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Welcome to the Tuesday morning, January 23, 2018, edition of the HML Post. This weekly newsletter is a service to the members of the Horace Mann League of the USA.
More articles of interest are on the HML Flipboard site.
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Quote of the Week
Being a superintendent is a fine line between leading a parade and being run out of town by an unhappy mob.
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Horace Mann League's Annual Meeting
The value of large-scale assessments (national or international) is that, properly administered and reported, they provide a window into the world of schools along with solid estimates of student performance. The NS
Roundtable and the HMLeague understand that. Each association is especially committed to the sort of assessment practices that help states, districts, schools, and teachers determine areas in which students are performing well and those where students need additional support. Several aspects of the new Common Core tests promise that sort of information.
Th
is report sets out to do three things: (1) It aims to demystify assessment terminology and methodology so that front-line educators can understand what lies behind pronouncements about the performance of American students. (2) It brings together and examines two di
erent strands describing the performance of our students - domestic and international assessments - to shed some light on how valid, in the broadest sense, these domestic benchmarks are. And (3) it provides a critical examination of the validity of NAEP benchmarks, de
ned broadly not technically, by asking how students in other nations measure up to them.
The central finding of this report is that the NAEP benchmark of Pro
cient is a defective and a misleading guide to action that is frequently inappropriately linked to Common Core assessments about "career and college readiness." (Learn more.) Full report, click here.
Under the guise of bringing alternate, online learning "pathways" to students, iNACOL leaders meet with politicians and corporate leaders to come up with policies that they embed in documents like
the
Elementary and Secondary Reauthorization Act
.
ALEC then works with member politicians in your state to submit benign-sounding, cryptically worded bills based on the agenda above.
(Learn more.)
If schools and families do not have the resources to help their students, the theory goes, then the community can fill in the gaps.
The reality, though, is that these partnerships are more likely to exist with schools that are better resourced to begin with, according to
research by
Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell
, an expert in school policy and leadership. In some circumstances, these partnerships actually worsen the inequities between schools, by providing more supports to schools who are less in need of them.
Partnerships are more likely to exist with schools that are better resourced to begin with. In some circumstances, these partnerships actually worsen the inequities between schools, by providing more supports to schools who are less in-need of them.
School partnerships do have exciting potential to level the playing field - but to make that dream a reality, policymakers and district leaders will have to go to greater lengths to help the neediest schools establish secure relationships. (
Learn more.)
Many would agree that for inquiry to be alive and well in a classroom that, amongst other things,
the teacher needs to be expert at asking strategic questions, and not only asking well-designed ones, but ones that will also lead students to questions of their own.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
I also learned over the years that asking straightforward, simply-worded questions can be just as effective as those intricate ones.
#1. What do you think?
This question interrupts us from telling too much.
#2. Why do you think that?
After students share what they think, this follow-up question pushes them to provide reasoning for their thinking.
#3. How do you know this?
When this question is asked, students can make connections to their ideas and thoughts with things they've experienced, read, and have seen.
#4. Can you tell me more?
This question can inspire students to extend their thinking and share further evidence for their ideas.
#5. What questions do you still have?]\
This allows students to offer up questions they have about the information, ideas or the evidence. (Learn more.)
Professors Edwin A. Locke and Gary P. Latham are two of the best known academic researchers on goal-setting
. Among their fi
ndings:
1. Setting
specific, difficult
goals consistently leads to higher performance than just urging people to do their best.
2. High goals generate greater eff
ort
than low goals, and the highest or most
dfficult
goals produce the greatest levels off
ort
and performance.
3. Tight deadlines lead to a more rapid work pace than loose deadlines.
4. Making a public commitment to a goal enhances personal commitment.
5. Whether the goal is set by mutual agreement or by the boss alone doesn't make a big
dfference
in
goal achievement. (Learn more.)
For well over a century, practi-tioners and policy makers have grappled over the fundamental purposes of secondary educa- tion. At the center of these
discussions lies the fact that as adolescents move through the educational system, the focus of schooling typically shifts from developing individual children toward preparing students to be future workers and citizens.
This acknowledgment of students' imminent adult roles raises serious questions about the appropriate content of secondary education. All
children
should learn to read, but do all
employees
need trigonometry? Since the emergence of the comprehensive high school in the late 1800s, two rival philosophical camps have offered quite disparate answers to this question. These opposing views dispute the extent to which students' future social and economic roles should determine their academic experiences in high school. Should all students be exposed to the same academic material, or should curricula re ect students' interests, abilities, and potential adult occupations? Who should make such decisions-parents, schools, or the students themselves?
In this article we present an interpretive review of recent research on the high school curriculum and its effects on student out-comes.
A student's story of success and challenges.
Age and time have a funny relationship: Sure, they both move in the same direction, but the older we get, the more inverse that relationship can feel. And as work and family commitments take up a drastically outsize portion of that time, it's the treasured friendships in our life that often fade.
A recent
study found that the maximum number of social connections for both men and women occurs around the age of 25. But as young adults settle into careers and prioritize romantic relationships, those social circles rapidly shrink and friendships tend to take a back seat.
The impact of that loss can be both social and physiological, as research
shows that bonds of friendship are critical to maintaining both physical and emotional health. Not only do strong social ties boost the immune system and increase longevity, but they also decrease the risk of contracting certain chronic illnesses and increase the ability to deal with chronic pain, according to a
2010 report in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. (
Learn more.)
Because the country has become addicted to superficial 'reform,' it must, like all addicts, own the problem and face up to the costs of addiction. However, school leaders do not need to look backwards and point fingers. Why not just ask their communities, "Do you think we can improve our schools?" That (rhetorical) question will elicit a chorus of yes, yes, and yes, which provides a license for moving ahead.
And so, in the interests of encouraging school leaders to grasp the nettle, here are the NINE steps, in brief.
2018 Annual Meeting and Awards
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The Education Cartoon of the Week.
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The Superintendent's Special topics:
(Please share your ideas. Contact Jack McKay
)
Sponsor a Professional Colleague for membership
in
the Horace Mann League.
Click here to download the "Sponsor a Colleague" form.
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
or
email: Jack McKay
FAX (866) 389 0740
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. Martha Bruckner,
Exec.Dir., MOEC Collective Impact, Omaha, NE
President-elect:
Dr. Eric King, Superintendent, (ret.) Muncie Public Schools, IN
Vice President: Dr. Laurie Barron, Superintendent, Evergreen School District, Kalispell, MT.
Past President:
Dr. Christine Johns-Haines, Superintendent, Utica Community Schools, MI
Directors:
Dr. Ruben Alejandro, Supt.
of
Schools, (ret.) Weslaco, TX
Dr. David Berliner, Professor Emeritus, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
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. Ember Conley, Supt.
of
Schools, Park City, UT
Dr. Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford U. CA
Dr. James Harvey, Exec.
Dir
., Superintendents Roundtable, WA
Dr. Steven Ladd, Superintendent, (ret.) Elk Grove USD, Elk Grove, CA
Dr. Stan Olson, President, Silverback Learning, (former supt.
of
Boise Schools, ID)
Dr. Lisa Parady, Executive Director, Alaska Association of School Administrators
Dr. Kevin Riley, Superintendent, Gretna Community Schools, NE
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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