iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Hey ELA teachers — if you want to support an actual classroom teacher (and my teammate) and get your students more engaged with their reading, check out local author Jason Douglas and his YA comics. His newest book Jane American is fantastic. www.detroitnews.com/story/entert...

detroitnews.com

At Comic Con: English teacher lives out dream of writing graphic novels

Northville English teacher Jason Douglas has written three graphic novels, one of which won him a national award.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

@ditchthattextbook.com (cont..) Right now, I can create awesome infographics, but it doesn't provide a lot of room for my students to take notes, or it provides too much information for my students that I'd like them to write. Basically, I want the cool graphics and room for them to take notes.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

@ditchthattextbook.com Matt, I was wondering if you could help me out. I'm using NotebookLM & I want to create some infographics that serve as outlines for my students to use to take notes from the videos I create on NotebookLM. What would be the perfect prompt? (continue....)

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

"Maybe if we underpaid politicians and overpaid teachers, there would be smarter people and less stupid laws."

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Saw this on a video and thought it was clever: Before you get into an argument, remember this quote, “A bee does not waste its energy trying to convince a fly that honey is better than crap.” Some minds are not meant to be changed. Save your energy for what matters.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

When someone has to tear others down and stretch the truth to look good, they’re rarely the good guy.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

If you have to constantly defend your beliefs and convince everyone you’re on the right side, you probably aren’t.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

A good person doesn't need to convince anyone they’re good. People recognize it through what they do, not what they claim.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

Grit is an easy word to throw around when you’re winning and everything feels effortless. But real grit shows up when you’re down, when the setbacks stack into a mountain that looks impossible to climb. True grit is defined in those moments — do you sit and sulk, or do you start climbing? #Lions

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

@dkthomp.bsky.social I enjoy your podcast. On the episode about math skills & grade inflation—have you considered the role of “school choice”? Turning schools into businesses that compete for enrollment means keeping customers happy, and happy customers often expect higher grades.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

I share many of the philosophies and ideals that Finland has in education and wish our schools would adopt them, first, eliminating standardized tests. youtu.be/XQ_agxK6fLs?...

youtu.be

Why Finland has the Best Education by Michael Moore

YouTube video by May Sóc Montessori Education

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

After reading an article on public education, I was curious where Oklahoma stood—and that led me down a rabbit hole into the bottom 20 rankings. Fascinating pattern: does anyone notice what nearly 90% of these states have in common? www.foxnews.com/politics/exc...

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

#TLAP A4: I would design an AI, that would create a video or a mashup of videos based on a prompt, similar to an AI image generator. We already have the technology to create a personalized AI podcast, why can't we take it one step further and have an AI video generator?

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

#TLAP A3: I see AI creating personalized learning paths for my students based on their abilities, progress, and performance in my class. For example, if they score low on an assessment, it will provide articles, videos, & study guides to help them become proficient on their learning standard.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

I'm watching President Trump's speech in my home state and he stated that egg prices are down 87%. If that is true, than my eggs would cost 82 cents per dozen as they were $6 a month ago. My eggs are nowhere close to being 82 cents.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Of all forms of tyranny, the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth. -Theodore Roosevelt

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Proverbs 14:31: "Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God."

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

"The dull, purblind folly of the very rich men, their greed and arrogance, and the corruption in business and politics, have tended to produce a very unhealthy condition." -Theodore Roosevelt From The Big Stick

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

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Reposted by Mark Ureel

Cuitlahuac Tonatiuh @cuitlahuac.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Being a PBL teacher means being a project manager to 8 different teams during a 50 min period repeated 6 times a day. My brain is mush TGIF

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

A3: Embody virtue and act as an exemplar of benevolence and integrity. #LeadLAP

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

A2: Staying impartial by respecting the political views of all our community's families and keeping quiet about what's going wrong in our country. #LeadLAP

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Isaiah 1:17: "Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow."

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things. - Theodore Roosevelt

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

So yeah, I'm a little skeptical of businessmen running our federal government and making cuts to services our tax money pays for without our consent. #Michigan

Last time we put a businessman in charge in Michigan, our biggest city went bankrupt. Unelected officials, such as emergency managers, were appointed to oversee the city's finances, effectively taking power away from elected officials. And the cherry on top of this crap sundae, another major city faced a water crisis starting resulting in undrinkable water for years.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

I wish to make the rich man feel that I am not in the least against him because he is rich; that all I am striving to do is to protect him while he handles his wealth aright, and merely to prevent his using that wealth for sinister purposes. Theodore Roosevelt January 3, 1908

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Whenever there is tyranny by the majority, I shall certainly fight it. But the tyrannies from which we have been suffering in this country have, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, been tyrannies by a minority; that is, tyranny by privilege. Theodore Roosevelt

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Reposted by Mark Ureel

Alice Keeler @alicekeeler.com · 18/02/2025

If the government really wanted to save money perhaps start with cutting giving money to a testing company. Then maybe we can focus on teaching instead of test prep. #EduSky

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

If the Department of Education is closed down, does that mean that NCLB is gone? If so, does that mean schools no longer have to pay millions for testing materials and test prep programs, which could offset the loss of federal funds to schools, if special ed/504 funds are diverted to another area?

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

A4: I would suggest that they start blocking off time at home so they can take care of their priorities and then block off a limited amount of time for work and do not go over that limit. In the long run, they'll be happier because there will always be more work to do. #TLAP

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

A3: I think of all those teachers who I've seen leave the profession due to burnout & I remind myself that I'm no good to the community that I serve if I burnout & leave the profession. #TLAP

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

A2: I remind myself that things don't need to be perfect & I don't need to be a "super teacher" because it's more important for my Ss to have a calm level-headed teacher rather than a stressed out tired one. #TLAP

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

A1: You leave work at work and home at home. You shouldn't have to worry about work when you're at home. #TLAP

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

I blame Ted Lasso for all our problems.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Why do people get more upset at the increase of minimum wage than the increase of wealth by billionaires?

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

I once had a wise (but young) old boss who told me, “You can only control what's between your four walls." We need to understand that no matter who's president. Politicians are going to do what politicians do, but for years we've gotten through it and we're still able to do amazing things.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

Today's: "Things that I don't understand in the field of education." Why isn't the public aware that the curriculum in each grade level is now taught one or two years earlier than it used to be?

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t understand how paying kids to go to school sets them up for success. There are many parents in the world who pray for their children to have access to free public education, and now we’re paying our kids just to show up. www.freep.com/story/news/e...

freep.com

Detroit schools paying high school students $200 bi-weekly for perfect attendance

The incentive allows high school students to receive a $200 gift card for each two-week period in which they have perfect attendance.

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Reposted by Mark Ureel

SARS‑CoV‑2 (COVID-19) @covid19disease.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

N95 Masks Nearly Perfect at Blocking COVID, UMD Study Shows Researchers Found Even Lower-Performing Masks Were Protective Maskswork today.umd.edu/n95-masks-ne...

today.umd.edu

N95 Masks Nearly Perfect at Blocking COVID, UMD Study Shows

Researchers Found Even Lower-Performing Masks Were Protective

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Today's: "Things that I don't understand in the field of education." If it's proven that students learn better in smaller classes, why do we keep filling classrooms to capacity and then wonder why our results haven't improved?

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

I want to spark thought by posting 'Things I Don't Understand in Education.' I hope I don't seem ignorant, but I aim to encourage reflection on areas that may not be working as intended.

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Today's "Things that I don't understand in the field of education."

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Mark Ureel @thereelteacher.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Things that I don't understand in the field of education.

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