Village Green/Town²

This ad yesterday made my skin crawl. It is creepy. Watching this confirmed every reason I have ever had for refusing to buy a Nintendo 2DS for my child. They have depicted children in all the iconic locations of summer, but the kids aren't really "present." They're disconnected from the natural environment. It's manipulative, and sad. So, with a nod to this loathesome little piece which subverts the real joys of summer, here is my commercial. You'll have to use your imagination. ***** A sunny day. A happy child is biking along, tossing newspapers to front porches along a paper route. Narrator: Have you heard the news? Summer's coming. Will you be ready? Camera pulls back to show second child on bike, happily reaching into a pouch and tossing Nintendo 2DS devices in to trash cans along the route. Narrator: What's on your summer fun list? Keeping cool? Parent is throwing diving targets into the pool for kids to bring up. They are revealed to be 2DS dev...

Last night I was startled to read the following in the Sun article about Thursday's joint meeting of the CA Board and the Inner Arbor Trust: "Many of the residents who testified at the meeting did so in favor of the plan, although there were some who criticized it." My first thought was, it's too bad there wasn't someone from the press there to take an accurate count. Oh. Yeah. For the first time in recent memory, the vast majority of those who turned out to speak at a CA Board meeting did so in favor of moving Columbia forward. If you weren't there, the press account gives you absolutely no idea this occurred. The numbers really matter. It made me wonder what other newspaper stories would be like without the numbers: Many cast their votes for Smith, although some voted for Jones. The Orioles scored many runs, but some were scored by the Red Sox. The school budget allocates many dollars for testing, with some for teachers salaries. Many of ...

In one of my favorite movies, "A Thousand Clowns", Jason Robard's character Murray likes to go down to the docks to see off cruise ships. He explains, "It’s a great thing to do when you are about to start something new; it gives you the genuine feeling of the beginning of things." That's the feeling I got when I volunteered at the Inner Arbor Trust booth at Wine in the Woods. People stopped to look at pictures of the plan, ask questions, share their own opinions. The response was overhwhelmingly favorable. The most asked question-- "How soon is this going to happen?" There was a time when the concept of Columbia was New Daring Cutting-edge Ground-breaking Creative Breaking the Mold Columbia was meant to bring the force of change to community-building: to transform old patterns with new ideas and transform our way of living for the better. The Inner Arbor plan brings exactly that spirit to Symphony Woods. I continue to be as...

Anyone who has parents has lived through the stage where they go on and on about how "they don't make things like they used to." With my mother, it was shirt boxes. Every Christmas she bemoaned the fact that the making of shirt boxes had degraded to this: "And they don't even give them to you--they make you ask!" she would exclaim indignantly. Mother, who grew up during the Great Depression, knew how to outsmart those retailers and their substandard boxes. She had saved nearly every really good shirt box from years gone by. You know, the ones that looked more like this: She kept her collection in an upstairs closet. Once a year, she'd get them down to use for gift-giving. They really were the best boxes for shirts, sweaters, scarves, and many other things. But they always produced gales of laughter once the wrapping came off, because each one was labeled on the end: "1971 Income Tax" or "Connecticut State Tax Records." Before you cou...

How do you write about something and not make it about yourself? How do I blog about Memorial Day and not make it about me? Because it isn't. It really, really isn't about me, my feelings or my views. I could tell you about how I was raised as a Unitarian during the '60s and how my sisters' friends were conscientious objectors. I could tell you that my Grandfather fought in Italy in WW1 and my father served in Japan in the Army of the Occupation in WW2. Oh, and have I ever told you that my family fought on both sides of the American Revolution and the Civil War? I was raised to believe that war was wrong, killing was wrong, but that sometimes you still had to do it, and you had to choose very wisely, because life is precious. But Memorial Day isn't about me. It is about choice, risk and commitment, fear, pain, work, dedication, and grief that I will never know. If I hang out a flag does that even begin to touch it? If I stop to say a prayer will it mean something? W...

Such beautiful weather. Our azalea, often a late bloomer, is gorgeous this year. Our peonies are well on their way to the best blooms ever. One set of neighbors is re-doing their back patio, another is planting grass seed and making improvements before moving. On the other side of our house, our neighbor has put in a beautiful raised flower bed which has been adopted as home by an adorable frog she has named "Flower." Margo and I went to the Talbott Springs pool yesterday on the first day of the season. (The weather was lovely but the water was cold.) I can't wait to see that pool filled with summer activity. Pool staff were knowledgeable and friendly and I just have a good feeling about this summer. For many years I lamented that our pool looked sad and unloved. I have to say that, little by little, all the small improvements are adding up and it now feels fresh and appealing. Today should be a day of rest. And yet, despite the joys of Spring and love of neighborhood and...

Yesterday I talked about how we take away the confidence of middle school girls by criminalizing their bodies. It isn't challenging enough that they are going through major upheavals inside and out, our culture throws extra rules and negative judgement at almost every change as it occurs. You are female: you are to be blamed. That post promoted three different fascinating discussions: here, on Facebook, and on Twitter. It clearly struck a nerve. I was gratified that more than one point of view was expressed. I learned from all of the input. Contrast that experience with this: Thursday evening this post was put out on Facebook and Twitter by Howard County Times-- A Columbia man has been charged with rape for allegedly having consensual sex with a 14-year-old girl, according to Frederick police. Read more: http://bsun.md/1n5Z1du This is what followed: A: isn't legal age of consent in Maryland 16? SO by definition it is NOT consensual at 14? Me: Wow. This is truly an odd way to wo...

One day recently, during Homeroom time in Algebra class, Falcon News was all about the Dress Code. My daughter was infuriated. Ms.Stevens and Ms. Saunderson lectured the entire school about What Not to Wear. "Now that the weather is warmer, let's review the dress code." Imagine you're a middle schooler for a minute. Blah blah blah....shorts should be a certain length...blah blah blah...so girls -- "It was sort of that the girls were being singled out." What do you mean? "It sort of saying, "we see that you're wearing this and we don't like this, so stop wearing it, but they don't say that about the boys. The rules don't work both ways." "Like what?" "So ladies -- if you wear tank tops, cover up so nothing extra is showing." (Nothing extra = bra straps.) I asked her, "Should there be a dress code in middle school?" "I think students can make their own decisions--like pajama pants. ...

  ...but is anyone listening? Yesterday I was walking down the hallway at Bollman Bridge Elementary on my way to teach a class. I passed an elementary student who was flanked by two staff members. I noticed as I passed that he was wearing a headset. I also found it interesting that they were moving down the hallway at a pretty consistent pace. That's not always the case with special needs students. When I got a little further along I realized that the student was vocalizing. It wasn't clearly articulated, rather a monotone, but in an instant it struck me. I turned around. "Is he singing?" I asked. "Yes." "Is he singing, " Let it Go ?" They were surprised. "Yes?" I pumped my fist in a kind of triumph. "Yesss!" I exclaimed, with extra "s" for emphasis. "Is that good?" "Well, I'm a music teacher, so of course I think it's awesome." "Maybe we should talk to you sometime, then." W...

Last Friday I had a chance to sit down and have lunch with Wendy Jane Royalty, who is a candidate for County Council in District 1. This is the seat held at present by Courtney Watson, who is a candidate for County Executive. Wendy and I had been introduced by a mutual friend who thought we might have some things in common. Well, we did. Plenty, as it turns out. But I want to focus on one thing in particular, as it is near and dear to my heart: education. Wendy and I share a deep respect for teachers, and concerns about low morale in our schools amongst our education professionals. Perhaps it is her background as a community activist, her training as a social worker, or her first-hand experience in schools as a parent. At any rate, she sees teachers and parents as partners in the ongoing process of educating our children and lifting our community up. We discussed fair and positive treatment for teachers, the voice of teachers and parents in school reform, the complex needs of student...

Tom Coale in his blog HoCoRising wrote this yesterday about citizen engagement in the budget process: To allow for meaningful engagement, you need two things - 1) Clarity of issues, 2) Results. If you can't explain the process and underlying factual basis for decision-making, engagement is an illusion. Any engaged citizen will quickly find that their budget request will have more shelf-life if they can recommend corresponding revenue or budget-savings to pay for it. The next, much more important, element is showing citizens that engagement works. Time is valuable and engagement can quickly turn to frustration without some evidence that time was well spent. We will not agree on every issue, but we need to show citizens how their participation affected the process. I am going to reframe that in terms of the School System and the Model Schools initiative: To allow for meaningful engagement, you need two things - 1) Clarity of issues -- If you can't explain the process and u...

Just received this letter from Corey Andrews: Good afternoon, I got into this race to make a difference for the Howard County Public School System. It is important that we protect this local treasure. The fact is, there are forces preventing those who want to make a difference from doing so. The Howard County Board of Education exposed its corruption a few weeks ago when it abused its power and censured Cindy Vaillancourt in the attempt to smear her name before the upcoming election. Board members have had their personal emails breached by school system staff. Critical documents have been withheld from some Board members. There have even been attempts at physical intimidation by other Board members. Several Board members, along with a select few candidates, have been coordinating an effort to control the Board and who is on it. Two candidates have resorted to extremely negative campaigning behind closed-doors. This is not the first time I have run for this position. When I filed ...

Deep in the heart of Mr. Rouse's created city hides a mysterious secret: an ordinary plot of land where nothing ever happens. Yet once a year, out of the mists, a vibrant park arises full of life--music, people, dancing. Then, just as quickly as it has come, it disappears. For only two days in the year this park exists. It is Columbia's Brigadoon . In the Scottish town of Brigadoon, legend has it, the local minister prayed to God that his home would not be cursed by the evils of the outside world. He struck a bargain with the Almighty that, in order to maintain Brigadoon and its people in their state of innocence, never changing, all would disappear and sleep, awakening for only one day every hundred years. In our town of Columbia we have residents so determined to keep Symphony Woods unchanged, tethered to an imagined purity, that they have assured that it comes to life but once a year--during Wine in the Woods . And then it almost startles one with what possibilities the park...

Tip of the hat to candidate Tom Baek, who sent the following:   On April 30th, 2014, The League of Women's Voters Board of Education Candidates Forum was held at the Howard County Dept. of Education on Rt. 108 in Ellicott City. The following is a TV SCHEDULE of the REBROADCASTS for the rest of May. Channel 42, Verizon; Channel 95, Comcast. SUN MAY 18TH: FORUM #1 - 12PM-115PM; FORUM #2 - 130PM-245PM SUN MAY 18TH: FORUM #1 - 8PM-915PM; FORUM #2 - 930PM-1045PM FRI MAY 23RD: FORUM #1 - 8PM-915PM; FORUM #2 - 930PM-1045PM SUN MAY 25th: FORUM #1 - 12PM-115PM; FORUM #2 - 130PM-245PM SUN MAY 25th: FORUM #1 - 8PM-915PM; FORUM #2 - 930PM-1045PM 2 FORUMS were held, 6 in each group. Numbers were drawn to determine who would be in which forum. Candidates in Forum #1: Corey Andrews, Olga Butler, Dan Furman, Leslie Kornreich, Mike Smith, and Cynthia Vaillancourt, Candidates in Forum #2: Bess Altwerger, Tom Baek, Zaneb Beams, Alan Dyer, Sandra French, and Maureen Evans Arthurs. Candidate Cynt...

The following was printed in the program of the Oakland Middle School Spring Concert. Read it. No, I mean really read it. Read it as though you are going to be tested on it, or write a paper on it. Read it and think about how it might apply to your own life. Read it and think about how it applies to at-risk students. Ten Lessons the Arts Teach 1. The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships. Unlike much of the curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail. 2. The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution and that questions can have more than one answer. 3. The arts celebrate multiple perspectives. One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world. 4. The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the abilit...

Things that make me scratch my head:   Political signs where the candidate ran out of room to include his own first name. Middle school dress codes which seem to focused almost entirely on controlling what girls wear. Democratic candidate who thinks one must be born a Democrat to be valid and accepts no converts -- way to kill off the party, sir! Agitators who deface a park with spray paint, staple things to trees, and then claim they are trying to "save it". Village Board members who act like the mean kids who always call you last when choosing teams. People who are fond of saying decisions should be data-driven yet make sweeping decisions without adequate data. It has been quite a week. Feel free to add the things that make you scratch your head in the comments section.   Posted with Blogsy

An update from Ann Faust, HoCo Families for Music and Arts in our Schools: Dear Howard County Public school music supporters, I would like to let you all know that we have some good news from the Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction & Administration Ms Linda Wise. Ms Wise called me today 05/14/2014 and told me that our music sectionals shall be attended as before. While this is a step on the right direction she also mentioned that all content areas will be experiencing cuts of some sort, general music and art will be reduced from the current 60 minutes of instructional time to 45 minutes per week. Again less than ideal, but… Also Ms Wise told me that Mr Rob White's (Instructional Facilitator for Music) and Mr Mark Coates' (Coordinator of Fine Arts) positions will be current until the end of the year after that they will be looking for new candidates. Furthermore, I shall be meeting with them next Wednesday to address any further questions we may have so please ...

This morning I received this email:   Dear Howard County Music and Arts supporters,   I urgently need your help regarding to the changes taking place that can jeopardize our wonderful music and arts programs. During our numerous meetings with the Superintendent Dr Foose and her people from the Howard County Board of education, they have promised to us again and again that there will be no changes to the music and art programs. Then these promises turn into “we have not decided anything yet” malarkey. Unfortunately today it is becoming clear to us that they have yet again publicly lied to us all; for the past month they have been holding public meetings in various elementary schools to inform the parents about upcoming year and the changes that will be taking place. Also it should be noted that Rob White's (Instructional Facilitator for Music) position vacancy has not been posted and neither has Mark Coates' (Coordinator of Fine Arts) position vacancy. Is there concern about wh...

Yesterday NPR asked , "Why Aren't Teens Reading Like They Used To?" And the floodgates were opened: television, YouTube, Internet, video games, electronic devices...but I don't agree. So I added my opinion to the mix. Julia Jackson McCready: High stakes standardized testing changed the teaching of reading into skill and drill factories. Think of how the wonderful show "Reading Rainbow" was ditched in favor of skill based shows. This is the discussion that followed, thanks to the Reply function on Facebook: You're absolutely right. My daughters grew up watching PBS and I'm sad to say that my granddaughters are not. Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton was my guide to library books for kids. It's a shame. Julia Jackson McCready My 13 year old daughter learned to hate reading in school--read the "selection" then fill in the circles. Ugh. Where is the pleasure of beautiful literature in that? We got around that by having a reward system at hom...

I once taught a summer camp session for fifth graders about how "old-school" ballads were really the tabloid articles of their day. We focused on this song: In Scarlet town where I was born There was a fair maid dwelling And every youth cried well away For her name was Barbara Allen We listened to it, we read it aloud, we acted it out. Twas in the merry month of May The green buds were a swelling Sweet William on his deathbed lay For the love of Barbara Allen Then I challenged them to write tabloid headlines based on the story. What would they say? What details would the story linger on? Which would be omitted? He sent a servant unto her To the place she was dwelling Saying you must come to his deathbed now If your name be Barbara Allen We talked about the time period when ballads like these were created. No television, newspapers, or radio existed. There were no telephones or even reliable mail service. A traveling musician was the way many news stories were spread. Slowly s...

This poem was printed on the cover of the service leaflet at the Unitarian Church on Mother's Day, a long time ago:   if there are any heavens my mother will(all by herself)have one. It will not be a pansy heaven nor a fragile heaven of lilies-of-the-valley but it will be a heaven of blackred roses my father will be(deep like a rose tall like a rose) standing near my (swaying over her silent) with eyes which are really petals and see nothing with the face of a poet really which is a flower and not a face with hands which whisper This is my beloved my (suddenly in sunlight he will bow, & the whole garden will bow) --e.e. cummings That day began my lifelong love of e.e. cummings. On the other hand, the poem itself was just embarrassing. I was in elementary school, and the relationship described between the father and the mother was too intimate for me to process. It came at me with a brilliance that hurt my eyes and made me look away. And it was certainly nothing like my parents ...

Do something good today. Go to Coffee and Conversation at Atholton Elementary School from 9:30 to 11 am and tell the Board members you support our music and arts education program as it stands and that they should, too. Go to the new Farmer's Market in Old Ellicott City. Shop, see friends, enjoy the music, eat something tasty. Snap a few pictures. Help candidate Tom Coale stuff some envelopes and be a part of a team that fights back against sleazy, negative campaigning with a positive message of how we can do better and make a difference. Do something good today. Take a walk in the woods. Play with your family. Snuggle with your kids. Hug more. Kiss more. Listen to your favorite music. Taste one perfect raspberry. Do something. Feel it, taste it, breathe it, remember it. Make it good. We are blessed with life and the ability to love. Do something good today.   Posted with Blogsy

Last night, a delicious Spring evening in Stevens Forest, I sat on the back deck with three 20-somethings over barbecue and beer and tried to explain what was going on at the Columbia Association Board Meeting. I tried. These three incredibly intelligent Hopkins grads just looked at me. Many words were exchanged. The short version might be: WTF? One said, "I tried to explain Columbia to my boss on the phone yesterday. He said, 'That is seriously f---'ed up, man!'" Yes. Yes, it is. So the CA Board broke its own rules to seat a member with a clear conflict of interest, and then turned around and got rid of that pesky ethics rule. Easy-peasy. No discussion with community. No attempt at transparency. They just changed the rules of the club because they felt like it. Inspires confidence, doesn't it? My daughter and I were having a discussion recently about people who claim to be Christians and yet espouse hate, promote hate, exclusion, and oppression. She said, ...

  Here it is, in all its glory. Our mish mosh drawer. Do you have one? Maybe you call it a junk drawer. It's in the kitchen and it holds any manner of one of a kind items, gadgets, coupons, missing pieces, and more. The mish mosh drawer pictured above could be a carefully constructed photograph for an I-Spy challenge. But it's not. This is our mish mosh drawer in its natural habitat, with no alterations. In Columbia, we have a living, breathing mish mosh drawer. It's called "Resident Speak-Out". It takes place at the beginning of CA Board meetings. If you haven't ever been to one, you are missing a quintessential Columbia experience. Residents may come and give the Board a piece of their mind on Columbia-related topics. Some nights there are only one or two; other nights the Resident Speak-Out threatens to obliterate the actual Board Meeting. I have seen residents use their allotted time to talk about tennis facilities, senior citizen discounts, the widening o...

Under The Shining People Tree (first appeared in Columbia Patch, May 26, 2011) I moved to Columbia in the late spring of 1999, on the verge of beginning a new life. I knew very little of Columbia except that it was planned, and that it was extremely easy to get lost here. Since I continued to commute to Baltimore City for several more years, I was limited in my time and energy for exploring. I learned how to get to the grocery, the gas station, and the mall. In 2003 I began to work for Columbia School Aged Services. As a part of my training, I attended an orientation session designed to impart both the history and philosophy of The Columbia Experience. I was excited to explore my new land. It didn’t go as well as I had hoped. Probably the worst occasion was when I dragged my family down to The Lakefront to see The People Tree, which I had learned was a symbol of all things Columbia. It was beautiful—there’s no denying that. The vista at the lakefront was lovely. And still. And barre...

Mrs. Stearns was my Kindergarten teacher. She appreciated my crazy-good memory for the poems we learned each week. Mrs. Pollack was my third grade teacher. She read aloud to us from challenging chapter books. That time each day was sacred to me. Mrs. Broker was my fifth and sixth grade general music and chorus teacher. Her encouragement set the course for my life. Mr. Atwood was my AP US History teacher. He was a mentor, advocate and guide in turbulent adolescent years. Me? I was a shy, socially awkward kid with terrible fine motor skills. I was bright and articulate but my work habits were shaky. I could write a poem that made adults cry. Going to the board to solve a math problem made me cry. (Or at least filled me with dread, anyway.) I played well in worlds of my imagination, but not on the playground, or in gym class. I had allergies, asthma, and frequent ear infections. I always came to school clean and nicely dressed, with all appropriate school supplies. But my home life was o...

Yesterday I attended the 100th birthday celebration for James Rouse. I brought Margo because I wanted her to be a part of it, and because I suspected she'd get a charge out of seeing the Young Columbians. (She did) One odd thing we noticed was that there were a significant number of people there who were not smiling. I was trying my best to be friendly and neighborly but quite a few people just weren't buying. Not everyone was glum, however. There were plenty of cheerful folks. Some young families with children playing or getting face paint, and I saw some of my own friends who were in a celebratory mood. When we took our seats we became aware of a man behind us pontificating on the subject of Michael McCall. As people stopped by his seat, he expressed indignation that Mr. McCall could be at the event, having snacks and drinks at the front of the room, talking to people. If I had not known better, I would have thought he was talking about an escaped convict. The conversation mo...

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was passed in 1975. You may think of it as "mainstreaming". Or you may have heard the term "least restrictive environment." It changed in a dramatic way who is eligible to receive free public education in this country. In Howard County our Early Intervention program for children with special needs is superb. (Yes, my music program with RECC students falls under the umbrella of early intervention.) I also have experienced the program as a parent. I have participated in a number of focus groups and discussions about what Howard County does right in the area of Special Education. Parents speak highly of their children's experience in Early Intervention programs. I want to write today about what happens after a child leaves the RECC program and moves up into the elementary grades and beyond. How well are we doing? I attended a Board of Ed. Candidate events several years ago where parents and teachers talked about midd...