Village Green/Town²

  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 ho...

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...

  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...

  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 (L...

  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 ...

  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...

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 inc...