Joe Weinstein-Sears

Nature has powerful lessons to share, if we learn to listen.

“It is one thing to read the Iliad… by the springs with Mount Ida above, and the plain and rivers and Archipelago around you; and another to trim your taper over it in a snug library—this I know.” - Lord Byron Direct experience and context matters.

"I begin to speak only when I'm certain what I'll say isn't better left unsaid." –Cato

Beautifully said.

We need more of this in our feeds 🌍🚀🌔

Recently, I sat down with a colleague (and a fellow outdoor enthusiast) to talk about #experientiallearning, elevating #studentvoice, the importance of "healthy discomfort" to growth... and (of course) all the fun we're having in @BullisSchool Middle School! bullis.org/news-events-me…

Last year, I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau for the first time. What struck me most was the clinical organization of it all. Human ingenuity and efficiency on full display, constructed with mathematical precision. A neatly arranged, highly productive factory... of genocide. The lessons of the Holocaust are many, but what I've thought about so much about since then is this: human progress, potential, and power is only as good as the morals that shape them. That so many intelligent people could design something so evil is a testament to the importance of character and empathy, above all. Education is nothing if it isn't about values. #HolocaustRemembranceDay

For the first time since 2014, there are no hostages held in Gaza. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum was established one day after October 7, with a single, urgent mission: to bring home the 255 men, women, and children taken hostage to Gaza. What began as a moment of unimaginable shock became one of the most determined civic, moral, and human struggles in history. Today, 843 days later, that mission has been completed. All 255 hostages have been returned to Israel. 46 of them were abducted alive and murdered in captivity. With the return of Rani Gvili, a hero who gave his life defending his community, we can finally say: there are no longer any hostages in Gaza. This moment belongs not only to the families, but to the millions in Israel and around the world who stood with us. To every government, organization, journalist, and individual who refused to look away, who raised their voices, applied pressure, and believed this mission could be completed, we offer our deepest gratitude. The struggle to bring the hostages home has ended 🎗️

Hey @grok, as AI becomes ever more present in our world and lives, what will remain important for students about K-12 education?

Tomorrow is J.R.R. Tolkien's 134th birthday! As Frodo did for Bilbo, the Tolkien Society continues to celebrate Tolkien's birthday in his absence with our Tolkien Birthday Toast. Our tradition: at 9pm your time raise a glass and toast "The Professor!" tolkiensociety.org/events/tolkien…

One third of 8th grade girls spend 7+ hours per day on social media. Meaning: that's pretty much all they do. From @jean_twenge generationtechblog.com/p/the-mind-blo… How about if we treat puberty as if it were an important developmental period? Let's raise the age to 16 and be done with it.

Liberal girls were most harmed by social media, says @JonHaidt. “It started on Tumblr in 2013.” “It’s the liberal girls who really rise first and fastest on depression…. Everyone is worse off, but being conservative seems to root you. You’re not as easily pushed into this crazy world.”

Social psychologist @JonHaidt: We’re getting young men addicted to video games, porn, gambling, investing, vaping—and then act surprised that they’re not transitioning into adulthood. It was “open season on their dopamine systems—and it was hugely lucrative.”

I used to think the main damage from social media was to youth mental health. Now I believe that the global destruction of the human ability to pay attention may be even larger. A meta-analysis shows the damage, to adults as well as teens, from TikTok+ psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-…

Let’s Go COOGS! 🏀🔥

Happy #FirstContactDay! 🖖

Let’s go, Jaguars! ⚽️🙌 @EmeryWeiner @EmeryJags

Thanks @BorrisLMiles for meeting with us today—and we are grateful for your support of #Texas nonprofit schools in need of greater security assistance

Spent the day with @EmeryWeiner students in #Austin, lobbying reps for greater security assistance for nonprofits in #Texas - democracy in action!