Skip to main content

HiPiHoCo Returns

Remember this?

You didn't think it was going to be a one-time thing, did you? Well, maybe you were hoping it would just go away...

This has certainly been a Higgledy-Piggledy week in the old HoCo. And not in a fun, positive, we love-to-be-crazy kind of way.

Howard County and the Howard Hughes Corporation appear to be taking a page out of the U.S./Russia playbook. No, it's not war, but it doesn't feel the least bit playful, either. No sanctions have been imposed. Yet.

HCPSS continues to tout World Class Education and Model Schools, while a survey of teachers shows plunging morale. Faith in the Superintendent and Board of Education has gone down as well. Not to be outdone, Rebecca Amani-Dove, speaking on behalf of the school system, doesn't seem to have much faith in parents who support Arts Education.

Democratic Candidate for County Council from District 1 Wendy Jane Royalty wants everyone to know that the Primary Election is on June 24th, and to plan accordingly. A laudable concept, except that every active Democrat in Howard County will be far too exhausted from attending house parties to be able to drag themselves out of bed to vote.

Sara Toth, beloved Education reporter for the Sun, is escaping interminable Bd of Ed Meetings to go to A Better Place. Lest we think of ourselves in Columbia as having a corner on the market when it comes to idealistic, aspirational communities, Sara is going one better--she has accepted a job at the Chautauqua Institution, where she will be a lecture associate and the assistant editor of the Chautauquan Daily. Columbia vs. Chautauqua? We didn't stand a chance.

Mom and Dad are fighting, our siblings aren't getting along, we're up all night partying, and our best friend is moving away. As my mother would've said, "well, that's a heck of a note!"

And that's the news from Higgledy Piggledy HoCo, where the Winter has been strong, the promise of Spring is good-looking, and snow totals are above average.

*****

P.S. There probably wouldn't be a Higgledy Piggledy HoCo without the inspiration of Marshmallow Man (Bill Woodcock) who writes The 53 blog. He's looking for more "Likes" on the blog's Facebook page. You can do that here. And while you are at it, I'd love it if you "liked" mine as well. Thanks!


 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

F ³: We Are Not Entitled

  A college student went missing. His family and friends were distraught. The community was encouraged to be on the lookout and spread the word.  Days passed.  They must have been agonizing days for those who cared about the missing student. Thoughts that foul play had been involved cannot have been far from their thoughts.  Then, at last, the student was found. Alive. The news was shared with the public.  So. Much. Relief. A family had been reunited with their child. Even though we know that life is complicated, I think it is okay to accept this as a happy ending and leave it at that.  But the world of social media says no. For every expression of joy at the news came questions and even judgement. It became clear to me that some folks felt entitled to an explanation. They wanted the backstory. It’s as though they felt that, by enlisting the help of the public on social media, the authorities now owed them all the details. Television dramas often weave curr...

Separate and Unequal

  Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in  broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not.  It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...