Erik Palmer
erik-palmer.bsky.social
Erik Palmer
@erik-palmer.bsky.social
Author, consultant. Committed to giving all an effective voice by focusing on the #1 language art, oral communication.
In the old days, a team that was really good got rewarded by being invited to one of a handful of bowl games in nice warm places. Now hundreds of mediocre teams get invited to bowls in absurd and freezing places! Woot woot, the Frozen Northeast Baseball Field Bowl!!
December 28, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Every adult: I wish I was more comfortable speaking.
No adult: I wish I was more comfortable reading Shakespeare.

Sadly, we make every student suffer through Macbeth, but we never specifically teach every student the skills of effective speaking.

Ditch Shakespeare. #edusky
December 22, 2025 at 10:20 PM
We killed reading.
No one writes about how teachers contributed to the problem. No student ever said, "Wow, that was fantastic and I am really inspired to read!" after being forced to suffer through The Scarlet Letter. Dreadful, boring, and ancient. Our choices make reading painful. #edusky
December 13, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Hey, #edusky people: can you help me compile a list of all the things that came by in your teaching career?
Coding
Makerspace
Clickers
Math manipulatives
Differentiated instruction
6 trait writing
Drop Everything And Read
Centers
Thematic units
Writing across the curriculum
And?...
December 9, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Income inequality question:
One million seconds = 11.5 DAYS
One billion seconds = 31.7 YEARS
Does Jeff Bezos need a few more billions or do his employees need better pay?
December 7, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Nine years ago, I said that oral communication would greatly increase in importance as digital tools develop to showcase speaking.

Unfortunately, schools are still teaching the same old stuff while students demonstrate daily that they can't speak well. #edusky

pvlegs.blog/2025/12/05/l...
Looking Into Education’s Crystal Ball
I wrote this nine years ago. I didn’t foresee AI but if I had, it would have added to the argument. See By Larry Ferlazzo on March 14, 2017 12:36 PM       (Larry Ferlazzo is an educator worth…
pvlegs.blog
December 6, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Can English teachers ever admit that poetry is overrated? That it demands WAY less time than they give it? So many much more important lessons are being shortchanged so students can get yet another haiku unit. #edusky
pvlegs.blog/2025/11/08/p...
Just because YOU love poetry doesn’t mean…
My mother-in-law worked at a museum of natural history. She curated the Native American collections and took particular interest in the Passamaquoddy tribe in northern Maine. For several years, she…
pvlegs.blog
December 3, 2025 at 11:40 PM
Remember to set your scales back five pounds tonight to get ready for Thanksgiving.
November 27, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Bondi: 1 fentanyl pill can kill 10 people.
Oz: each American will lose over 300 lbs. by midterms. RFK, Jr.: 250,000 Americans over 124 yrs. old are getting Work. Comp.
Trump: I'm lowering drug prices 1500%.
And we all just accept this idiocy and move on.
November 20, 2025 at 10:12 PM
My condolences to everyone working retail at this time of year. I can't imagine hearing all the Xmas dreck songs multiple times a day every day from November 1 to December 25. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" eight times a day times 55 days? 440 times? And 440 "Jingle Bell Rock" and.... Sickening.
November 19, 2025 at 9:27 PM
I remember when voters chose their representatives.
Now, representatives choose their voters. #gerrymandering
November 5, 2025 at 9:56 PM
What do we value? Hatred, not education.
October 5, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Want an AI-proof skill? Want all students to master the #1 language art? Want to give students an effective voice?
pvlegs.blog/2025/10/01/w...
@edusky.bsky.social
What AI Can’t Do: Giving Students an AI-Proof Skill
AI has dramatically changed education. You know that. We need to be concerned about AI and writing. How can we encourage students to develop as writers in a world where giving a quick prompt to a c…
pvlegs.blog
October 3, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Want an AI-proof skill? Want all students to master the #1 language art? Want to give students an effective voice?
pvlegs.blog/2025/10/01/w... #edusky
What AI Can’t Do: Giving Students an AI-Proof Skill
AI has dramatically changed education. You know that. We need to be concerned about AI and writing. How can we encourage students to develop as writers in a world where giving a quick prompt to a c…
pvlegs.blog
October 3, 2025 at 11:37 PM
300 million died from drugs coming in from Venezuela.
Armenia and Cambodia were at war.
Acema...let's see, how do you say it?...admeni...

And no one does a thing to call this out in the mainstream press.
September 23, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Heading back to school? Making podcasts?
A quick read to see how to make them WAY better:
www.hmhco.com/blog/how-to-...
#edusky
How to Start a Student Podcast: A Quick Guide
A quick guide for how to start a student podcast, with tips and tricks for teachers for the whole recording process
www.hmhco.com
August 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Heading back to school? Making podcasts?
A quick read to see how to make them WAY better: www.hmhco.com/blog/how-to-...
@edusky.bsky.social
How to Start a Student Podcast: A Quick Guide
A quick guide for how to start a student podcast, with tips and tricks for teachers for the whole recording process
www.hmhco.com
August 9, 2025 at 4:58 PM
We have shortchanged the #1 language art. We make kids talk but we have no specific lessons to teach them how to talk well. @edusky.bsky.social
June 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
We have shortchanged the #1 language art. We make kids talk but we have no specific lessons to teach them how to talk well.
June 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Erik Palmer
What is uniquely important about learning speaking skills? How does it expand on/reveal other skills? #StenhousePub author @erik-palmer.bsky.social answers these questions from his book Well Spoken on The Authority Podcast with @rossromano.bsky.social. authoritypodcast.net/episodes/wel...
The Authority Podcast — Expert Insights and Fresh Ideas for Education Leaders | Well Spoken with Erik Palmer
Today’s guest, Erik Palmer, is an educational consultant from Denver who focuses on showing teachers practical, engaging ways to teach oral communication skills, and showing educational leaders how...
authoritypodcast.net
June 20, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Conference season! You'll see lots of slides like these: docs.google.com/presentation...
That's a shame. If you present, be the one to break the dreadful mold.
pvlegs.blog/2024/07/13/n...
@edusky.bsky.social @eduskyteam.com
Bad slides
Never Make Slides Like These A collection of slides with: Too much text Too many bullet points Silly graphics Unreadable fonts Silly backgrounds Overly complex diagrams General ugliness
docs.google.com
June 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Erik Palmer
June 8, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Reposted by Erik Palmer
Hey. The guys good at pool
June 9, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Reposted by Erik Palmer
States’ rights!
June 9, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Erik Palmer
Bad luck x2
June 5, 2025 at 4:15 PM