What Teachers are Thinking about in 2026

After sharing what Brian and I are thinking about going into 2026, we put out an all call for teachers in the MuchAdo community to share what’s on their mind. As usual, we are inspired and challenged to hear from you. Thanks to everyone who shared. Here are some of your responses:

I agree with Susan about AI. I’m taking a hard pass on it for now as I conduct my own research, even as I see younger colleagues using it without restraint. I also agree with both of you that the classroom has become more transactional and less messily curious, and it’s up to us as educators to cultivate a culture of love, inquiry, compassion and creativity. Currently, I’m spending the month of January with eighth graders on two of my favorite things: Poetry and Thornton Wilder’s 1938 classic, Our Town. I hope students have found themselves in the pages, and can say with Wilder that the play is about the value beyond price in every moment of our daily lives. I put together a spiral bound book of my favorite spoken word poems for my students and we’re annotating one every day. It’s refreshing to be off screens for at least part of our class period. I’m also busy with middle and high school speech, delving into performing Tuck Everlasting with a high school group and a variety of other vignettes with middle schoolers. I’ll close with a few lines from my favorite poem “Titanic” by Laura Lamb Brown Lavoie: “There are enough ballrooms in you to dance with everyone you’ll ever love. There are enough ballrooms in you.” – Elizabeth B.

I’m thinking about many of the same issues that your bring up in your blog especially the rise of AI but also the idea of transactional classrooms. I’ve found that AI has contributed a great deal to this feeling lately. I’ve certainly felt it more this year than in years past. I’ve moved to doing more in the classroom and emphasizing community. I did write about an experience just before winter break that broke my heart but also gave me a place to reflect on where my students are at this point in the year. I’m linking it here if you are interested. I don’t have a large number of subscribers, but this has by far received the most response and feedback from readers and substackers. I think it’s something many educators are trying to come to terms with right now. – Amber S.

School is barely on my mind it seems, except for the fact that I struggle to feel optimistic these days because I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. I am trying to put down that weight before entering my classroom, but it’s tough. I posted something about this on Facebook last week, and a former student reached out, and his words reminded me of the power that I have to help these kids to feel hopeful in a dark time. I could go on and on…blah blah, but mostly what’s on my mind is how do I make my 40 minutes each period matter in the life of these kids. I am starting a brand new course in two weeks; my district approved a philosophy class that I created, so there is a chance for so much discussion and reflection with a small number of students. I am excited to have this opportunity. Be well. I love your thoughts. I, too, do not like Shakespeare. Period. I am not a fan. Never was. And I will yell that from the rooftops. – Denise T

I’m thinking about: How to externalize thinking in the class period How to get more English/Lit into the high school curriculum (I’m a dept. Chair) How to assist teachers in creating guardrails (against AI) for long-form assignments And my big question?: What in the world are colleges actually asking of students in non-Literature classes in terms of writing and research? (I want to align with college expectations, but those are quite unclear to me at this point) – Dominica B.

Things I’m thinking about this year:

A river without boundaries soon becomes a swamp. I need to GO HOME. I need to be okay with things being unticked on my to-do list. I need to be more present with my family.
I need to revamp my AP Lang independent reading assignment / structuring. I have all of these ideas, but I struggle with implementation (in general, in my whole life, honestly haha).
I need to make margin in my life to do random nice things for friends and family. I’m burning the candle at both ends, but I need room to make / deliver a dinner when someone is in the hospital, to go on a date with my husband, to write letters and cards, to make the visit to see my niece and nephew, to make cookies for my PLT just because, to make positive phone calls home to parents, to bring my kid’s teacher Starbucks… I don’t want to feel like teaching is ALL that I am when I am (and need to be) so much to others. – Elizabeth W.

I’m definitely thinking about student engagement and apathy. My seniors are hurting my heart……..they don’t want to do anything and I’m struggling with how to reach them. I’m also reflecting on whether this should be my last year. I love teaching but the paperwork, unrealistic expectations of administrators, and lack of support makes coming every day a struggle. I’m thinking also about the GS interview. I keep going back to it in my head. It was so complex, and I need to listen to it again. If we tell ourselves those three things- we are not special, etc. isn’t that antithetical to what we usually tell our students? My L1 juniors are reading Our Town, so I can see how his message about the three delusions would apply here, too. I really want to bring the interview to my AP Lit classes, but as always I’m afraid of “wasting” precious time when we could be practicing for the exam lol. I’ve also been thinking about writer’s voice (especially in the age of so many mind-numbing AI essays) and wondering if you and other AP Lit veteran teachers spend time teaching this. It might not be so important on the exam-I mean, my sophisticated writers have a “voice”, but I feel that going out into the world, student writing should reflect who they are as people, not just that they can respond to a prompt and make commentary. The funny kids should have humor in their essays, the sarcastic kids, sarcasm, etc. What do you think about the importance of teaching writer’s voice to kids? Is it possible at this point? – Heather B.

Here is what I am thinking about 1 How do I bring more representation for students of color in a very red, very high-achieving school district as our population begins to shift? 2. I have six National Merit scholars and forty-seven of my ninety AP Lit students have over 30 on the ACT. How do I help them build more precision into their reading and writing when their half best is usually seen as really good ? 3. My kids alternate between too confident to very insecure. A big goal for me is to find ways to teach them that their value is in WHO they are rather than WHAT they can do. – Nancy H.

In 2026, I am thinking about pushing back. As a teacher, I want to push back on the pressure from Admin to teach a certain way because that’s the only way scores will increase. As a reader, I want to push back on the idea that I have to like every book I read. As a mother, I want to push back against others telling me that my teenage son won’t like me much longer. As a woman, I want to push back against negative thoughts about my body. – Emily W.

This year I am thinking about how to start a Project LIT program at my inner city middle school. I have previously been a part of the program, but this school is full of reluctant readers who fall way below grade level. I switched from an English teacher at a rural school to a behavioral specialist in an inner city school. It is quite an adjustment! – Nina G.

What are you thinking about in 2026? We’d love to know!