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Welcome to the HML POST - For the busy leaders of public education.
December 7, 2015
(Editorials and research articles are selected by
Jack McKay, Executive director of the HML.
Topics are selected to provoke discussions about the importance of strong public schools. Feedback is always appreciated.
The HML website, Click
here.
The HML Flipboard magazine, Click
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The HML Horace Mann Quotes on Pinterest, Click
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The HML Facebook page, Click here. (Includes past issues of the HML POST)
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 AMERICAN children have been bad at math for well over a century now. As early as 1895, educational reformers lamented Americans' "meager results" in the subject. Over the years, critics of math education in this country have cycled through a set of familiar culprits, blaming inadequate teacher training, lackluster student motivation and faulty curricular design. Today's debates over the Common Core mathematical standards are just the latest iteration of this dispute.
Although these issues are important - no reform can ever succeed without considering teacher training and textbook design - resolving them will never make the underlying question of how to teach math "go away." This is because debates about learning mathematics are debates about how educated citizens should think generally. Whether it is taught as a collection of facts, as a set of problem-solving heuristics or as a model of logical deduction, learning math counts as learning to reason. That is, in effect, a political matter, and therefore inherently contestable. Reasonable people can and will disagree about it. (Read more.)
 There has been loud applause in the education world for the new Every Student Succeeds Act, the successor to No Child Left Behind that has passed the House and is expected to become federal law soon. It has been hailed as a fix-it to the broken NCLB law, and it does indeed moderate some of NCLB's biggest problems. But, perhaps because the legislation was only made public a few days before the House voted, there has been little time to look at the details in the bill.
In this post, Kenneth Zeichner, a professor of teacher education at the University of Washington at Seattle, does just that in regard to how the bill approaches teacher preparation programs - and he reveals some deep concerns. (
Read more.)
 There's a lot of talk about the teacher shortage sweeping the nation these days. Some say we knew it was coming. Others blame seemingly obvious factors like low pay, long hours, and lack of respect. As fingers point in all directions about the cause of the shortage, and districts scramble to find busloads of new recruits to fix it,
we may be overlooking an incredibly valuable resource just under our noses: the new teachers already in our classrooms.
Just as the road to financial health often includes curbing one's spending, all the recruitment, incentives and even signing bonuses won't begin to fix our teacher shortage if we can't keep new teachers in the profession once they arrive. The number of teachers who leave the job in the first five years is somewhere between 17 and 46 percent (
researchers are debating it
)-but even the low end of that range is too many, and stopping this bleeding can turn the tides for our schools.
1. Minimize Negative Talk.
2. Celebrate Milestones and Successes.
 A teacher education student recently told me about someone who questioned why she needs to attend college for four years in order to teach first graders. The implication was that teaching isn't difficult and little preparation is needed for it. One increasingly hears such views, as woefully uninformed as they are about the complexities of teaching.
For many who are not teachers, it may seem simple. Here is a boy or girl, of whatever race, fluent in English, neatly dressed, well fed, eager to learn. A knowledgeable teacher delivers a well-organized lesson, telling the student what she or he needs to know. The student listens carefully, scribbles some notes, and in a week and again later in the year fills in test bubbles to show that she or he remembers (and presumably understands) what was taught.
This seemingly straightforward interaction is fraught with complications that begin before the teacher and student meet in the classroom. (
Read more.)
More than 20 districts around the state are featured in this video that highlights the fun, excitement and excellence in Washington's K-12 schools. Footage provided by districts across the state, AWSP and WaSTEM (Delta High School segment).
The winners will use the funding to create "transformation centers" based on four driving principles: developing strong partnerships with school districts; giving teacher-candidates opportunities to refine a specific set of teaching skills; using data for improvement and accountability; and ensuring that faculty and mentors are effective at guiding novices into the profession. (
Read more.)
 Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth need and deserve to learn in settings that are inclusive of their experiences and that give them the education necessary to stay safe and healthy. Far too many LGBTQ youth are sitting in classrooms where their teachers and textbooks fail to appropriately address their identities, behaviors and experiences. Nowhere is this absence more clear, and potentially more damaging, than in sex education. Sex education can be one of the few sources of reliable information on sexuality and sexual health for youth. Hundreds of studies have shown that well-designed and well implemented sex education can reduce risk behavior and support positive sexual health outcomes among teens, such as reducing teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates. (Read more.)
 America is obsessed with standardization.
Let's make everything the same - neat and uniform.
It's ironic coming from a country that's always been so proud of its rugged individualism.
But look almost anywhere in the US of A, and you'll see a strip mall with almost all of the same stores and fast food restaurants selling the same crusty burgers and fries left waiting for the consumer under a heat lamp.
Somehow this has become
THE model for public education, as well. Corporations have convinced our lawmakers that the disposable franchise business schematic is perfect to increase student learning. (
Read more.)
Seattle PI site.
 Principals across the state say the current teacher shortage has reached a "crisis" and is placing a severe strain on schools. The information comes from a survey of 730 principals representing 35% of the state's public schools.
The survey says 80% of principals have had to hire under-qualified teachers and 74% actually had to substitute for a classroom teacher within a five-day period when the survey was taken in October.
"Clearly we have a teacher shortage, we have a substitute shortage and its very problematic in a number of ways," said Bob Butts, Assistant Superintendent of Early Learning for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (
Read more.)
 The fans of Reformy Stuff are not wrong about everything. For example, they are correct that the general state of teacher evaluation in this country was pretty useless. Their mistake was replacing Inertly Useless with Actively Destructive. The old system was a simple two step process (1- check for teacher pulse; 2- award perfect score [edit--or, in some Bad Places To Work, award lousy score just because you want to]) while the new step is a little more involved (1- apply random groundless unproven mathematical gobbledeegook to big bunch of bad data; 2- award randomly assigned bad score).
Years ago, frustrated with the old mostly-useless model and before the current looney tunes empire took hold, a friend and I had started to rough out an evaluation system. Let me sketch out the basics for you. (Read more.)
With this project, we hope educators will learn from these leaders' stories and be inspired to "discover, aspire, and lead." Every year, Education Week searches for some of the nation's most exceptional school district leaders. Hear from three of these honorees - being unveiled early - about what drives them to aspire and lead. The full slate of 2016 Leaders To Learn From will be announced in February. (Read more.)
Finnish Lessons
 Pasi Sahlberg's Finnish Lessons blew a crack in the top of my head. Finland built their education system, not to get high scores on international tests, but to create equity of access and opportunity for all students. And high test scores followed. Their commitment was, and continues to be the students in their charge. They built this system with highly-trained, independent teachers leading the way.
Finland started with solid educational research. They didn't generate that research; instead, they searched out the best thinkers and incorporated their ideas. Who were these educational thinkers, you ask? Americans! John Dewey. David Berliner, Linda Darling Hammond, and a new name for me, Andy Hargreaves. Our own thinkers and researchers. The ones ignored, ridiculed,passed over for the job of Secretary of Education. Ours. The research that should be informing the work in American schools.
on the Fourth Generation Teacher site. (
Read more.)
 Two conversations-one in person with an early-career teacher, the other through email with a pre-service teacher-can be highlighted by a sentence from the email:
Pre-service and early career teachers (although not alone) now learn and teach under the weight of "We're terrified."
The early-career teacher currently attempts to teach ELA in a high-poverty, majority-minority school, where she has 3 classes with about 50 students each in a team-taught experiment and must work under the incessant requirement of giving students and their parents feedback while planning and teaching in an entirely
new school focus.
Again, this is not some unusual circumstance. This is the new normal of being a public school teacher-a new normal that began about thirty years ago and continues to accelerate despite no evidence any of the so-called reforms help and ample evidence those reforms harm students (except those so-called
"top students" who are white and affluent but insulated from the reforms), de-professionalize teachers, and demonize schools as well as all of public education. (
Read more.)
Upcoming Event:
The 94rd Annual Meeting of the Horace Mann League will be held on Friday, February, 12, 2016, at the Phoenix Downtown Sheraton Hotel, starting at 11:45 am. Registration information, click here.
Special awards will be presented to the following at the annual meeting.
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| Dr. Andy Hargreaves Outstanding Friend of Public Education. Professor and Author, Boston College |
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Dr. Gene Glass
Outstanding Public
Education. Professor and Author, National Education Policy Center
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Gary Marx
Outstanding Friend of the League. Author and Past President of the HML, President of Public Outreach
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Sponsor a Professional Colleague for membership in the Horace Mann League.
Click here to download the "Sponsor a Colleague" form.
Starting the week off with a cartoon.
A gift for your Community Leaders: On the Art of Teaching
by Horace Mann.
The book,
On The Art of Teaching by Horace Mann has been presented to new teachers as a welcome gift by a number of schools district. For orders of 50 or more, the district's name is printed on the front cover.
Ordering Information
Cost per copy: $12.50
Orders of 50 to 99: $11.00
Orders of 100 or more: $10.00
Send orders to: (include name of district, P.O. #, and address)
The Horace Mann League of the USA
560 Rainier Lane
Port Ludlow, WA 98365
FAX (866) 389 0740
To
download the full or summary report,
To
view in an electronic magazine format,
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A Few Political Cartoons for the Week
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Horace Mann Prints
The 11 * 18 inch print is available for individual or bulk purchase. Individual prints are $4.00. Discount with orders of 50 or more.
For additional information about this or other prints, please
check here
.
 In 1840 Mann wrote On the Art of Teaching. Some of HML members present
On the Art of Teaching to new teachers as part of their orientation program. On the inside cover, some write a personal welcome message to the recipient. Other HML members present the book to school board members and parental organizations as a token of appreciation for becoming involved in their schools. The book cover can be designed with the organization's name. For more information, contact the HML (
Jack McKay)
All the past issues of the HML Posts are available for review and search purposes.
Finally, 7 links that may be of interest to you.
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About Us
The
Horace Mann League
of the USA is an honorary society that promotes the ideals of Horace Mann by advocating for public education as the cornerstone of our democracy.
Officers:
President: Dr. Charles Fowler, Exec. Director, Suburban School Administrators, Exeter, HN
President-elect: Dr. Christine Johns-Haines, Superintendent, Utica Community Schools, MI
Vice President: Dr. Martha Bruckner, Superintendent, Council Bluffs Community Schools, IA
1st Past President: Mr. Gary Marx, President for Public Outreach, Vienna, VA
2nd Past President: Dr. Joe Hairston, President, Vision Unlimited, Reisterstown, MD
Directors:
Dr. Laurie Barron, Supt. of Schools, Evergreen School District, Kalispell , MT
Dr. Evelyn Blose-Holman, (ret.) Superintendent, Bay Shore Schools, NY
Mr. Jeffery Charbonneau, Science Coordinator, ESD 105 and Zillah HS, WA
Dr. Carol Choye, Instructor, (ret.) Superintendent, Scotch Plains Schools, NJ
Dr. Brent Clark, Executive Director, Illinois Assoc. of School Admin. IL
Dr. Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford U. CA
Dr. James Harvey, Exec. Dir., Superintendents Roundtable, WA
Dr. Eric King, Superintendent, (ret.) Muncie Public Schools, IN
Dr. Steven Ladd, Superintendent, (ret.) Elk Grove Unified School District, Elk Grove, CA
Dr. Barry Lynn, Exec. Dir., Americans United, Washington, DC
Dr. Kevin Maxwell, CEO, Prince George's County Schools, Upper Marlboro, MD
Dr. Stan Olson, President, Silverback Learning, (former supt. of Boise Schools, ID)
Dr. Steven Webb, Supt. of Schools, Vancouver School District, WA
Executive Director:
Dr. Jack McKay, Professor Emeritus, University of Nebraska at Omaha,
560 Rainier Lane, Port Ludlow, WA 98365 (360) 821 9877
To become a member of the HML, click here to download an application.
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