Town Hall

Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman will be holding his first Town Hall Meeting tonight at the Other Barn in the Village of Oakland Mills, Columbia. This is pretty exciting from a Village Green/Town Squared perspective (where Columbia and Howard County intersect.)

How ironic that I have a prior commitment driving my daughter to a mandatory rehearsal in Towson. Colossal blogger fail. I hope you will go and bring me up to date. Although public meetings in Oakland Mills in the last several years haven't always shown residents at their best, I'm hoping this one will draw a wider audience with a more varied perspective.

Whether you go or not, I want to point out how incredibly lucky we are in Howard County to have the Other Barn. We don't have many large community spaces in Howard County. Large indoor performances happen mostly at the Rouse Theater. Outdoors? Merriweather. Large community charitable events used to be held in the old Rouse Building--now the site of our new Whole Foods.

There are a few community centers throughout the county but none, in my opinion, has the "Town Hall" feeling and architectural presence of the Other Barn. How incredibly lucky we are that this building was preserved. Oakland Mills uses it all the time: wedding receptions, concerts, community celebrations, OMCA meetings, classes, and more. It also serves as a resource for large meetings whose scope reaches beyond Oakland Mills--tonight, for instance.

Long, long down the road, in the later part of the Inner Arbor/Symphony Woods plan, there are proposals for public buildings that will meet community needs for indoor performance space, public meetings, and charitable events. We really need them. In fact we need them now. When I read about the Metopolitan reaching completion, the development of the Crescent Property, and improvements to Merriweather, I want to see those vital community spaces functioning right at the heart of it all.

But no matter how that all comes to fruition, we'll still need the Other Barn. Yes, it looks old fashioned but it's incredibly versatile and gives us a real sense of place. So, if you're able to come this evening, bring your good manners/hococivility, and a sense of appreciation for this good old space where we can all come together.

 

 

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Twitter Smackdown

From Twitter on 3/28/15:

@JulieZauzmer: I've been to all 91 DC Metro stations. My essay in @washingtonpost on memory, community, & even romance on @wmata.

@Lawrence_n_DC: @juliezauzmer @washingtonpost @wmata If you were actually born and raised in the District, I'd probably care.

@JulieZauzmer: @Lawrence_n_DC Fair. We can't help where we're born. I can try my best to learn deeply and sincerely about a place, but never the same.

Boom.

Remind you of anything? "How long have you lived in Columbia?"

And I thought this was principally a Columbia phenomenon. No, apparently there will always be someone ready to smack you down if you don't meet their qualifications for residency. What a pity.

I share it here because 1) I loved her article, and 2) her response is brilliant. She acknowledged that there is a distinction between her experience and that of the "born and raised here" resident, but notes:

We can't help where we're born. I can try my best to learn deeply and sincerely about a place...

I admire Zaumer for rising above the snarkiness of her detractor. And my wish would be that born and raised Columbians (and Pioneers) would welcome, rather than dismiss, those who do their best to learn deeply and sincerely about this place where we all live together.

The People Tree makes no distinctions. It is not necessary to trace one's lineage to a piece of that sculpture. In fact, it might be good to take another look at what makes it beautiful--the people are reaching out, not facing in.

 

 

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Time for Foolishness

This blog pays frequent visits to locations on the lunatic fringe. There's my advocacy for HiPiHoCo. There's my friendship with GingerBread Girl. I've waxed eloquent about Wacky Wednesdays. I've likened local residents to oddly-shaped grains of sand. It's not all straightforward over here at VG/TS, and I like it that way.

It's no surprise that I jumped on the Col Gateway Twitter account with glee. This is the kind of stuff I live for--local, silly, a little bit mysterious. I love those quirky things that make Columbia and Howard County different, more interesting than our neighbors in Maryland. I've written about our illustrious Colonel twice. (Here and here.) I even had the opportunity to chip in my two cents in Amanda Yeager's Columbia Flier article about the Col Gateway phenomenon.

As you can see, in my second post I suggested:

Okay, here's what I think. It's time for ADG Creative to reach out to Jessie Newburn to arrange to host a local blog party. We've never had an event in the Gateway. What better way to show some love than to bring folks from all over Howard County to socialize in one of the Gateway's fine dining establishments? An event for bloggers will generate social media buzz and blog posts. And, if Colonel Gateway makes an appearance--I think the local press might be interested.

Clearly Col Gateway was way ahead of me on that one. This Wedesday, April 1st, he's having a meet-and-greet in the Gateway at Aida Bistro. And here's Jessie Newburn extending an invitation to the local blog community. Remember, that means both bloggers and their readers, so sign up to attend! There'll be a vintage photo booth, Col. Gateway merch giveaways, and as always, great food, drinks, and conversation.

HoCoHouseHon and I be there, of course. I'm hoping to have my picture taken with another local legend.

 

 

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They Grow Up

I have been teaching long enough that my original students are now adults. Young adults, mind you, but adults nonetheless. Many are college graduates. One is married with a baby. One is a professional ballet dancer. I follow their progress on social media. Yes, some people actually "friend" their preschool and kindergarten teachers.

 

Occasionally I will search around on Facebook to see if I can find former students and see how they are doing. It's so amazing to see how they have grown, what they look like, what studies they have been pursuing. It's also pretty amazing to see how many of them keep in contact with friends they made at the small independent school where I taught them so many years ago.

 

This week as I lay around in the throes of a head cold, I made another such pilgrimage around Facebook to check on those former preschoolers and kindergarteners. One of them seemed to have disappeared. Well, Facebook isn't as popular as it used to be amongst the young, I thought. So I did a quick search on Google.

 

And then I saw the words I never thought to see: obituary. He had taken his own life. No, no, no. How could that be true? He was so young. I just wanted to scream out to the universe the wrongness of this. These are not the words that teachers ever want to see. Teaching is both a gift fully in the moment and an investment in the future. And now this beautiful boy's future was gone.

 

I feel that saying any more about this would be a violation of his privacy and his family's. There is so much I could say but I have an underlying feeling that there's an extremely fine line between acknowledging my personal grief and exploiting this incident for the good of a blog post. And I just can't do that.

 

As a teacher you must let go year after year. You tell yourself you should get used to it, but part of you never does. A tiny piece of every student stays with you. You can't help but feel a sense of responsibility for what happens as they go forward. You don't expect every child to be brilliantly successful, but you hope they will find joy, meaningful challenges, friends, love, fulfillment.

 

My heart is heavy. I feel there must be something I should do. But all my years as a teacher have not prepared me for this. Dear Child who was no longer a child--farewell. Your life meant something. The world cannot be the same without your beautiful spirit.

 

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Just Ask

In reading the Blair Ames article about this year's annual educators' survey, I came across this quote from school system spokesperson Rebecca Amani-Dove:

 

"Without full knowledge of the methodology behind the results including how it was administered, how it was communicated and which research group developed the questionnaire, it is hard to comment on it beyond saying that, ultimately, the results demonstrate everything we expect a union sponsored survey to say," she said in an email.

Wow. Just wow.

First, how many people do you think had a hand in crafting that statement? (You know what they say about the horse, the camel, and the committee.) What a mouthful!

Let's translate.

We don't like the results of this survey, so we are going to say everything we can to discredit the survey, the results, and, ultimately, the teachers' union itself.

School system management actions certainly back up this translation. How much money have they spent purchasing a program from the Gallup organization in order to put themselves in control of the "engagement" narrative? How much time has been spent trying to discredit HCEA President Paul Lemle? How many words have been written suggesting that HCEA doesn't represent "real teachers"? How much effort was invested in trying to unseat Mr. Lemle as HCEA President? (He won, receiving 83.8 per cent of the vote.)

 

The truth is that it would be incredibly easy for Central Office Management to find out any of the things mentioned in Ms. Amani-Dove's statement. All they would have to do is ask. Just ask. Believe me, if you want information from Paul Lemle, he will tell you. I mean--really--this is a man excited by his job and his mission. He will tell you. Just ask. Suggesting that the information is not available is disingenuous.

 

The Howard County Educators' Survey predates the current administration. It's not something that Paul Lemle thought up on a whim to make management look bad. It is one piece of the many things that HCEA does to keep in touch with the needs of its members. And it could be an extremely valuable tool in addressing important issues. It certainly has been in the past.

 

The narrative for improving our schools should be a shared narrative.There are numerous examples of HCEA and various parents' organizations reaching out to work collaboratively with the school system. We need to see concrete examples of the school system truly cooperating with stakeholders, rather than seeking merely to control the message.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Center Point

Where is the center of town? You know, Downtown Columbia. Is it the Mall? Whole Foods? CA Headquarters? The People Tree? If you read a lot, you may see Central Library as the hub around which other things are placed, whereas if you frequently attend concerts and plays you may think of the Rouse Theater as the center. Swimmers--Splashdown. Walkers--the path around Lake Kittamaqundi. What about Merriweather? Or Symphony Woods?

There was a time when Jessie Newburn of Totally HoCo posited the theory that the Dobbin Road Starbucks was true center. And the homeless and jobless have often planted themselves at the intersection of Dobbin and Route 175. Is that the true center--a highly-frequented center of commerce?

Of course we all know that Columbia was not meant to be a city or town in the old-school, traditional sense. It's not built on a neatly-formed grid with streets running north/south. It's not centered around government buildings like a Town Hall or a Courthouse. No, the New American City was meant to fit in with the natural topography of the land. Roads were meant to encourage curious exploration: the joy of discovery.

Maybe it doesn't matter where the center of town is. Perhaps it's asking an old and outdated question of a New City that was meant to break the mold. But, as long-planned pieces of the Columbia "whole" begin to take shape, even near completion, I wonder if that will change our experience of what the central point is. How will all these entities function together? What new experiences will they create?

Probably the only thing I can say with any certainty is that, if we convened a symposium on "What is the Center of Columbia?", there would be a multitude of loud and impassioned opinions and we would come to no consensus. Ah, Columbians. Bless our pointed heads, we never fall short on opinions. Some see synergy and energy. Some see traffic jams.

So, what do you think? Is there a center of town? Do you think there should be? Does it matter?

 

 

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Spring Fever

Oh, Spring, where are you?

I've been home sick since Saturday morning, and not with Spring Fever, mind you, but a real knock-down-and-drag-out head cold. Apparently there was some sunshine Monday on my birthday. I missed it. I crawled out of the house this morning to drive my daughter to school and there was frost on my windshield. Ugh.

It will get better, I tell myself. Spring is just around the corner.

This morning's encouragement comes from blogger AnnieRie, of AnnieRie Unplugged: Life in the Slow Lane. In her post "Spring Visitors" she presents an assortment of places to take visitors from out of town in the Springtime. She gives plenty of choices that show Howard County at its best. Just reading it made me feel a little bit less gloomy.

One of my favorite Spring things is the Lunchtime Concert Series at the Lakefront. It's a perfect time to catch the People Tree in bloom. Do you have any other Columbia-centric Spring traditions? I'd love to hear them.

I can use all the Springtime vibes I can get right now.

 

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