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Welcome to the Tuesday, March 26, 2019, edition of the
HML Post
.
The
HML Post is a weekly review of recent of articles about educational research and leadership. T
he HML Post is a service provide by the members of the League.
(
New) The Index of HML Post articles (
2019) (
2018 Dec-Oct) Click on "Post" to access articles desired.
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Quote of the Week
"Every time you have to speak, you are auditioning for leadership." -
James Humes
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Rural lives matter - we're all Americans, and deserve to share in the nation's wealth. Rural votes matter even more; like it or not, our political system gives hugely disproportionate weight to less populous states, which are also generally states with relatively rural populations.
But it's also important to get real.
There are powerful forces behind the relative and in some cases absolute economic decline of rural America - and the truth is that nobody knows how to reverse those forces.
Even then, rural areas and small towns weren't the "real America," somehow morally superior to the rest of us. But they were a major part of the demographic, social and cultural landscape.
Since then, however, while America's population has doubled, the number of farmers has fallen by two-thirds. There are only around
50,000 coal miners. The incentives for business to locate far from the metropolitan action have greatly diminished. And the people still living in rural areas increasingly feel left behind.
Some of the consequences have been tragic.
Not that long ago we used to think of social collapse as an inner-city problem. Nowadays phenomena like the prevalence of jobless men in their prime working years, or worse yet, the surge in "deaths of despair" by drugs, alcohol or suicide are concentrated in declining rural areas. (
Learn more.)
For well over a century, educational leaders and policy makers have turned to standards as a kind of safety zone, a common ground where upon (they hoped) all educators could meet and agree on clear, consistent, and rationally developed objectives. Americans find comfort in knowing precisely what students should know and be able to do, especially at times of national uncertainty or economic transition - whether represented by World War I, the Great Depression, the Space Race, or anxiety about global competitiveness. Even skeptics of standards acknowledge that some skills are amenable to concise articulation and demonstrable achievement and that some proficiencies can be measured; their main concern is with universal adoption of standards as the primary tool for curriculum development.
Nevertheless, American educators have trod this terrain before, as it turns out, and we would do well to listen to the echoes of previous experiences.
Several enduring dilemmas are posed by the persistent desire for measurable objectives, and policy makers and practitioners can benefit from the lessons gleaned by a close reading of the educational past. Aside from the controversies that will attend the development of any new learning goals, policy makers must acknowledge the constraints that standards are likely to place on classroom instruction. (
Learn more.)
Arizona has become the hotbed for an experiment rightwing activists hope will redefine America's schools - an experiment that has pitched the conservative billionaires the
Koch brothers and Donald Trump's controversial education secretary, Betsy DeVos, against teachers' unions, teachers and parents. Neither side is giving up without a fight.
With groups funded by the Koch brothers and DeVos nudging things along,
Arizona lawmakers enacted the nation's broadest school vouchers law, state-funded vouchers that are supposed to give parents more school choice and can be spent on private or religiously affiliated schools.
For opponents, the system is not about choice but about further weakening the public school system. A half-dozen women who had battled for months against the legislation were angry as hell.
(Learn more.)
Conflicts over the public school curriculum nicely illustrate our nation's preference for balancing legal powers among multiple parties, including the state, the school district, parents, and others.
The state, in fulfillment of its authority to regulate for the well-being of its residents, and in fulfillment of its obligation to create and maintain public schools, has the authority to impose limits and obligations on both local school districts and parents. In turn - and as long as they remain within those limits - school districts (typically controlled by locally elected boards) have the authority to make educational decisions for their schools, including decisions about the curriculum and methods of instruction, while parents have the right and responsibility to raise their children and control their upbringing. (At the same time, of course, teachers, students, professional associations, local interest groups, the federal government, and other stakeholders have their own ideas about the curriculum and try, in their own ways, to shape what gets taught in public schools.)
No one rule of law explains how to balance these interests.
However, the courts generally favor efforts to expand access to knowledge, rather than efforts to restrict it. As stated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Keyishian v. Board of Regents (U.S. 1967), courts will not "tolerate . . . a pall of orthodoxy over the classroom."
(Learn more.)
The meaning and mission of a middle school depends on who is talking about it. For most people other than middle-level advocates, middle school and junior high school are synonyms: places where students between the 5th and 9th grades go to "prepare" for high school.
The only difference between junior highs and middle schools appear to be the names on the signs outside the school buildings. Even after 100 years and three separate movements to create a unique curriculum for young adolescents, a coherent mission for middle schools has yet to emerge, and they continue to be lumped together with junior high schools. As result, most schools for 10- to 14-year-olds continue to underserve the students who attend them.
(
Learn more.
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Research underscores that school improvement relies on leadership that stretches beyond a principal, but significant developments to the design of school level leadership lags. This paper shares data and interpretations of school leadership organized as a network of formalized teacher-leader roles that are ranked, titled, and differently paid.
Formal roles that blend teaching with instructional and managerial leadership gain legitimacy and pass tests of goodness and value for teachers when they directly contribute to teachers' day-to-day work and success, as when they elevate working conditions, bring disciplinary knowledge and local understandings to learning and problem solving, and contribute to individual and collective efficacy.
Conclusions/Recommendations:
Networks of formal teacher-leader roles can bring more substantial and reliable resources to the conditions of teaching and school organizations than informal leadership or targeted coaching roles. Fears of negative social and professional consequences do not emerge when roles remain rooted in teaching, when leaders' tasks flow across logistical, instructional, and social dimensions of teachers' work, and when norms emphasize help and reciprocity. (
Learn more.)
Hiring the
right person for your business or team is one of the most critical decisions you'll make. The effects on resources and morale can be significant: According to a recent
survey by Robert Half, the high costs of even one bad hire include time lost to training, increased team stress, and diminished faith in the leader.
It may even cause
illicit activity to spread. And while due diligence helps, interviews that rely on heavily scripted and surface-level questions often fail to predict how someone will actually behave on the job.
Here's a simple but effective way to change that. I call it the "wrapper test."
Before a candidate walks into the interviewing room, place a crumpled candy wrapper by the door. Then step back and watch: Does the candidate stop to pick up the wrapper or simply glide past it?
You might still hire the person who walks by the wrapper. But you should definitely hire the person who drops it into the trash. (
Learn more.)
Superintendent Dr. Matthew Haas sent a letter to students and their families regarding the change on Monday.
In that letter, he explains how the policy has always covered clothing that interferes with education or disrupts classrooms.
That policy will now cover imagery associated with organizations promoting white supremacy, racial division, hatred or violence.
"I have become increasingly concerned that by not taking this action, we will fail to meet our responsibility to provide all students with safe places for learning, nurturing places where their academic, social and emotional development takes precedence," wrote Haas.
Haas also says the Health Advisory Board says exposure to symbols perceived as discriminatory or threatening in the school setting can affect the physical health of students and their ability to learn.
And federal courts have ruled that Confederate symbols, such as the Confederate flag, on a shirt or jacket can be considered a sign of racial hostility regardless of the intent of the wearer. (
Learn more.)
The high school reform landscape in the 21st century is complex and dynamic. From federal policies to incentivize high school reform to local efforts targeted at specific initiatives, from whole-school reform models to efforts at scaling up effective targeted programs, approaches to reforming high schools take many different forms. In this volume, authors provide insight into the nature and features of this complexity. By presenting the context for high school improvement efforts, general approaches to high school reform initiatives, the processes and conditions that shape implementation, as well as the supports and barriers to effective implementation, the authors explore the multiple ways that policymakers and reformers seek to improve the experience and outcomes for high school students. To be sure, there have been some successes, such as the improvement of graduation rates for all high school students in the United States. But with achievement levels making only moderate gains and racial and ethnic gaps in achievement persisting, it is critical to understand the range and types of reforms going on in high schools. (Learn more.)
Unstructured playtime is making a comeback in schools as frustrated teachers, parents, and advocacy groups demand legislative action.
The benefits of a break in the school day extend beyond the value of the time outside.
A 2014 study of more than 200 elementary students, for example, found that physical activity improved students' fitness and brain function, enhancing their accuracy and reaction time in cognitive tasks.
Other studies have concluded that children who have unstructured time during the school day exhibit greater creativity and problem-solving skills, are less disruptive, and learn crucial social lessons like how to resolve disputes and form cooperative relationships.
Citing all of those factors, in 2017 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-which pointedly differentiates play from physical education, defining recess as "unstructured physical activity and play"-recommended
at least 20 minutes of recess a day at the elementary school level.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also weighed in, describing recess in a 2012
policy statement as a "necessary break in the day for optimizing a child's social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development" that should "not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons." (
Learn more.)
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Cartoon of the Week
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