HOW IS IT JULY?!?!?
Seriously. I checked the calendar twice, and apparently we are already here. So, Happy Birthday, America! Two hundred and fifty years is a lot of candles, a lot of fireworks, and a lot of explaining to John Adams why we did not follow his calendar notes.
In a letter written on July 3, 1776, Adams confidently predicted that July 2 would be the day remembered with “pomp and parade,” games, bells, bonfires, and illuminations. OOPS. Close, John. Very close. History is hard. Group projects are harder.
I am back from the Northwest Arkansas Adventure, and Crystal Bridges was AMAZING. The architecture of that building alone is worth the trip. It feels like the museum is having an ongoing conversation with the land, the water, the trees, and every visitor wandering around pretending they totally understand contemporary art. Naturally, I loved it.
There were so many highlights, but I have to share two favorites.
First, Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter. I have seen the image before, but standing in front of the actual painting is something else entirely. Rosie is powerful, confident, and very much on her lunch break, which honestly makes her even more heroic. Rockwell modeled her pose after Michelangelo’s prophet Isaiah from the Sistine Chapel, but instead of a sacred book, Rosie holds a rivet gun. Instead of quiet contemplation, she gives us denim, muscle, grit, and a foot planted right on top of Mein Kampf. Subtle? No. Effective? Absolutely.
I also loved the juxtaposition of Gilbert Stuart’s The Constable-Hamilton Portrait of George Washington with Howard Finster’s George Washington Looked Into Another World. One Washington is formal, composed, presidential, and very aware that someone is painting him for history. The other feels visionary, strange, electric, and possibly like George wandered through a folk-art portal. THIS will absolutely be working its way into some upcoming professional learning. Consider yourself warned.
In news you can use, the latest addition to the NEAL.FUN website is kind of amazing. It is called Wiki Spy, and it is an endlessly searchable mashup of I Spy books and images from Wikipedia. It is weird, delightful, visually chaotic, and exactly the kind of thing that makes my brain say, “Oh, we can teach with this.” I am working up a learning guide for it and plan to share it soon.
I have also been building some new GPTs to debut during my AI sessions at Confratute and Edufest. The latest one is an updated, interactive version of SCAMPER that goes way beyond the usual acronym checklist. No shade to laminated strategy cards everywhere, but SCAMPER deserves better. This version builds learning experiences grounded in Robert Eberle’s original intention for the strategy: flexible, playful, inventive thinking that helps students transform ideas instead of simply filling in boxes.
I am also working on a GPT for Curriculum Compacting and a Genius Hour Generator that uses Andi McNair’s 6 Ps of Genius Hour. STAY TUNED. There is a lot of educational mischief in the lab right now.
Speaking of Andi McNair, we are launching Season Four of the Great Teacher Alliance in September!
This season is called BUILT DIFFERENT: Notice. Stretch. Matter. Sustain. Andi and I are designing four live, practical, energizing sessions for educators who want professional learning that actually feels alive. This is not “sit and get.” This is not “watch a talking head while secretly answering email.” This is a community for teachers who care deeply about gifted learners, creativity, meaningful challenge, and building learning experiences that matter.
Season Four includes four 90-minute sessions, an online community, ready-to-use resources, and the kind of conversation that reminds you why you started doing this work in the first place.
Registration is open now. You can learn more and grab your spot at brianhousand.com/gta-built-different
Thanks for following along with the travel, the tools, the art, the rabbit holes, and the occasional historical side-eye. I am grateful you are here inside my brain with me.
More soon,
Brian
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