Field Trip!

 

It was  pretty exciting to see HCPSS Board members visiting the new school sites yesterday. A tip of the hat to Board Chair Vicky Cutroneo for using social media to include community members in their tours by way of live video. Other board members have also posted comments and photos from the visits. This one from Dr. Chao Wu made me think:

Took a school bus for the first time and visited our schools under construction. I am glad to see things moving steadily as planned.

I had to stop for a minute to process this. Dr. Wu had never before ridden a school bus. Why did that surprise me? I don’t know. Until I moved from Cleveland Heights, Ohio to Stamford, Connecticut, I had never ridden on a school bus. Wait, that’s not true. Our school system used them for field trips. At any rate, I reminded myself, not everyone rides school buses. 

Why is this bugging me so much?

I think it leapt out at me because there was so much acrimony during the last redistricting process about how certain decisions would lengthen student bus rides, and how this would create unnecessary hardship. I think if we are going to ask Board Members to make these kind of decisions, we should at least make sure they have had the experience of riding a school bus. 

Am I saying that people who haven’t ever ridden a school bus aren’t qualified to be BOE members? No, not at all. But I do think we should make sure they are provided with this life experience early on in their tenure. This should not be that difficult to accomplish. As long as Dr. Martirano files the right paperwork with the Field Trip Office and all the Board Members return their signed permission slips on time, it should all be a piece of cake. As long as it’s cleared by the Risk Assessment people, that is.

That last bit might be tricky.

If you agree with me that a school bus trip would be an educational experience for board members, where do you think we should send them? I’m wandering a bit from a serious suggestion to…okay, perhaps I’m open to having a little fun with this. Should they ride school bus routes? Should they tag along with school kids to see what it’s really like? 

Or should they stick together instead? Who knows? Maybe they’d even sing a few rounds of  “Ten Green Bottles” or “The Other Day I Met a Bear.”

Are there any other real-life experiences you think we should provide to the Board of Education? It would be impossible to require participation in every single aspect of the school system. But perhaps a few significant ones would be helpful. Next to riding the bus, the next one on my list would be getting through the lunch line and actually eating during the time allotted. That might be truly educational.

Do you have any other suggestions?

This is not a criticism of Dr. Wu or anyone on the Board. It’s simply an opportunity to think. Being on the Board is full of long meetings, analyzing budgets, making tough decisions. I wonder if what they do strays too far from basic things our students live every day: like riding a bus. Or getting through the lunch line.

What do you think? 

The Language of Exclusion

The Howard County Schools are observing LGBTQ+ Pride in a variety of developmentally-appropriate ways this month. Some activities are happening in school, some are events outside of school that families may choose to attend with their children. A group of parents want no part of that. They submitted a letter of protest. It reads: 

“To the educators and policymakers of HCPSS,

This letter is on behalf of a sizable (230+) community of parents/guardians with children enrolled in various HCPSS elementary, middle, and high schools. We write to express our deep concerns about how HCPSS is implementing LGBTQ student support programs and activities in its schools.

We respect the rights of the LGBTQ community and appreciate HCPSS’s efforts to remain inclusive to all communities of students. We are not opposed to HCPSS providing support for LGBTQ students so that they are not marginalized and are treated with the same dignity and respect due to all students. But we are deeply disturbed by the strong pressure in HCPSS schools for all students to conform in actively promoting the LGBTQ lifestyle, or else be marginalized themselves.

Whether or not to participate in an activity to express support for a cause should remain every individual student’s choice, and those choices should be honored equally for all views. It is no different from a school offering an alternative activity when a student chooses not to participate in a Halloween parade, for example. If a school fails to ensure that whatever choice a student makes regarding personal matters (whether academic or social/cultural) the choice is honored, valued, and accepted, then the school’s administration is not doing its job and is failing the student. Unless a student’s personal choice would be harmful to others or the student him-/herself,* it should not be brushed aside or looked down upon, and certainly should not subject the student to bullying.

Mindful of that, we implore the school system to review the process of conducting its LGBTQ student support programs and activities. Our children have experienced actual instances where expressing a personal choice not to participate in certain LGBTQ support activities has sparked harsh feedback in several schools, including Bonnie Branch Middle School. For example, when a student at Bonnie Branch MS openly expressed her choice in class not to participate in one of the LGBTQ support activities because of her traditional Christian beliefs, she was immediately ostracized by classmates with charges of being ‘homophobic’ and a ‘bigot’. The student shared that she felt bullied then, and whenever else she does not agree to participate in LGBTQ events/activities in her school.

Howard county leaders have always emphasized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. What kind of inclusion and equity is observed when a young student is made to feel rejected and standing all alone because she expressed her sincere Christian beliefs? What kind of character building and critical thinking development can parents expect in an environment where students feel pressured to ‘just go with the flow, as nothing will change’ if they dissent on complicated issues like this?

We respectfully request that you establish guidelines or other measures to create an environment in HCPSS schools where all ideas, thoughts, and personal choices are duly honored and welcomed. The concept of 'Freedom of Speech' is fundamental to our free society, and learning of our children having to silence themselves simply because their choices are not popular or widely accepted is seriously alarming.

Suppressing individual expression in the name of LGBTQ awareness/support flies in the face of our Constitutional guarantees of individual rights.

We are committed to making sure that every single school in HCPSS is a place where student choices are recognized and honored without prejudice or bias.”

*****

Where to begin? Well, how about this: comparing sexual orientation and gender identity to participation in a Halloween parade is particularly galling. People do not “put on” being gay or transgender like a Halloween costume. 

To highlight how completely discriminatory their arguments are here, I have taken the liberty of substituting a few words. 

“To the educators and policymakers of HCPSS,

This letter is on behalf of a sizable (230+) community of parents/guardians with children enrolled in various HCPSS elementary, middle, and high schools. We write to express our deep concerns about how HCPSS is implementing Black student support programs and activities in its schools.

We respect the rights of the Black community and appreciate HCPSS’s efforts to remain inclusive to all communities of students. We are not opposed to HCPSS providing support for Black students so that they are not marginalized and are treated with the same dignity and respect due to all students. But we are deeply disturbed by the strong pressure in HCPSS schools for all students to conform in actively promoting the Black-positive lifestyle, or else be marginalized themselves.

Whether or not to participate in an activity to express support for a cause should remain every individual student’s choice, and those choices should be honored equally for all views. It is no different from a school offering an alternative activity when a student chooses not to participate in a Halloween parade, for example. If a school fails to ensure that whatever choice a student makes regarding personal matters (whether academic or social/cultural) the choice is honored, valued, and accepted, then the school’s administration is not doing its job and is failing the student. Unless a student’s personal choice would be harmful to others or the student him-/herself,* it should not be brushed aside or looked down upon, and certainly should not subject the student to bullying.

Mindful of that, we implore the school system to review the process of conducting Black student support programs and activities. Our children have experienced actual instances where expressing a personal choice not to participate in certain Black support activities has sparked harsh feedback in several schools, including Bonnie Branch Middle School. For example, when a student at Bonnie Branch MS openly expressed her choice in class not to participate in one of the Black support activities because of her traditional White beliefs, she was immediately ostracized by classmates with charges of being ‘racist’ and a ‘bigot’. The student shared that she felt bullied then, and whenever else she does not agree to participate in Black-positive events/activities in her school.

Howard county leaders have always emphasized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. What kind of inclusion and equity is observed when a young student is made to feel rejected and standing all alone because she expressed her sincere White beliefs? What kind of character building and critical thinking development can parents expect in an environment where students feel pressured to ‘just go with the flow, as nothing will change’ if they dissent on complicated issues like this?

We respectfully request that you establish guidelines or other measures to create an environment in HCPSS schools where all ideas, thoughts, and personal choices are duly honored and welcomed. The concept of 'Freedom of Speech' is fundamental to our free society, and learning of our children having to silence themselves simply because their choices are not popular or widely accepted is seriously alarming.

Suppressing individual expression in the name of Black awareness/support flies in the face of our Constitutional guarantees of individual rights.

We are committed to making sure that every single school in HCPSS is a place where student choices are recognized and honored without prejudice or bias.”

A reminder:

In battles over slavery and racial segregation, religion and scripture were often cited as justification for maintaining inequality. Until the civil rights era, refusals to serve African Americans were often cloaked under the guise of religious freedom. “Discriminating in the name of religion? Segregationists and slaveholders did it, too.” Tessa Wenger, Washington Post

These Howard County parents are, in essence, asking the school system to carve out a special protected category for them that will enable them and their children to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students, teachers, and families without consequence or reproach.

But the school system could not possibly do that.  This is why:

The Howard County Public School System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, immigration status, religion, physical, mental, or educational disability, pregnancy, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status or socioeconomic status in its educational programs; including co-curricular and extra-curricular activities, in the workplace or in hiring practices.

- - HCPSS Non-Discrimination Statement

Allowing the sort of rejection/discrimination these parents are asking for would be wrong. It would most assuredly cause harm, and: it’s illegal. 

Public schools are for all children. That means that the school system is acting to fulfill its own mission by supporting initiatives that embrace the identities of all children. If you agree, I’d ask you to take a look at the follow petition, sign it, and share it. 

Acceptance & Affirmation of LGBTQ+ Students By HCPSS

We believe that creating a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ students is not “indoctrination” but a necessity. LGBTQ students have experienced countless instances of verbal and physical violence at the hands of their non-supportive peers. Fully supporting these minority students can help mitigate the damaging impact of non-acceptance. (From the petition text.)

Taking such a public stand for non-acceptance tells a great deal about the authors and signers of this letter. 

I am confident that the larger community stands for something more inclusive and welcoming. Let’s make that absolutely clear.

*Italics mine. 

HoCo Holler: The Many Faces of ARTreach

 

His name was Orlando Phillips. He drove the shuttle which took us from the parking lot at Long Reach High School to the ARTreach Festival at Long Reach Village Center. I know his name because he introduced himself. Mr. Phillips had incredible presence. Honestly I think he could show up as a substitute teacher in middle school and get everything running smoothly in about ten minutes. If you know what this would entail,you know how impressive that is.

Because of Mr. Phillips and the RTA shuttle, people were able to access the arts festival more easily. Parking was just one piece of what made ARTReach work. With the exception of our shuttle driver, we came and enjoyed and went home again without knowing the names of any the people who made the event happen.

Tents were set up, chairs and tables, too. Supplies delivered and replenished.Trash was emptied. People worked at various booths facilitating hands-on art projects. Performers made music, which means someone was running the sound. Vendors sold food, children’s performers juggled and entertained with puppets. Artists gave demonstrations. Volunteers gave tours. So many people were involved in making Saturday an enjoyable experience for the community. 

My daughter and I sat in the shade in the Long Reach courtyard and just watched all the goings-on. All different kinds of people and all ages were out and about and having a good time. On one side of us a young child dove into a bowl of fresh fruit salad, on the other an older man fed his disabled son. Across the way performers were getting ready to set up a puppet show. Volunteers were coming and going from the Columbia Art Center. 

Possibly my favorite part of the day was finally getting the opportunity to go inside DOODLEHATCH. Owner and creator Lee Andersen opened the vast, one-of-a-kind interactive art installation to the public for ARTreach, which I think was a brilliant choice. I could easily spend an entire day there if it were an acceptable thing for grown ups to simply hang about, playing pretend. I need to go back as a paying customer and take a few photos. 

Food vendors Althea’s Almost Famous and sweet treats by Mochichi of Baltimore were on hand. Village center restaurants provided festival goers with additional choices. I had the most phenomenal watermelon shave ice from mochichi which made me question my years-long allegiance to snowballs. My daughter enjoyed a lunch of chicken quesadillas and guacamole from Los Pinos restaurant.

Every time people find a reason to come to Long Reach Village Center - - or any of the older Village centers, really - - and realize what genuinely good places they are is a win for community-building in Columbia.  People are too quick to write off “the old Village center concept” in my opinion. Yes, they have challenges. Yes, they need to adapt and transform themselves into places that make sense to the Columbia of today. But, really and truly: they’re not dead yet. They can be places where all kinds of people come together to meet day to day needs or to celebrate.

I’d like to suggest that those who are bound and determined to stand in the way of that kind of adaptation and transformation may very likely bring about the demise of the village centers they say they want to preserve. But that’s another story altogether.

A huge HoCo Holler to all the folks who made ARTreach happen from the planning stages, the funding, through the actual event and even the clean-up. A special thank you to Orlando Phillips, our RTA driver, who made us feel welcome and took us where we needed to go.

A Semi-Local Yarn

 

I’ve become accustomed to seeing mentions of any number of events and celebrations related to Old Ellicott City’s 250th birthday. Here’s one that is not necessarily related, but I think it should be.

Here’s Baltimore-based knitter Sam Barsky modeling his Old Ellicott City sweater. This photo is taken from his Instagram account.

Once I saw this photo I just had to know more about Barsky. Basically, he makes sweaters of famous places or settings he’s interested in. I’m not a knitter, but the fact that he uses no patterns and has freehanded all these designs seems like an amazing feat to me. 

Over time he has become known for having his photograph taken in the very setting the sweater is based on. Take a look. A sampling of locations includes: Golden Gate Bridge. Times Square, Stonehenge, African Safari, Western Wall, Bahá'í gardens, Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, Niagara Falls, Eiffel Tower, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Tower Bridge, Hollywood sign, Las Vegas Strip, and London Bridge (Lake Havasu City).*

Wow.

Mr. Barsky has become quite well-known on social media. You can like his page on Facebook (18,000 followers) Twitter (570 followers) Instagram (114,000 followers) and TikTok (205,100 followers). Quite the reach for a basically self-taught knitter in Hamden.

It was probably this tweet that caught my eye:

It’s a photo of Barsky wearing a California Raisin sweater while holding a stuffed plush California Raisin. I probably clicked on it thinking that this fellow must be from Columbia and what a great local story it would be. While he isn’t from Columbia/HoCo he did create that Old Ellicott City Sweater shown above. And, look! He’s going to be giving a workshop and talk at SO Yarns on Dobbin in July:

Here’s the link to the event page on Facebook: https://fb.me/e/1NLykSKn8.

Wait. That photo on the left. Could that be an actual Columbia sweater? Photographed right here in town?

I hope you will find Sam Barsky’s story as fascinating as I have. If you want to learn more, and see more of his famous sweaters, I recommend his website: sambarsky.com as a place to start. Also informative and lots of fun:

The wholesome life of Sam Barsky, the internet’s favorite knitter,  Annie Rauwerda, Input Magazine 

Pikesville knitter gains internet following with globally inspired sweaters, Marcus Dieterle, Baltimore Fishbowl

Chris Maggio captures the unpretentiousness of Sam Barsky who knits world renowned landmarks onto jumpers, Jyni Ong, It’s Nice That

Barsky does not make sweaters to sell, but you can buy t-shirts made to be replicas of his creations. Hmm…I wonder if he’d fancy making a Chrysalis sweater? 

If you’re a knitter and decide to attend Barsky’s Columbia event, I’d love to know how it went.

*List from Wikipedia

Art Within Reach

 

It is currently 65 degrees. A high of 82 is predicted with no rain in the forecast. May I recommend:

ARTreach returns to the Long Reach Village Center with eight hours of fun: live music, hands on art activities, food, artist demonstrations and more. The event is presented through a collaboration between the Howard County Arts Council and Howard County Government.

From Visit Howard County:

This free, fun, family event will spread throughout the center on Saturday, June 4th from 11 AM to 7 PM, filling the space with art and activity.  Try your hand at arts activities including tie dye, ceramics, puppet making and more; listen to world music performances by local and regional artists; watch one of the many artist demonstrations and visit artist studios; enjoy food from village center restaurants and our festival food trucks; learn about village center businesses and organizations… and so much more!   Attendees can also have their caricature drawn, snap some photos in our open-air photo booth, get their face painted, pick up a reusable festival tote, and engage with strolling performers.   And it’s all FREE!

The first ARTreach was in June of 2015. I was there. I’m happy to see it making a comeback. You May recall that in October of 2021 Long Reach celebrated its 50th birthday with a two-day festival but, unfortunately, heavy rains were the uninvited guests, cutting the party short. This will not happen today, at least, not if the weather report holds true.

As with the first ARTreach, parking will be available at LRHS, with a regular shuttle taking folks back and forth to the festival site. If you want to sit and enjoy the line up of performers, bring your own folding chair. The performances will begin with Cultura Plenera, an amazing group I’ve seen twice at the Chrysalis. 

A quick reminder about the origins of ARTreach:

The evolution of the Long Reach Village Center as an Arts hub goes back at least as far as the ArtReach Festival in 2015. County Executive Calvin Ball, then Council member Ball, spearheaded the community process that was evaluating various concepts for reinventing the aging retail center. Despite being temporarily derailed during the Kittleman administration, the work began anew in 2018. 

…It’s important to remember that we wouldn’t be in the position to have this event at all if it weren’t for the the vision and persistence of the community itself, supported by Dr. Ball and Howard County Government. There’s a whole lot of good stuff going on here. (“Weekend Excitement”, 10/24/21)

If you want to know who else will be performing, or anything else pertaining to today’s festival, take a look at the ARTreach website. 

F ³: No More Pomp and Circumstance

 

People who belong in academic gowns and headgear: high school seniors. College students and above.

People who do not belong in academic gowns and headgear: preschoolers. Kindergarteners.

I realize this may be an unpopular opinion. 

I hold this opinion not because I’m a purist and think the proper use of academic garb should be religiously adhered to. I’ve come to this point of view after years of working with young children. Ceremonies devised by adults to look like “graduations” are often merely occasions for adults to snap photos and say, “aren’t they cute!” 

They aren’t meaningful to the students. They are events that require extended practice and long periods of being still and quiet. They often force students to perform by saying rote memorized words or songs. These are not developmentally appropriate things to ask young children to do. Add a gown and mortar board that are awkward and unfamiliar and possibly uncomfortable in the heat, and what you have feels a lot more like punishment than a celebration.

The very best part of these programs for the kids is when they are over. They peel off the uncomfortable layers of formality. They run off to play and have refreshments.

The most authentic end-of-year celebrations are the ones that honor the essence of what early childhood is all about. They include an opportunity for visitors to enjoy visual art and projects created by the students, and for students to tell their visitors about things they have done at school. If there is music it is something the children themselves love and have genuine enthusiasm for. The program includes movement, hands-on materials, stories the students themselves have created. The length is tailored to the developmental needs of the children. 

It is probably not that much longer than a classroom story time or circle time and it gives parents, relatives, and friends a glimpse into the learning and relationships that made the school year meaningful.

It is absolutely possible to have an event which honors the celebration of learning and growth - - and marks a transition to what will come in the future - - without throwing everything we know about early childhood education in the trash.

Nothing is more painful to me than watching beautiful, innately capable kids forced to endure another iteration of “we do this every year.” It is unnecessary. It is unproductive. It doesn’t honor the essence of who they really are. 

Shouldn’t that be what it’s all about?

The Price and the Cost

Both yesterday and today began with me on 95 driving people where they needed to go. Towards the end of the second trip I started having flashbacks of my many years of commuting. Columbia to Baltimore City by way of North Charles Street, Columbia to Baltimore by way of Towson. Columbia to 19 different schools in Howard County.  Columbia to Sandy Spring.

Drive, drive, drive. Get gas, clean the windshield. Get coffee, get breakfast, clean the snack trash out of your car. Worry that you’ll be late. Leave early but get caught in traffic. Feel your fingers grow numb as you grip the steering wheel. Arrive at your destination stiff and often frazzled.

Daily commuting can be an exhausting and soul-sucking experience, and a whole lot of people in Columbia/HoCo are doing it. I’ve been in their company the past couple of days. When people can’t or don’t live near where they work, they don’t have a lot of choices. Public transit options are extremely limited if not non-existent. The recent increase in the cost of gas is an added stressor.

As I moved through morning traffic I thought yet again how we are long overdue for addressing our dependence on automobiles. Why can’t we seem to take this issue seriously? Burning all that gasoline is bad for the planet. We could choose to change our priorities and how we do things in ways that would make the healthier, wiser choices the most convenient ones. 

But we’d have to be willing to see and do things differently.

Especially as we begin to emerge from a time of pandemic when work and commuting habits were drastically altered, the door to rethinking what we want would appear to be open. Those rising gas costs are the perfect opportunity to contemplate less fuel-dependent solutions.

But not for everyone. There’s a sizable contingent that want nothing more than to return to their old normal. And they want cheap gas to go along with it. Some people don’t seem to understand that rising fuel costs are a national - - no - - international phenomenon and think to lay the blame on local governments.

The other day I saw someone share this post from an account called “Carroll County Observer”.

Just a reminder...that Maryland had a budget surplus of $7.5B...and yet the currently elected officials did not use that money to provide us with a little bit of a break at the gas pumps TODAY or with the upcoming increase.

It is time for major changes in Annapolis.

My first thought upon reading this was disappointment. Rising fuel costs are an opportunity for some self-reflection both individually and as a community. Do we really need to be so car-dependent? What can we do to “break the habit”? If the days of affordable gas are coming to an end, what are we preparing to take their place?

My second thought was anger. If I were to have responded (I didn’t) my words would have looked something like this:

Just a reminder...that Maryland had all the funding lined up for the Red Line…and yet the currently elected Governor of Maryland killed the project that would have connected people with desperately needed jobs and left the transit community struggling to fill the hole his decision created. 

One thing I agree with. It is time for a major change in Annapolis. 

We need a Governor who takes transit and environmental issues seriously and can think beyond widening highways and clamoring for cheaper gas at the pump. Someone who thinks that getting to work in Baltimore City is as important as in Howard (or Carroll) County.

In the end the point is more than the price of gasoline. It’s the cost of what all this commuting in individual cars is doing to us, our communities, and the planet.