The HML Post
 
 
Greetings!
 
Welcome to the December 9th, edition of the HML POST
More about the Horace Mann League of the USA at  HML website.

The HML Annual Meeting/Luncheon is on Friday, February 14, 2014, at the Omni Hotel in Nashville - in conjunction with the AASA Nation Conference.
Check out HML's Cornerstone on "FLIPBOARD."   (The public schools are the "Cornerstone" of our democracy.)
 
 

  

Destroy Public Education! Vote NO!  by Rich Bagin in Always Something - NSPRA

Nope, these folks have drawn a line in the Arizona sand. They just want to Destroy Public Education. This statement is so wrong on so many counts that space or attention spans don't even allow me to list all the reasonable responses to such a moronic statement.  

  

  

  

Mike Petrilli over at TB Fordham has made his case forwhy differences in national economic context do little to substantively explain variations in PISA scores.

He frames his argument in terms of Occam's Razor, as if to sound well informed, deeply intellectual and setting the stage to share profound logical argument, summarized as follows: "among competing hypotheses, the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions should be selected."

  

 

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities presents 
a chart today that compares the social security benefits of the median worker relative to their earnings. Out of the 34 OECD countries, the United States comes in 31st.

  

  

  

  

7 Stated Spending Least Per Student   by Janet Loehrke, USA TODAY

While the majority of state school systems have cut spending between fiscal year 2008 and the upcoming fiscal year 2014, the cuts have been much more severe in some places than in others. According to the latest school spending data compiled by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), these seven states have cut per-pupil spending by more than 15% in that time.

 
    
Reclaim School Reform  Editorial in the Nation Magazine

One of the greatest challenges facing American education today is a fantasy, spun by billionaire-funded 'think tanks' and that teachers are shirking their responsibilities and that unions are the root of the problem. Unfortunately, the peddlers of these distortions have held the microphone for so long that the word "reform" is now associated with the crudest assaults on the very infrastructure of public education.

  

 

Don't Believe the Spin from ALEC  By Lisa Graves and Brendan Fischer  in PRWatch 

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) will gather state legislators and corporate interests this week in Washington, DC, to craft a corporate-friendly legislative agenda for the coming year. Below we address some common spin from ALEC and its supporters so reporters and citizens don't get fooled.  

 

  

  
Interpreting the results of international data: a more careful examination of U.S. students' results on pisa and timss  by by Martin Carnoy, Stanford University and Richard Rothstein, Economic Policy Institute

Average national or state scores on assessment tests can BE misleading. Average test scores for countries and states reflect not only the quality of schooling, but also students' family academic resources (F.A.R.).  In every country of the world, children who come from families disadvantaged in terms of their family's and community's cultural, social, and human capital score, on average, much lower than their advantaged counterparts.

 

 

Speaking on stage in front of an audience of people is a wonderfully scary privilege. You have a large group of people's undivided attention, and you can have a direct impact on their lives (and potentially your future). Here's how not to screw it up:

1. Tell great stories. 2. Do NOT read your presentation. 3. Use video to increase your comfort on stage. etc. 

 

 


Reprinted with permission.
 
 
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: Joe Hairston, President, Vision Unlimited, Reisterstown, MD
President-elect: Gary Marx, President, Center for Public Outreach, VA
Vice President: Charles Fowler, Executive Director, Suburban School Superintendents
1st Past President: Mark Edwards, Supt., Mooresville Graded Schools, NC
2nd Past President: Julie Underwood, Dean, Sch. of Ed. U. of WI, Madison, WI
3rd Past President: George Garcia, (ret.) Supt., Boulder Valley Schools, CO
4th Past President: Steve Rasmussen, Supt., Issaquah School District, WA

 

Directors:
Martha Bruckner, Supt., Council Bluffs Community Schools, IA
Evelyn Blose-Holman, (ret.) Superintendent, Bay Shore Schools, NY
Carol Choye, Instructor, Bank Street College, NY
Brent Clark, Exec. Dir., Illinois Assoc. of School Admin. IL
Linda Darling Hammond, Professor of Education, Stanford U. CA
Charles Fowler, Exec. Dir., Suburban School Superintendents, NH
James Harvey, Exec. Dir., Superintendents Roundtable, WA
William Hite, Supt., Philadelphia City Public Schools, PA
Christine Johns, Superintendent, Sterling Heights, Michigan 
Eric King, Superintendent, (Ret.) Muncie Public Schools, IN
Steven Ladd, Superintendent, Elk Grove Unified School District, Elk Grove, CA 
Barry Lynn, Exec. Dir., Americans United, Washington, DC
Stan Olson, Superintendent, (Ret.) Boise Public Schools, ID

 

Executive Director:
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.