Policing the Parents?

So the meeting at Glenwood Middle to discuss mold in the school building took place Wednesday evening. Amanda Yeager did a write up for the Howard County Times and Amy Aubert of ABC2 News also provided coverage. Parents present at the meeting have been giving feedback on their group's Facebook page.

One piece of information leapt out at me. Three uniformed police officers were present at the meeting. Why? The parents certainly didn't invite them. They can only have been there at the behest of the school system staff. In a time of budget austerity where we have to cut back on classroom positions, why would we need to pay three police officers for an evening of work?

Is there any evidence of parents at this school behaving in a violent or uncontrolled manner? No. Is there any evidence of Howard County parents in any school behaving in a way that would warrant police presence? No. Parents are sometimes disgruntled. They occasionally raise their voices and have been known to speak out of turn in a heated moment. And for this we need three police officers?

This looks more like an attempt at intimidation to me. And this isn't the first example of hcpss using "security" at public meetings in the past year. In fact, it seems to be getting more frequent. And from feedback I am getting from parents, I think it is likely that hcpss brought several members of their own security staff to the meeting, in addition to the police. Does this come from fearfulness? Is the Board afraid of the community? Is it another tool in attempting to control the message?

I do not know. I do know that Glenwood parents were offended by it. At the very moment when the school system should have been coming to make peace, they brought the police. It was a clear and powerful message to the members of the Glenwood community, and not a good one.

Comments

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...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else. Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog