By the Numbers

Blogger tells me I wrote 362 blog posts in 2015. That means I only took three days off. I'm hugely proud of that. The yearly account of posts looks like this:

• 2015 (362)
• 2014 (340)
• 2013 (196)
• 2012 (50)
• 2011 (13)

The stats also reveal that, in all likelihood, I will reach my 1,000th post during 2016. I've had 317,340 pageviews overall and my most widely read piece ever was this one, back in 2014:

Howard County Music Changing?

This one piece garnered 5,524 hits. It's an interesting read even now. Especially now, as the community looks at leadership in our public schools.

I'm not a numbers person for the most part. This is the first time I have delved into the stats to this degree. My husband suggested that I run my most popular posts from 2014, so I started digging. What is interesting is that Blogger gives you number rankings for "this week", "this month", and "all time", so finding numbers for "this year" isn't quite so simple. Ah, well.

Looking at all these numbers brought to mind that old music post, and how it eventually prompted my involvement with other concerned parents to defend the value of music and art instruction in elementary schools, along with small group instrumental instruction. You may recall there were protests, and a petition. Over 3000 people signed that petition. (Signing was not limited to Howard County, but I'm pretty sure it was well in the majority of signers.)

There's another petition out there gathering signatures today. It stands at over 1,000 signatures. Response from the Board of Education majority is just about the same: negative and dismissive. Quotes in the newspaper remind us that some of these board members feel absolutely no responsibility to the public. In fact, the Board Chair is so secure in a voting majority that she believes she is qualified to speak on behalf of the entire board. Wow.

So we know that, at least publicly, the majority voting block on the Board is not impressed by the content of the current petition or the number of signers. And we know from the past that they feel completely comfortable ignoring input from the community. No matter what the numbers.

There's just one pesky thing they can't ignore: the Howard County Delegation and the Maryland State Legislature. So, if this is an issue you feel strongly about, do your homework on the proposed legislation pertaining to the county schools. Write the members of the HoCo delegation. And, if you are motivated, contact the Education Reporter at the Howard County Times, Lisa Philip. She's interested in what you have to say.*

Isn't that a refreshing concept? I wonder if she has ever considered a career in public service.

 

 

 

*#HoCoMD: Looking for your thoughts on school board election/MPIA bills by @VAtterbeary and @delwarmill. Please email me: lphilip@baltsun.com