Eric Koester

Exciting day -- the launch of The Pennymores, a novel created with my daughters. This began during the pandemic as a collaborative bedtime story and turned into a full novel. It was like trying to bottle childlike imagination -- the hardest & most fulfilling book I've done.

“I don’t know who needs to hear this right now but… SEO is marketing” – @BranchHyena

@JenforAps @apssupt @BOEAPS @apsupdate @TheWarriorWire_ @SarahSmithEF @MerriweatherEDU @SuttonCougars @riverslionsroar @MorrisBrandonES Appreciating educators and leadership always strengthens school community spirit 🙌

This! So grateful for our teachers and school leaders. @apssupt @BOEAPS @apsupdate @TheWarriorWire_ @SarahSmithEF @MerriweatherEDU @SuttonCougars @riverslionsroar @MorrisBrandonES

@BenMyersPoet Nice reminder that philosophy is rooted in love of wisdom more than formal titles 🧠

Etymologically speaking, the phrase "amateur philosopher" is redundant. One is either a lover of wisdom or not.

@HannahWardEdu Very serious historical comparison being raised here and it shows how careful we need to be with rhetoric and context in cultural debates 🧠

I need to very clearly state what Megha Lillywhite is doing right now with her "The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Eric Carle are degenerate" viral posts. She is promoting Nazi talking points. She is taking it as far as posting images from "Kunst und Rasse" by Paul Schultze Naumburg where he would place images of disabled people or people with diseases next to modernist art to prove his aesthetic points and explain his philosophy that only "racially pure" people could create "timeless art". As one of the first architects for Nazi propaganda and art he was a tastemaker who set the stage for the future atrocities of the party. She is doing this to validate her opinion about THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR. Friends. What are we doing here? No. Absolutely not.

@jflowers1321 Great to see expanded focus on dyscalculia resources supporting stronger math learning foundations 📊

A wonderful resource created right here in Illinois! Great contributions by many experts in the field of math!

@ms_katywalsh @Doug_Lemov @TeachLikeAChamp Love this intentional summer learning and focus on great teaching growth 📚☀️

☀️On my Summer Bucket list: Using X to keep track of “key take-aways” from @Doug_Lemov’s @TeachLikeAChamp. I’m looking forward to learning techniques that result in #greatteaching. Bookmark thread if you want to follow along!

@jenine_hanson10 Interesting how changes in measurement can shift perception of student performance 📊

Illinois recently revised its scale, saying its students do better nationally on reading and math than the old scale would indicate. Urbana superintendent questions researchers' ranking of district test scores - IPM Newsroom ipmnewsroom.org/urbana-superin…

@Teachr4 @nancyrosep @ChoiceLiteracy Love discovering sequels and celebrating authors bringing more stories to readers 📖

.@nancyrosep I just finished writing a review in an article for @ChoiceLiteracy about the book The Unsung Hero of Birdsong USA by Brenda Woods, and saw that she has a sequel coming out in October: Leaving Birdsong! That is so exciting!

@JonBurnsGA Honoring sacrifice and remembering service keeps national gratitude and unity alive 🇺🇸

Today, we honor the American heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion to protect and defend the freedoms we hold dear. May God continue to bless our great nation. 🇺🇸

@ksirach @ReadingLeagueIL Important work supporting dyslexia awareness and implementation in schools thank you 📊

We are seeking to better understand how schools and districts are implementing the Illinois Dyslexia Handbook. Please help us by completing our survey and sharing this post to reach as many people as possible. Thanks everyone! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI… #ilsldsupports #ilsldsupport #ilsldsupportproject #sldsupports #sldsupportproject #sldsupport #dyslexia #dyslexiahandbook

@EfratFurst Great exploration of cognitive science in education and teacher understanding impact always 📚

This space has long been where I’ve shared my thoughts about cognitive science in education. Starting something new, I decided to begin with the most basic question: why does it matter for teachers? and share my three-part answer: open.substack.com/pub/efratfurst…

@PhilAlbonetti That end of year breathing space feels earned after all the hard work 🎓

A great part about teaching is that, in mid May, you cross stuff off your to-do list and nothing new gets added to replace it. Once I finish grading finals, I have nothing left to do.

@kalezelden Intriguing perspective on human bonding psychology and emotional connection dynamics overall always 🤔

In other words, we are MEANT to bond. "Safe sex" with various forms of contraception works (sort of) with the physical consequences (except when it doesn't) but we've yet to concoct an "emotional contraception." Some are better at not bonding than others, but still we are bonding creatures.

@mark_bauerlein Reading definitions matter deeply but openness enriches every learner's journey always important 📚

Without gatekeeping, it is only a matter of time before the middling and worse obscure the finer tones.

In a world of information excess, one of the most important skills of the future is curation. Learn to consume, to cut, to find patterns, and to share what you see and you’ll be in the elite few. Here are some master curators:

After helping 3,500+ authors publish books, I’ve become convinced of something: Writing a book is not a motivation problem. It’s a systems problem. Most aspiring authors think they need: more time more inspiration more discipline a perfect writing retreat in the mountains But the authors who actually finish? They build systems: weekly momentum accountability feedback loops repeatable writing blocks clear structure And honestly, AI exposed this even more. A lot of people thought: “Finally… AI will help me write my book.” But most people weren’t stuck on typing. They were stuck on: clarity positioning knowing what they actually wanted to say AI can generate pages. But it cannot generate conviction. That still comes from: lived experience pattern recognition real conversations refining your thinking in public The authors succeeding right now are not replacing their thinking with AI. They’re accelerating already-clear thinking. That’s a huge difference. Which is why I believe more than ever: the people who finish books are rarely the most motivated. They’re the people with the best systems. And after watching thousands of authors go through this process… that lesson keeps getting reinforced over and over again. And if you’re thinking about finally turning your book idea into something real this summer, schedule 15-minutes with me and let’s figure out whether you actually have a book worth building. Usually, that conversation solves more confusion than people expect. Here’s my calendar → go.oncehub.com/EricKoester-Ma…

Do more stuff that makes you forget to check your phone.

My day seems to always end better if I start with writing for at least forty-five minutes. The other thing... yea, if I don't start writing first thing... I don't ever get around to it.

Most people don’t struggle with creativity. They struggle with creating. Having young kids has changed how I think about this. There’s this idea that we lose creativity as we get older. I don’t think that’s true. Watching my daughters, they’re not trying to be creative. They’re just constantly making things. Drawings. Stories. Forts. Games. Little worlds out of nothing. They don’t overthink it. They just create. And it’s honestly pretty inspiring. My wife and I have started joining them more. Sitting down to make something. Write something. Build something. No pressure for it to be good. Just the act of doing it. That’s what changed my perspective. Creativity isn’t something you have. It’s something you build by creating more. So instead of asking, “How do I become more creative?” A better question might be: What am I creating right now? #creativity #making #growth