Connecticut is a little chilly today.

Design idea: an ouroboros (snake devouring its tail) with the caption “don’t tread on me for I am also you”. Printed on a gigantic flag and flown from the back of a really shitty truck.

The rise of accountability testing, the teacher shortage, the ubiquity of smartphones and social-media platforms — all contributed to Gen Z's academic habits. Then the pandemic arrived, adding new challenges and worsening existing ones. chroni.cl/426IMb4

www.bbc.com/news/article... I saw this article and thought-oh it is high time I deactivate this account, and then thought about opportunity to absolutely FLOOD Facebook with liberal content and document whether or not it lands people in “Facebook Jail”. #socialmedia #censorship

If this is any indication of what parenthood does to your peace, “please don’t throw Cheerios in my wine” was a sentence I said today.

I giggled, and then then sighed, and then resolved to teach my kids civics, and support civics education in public schools, charter schools, and homeschooling resources.

Fellow parents…is anyone listening to Miss Rachel play Red Light Green Light by day, but also watching the second season of #SquidGames by night? Are we okay?

Great summary of some of the many players at work making decisions and allocating money. #education #EduSky #connecticut ctmirror.org/2025/01/02/c...

Fantastic video. Glosses over education @ min 13 but this is how you lean into a disrupted status quo. Let’s grieve political losses quickly and rethink how we will advance quality of life through policy with the chess pieces where they are www.meidasplus.com/p/dems-are-c...

If you were born in the 1900s, this is your PSA that you can just watch a New Year Celebration in a different time zone and go to bed early. Happy New Year! We love you, London- Good night!

I tend to make new goals during the new moon, and it’s so close to New Year’s Eve this year! In the next month, I plan to attend some of the town board of ed meetings and get involved in the school systems my kids will attend one day. Anyone else have any #edusky goals?

RIP Jimmy Carter. Thank you for all you have done for your country. www.chronicle.com/article/here....

The holidays continue this week with of course… #Caturday

Look at this cozy rebel

From Annabelle Jenkins's graduation book ban protest to breaking down the common myths about book censorship, here were the censorship stories you were most interested in in 2024. That, plus this week's book censorship news: bookriot.com/this-years-m...

Always but ESPECIALLY for winter break. Love on your library, friends and neighbors!

A *key* victory was handed down in Arkansas yesterday, where a federal judge held that two sections of Arkansas's anti-library bill Act 372 violated the First Amendment. A big win for libraries + for anti-book banning. Here's the ruling, plus potential implications. bookriot.com/arkansas-act...

Merry Christmas Eve to all who celebrate, especially those tasked with making the magic happen. I call this “the point of inevitability”If it’s not bought, cooked, wrapped, trimmed, or properly marinated, Christmas is coming anyway, and what you have done is not only good enough, it is magical.

Happy Winter Solstice. I acknowledge this day as a symbolic time to pause and look inward before the light returns. The solstice is something we all experience because we are on the same earth. Well, Happy Summer Solstice to all y’all in the southern hemisphere. Happy Saturday to the flat Earthers.

You need me to follow a feed with cute animals? Don’t mind if I do!

Again, I’m watching what’s happening with public health in anticipation of what we could see in education with the closing of the department of education. Let’s build some educational infrastructure! #edutech

Does this leave the door open to lift irrelevant voices, false claims, and hateful rhetoric in the name of “fair and balanced”, I WANT to have faith that good discourse will float to the top, but unfortunately public opinion is more like a lava lamp than unhomogenized milk.

New Zealand’s coalition government has unveiled plans to tighten free speech legislation amid perceptions of an increasingly “risk-averse” cancel culture on campuses #AcademicSky #HigherEd www.timeshighereducation.com/news/new-zea...

“Understanding how to leverage the digital world for personal success and societal contribution is one of the most valuable skills for young people today.” — Richard Culatta #EduSky www.edsurge.com/news/2024-12...

Imagine fighting to keep books accessible to the kids who need to see representation the most, and the school board spends over $440K in legal fees to avoid settlement or putting the books back.

Been thinking a lot about what a civics education could and should look like, and I’m settling into Netflix with “Who’s Vote Counts- Explained”. I hope it’s a depressing little treat! #EduSky

I can’t believe this happened in my state. Perhaps a ruling on the lawsuit will set a legal precedent for what environment makes education safe and accessible and who is responsible for providing it. #EduSky

#edusky #edutech www.edutopia.org/article/the-...

Buckle up, my buttercups. If this comes to pass, quality education will be available for families who can pay for it and in states that are willing and able to fund their public schools. What are some action items y’all are thinking about? meidasnews.com/news/donald-...

I want to make an informational video on gerrymandering and how a minority elected through manipulated voting districts undermines the majority. Has anyone seen this done well? I want to put my own spin on it with my own brand of animation #edutech #animation

North Carolina GOP legislature overrides Gov Cooper veto & passes lame-duck power grab stripping power from Dem gov & AG and taking control of state/local election boards. Incredibly brazen effort to nullify 3 million votes cast for Dems in 2024 & rig future elections

Popping this lesson right up there with “stranger danger” and “look both ways before crossing the street. #EduSky #edutech education.minecraft.net/en-us/lesson...

Best prompt I've ever asked students to answer in a final portfolio: "I especially appreciated <name of another student in this class> because <reason>". Great replies AND they reveal things I might not otherwise be able to see AND much happiness as I deal with final grades.