What is a Milestone?

Last night we just happened to be in Busch Stadium in St. Louis when Albert Pujols got his 1999th and 2000th hits.  It was a bit like being there for "history in the making" but it also made me wonder what those milestones really mean.  Not taking a thing away from Pujols, one of the most positive representatives of the game of baseball, his 2000th hit was nothing overly electric or amazing in and of itself.  Bottom of the 8th, the Cardinals held a 9-2 lead and had played a very solid and error free game against the Cubs (yes, another “plus” for Cardinal fans).  As he strode to the plate you could feel the excitement and energy build.  The inning could have ended earlier with another strikeout, pop fly, or such, but it did not.  A brief meeting on the mound...

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School Counselors...Not needed?

An interesting and thought-provoking article, Katy Murphy from the Oakland Tribune questions both the effectiveness of School Counselors and the cost savings of reducing or eliminating the positions.  There is some fair support on both sides of this issue, but whichever camp you choose, an open mind is still going to be the best option.  That was my unbiased introduction.  Now here's the opinionated "real" me.  School Counselors can be the most positive or most negative impact on students than maybe anyone else in the district.  The simple difference is how they see their position and even the title.  I use the term School Counselor instead of Guidance Counselor because of what that person should be doing.  They are counseling a student through the process...

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Financing School 101 by Larry Sigel

Thanks to Mr. Larry Sigel for creating a very simple and effective way of looking at school finance in Iowa.  It isn't smoke and mirrors, and there's no magic, but it is an overall effective system. Talke a look at Larry's presentation, which is intended especially for potential Board Membe...

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