Depreciation Week

 

So. Teacher Appreciation week has come and gone. How did you celebrate?

Telling early childhood educators to practice “self-care” w/out giving them what they’ve asked for (like planning time, wellness & PD days, compensation & benefits, autonomy & respect) is gaslighting. Ain’t no amount of candles & tea will do what policies & public money ought to do.

(Marica Cox Mitchell)

This doesn’t apply only to early childhood educators, of course. 

If we ask teachers what would make them feel appreciated, these are very likely on their list:

• planning time
• wellness & profession development days
• compensation & benefits
• autonomy & respect

Well, possibly not the professional development days, unless teachers are allowed the autonomy and respect to choose valuable and relevant PD experiences. Trust me on this one.

Despite teachers being pretty consistent in what means most to them, the response of most communities doesn’t look anything like this. This is widely known and expected. Teachers have the capacity to enjoy and be grateful for any card, special breakfast, or celebratory gift from individual parents or that the PTA organizes. 

They’re flexible that way. 

What has pushed teachers to the absolute end of their flexibility is increasing work demands, lack of adequate school funding, plus wave after wave of anti-teacher sentiment. The anger aimed at teachers while they managed online learning was demoralizing. Now they’re under attack from conservative groups for things they do not do: teach critical race theory, for instance, or “groom” children to become LGBTQ+. 

It almost seems as though Teacher’s Appreciation week has devolved into a kind of Depreciation Week: an annual accounting of how our society values teachers less and less and how that is breaking down and damaging their ability to teach. To be clear, the teachers themselves don’t have any less value. But the insults, accusations, and harassment contribute to significant wear and tear.

If we as community members want to take part in making this better, it will take activism and informed voting. Pay attention to the Board of Education race. Listen to each candidate carefully. Donuts and coffee and gift cards are nice, and, as a teacher, I have been mightily grateful for all of them. Informed voters who support education and teachers are the biggest gift of all.

As always, there’s no underestimating the importance of a heartfelt note of gratitude. I shared this in an online group this week in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week:

As I watch my daughter navigate college with increasing confidence, I often feel such gratitude for the hcpss teachers who supported her, believed in her, and challenged her over the years. Thank you, all teachers, for being “that person” for our kids!

The depreciation of teachers in our culture contributes to a devaluing of education and children. We need to to make some long-term investments now.

 

Take Your Pic

I save a lot of things. Digital things. Photographs, links, event announcements, screen shots, entire articles, even. You probably know the old excuse: it might come in handy someday. In my case, that means I’m considering it for a potential blog post. I’m a pack rat of possibilities.

The shelf life for such things is pretty brief these days, so I do go through it all every so often to weed out what’s no longer relevant. Before I do that this weekend I thought I’d give you a glimpse of what got caught in my net this week.

First, I would just like to say that Mom is not at all happy with how she comes across in this photo from Patch.

If they had only given her a chance to comb her hair first, really!

Up next, an assortment of head-scratching typos/bad choices in one promo from the Baltimore Sun:

When I shared this on Facebook it prompted some general tut-tutting about the loss of editorial staff, but, I also got two witty ripostes:

Maybe Petula Clark will meet you there.

and:

Today she’s a Downtown Abbey but soon she’ll be an Uptown Girl.

An offer on Buy Nothing caught my eye:

It reminded me of a moment in the old Zany Brainy toy store when my husband found a toy labeled, “Now with glow in the dark balls for lights-out fun!” and he went to pieces, laughing. We had to leave the store.

In closing, I found this self-effacing promo from a local restaurant on Thursday rather sweet. “We’re not claiming to be something we’re not, but we’d really like you to come see us. We probably won’t even be busy.”

Celebrate Mexican Culture 5/5

We’d like to wish you a happy Cinco de Mayo! We are not a Mexican restaurant by any means, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate our own way... We do a great Margarita. And yes, we can make it spicy upon request.

Skip the wait elsewhere and swing by! We just got in some great local beers and premium spirits to quench your thirst this Cinco de Mayo. Chef recommends the Baja Burger. The bar is freshly stocked. It may not be truly authentic, but we guarantee you won't leave hungry or sober.

Well, they had me up until that last line. “We guarantee you won’t leave hungry or sober.” Sadly this was not accompanied by an offer to put you up for the night or drive you home. Sigh. I believe the word you are looking for is “thirsty”, dear restaurant social media writer. Really, language matters. So does drunk driving on one of the heaviest-drinking nights of the year.

Wait - - one more thing about Mother’s Day. I think it’s probably a bad idea to arm us all with box-cutters, particularly right now. “A bundle of box-cutters! Thanks, honey.” (Plots suitable revenge.)

F is for Fiat

 

This week’s F ³ isn’t frisky, frothy, or fun. It hasn’t been that kind of week.

Let me begin by saying that whether or not someone who is pregnant chooses to have an abortion should not for one moment be regulated by laws that claim to be steeped in religion. These decisions belong solely to the pregnant person in consultation with their chosen medical provider. Our country was never meant to be shilling for any particular established religion. That means that what is happening now at the Supreme Court defies the intentions of the Founders, something they claim to care about.

All that being said…

I had a revelation yesterday. I know that I have heard more than one sermon about the significance of Mary saying “yes” to God. Doesn’t the very act of her saying “yes “ mean that the possibility of “no“ existed? The fact that the church highlights and venerates her “yes” seems to me to emphasize the value of consent. 

She could have said no but she didn’t.

Why would any of this story be important if she had no choice?  It wouldn’t. There would be no prayers, no songs, and no sermons about the “yes” of Mary.

Mary had a choice. And that matters. If you have faith in this story at all - - and I’m not suggesting you have to - - it’s clear that the coming of Jesus into the world was not a magic trick. It was not “poof!” with the wave of a wand. No hat, no rabbit, no lightning bolt, even. It involved relationship, communication, and consent. All of this is outlined in the biblical narrative. 

If the tellers of the story saw fit to emphasize relationship, communication, and consent, and the Christian church continued in this vein, surely the importance of Mary saying yes was understood.

This fiat of Mary—“let it be to me”—was decisive, on the human level, for the accomplishment of the divine mystery. There is a complete harmony with the words of the Son, who, according to the Letter to the Hebrews, says to the Father as he comes into the world: “Sacrifices and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. . . . Lo, I have come to do your will, O God” (Heb. 10:5–7). The mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished when Mary uttered her fiat: “Let it be to me according to your word,” which made possible, as far as it depended upon her in the divine plan, the granting of her Son’s desire.  (Pope St. John Paul II in his encyclical on the Blessed Mother, Redemptoris Mater)

Mary said, “Let it be done.” She gave her consent.

To gloss over that in the law while glorifying it at church is hypocritical at best. At its worst it is blaming one’s own personal desire to control the vulnerable on claims of spiritual direction from the Almighty. 

That, my friends, is a grave, grave sin.

It you believe that God made us: bodies and brains and spirits and free will, and if you point to the New Testament story of Mary as holy and redemptive, it f@#$-ing matters that she had a choice. 

The Bible is clear: God gives choices. This Supreme Court, on the other hand, takes them away.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3-5 (New International Version)

X Plus One

 

It all started eleven years ago with these words. 

It's May! Time for all the good folks to gather at the Village Green--if only we knew where that was...

Yes, today’s the eleven year blogiversary for Village Green/Town². That adds up to 3,221 posts. No, I’m not going to make you read that first post all over again. I’ve done that enough, I think.

If you enjoy the blog I want you to know I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my friend Mary Kate who one day remarked, “You should write a blog,” while we were discussing local issues. Equal credit goes to David Greisman, then of Patch, who told me, “Yes, you can write a blog and I can get you started.” If you don’t* enjoy the blog; please don’t take it out on them. I take full responsibility.

I continue to divide my time between the Big Issues and the Good Little Stories. The big issues are important. The more controversial they are, the more clicks they get. The good little stories remain my favorites, though they often gain less traction overall. That’s okay. They may be my less popular children, but, I love them.

At any given time I have at least two or three really brilliant blog ideas in my head that will probably never make it to the page. It is perhaps the equivalent of the fisherman’s claim, “But you should see the one that got away!” You may never see them, but, I want to assure you: they are epic.

And another thing…

Once I convince myself that a certain post must be perfect, I might as well throw it away. I have grown in many ways as a writer in eleven years but this one obstacle hasn’t budged much. I still have perfection paralysis. In addition, I must learn to refrain from saying, “I’ll write about this tomorrow” unless I have already written that second post. I’m not quite sure why this is the kiss of death but I end up having to chase myself around the block and subsequently get down on the ground and wrestle with myself to make good on my promise.

Go figure.

Recently I’ve seen several prominent people make the case that Columbia/HoCo is in dire need of real, professional, local journalism. I agree. Bloggers and podcasters and online social media communities do a lot to inform, interpret, and advocate but they are not journalism. Like most people I know, I don’t have the answer. I just know how desperately it is needed for our communty.

Rest assured that I will never claim to be a news source. I want to work alongside the news and think about it, have discussions about it. That’s mighty hard to do with a weekly newspaper that is growing ever thinner and where pickleball makes the front page and the life of Millie Bailey does not. 

In the world of journalism we are probably far too small for anyone to invest in us. I still want to see it happen.

Over the last year I’ve been influenced a good deal by the work of Marlena Jareaux with Howard County Lynching Truth & Reconciliation. And recently my tour of Elkridge has motivated me to learn more about this oft-neglected piece of the county. So you’ll probably be seeing more of both in the year to come.

And, elections? Unavoidable. There will definitely be some political commentary as we work through local campaigns and candidates.

Lastly, I’ve been having fun with Free Form Fridays and readers have, too. I think F ³ is here to stay. 

By far the best part of the blog is you. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

*If you don’t enjoy the blog but are reading it anyway - - thank you? Also, maybe we should have coffee. - - jam

Mood

 

The world keeps on going. A good thing, when one considers the alternative, but, after the last 48 hours, I am no mood to face any of it. 

Here in Columbia/HoCo, there was a big announcement with catchy words like Destination Downtown and  Lakefront Live. What Destination Downtown means for you is a centralized way to find out about summer events and venues for activities. Lakefront Live is a partnership between the Columbia Association and the Columbia Festival of the Arts to bring free musical events to the Lakefront. This is all very cool stuff. I should be excited.

But I am in no mood for any of it. I don’t even have the mental energy to highlight the overwhelming alliteration of it all.

A hands-on STEM education center celebrated its official opening at Cradlerock Elementary. 

The outpouring of love and memories for the late Millie Bailey has been awe-inspiring.

Howard County High Schools continue to get high ratings.

The Farmers Market season is about to begin.

I am in no mood.

Over on Next Door there was a report of an oriole sighting. The feathered kind. After some discussion it was decided that it was actually a scarlet tanager. 

While observing the birds at my bird feeder, I realized there was a deer munching away at something  in the lawn only a few yards away.

Life goes on, and I am in no mood.

Yesterday I probably blocked over twenty people on Twitter who appeared out of nowhere to tell me off. Though their words were different, their message was the same: they wanted me to know that I did not have the right to my opinions, or to my own body.

That’s the mood for today. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

This Moment

 

I’m heading in a different direction this morning. The news from the Supreme Court is devastating. If reproductive freedom isn’t guaranteed under the law, this country is establishing second class of citizen who has no control over life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness.

And I am one of them.

I’m asking your indulgence as I pull the following out of my treasure chest of Old Posts. It’s the first thing I thought of when I heard the news last night.

Her Story (March 29, 2019)

A recommendation to get out of the Bubble and do some time travel at the same time.

The Venus Theatre in Laurel is running a series of interactive events or “iterations” entitled “JaneApp”. 

From the playwright, Deborah Randall:

Reg had all of the best intentions. She was an app designer, a volunteer. She wore a yellow vest and protected women in abortion clinics. She held their hands. Until one fatal day when the abortion clinic she was volunteering for was bombed. Reggie made it out alive but completely changed. Diagnosed with PTSD she spends most of her time in her basement apartment working on her Jane App. She believes if she can get herself back to 1971 and meet the woman of a successful underground abortion movement in Chicago, she might be able to change some things. Or at least understand the hostile world around her. 

I had never heard about the Jane Movement until reading the promotional materials for this play. It’s not something we learned about in school. Well, in 1971...I was in school. It wasn’t history. It would have been an underground current event. At any rate, many years have passed since and the knowledge of this piece of American women’s history has never entered my consciousness.

Right now, when a woman’s right to make her own reproductive choices is under attack, it seems a very good idea to learn.

A good place to start before buying a ticket is the following article by David Sturm:

“Woman’s trauma frames the pro-choice movement,”  Howard County Times

The “Jane” in the title is a direct reference to the Jane Collective, an underground movement in Chicago that provided abortion services from 1969 to 1973, a time when abortion was illegal in most states.

You can learn more from the Laurel Community Spotlight video.

The Venus Theatre is located at 21 C Street in Laurel. The website states its mission as “...setting flight to the voices of women.” Its founder, playwright and actress Deborah Randall, has been bringing challenging new works to the community for over 10 years. She is a graduate of the UMBC Theatre program.

“Jane App” is described as “Four Friday Performances with different scripts, to be podcast and live streamed.” Each performance runs about an hour. Tickets for each event are $20.00.

It’s a chance to support local theatre, elevate women’s voices, and learn something, too.

*****

The Venus Theatre as a physical location is no more, a victim of the pandemic. But the spirit of Venus is very much alive through Deborah Randall, who is taking the show on the road. Learn more here. 

I’m grateful for Ms. Randall’s voice and her unceasing commitment to elevating the voices of women. Let the moment bring forth many, many more with her vision and resolve. 

Getting Beyond the Hype

 

Today I am inviting, no, imploring you to click on a link and read something somewhere else because I believe quite strongly in what is being said. 

The Anti-Racist Education Alliance, Inc. Board of Directors responds to the incident at Long Reach High School.

Like you, I’ve read news reports about this incident and some of the many individual responses from community members on social media. I’ve been disheartened by the accusatory, punitive, and angry tone that flows through many. This statement from AREA is the first thing I have read that 1) addresses the underlying causes and 2) contains concrete suggestions to address them. 

In my opinion, their words are the ones that we all should be reading, thinking about, and discussing right now. 

If you haven’t heard of this local advocacy group before, this is how they describe themselves:

The purpose of the Anti-Racist Education Alliance (AREA) is to dismantle the racist systems & structures within education and the greater community, & to build structures that promote equity of access for Black, Brown, & Indigenous Students. 

Its members are educators, parents, and community members. You can learn more about the Anti-Racist Education Alliance on their Facebook page.

I’ll be writing about this tomorrow.